According to a forum post on the Champions Online website, Cryptic is asking players to list our the top 3 things they liked and didn't like about the "Misfit Toys" event that just recently occurred in Champions Online. The team is also asking players to talk about gameplay features they would like to see in future events. Thus far, the forum post has received about 11 pages of feedback, with many players expressing annoyance over the fight with "Clarence," one of the big baddies of the Misfit Toys event. As well, the somewhat low drop rate of costumes has topped many a players' dislike list.

Whether you like Champions Online or hate it, you certainly have to give Cryptic credit for reaching out to their community time and time again to get valuable feedback. If you have feedback of your own to give, head on over to the Champions Online forums to speak your mind!

Did you participate in the Attack of the Misfit Toys holiday event in Champions Online? If so, what did you think of it? That's the question Lead Designer Randy "Arkayne" Mosiondz is asking players so Cryptic can take the feedback into account when planning future events.

Mosiondz is asking players to list their top three likes and dislikes from the Misfit Toys event in this thread on the official forums. In addition, you have the option to explain the gameplay features you'd like to see in future events. This is a great opportunity for Champions Online players to have some say in the design process.

Cryptic has announced the winners of its Champions Online Winter Screenshot competition, and the chosen players will be receiving Retro Destroyer action figure codes for their submissions.

As you can see from the above screenshot by Pandemie, the submissions are festive while still capturing the spirit of the game. You can view all five of the winning entries in this post on the Champions Online site.

UPDATE: The Champions Online demo is now live and "offers unlimited playtime in the game’s first zone."

Publisher Atari and developer Cryptic Studios are really turning up the heat in Champions Online this week, launching several new-user incentive programs and kicking off the in-game, Attack of the Misfit Toys holiday event. As we reported last week, Cryptic began a new referral program that offers benefits to each party, and released an iPhone app that allows you to share character info and access in-game features like the mail system.

This week, Cryptic launches two new features: the in-game holiday event, Attack of the Misfit Toys, and a free-to-play demo that allows new players to try out Champions Online. You can check out the Attack of the Misfit Toys section of the official website for more info about the in-game holiday event, which promises new items, costumes, perks and an epic battle with "Black Harlequin."

The new Champions Online Demo program, which is scheduled to launch Dec. 21 (although the official demo section of the website still hasn't been updated, as of press time), was just recently announced in a press release, including commentary from Bill Roper, Executive Producer of Champions Online. "To prolong the fun, Cryptic Studios is also inviting new players to enjoy a Champions Online demo," the press release reads. "Players can play the tutorial for free, defending Millennium City from alien invasion. Players will be able to create two fully customized characters and play them all the way up to Level 15 within the tutorial. Look for the demo beginning December 21, 2009."

To read the full press release, which outlines all four new Champions Online features/events, click past the jump.

Cryptic just launched a referral program and an iPhone application for Champions Online, which means you can invite your friends to play the game and then show them your character on your phone.

The referral program rewards players for getting their friends and family members to play Champions Online. The veteran and recruit will both get an exclusive in-game action figure and be able to teleport to each other. You will also get 5% bonus experience, resources and damage output for teaming up together.

The Champions Companion iPhone application is free to download through the iTunes Store and allows you to access various in-game feature, such as your character's information and friends list. The app even lets you send and receive in-game mail.

With Winter upon us and snow on the roads transforming normal drivers into maniacs, Cryptic has decided to launch a small little Winter Screenshot Contest in celebration of this fun-filled season. Players are invited to submit Winter themed screenshots of their Champions Online experience in a thread on the CO forums before 11:59 PM on December 20th. This can be anything ranging from a Winter-themed outfit to a screenshot taken in Winter weather.

From here, Cryptic will choose the best screenshots of the bunch to feature on the website, and the winners will all receive a Retro Destroyer Action Figure! I guess Canada will be jam packed with Superheroes as they try to take their best Winterized screenshots, so good luck to all entrants!

According to GameInformers, Atari announced just yesterday that their current CEO of Atari worldwide, David Gardner, would be stepping down, but he would still retain his position as a Director. Jeff Lapin, formerly the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO) since May 2009, and a Director since December 2007, will take Gardner's place as the new CEO. Lapin has previously worked in executive positions in RazorGator Interactive Group, Take-Two Interactive Software and THQ.

Lapin's new position of CEO will mean that he will be leading Atari's Executive COmmittee, which includes Jim Wilson (CEO of Atari Inc.), John Needham (CEO of Cryptic Studios Inc.), Fabrice Hamaide (CFO of the Group), and Alexandra Fichelson (General Secretary).

No comment has been made as to why David Gardner has stepped down, but Lapin notes that he is excited to take on new responsibilities and focus on the launch of Star Trek Online in February 2010.

GM Destra has written an interesting dev blog entry to let Champions Online players know what GMs are focusing on in the game. This is an aspect of MMOs that many players may not be familiar with, so it's a nice to get a report on the current projects of the GM staff.

According to the entry, the GMs have been trying to get the most out of their tools and have been toying with their abilities on the test servers. They've also been compiling feedback and are currently focusing on situations that players report as bugs but are actually working as intended. This generally means more communication with players is needed.

Check out GM Destra's full dev blog entry after the jump.

In the current state of MMO fandom, content updates are expected, anticipated, and (when they arrive) often celebrated. New content means new adventures for established players and the possibility that the fresh patches will bring more new players into the fold.

According to the developers at Cryptic Studios, their latest addition to Champions Online, dubbed the Nemesis Confrontation, has been well-received and expands the content in the game even further. The ZAM staff sat down with Bill Roper to get the latest on this event and what’s next for the CO universe!

As the MMO industry gets stuffed with more and more competition, and World of Warcraft keeps eating that competition (kidding!), it seems that all developer eyes are now focused on new paths of innovation to reach different demographics of the gaming world. We've already seen CCP's EVE Online suck up the unemployed Math graduate demographic, SOE's Free Realms and Kingisle Entertainment's Wizard101 are both steadily converting all of our younger gamers to MMO fiends, and I'm sure between BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic and Cryptic's Star Trek Online, most sci-fi gaming fans will be mighty pleased (this could have been you, Star Wars Galaxies!).

Interestingly, however, as other MMO developers think of some great new innovations to stay in the industry, like Funcom's The Secret World and Icarus Studios' Fallen Earth, there is another barely tested demographic that bigger game companies have now set their sights on, and it goes by the name that Final Fantasy XI players have rallied against every time they hear the dreaded issue of "PS2 Limitations." What we're talking about is the console MMO and how it seems to be the trendy new thing for MMO developers.