Quiet isn't good

bobfish

It's a horrible trend in the MMO industry, and gaming industry as a whole i guess, to not talk to your customers or potential customers.



Well, I know very little about TCOS, there is little info on the website and forums, and little info in the various journalist websites out there. I don't think I've seen a "hands-on" preview of the game anywhere or anyone really trying to sell this product as a good thing.



Okay, too much hype is bad, but no one is going to play without knowing something before hand. Is this going to be like Ryzom, where it slips out and gets a handful of players? Or is it going to be like WoW where it's bursts onto the stage and makes an impact (of any size)?

anubisss

Originally posted by bobfish

It's a horrible trend in the MMO industry, and gaming industry as a whole i guess, to not talk to your customers or potential customers.



Well, I know very little about TCOS, there is little info on the website and forums, and little info in the various journalist websites out there. I don't think I've seen a "hands-on" preview of the game anywhere or anyone really trying to sell this product as a good thing.



Okay, too much hype is bad, but no one is going to play without knowing something before hand. Is this going to be like Ryzom, where it slips out and gets a handful of players? Or is it going to be like WoW where it's bursts onto the stage and makes an impact (of any size)?

I can agree with part of what you say but i would not panic as yet.Over the next two months TCOS will be everywhere and then you have Open beta just round the corner.

Things have changed a bit in the mmorpg world,ok you have to promote your product but with mmorpg the best way is Open Beta.

Players will spread the word soon enough if the game is any good.They need to just make sure that its a 3-4 week Open beta that way people get to test the game over a period of  time.I think once  people play this game they will be in for a Fun time.

The graphics are superb in the way they are drawn and everyhing has that euro dark gothic feel.The Five Houses lore is fantastic for RPs and Shard Conquest plus Arena is great for PVP.Ancestrial Quest sound awesome and the devs have done a great job putting the games lore together.All in all i think TCOS has the potential to be amongs the best out there right at the top.



Ps There is loads of info about TCOS out there,you just have to look.The website has loads plus numerous gaming site.Do remember that TCOS is a euro game so most euro gaming sites(and a few USA)will have info.

shae

While I completely agree and understand what you're saying, I don't think this is the case here.

I believe the folks over at TCoS have always been a little guardered against saying to much for a few reasons, some of which has to do with features and options being in beta phase and some of which has to do with marketing campaignes. The development team is in hardline working mode now, putting in crazy hours, racing to work on the last phases of beta and release product within the next quarter. It's a massive job.

I also believe there is a certain amount of marketing control going on right now, the PR people keeping a tight fist on what is and what is not released about the game and its upcoming release. Although I would also like to think we're starting to see a change in that, with the new web page being put up, some news in the pipeline, we might start to see a little more marketing and advertising on their part.

ALL that being said, I'm a little dissapointed with the community leaders at this point. Contact and communication with your community is immensly important, most importantly when your not a huge development company like NCSoft or SOE. They do a fine enough job at staying in contact on the official forums but we're not seeing alot of reaching out by anyone of substance within the company, a little more would certainly be nice to see IMHO.

Delanor

Originally posted by shae


ALL that being said, I'm a little dissapointed with the community leaders at this point. Contact and communication with your community is immensly important, most importantly when your not a huge development company like NCSoft or SOE. They do a fine enough job at staying in contact on the official forums but we're not seeing alot of reaching out by anyone of substance within the company, a little more would certainly be nice to see IMHO.

That is an understatement, but perhaps justified by the fact that they are a small company (and understaffed). Keeping the fans happy was not a priority the last couple of months. Let's hope that will turn around again soon, because it used to be different.

My fear is, however, that marketeers have taken over and have placed a stopper on any source of information since the original planned release date for this game (november 2006).

Sinns

Being a small company, maybe they dont want a zerg of customers and that is the reason for not marketing the hell out of this game.  Sure they plan on expanding their business after they release the game, but I am sure, they dont want to experience the growing pains that other gaming companies have experience in the past.  Having a slow ramp up on their customer base will give them time to put in the right infrastructure.  Right now, I think they are doing a hell of a job for their size.  Gaming communities and groups  will do most of the marketing work for this company.   Just my two cents.

Does anyone know if this company is going public with stock? 

skizi

I have to agree with you. This game is close to release and I know very little about it.

This means one of two things:

-Either the game is about to flop due to budget issues.  or

-The games developers are aiming for a small player base, like other posters have previously stated.



I'm not a big fan of small community MMOs, but that's just me. Either way I'll be keeping an eye on it.

mutantmagnet

---

Originally posted by Sinns
Being a small company, maybe they dont want a zerg of customers and that is the reason for not marketing the hell out of this game.  Sure they plan on expanding their business after they release the game, but I am sure, they dont want to experience the growing pains that other gaming companies have experience in the past.  Having a slow ramp up on their customer base will give them time to put in the right infrastructure.  Right now, I think they are doing a hell of a job for their size.  Gaming communities and groups  will do most of the marketing work for this company.   Just my two cents.
Does anyone know if this company is going public with stock? 

---

Considering the typical size of mmos they have pretty large ambitions. From their latest interview with a supported french fansite they are hoping for 500k in Europe and 2 million in Asia after a year.

SynxVII

They are probably still experimenting with game features that may or may not be in the final game. So they dont want to say they will have 'said feature then have it not in game on release.

adeildric

Originally posted by SynxVII

They are probably still experimenting with game features that may or may not be in the final game. So they dont want to say they will have 'said feature then have it not in game on release.

I totally agree we've seen too many games that were promessing such and such and that will never appear at the end. They just communicate on what they are sure about i hope

attentivevow

Id like to see more press about this game personally, and I would definetly like to see a more active roll by their community team.

slippyC

What I'm hoping is they are just trying to keep their game a low profile.  They maybe concerned about competition stealing ideas and so forth.  If this game is what I believe it is, it could even be better than AoC.

malefacus

We could use some more vids because it's a great game and we just can't get enough, but man, there is a LOTS of info on this game. Have you search a little?

godpuppet

Originally posted by Juntahh

this game is better than WOW

You done yet?

Manarix

We Dutch have a way of being modest untill the job is done.

Besides intense interaction with your audience is only succesful if you want to take them and their feedback serious, which implies you spend a lot of time reading the forums, commenting and discussing, and taking ideas back and forth to your developpers.

It looks like they took a different approach; they try to finish the game up to open beta before going that route.

Coldmeat

Game devs can't win.

If they hype the game, people write down every word they say as if it's carved in granite. And should anything what so ever deviate from that persons take on what the devs "promised", it's not just a matter of not getting a feature in the game, it's a criminal plot to attack that person, their family, and scam them of their money.

If a game dev actually waits to get a functional, working product to beta/open beta before the hype machine starts rolling, those very same people jump up and down, and complain that the devs haven't given them enough ammunition... I mean information on the game, so they'll have missing feature(s) to bitch about.