In today's round of voting in the 2010 Reader's Choice awards here at MMORPG.com, we invite you to check out this year's biggest new stories and select the one that you believe created the most stir in 2010.

This year, our categories are: Game of the Year, New Game of the Year, Most Innovative, Most Improved, Best F2P, Favorite Company, Biggest News Story, Most Anticipated, and the newest, and most dubious, addition to our prizes, Biggest Disappointment.

Read more and vote for the 2010 Awards: Biggest News Story.

I voted the Entropia Universe one.  I mean geez...Thats a LOT of money

Without getting into specfics, I was thinking that the poor performance and sales of some big name games/IP's might be the top story this year.

Voted for APB as not many games ever get a second chance at redemption.

Rise of Freemium is interesting but not entirely unthinkable with the advent of more casual games and the failing MMO market looking for new business models.

APB getting closed so quickly is more surprising than someone picking it up, I mean its a completed game with a very advanced customization system despite its other flaws.

God's & Heroe's coming back is more surprising, I mean how many half finished games get another chance after being iced for so long?

I'd say Viturual Property is the winner though. I mean is someone told you before that they were gonna make $335,000 selling something they constructed themselves on a C-list MMO, what would you say?

My vote goes to Rise of Freemium.

Originally posted by aithieel

My vote goes to Rise of Freemium.

Mine as well.

Reason being is that the "second chances" of APB and Gods and Heroes is notable but will soon be forgotten. The large amount for a virtual property is compelling but it's not like we haven't seen other peoople/organizations buy virtual property before.

I think the Rise of Freemium is notable because it's a big change in how these games earn revenue and will not only affect content but how these games are developed.

It's a paradigm shift that seems to resonate for me.

Had to be selling pixels for 1/3 of a million dollars! Just WOW! How can anything in the wirtual world and as transitory as items in an online game be worth that kind of money; $335,000 and $635,00 in total is just plain crazy

The single news item there that's spawned the most articles and columns and has been endlessly and passionately debated is, by a wide and clear margine, the rise of freemium. It gets my vote.

Originally posted by dragonbrand

Had to be selling pixels for 1/3 of a million dollars! Just WOW! How can anything in the wirtual world and as transitory as items in an online game be worth that kind of money; $335,000 and $635,00 in total is just plain crazy

Because you are looking at it in the wrong light.

How can a photograph cost a certain amount of money? Or how can a concert cost so much money. I mean, it's just sound waves.

What is being charge/paid for is the perceived value of the experience that "item" will bring.

It is a real item. We can see it therefore it is tangible to one of our senses. If people are willing to pay for access to that piece of virtual property (for whatever that person uses it for) then that is actual revenue.

Just because it is made of light from a computer monitor doesn't make it any less real.

If you go to a lecture you are taking away an experience. If you read a paper you are taking away info even though it's just ink on a page.

If a person can make money on a virtual property then it is a sound investment. Especially as there are some investements that are even less tangible to my limited understanding such as "futures". I mean wow.

I don't really see how WAR went F2P as claimed in the article, but the other ones going into that direction was certainly big news.

The crown still goes to the extreme quick closure and subsequent adoption of APB though imo.

I gotta put my vote in for Gods&Heroes, I've waiting for that game since the day I saw the preview in Game Informer

I have to go with APB "The Death and Resurrection", since it now gives me an opprtunity to try the game, at no risk of disappointment (since it'll be F2P).

Alpha Counter:

Six Years Worth of Game Time Destroyed in EVE Pirate Raid.

Which is why I voted it for most innovative as well :)

That whole "None of the Above" option still isn't available. Seriously. Put it in and see what happens. :)

Originally posted by Elidien

Without getting into specfics, I was thinking that the poor performance and sales of some big name games/IP's might be the top story this year.

I'll second this, STO anyone?

APB resurrection. That's was a second chance to a game that never thought to be heard of again.

just a thought but isn't the resurrection of apb also due to the freeium craze. I'm jsut saying :)

APB: Death and Resurrection.

Although I think this would be more accurate as simply APB's Sudden Death. 

Yes, it was shite.  Pretty much anyone who's played it or read about it could tell you that.  But it's such a rare thing for a game to suffer from such staggeringly poor management as to not be able to limp along for even a year before folding up like a cheap lawn chair.  I was suprised and I played it (so I know first-hand how bad it was).  Nothing else on that list suprised me.

Actually, the BIGGEST story of 2010 is that after 15 LONG years Duke Nuke'em Forever may no longer be vaporware. ^^  It was actually demo'ed in playable form at PAX 2010.