The 2007 Nerfbat MMO Blog Awards

Another year is coming to a close, which means it’s time for the second annual Nerfbat MMO Blog Awards, aka the Gnomeys. This year we saw a lot of new blogs coming to life, a lot of old blogs dying, and a lot of the same old blog jockeys up to the same old antics. Overall, I think it’s been a great year for MMO blogging–while we mostly covered the same old issues that we cover every year, there’s been a lot of insightful commentary, and every little bit of massively multiplayer news slips through no cracks, which I like. Continue on for the prestigious award winners.

Best MMO Forums: This Gnomey goes to the forums that I frequented most and found the most worthwhile discussion taking place about MMOs. I nearly decided to award a Goblin to all MMO forums for so many of them being full of drivel, but I decided that the winner of this award is: The FoH Guild Message Board! Lots of junk, but a good chunk of insightful discussion and I love reading them.

Best MMO News Source: This Gnomey goes to the blog-style website with the most impressive influx of massively multiplayer news. This was a late entry, but has probably contained more MMO news in its short lifespan than most sites post in a solid year. I’m happy to award the Best MMO News Source award to Massively! This new site is full of great reads, and I probably refresh it 25 times a day to see how much new goodness there is for me to read. Keep it up!

Best MMO Podcast: This Gnomey goes to the most consistently good MMO-related podcast out there, as well as the most frequently broadcasted. This year’s award for Best MMO Podcast goes to–for the second year running–Virgin Worlds! Congratulations on your second Gnomey, Brent and all those involved, and keep up the great podcasting.

Best New MMO Blog: This Gnomey goes to the best new MMO blog run by either a player or developer. To be considered for this category, the blog must have been created within 2007 and must show a consistent level of quality since being unveiled. I am happy to award the Best New MMO Blog award to MMOCrunch! Congrats to Mike, Geoff, and Peter for creating the most compelling new MMO blog of the year.

Best MMO Blogomerate: This Gnomey goes to the best massively multiplayer blog with multiple major contributers, whether it’s run by players or developers. I am proud to announce that, for the second year in a row, the winner of the best MMO Blogomerate is Kill Ten Rats! Congratulations go to Ethic, BitterCupOJoe, Cyndre, Dave, Dragon, James, Julian, Nicodemus, Oz, Zubon, and anyone else who contributed in 2007.

Best MMO Developer Blog: This Gnomey goes to the best massively multiplayer game developer-slash-blogger in the known blogiverse. For its frequent relevant updates, insightful commentary, and for making me chuckle throughout the year, I’m happy to announce that for the second year running, the Best MMO Developer Blog award goes to Broken Toys! Congrats to Scott Jennings for remaining good at blogging after the Lum the Mad years.

Best MMO Player Blog: This Gnomey goes to the best MMO blog written by someone who is not a game developer, which a majority of those in contention for any of these awards can be categorized as. The competition was stiff, but after much deliberation with myself, I have determined the winner this year: MMOG Nation! Congraluations go to Michael Zenke, who managed to hold my attention more than any other player, despite dedicating so much effort to the weekly massive update for most of the year.

Congratulations to all of the winners, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays, and etc. Here’s to another year of great massively multiplayer blogging, and MMO gaming in general. For those of you who won a prestigious Gnomey award, feel free to post this image on your site!