IGE Acquiring MMOG Sites

It looks like several popular MMOG sites, including Allakhazam, Thottbott, and OGaming, will soon be operating under the Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE) umbrella. "The new Zam.com Network will consist of newly expanded and improved versions of Allakhazam.com and Thottbot.com. In addition, the assets and content of OGaming.com (and the interface sites) and L2Orphus.com will be integrated into the existing Allakhazam network. This will add multiple new games to our site, more than double our personnel and give us the flexibility to add more features, better service and expanded coverage." It's interesting to note that they don't mention IGE in their announcement, but IGE/RPG Holdings has owned Thottbott and L2Orphus for quite a while.

Sites like Allakhazam and Thottbott provide extensive databases of detailed game information which comes largely from contributions made by players. They are vital resources for players that want a convenient way look up thousands of quests, items, and monsters which simply aren't documented anywhere else. No doubt, they are an attractive place for IGE to advertise.

This has caused quite a stir among the communities that visit and contribute to these sites, because IGE specializes in real money trade (RMT) of in-game currency. Many online game fans are of the view that RMT has a negative impact on games with player-based economies, and refuse to support such activity even indirectly. There could be fallout from this deal for the sites involved, and it could give rise to other independent sites offering similar services. More likely, however, the average Allakhazam or Thottbott user doesn't really care who owns the site as long as they get the information they're looking for.

More: Real Money Trade - What's all the fuss about?