2nd Quarter & Free to Play.

[Nick]

Thanks for this news go to Big Tom Supernugget over at ToonTownCentral

Disney CEO Robert Iger said today that "Pirates of the Caribbean Online" will be coming out during the 2nd quarter of this year. He also said that it would be free to play.

Here's one of several links that mentions "second quarter":
http://www.itworld.com/App/4201/070109disneyceo/
There are others that said the same thing when I did a Google News search today.

The part about the game being free came from a transcript of Iger's keynote speech at the CES conferrence:
http://www.cesweb.org/attendees/conf...s/keynotes.asp
(Scroll down and click on the Word doc next to the picture of Iger).
Here was the quote:

"In Pirates of the Caribbean Online, we’ve created a digital version of the world of Jack Sparrow and his mates where fans can go and live the life of a pirate. You’ll be able to crew up with your friends, captain a ship and battle on land and sea. And best of all, we’re going to let you play this massively multiplayer online game for free for as long as you want. "

and thanks to varmint over at ToonTownCentral for the following info

That would be in line with the recent survey I took concerning this game. There were a good number of questions about playing for free but you would be limited in weapon upgrades, ships, mini-games, playing locations, freinds list, "storage of items"......

The questions were also asking about prices.....$4.95 and $9.95
Would you be willing to pay x dollars to unlock additional features...

BTW - survey came by email recently. The questions were specific like they were trying to find a theshold......

[SeasickCharlie]

That sounds awesome! Thanks for the info, Nick.

[-rcv-]

To make like easier, here's the part of the keynote that we are interested in:

So, here for the first time is the new Disney.com, the digital doorway into Disney and both a destination and a portal into a vibrant, rich online entertainment experience for children, parents and people genuinely interested in Disney…

VISUAL: Icons light up as cursor rolls over them

VISUAL: Character wheel begins to turn

VISUAL: Fairies site opens

VISUAL: Return to the home page

VISUAL: Life stage segment icons light up

VISUAL: Boys site opens “Cars” video clip shows on the page

VISUAL: Transition to DXD (“Wormhole” effect) HSM DXD Channel loads

INTRODUCES PAUL YANOVER, LEADER OF THE DISNEY.COM DEVELOPMENT TEAM

PAUL YANOVER ARRIVES AND DEMONSTRATES DXD

PAUL

VISUAL: DXD Demo

VISUAL: Pirates Online Logo

In Pirates of the Caribbean Online, we’ve created a digital version of the world of Jack Sparrow and his mates where fans can go and live the life of a pirate. You’ll be able to crew up with your friends, captain a ship and battle on land and sea. And best of all, we’re going to let you play this massively multiplayer online game for free for as long as you want.

Here’s some never-before seen footage of the Pirates Online game…


VISUAL/AUDIO: A series of macros from the various scenes of the game, over a swelling bed of POTC music


BOB

Thanks Paul, the whole thing is incredibly exciting, having all things Disney in one attractive and accessible place…

We plan to build more virtual worlds like Pirates, based on a broad range of our properties, where we will invite our guests to become a part of our stories. Imagine living in Buzz and Woody’s toy universe; joining an epic adventure in the lands of Narnia; racing Lightning McQueen through Radiator Springs; sharing the superpowers of the Incredibles or entering the magic world of Cinderella and the other Disney princesses.

One of the richest and most memorable of the worlds we’ve created is the world of pirates. A driving force behind it is the most successful movie producer in the history of Hollywood and the man behind many hit TV shows, please welcome my good friend…Jerry Bruckheimer.

MUSIC: “Pirates” THEME #1


VIDEO: PIRATES REEL
\
MUSIC: “Pirates” THEME #1 reprise


BOB

As you can see, I’m really enthusiastic about all the great things we are doing and where technology is taking us. So much of what you have just seen is experienced over a new medium that barely existed a decade ago, but now is capable of capturing all the excitement and emotion of Disney’s great entertainment content.

Our history of bringing our storytelling and our roster of characters to the frontiers of technology is unrivalled. Since the day Mickey dared to speak in a “talkie,” Disney has boldly taken its content to the cutting edge. Wherever the path of unfolding technologies and imaginative new platforms may lead, Disney will be there.

This afternoon, I am here to reinforce the importance of our powerful partnership.

Year in and year out, we are proud to bring our creative content to your innovative products and I really appreciate the opportunity to bring a little bit of Disney to this great stage.

MUSIC: “Pirates” THEME #2 playoff

[Smoop]

Free is always good considering some of us are already paying for Toontown. However, free will only get you so far. The perfect example is Runescape. In Runescape, you can only access some skills, weapons, items, quests, and places in the world on a free account. I pretty much already did everything that I could possibly do in the free world (besides maxing out my skill levels). I'm at the point where you pretty much have no choice but to pay in order to enjoy the game. Is it bad to have a free to play game but pay for extras? Absolutely not! A lot more people can play the game without having to cough up the big bucks. And if you like the game, you can pay to enjoy more! $9.95 is still not too bad. Some of the other MMORPGs can cost up to $19.99+ a month. Kudos Disney! I can't wait to try this game.

[Bo.Shwah]

I'm glad it's coming out soon. The site even has a little thing up saying "Coming Spring 2007!"

[Lassie]

That rocks. First there is no pay, and it is coming soon. I'll be looking forward to start up my crew.

[Jolber]

Im gonna get treasure when its going open

[Astro]

Thanks barrels, Nick. Can't wait!

[JohnnyGunflint]

Next month will give birth to the "2nd Quater" of the year. So maybe we'll be seeing Pirates soon!

[PirateSkull]

Beta will be on for a while, so I wouldn't expect this till late April/early May.

[JohnnyGunflint]

Originally Posted by PirateSkull

Beta will be on for a while, so I wouldn't expect this till late April/early May.

Well, that's still not so long from now. You gotta look on the bright side, mate.

[Ngendi]

Awesome, I can't wait

[Astro]

I'm sorta excited! It sounds awesome.