KickStarter Everquest Next will kill WoW

[Xenich]

Idk if marketing to that type of a niche would work because it would be simple enough for people who weren't interested in that type of gameplay to control the gameworld. People jump from game to game as it is and play however they want. It'd be really hard to keep that type of player out of a game without a private server invitation type deal.

Unless it wasn't a massive mmo but more of a small scale shared adventure type thing with a limited number of people. Maybe something ala neverwinter nights mods with gameplay centered around players hosting and setting up their own private worlds and deciding upon the rules and gameplay they desire, then only inviting those who conform and booting those who don't.

Of course that type of solution has it's own political problems as well.

They only have control IF the developers cater to them. That is the problem we have now. Games like TSW was initially marketed to a niche crowd only to have them cave and placate to the WoW masses (same with DDO, and LoTRO). Even so, TSWs secret/puzzle type elements weren't ruined by the masses entirely (well, they dumbed down some puzzles to appeal to them... remember the Morris Code one?), you could still choose not to use the hint sites and the games content was still extremely enjoyable. The same is with maps and the like. If they don't put in a mapping system of any detail, it won't have an effect on anyone other than those who choose to seek external influence through sites. Though if they cater to them, putting in detailed maps, bouncing balls, dumbing down quests and puzzles, etc... Then... yeah, it is hopeless.

It all comes down to if the company caves or not. Sometimes that massive crowd of $$ is hard to resist (which is why you don't let a business have the power over your content, only your budget/expenses). As I said, a company can easily be profitable off 300-500k subs and there are more than enough niche gamers out there to fill that if you truly attend to it.

As for the private servers, now... those are a great idea. In fact, we were heading that way back before MMOs started to take off. Then of course, the greed of businesses who have no business making games pushed every project slated for a private server style to an MMO style game. Heck, Neverwinter was supposed to be a cluster system of private servers with a central hub hosted by the company. Lets hope Chris Roberts holds to his promise of creating a similar private/public server system and not some stupid MMO gimmick.


I really thought there would be a market for it back in the day. I mean, think about it. You as a game company develop a game, with all the assets. You create a first release world, then... you sell the clients (for a single game) AND you sell server software to those who wish to host their own games. You add in a suite of tools to which will allow people to create whatever they want in the game and manage it how they see fit. Then... you continue to release a client/server packages of new assets and features (ie server upgrades, new graphics, mechanics, etc...) for the community to work with (selling, not giving... that is how they stay profitable)

This allows you to focus entirely on the content of the game while the community deals with setting up their servers and managing population/bandwidth, etc... The beauty of it is that there will be plenty of people out there with like minds setting up a server in the fashion that is desired. So... someone has a server that is pathetic easy WoW-like papamole style play, while another sets one up with an old school vibe. You don't like fetch quests? Don't implement them, create your own detailed ones, or modify the existing content that you buy prepackaged to your tastes. Heck, those who don't want to play with others, but maybe some friends could just buy the default server setup with a content package and play together.

The options are endless and it solves the problems that we have today of people being unable to find a game that fits their playstyle. Everyone wins, everyone gets their cake and to eat it as well.

Thing is... it will likely never happen. The reason is... companies don't want to give up the profit potential. If they develop and release software that is powerful enough for people to create their own worlds and take their multiplayer games in any direction they choose, then... well... they just created a form of competition. I doubt it would ever be a threat and such would likely lead to a massive revolution in gaming, but... some people are so set on holding on to that dollar in their hands that they would pass up the 100's drifting by them. It is why you continue to get crap in this industry. It is the same as the movie industry. Why make that next possible "Gone with the Wind" when you can make some cheap TV movie rehash that has a built in audience and provide you with safe profits.

 

[Ranselknulf]

I bet something like unity or rpgmaker for mmo's will be released eventually.

For the most part I agree though.

 

[Norfleet]

To be honest they did innovate with Landmark, they can have the player base work for free in creating the world of Everquest Next using voxelmancy. If my participation of Everquest Landmark told me anything, the game is probably going have crappy support from Sony and only the die hard will keep blowing smoke up people's asses saying the game is fine.

Don't forget the part where all of your user information gets stolen repeatedly by "hackers". That's now an important Sony staple also.

 

[Dr Tomo]

Ever? Do you really think that WoW will be on top in ten years? Fifty? A thousand?

Actually Wow is stagnate with current subscriber base and Activision doesn't get much $$ from them because that 7.4 million doesn't differentiate their eastern or western players, of which eastern players doesn't pay the same amount as the west. Also the increase of subscribers in anticipation for the new expansion is only 600k and I would say mainly from the west with Activision leaning heavily on Hearthstone (20 million players), Skylanders franchise, and Destiny o of which they made probably around $400-450 million in revenue. I also suspect they also factor in other countries as well to the subscriber numbers like South America falling under the west in order to keep investors happy by letting them assume that they are all paying the same rates as western players. We won't know the success of the new expansion pack until next quarter as I am sure they will talk about it then.

edit *So in a nut shell yes Wow sub numbers are low until the launch of f2p which won't be long, but it will be a while. I would say give it another 5 years.

Don't forget the part where all of your user information gets stolen repeatedly by "hackers". That's now an important Sony staple also.

True, but that is like every company like Microsoft, EA, and etc. I am more focused on how Sony is going to lead the way where we will soon have another section under Steam where you can pay $30 to help code for a indie developer and build his/her game. People already pays for testing half finished games on Steam and now Sony found a way for people to create the content for their games for free and have fan boys defend your game vigorously.

 

[Wilian]

Considering WoW hit 10m+ subs with launch of WoD and they are already in top 3 most earning online games when it comes to microtransactions despite the sub fee the talk of it's death or move to F2P at this point is not only premature but quite hilarious as well.

 

[Sergiu64]

I don't even know who the target audience for this Disney cartoon is.

 

[Data4]

I got in on the Landmark thing petty early and very quickly got bored with it. Really, if SOE wants my money for EQN, they're going to have to start showing some meaningful content previews with the Storybricks thingy, as that's the only thing that has me curious about the new game.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

Considering WoW hit 10m+ subs with launch of WoD and they are already in top 3 most earning online games when it comes to microtransactions despite the sub fee the talk of it's death or move to F2P at this point is not only premature but quite hilarious as well.

Best thing is that this kind of talk has been going around for years already D:

 

[Dr Tomo]

Considering WoW hit 10m+ subs with launch of WoD and they are already in top 3 most earning online games when it comes to microtransactions despite the sub fee the talk of it's death or move to F2P at this point is not only premature but quite hilarious as well.

Read my post, Activision doesn't differentiate between their eastern/western audiences for a good reason and that is to have people such as yourself assume that all 10 million is mainly western players. At best I believe it is half of the population are from the west, but I suspect that is much lower considering any questions asking how many are from the west are deflected and any new subscribers as well. Wow won't die for a long time like a lot of mmo's (look at Anarchy online, Lineage, and etc), but it is going to go f2p and I would believe in the next 5 years maybe a bit longer to tap into a bigger pool of the Chinese people. Also a source regarding their placement in microtransactions would be nice as well as I am curious.