As I was! Apparently Electronic Arts is responsible for the worst MMOG disaster ever, The SIMS Online, with over $100 million spent and hardly any subscribers: "EA even tried its own version earlier this year with The Sims Online. It invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build the EA Online division and rolled out a virtual area for players to form Sims communities and socialize. The company prepared for as many as a million people to sign up. It didn't come close. Just under 10,000 are now subscribed, paying $9.99 a month." - Fortune, The Biggest Game in Town, By Peter Lewis, Tuesday, September 2, 2003 That's got to take the cake!
Good old Jessica Lewis was a producer! I believe after failing with the SIMS Online, EA sent her off to Ultima Online, where she came out with the Elf expansion.
As I was! Apparently Electronic Arts is responsible for the worst MMOG disaster ever, The SIMS Online, with over $100 million spent and hardly any subscribers: "EA even tried its own version earlier this year with The Sims Online. It invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build the EA Online division and rolled out a virtual area for players to form Sims communities and socialize. The company prepared for as many as a million people to sign up. It didn't come close. Just under 10,000 are now subscribed, paying $9.99 a month." - Fortune, The Biggest Game in Town, By Peter Lewis, Tuesday, September 2, 2003 That's got to take the cake!
Good old Jessica Lewis was a producer! I believe after failing with the SIMS Online, EA sent her off to Ultima Online, where she came out with the Elf expansion.
The SIMS is still going though and as long as it is making money, it is not a failure. Who knows in 10 years or 20 it might be breaking even.
Originally posted by Teala ...So don't discount LoTR or Vanguard just yet.
I agree about Vanguard; I just view it currently as SWG's development in fast forward. Vanguard still has loads of potential, and I hope Sigil/SOE is successful in it's re-release.
Ugg ... no kidding about EA and MMOs. EA's the only reason why I'm somewhat cautious about WAR.
Ico Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
Failure to me is that the MMO didn't bring to the table what it was suppose to. IMO, that has to be DDO. The game that started it all. Turbine really dropped a big stinky, load with that one.
Other failures of note, AC2, amusingly enough by the same incompetents that brought us DDO, VG, EQ2, DnL, Horizons. All these games were suppose to take the world by storm. They failed, because they couldn't even muster a meager rain shower.
i agree that LOTRO shouldnt be on the list.. i would have to say my personal let down was archlord, they had some great ideas that got me exited... and it fell apart
The number of people that don't know jack about MMOs that frequent this site is staggering, if this poll is any indication. How anyone, ANYONE at all can rate SWG or Vanguard bigger failures than a game like Horizons is mindboggleing.
Failure to me is that the MMO didn't bring to the table what it was suppose to. IMO, that has to be DDO. The game that started it all. Turbine really dropped a big stinky, load with that one.
Other failures of note, AC2, amusingly enough by the same incompetents that brought us DDO, VG, EQ2, DnL, Horizons. All these games were suppose to take the world by storm. They failed, because they couldn't even muster a meager rain shower.
I got outta ddo quite a few thing that I was expecting and hoping for, the console-ish gameplay, the spell system... out of a game centered around DnD rules, you really couldn't have traditional mmo controls, which seems to be what threw some people off.
Well, than and the other DnD aspect. DnD means DUNGEONS and Dragons...DUNGEONS! Not Large Open Environments and Dragons. Of course that was going to be instanced dungeons primarily. It wouldn't have been like traditional small-group DnD games if it hadn't. So why again were people expecting otherwise?
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
Failure to me is that the MMO didn't bring to the table what it was suppose to. IMO, that has to be DDO. The game that started it all. Turbine really dropped a big stinky, load with that one.
Other failures of note, AC2, amusingly enough by the same incompetents that brought us DDO, VG, EQ2, DnL, Horizons. All these games were suppose to take the world by storm. They failed, because they couldn't even muster a meager rain shower.
I do not understand how people can say that DDO is a bad game. Now granted it is not the kind of game I enjoy and not one I subscribed to after I beta'd it, but it did not fail to do what Turbine said it would do. Turbine said do not expect this game to be like other MMORPG's, it does not have a world to explore. The game is centered around a city from which you will explore the surrounding area in the form of instanced dungeons. Guess what people, that is exactly what Turbine delievered. A city from which to explore in instanced dungeons. How did Turbine screw up? They gave you exactly what they said they were going to give you and did a pretty good job at that. Oh and don't think I am a Turbine fan. Next to SOE, Turbine is on my list as one of the worst game companies (post-AC that is), to ever be allowed to make an MMO.
Turbine should get back to its roots and really remake AC with the engine used for such games as Lineage 2! Now that would be awesome!
Vanguard will be the biggest failure. AC2 is the current record holder.
I'm going to be laughing at this comment a year from now. Where do you people come from anyway. Vanguard is all of 4 months old, LoTR is all of what a couple of weeks and you guys are calling them failures! LMAO! To funny!
The SIMS is still going though and as long as it is making money, it is not a failure. Who knows in 10 years or 20 it might be breaking even.
EA's SIMS Online is not going to be making money for a long time until it recovers the "hundreds of millions" already spent on it. Apparently over $20 million was spent just on the game alone, and over $100 million more for the online community to support it. With The SIMS Online subscription numbers going nowhere, they are in a huge hole.
An MMOG is a business first and foremost, therefore the fairest way to judge whether an MMOG is a failure or not is by looking at the bottom line.
With all due respect to everyone's personal letdowns, The SIMS Online is the greatest MMOG failure to date.
The number of people that don't know jack about MMOs that frequent this site is staggering, if this poll is any indication. How anyone, ANYONE at all can rate SWG or Vanguard bigger failures than a game like Horizons is mindboggleing.
You're the ignorant one here. SWG and Vanguard cost much more to produce and had two of the biggest names in MMO development working on them as well as having a major publisher. Most people were informed enough to know that Horizons was a grade Z game full of vaporware promises that barely made it to the shelf.
Easily SWG - honorable mention to VG but since SWG had the IP of all IPs and pissed it away while VG only had rapid fanboyism going for it pre-launch. SWG could have been double what WoW is now had it only not completely sucked in so many ways nly to be made worse by terrible management, horrible development, abysmal service, and absolutely mindless strategies of screwing the future to save subs now compounding the problems each month.
*edit* to all the self righteous types who think they are superior for having played some obscure MMO ten years ago that nobody even knows existes today... There is a big difference between a foul up of epic proportions 10 years ago and one in todays MMO market so easily the flops from the last few years where sales for a big success are measured in the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and productions costs are likewise staggering. Not to mention the huge sink of money and reputation that buying a top notch IP represents. Some generic-never-heard-of-it MMO flop from 8 or 10 years ago represents a monumental loss to the handful of people who made it and the barely larger handful who played it while the failure of an major MMO today, particuarly one tied to a top IP, can bring down hundreds of people and even rather large corporations and hundreds of millions of dollars. Not much comparison.
the Spacee MMORPG was in its infancy. Earth and Beyond had Appeal to that genre. its only major competition at the time was Eve Online and E&B had a head start. This was an MMoRPG with tremendous potential it just needed a few tweaks in gameplay and a high end game. however when it was time move forward. They shut it down.. not because of lack of subscribers or lack of sells it was purely to shift reserves to Sims Online
This blunder by EA is what qualifies it as one of the biggest failures in MMORPG history.
SWG was definately a Failure.. the concept employed just didnt work as they were designed too.. the class blance was non existant.. however it was revamped and is currently growing boostered by SOe Station Pass this game has a chance to recover although its not very likely..
eq2 is a failure in the aspects that it was supposed to replace EQ . It did not all it has done is shadowed the original which has reinvigorated itself by transforming itself into a current MMORPG something which Ultima failed to do.
However Eq2 does have a solid fanbase and looks to be around for awhile.. it is no longer a replacement for Everquest and i Wish they would just change the title to reflect that
eq2 is a failure in the aspects that it was supposed to replace EQ . It did not all it has done is shadowed the original which has reinvigorated itself by transforming itself into a current MMORPG something which Ultima failed to do.
I actually agree with the reasoning of the above poster. People do not necessarily want another Everquest; they want a new, innovative game that achieves the "Everquest-feel." I understand that EQ 2 is coming out with an expansion, possibly even titled "Ruins of Kunark," but I not confident EQ vets want that. As an EQ-vet who plays here-and-there, I think Everquest had its time and proper place. Now, take what people enjoyed from there and create a new and innovative game.
"Despite a $300 million investment, "The Sims Online" from Electronic Arts Inc. only has about 80,000 subscribers more than a year after its release, far short of the company's stated goal of 1 million."
They had captured the Star Wars spirit in the game. Players dreamed about becomming a Jedi, but noone had a clue to do it. And they where busy trying to survival and to learn the complex crafting system and the bioengeenering
And this doesnt many MMO manage to do.
Otherwise Vanguard is a failure at moment, maybe im wrong in a year.
Comments
Good old Jessica Lewis was a producer! I believe after failing with the SIMS Online, EA sent her off to Ultima Online, where she came out with the Elf expansion.
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
Good old Jessica Lewis was a producer! I believe after failing with the SIMS Online, EA sent her off to Ultima Online, where she came out with the Elf expansion.
The SIMS is still going though and as long as it is making money, it is not a failure. Who knows in 10 years or 20 it might be breaking even.
Just different. Not really for me as I don't like the setting but I completely agree with how it is set up with the instanced quests.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I agree about Vanguard; I just view it currently as SWG's development in fast forward. Vanguard still has loads of potential, and I hope Sigil/SOE is successful in it's re-release.
Ugg ... no kidding about EA and MMOs. EA's the only reason why I'm somewhat cautious about WAR.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
The choice of SWG should really be broken down because it has been two VERY different games.
My answer: NGE
Other failures of note, AC2, amusingly enough by the same incompetents that brought us DDO, VG, EQ2, DnL, Horizons. All these games were suppose to take the world by storm. They failed, because they couldn't even muster a meager rain shower.
-Josc
Well, than and the other DnD aspect. DnD means DUNGEONS and Dragons...DUNGEONS! Not Large Open Environments and Dragons. Of course that was going to be instanced dungeons primarily. It wouldn't have been like traditional small-group DnD games if it hadn't. So why again were people expecting otherwise?
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
Coming from somebody who hated DDO, it was different, but no failure.
I quit Vanguard but it is still too earley to label it as a failure.
LOTRO a failure? Makes me laugh that people would say that considering the time it has been out and the sales numbers.
I do not understand how people can say that DDO is a bad game. Now granted it is not the kind of game I enjoy and not one I subscribed to after I beta'd it, but it did not fail to do what Turbine said it would do. Turbine said do not expect this game to be like other MMORPG's, it does not have a world to explore. The game is centered around a city from which you will explore the surrounding area in the form of instanced dungeons. Guess what people, that is exactly what Turbine delievered. A city from which to explore in instanced dungeons. How did Turbine screw up? They gave you exactly what they said they were going to give you and did a pretty good job at that. Oh and don't think I am a Turbine fan. Next to SOE, Turbine is on my list as one of the worst game companies (post-AC that is), to ever be allowed to make an MMO.
Turbine should get back to its roots and really remake AC with the engine used for such games as Lineage 2! Now that would be awesome!
EA's SIMS Online is not going to be making money for a long time until it recovers the "hundreds of millions" already spent on it. Apparently over $20 million was spent just on the game alone, and over $100 million more for the online community to support it. With The SIMS Online subscription numbers going nowhere, they are in a huge hole.
An MMOG is a business first and foremost, therefore the fairest way to judge whether an MMOG is a failure or not is by looking at the bottom line.
With all due respect to everyone's personal letdowns, The SIMS Online is the greatest MMOG failure to date.
All the games in your list above are HUGE bombs...
My youtube MMO gaming channel
*edit* to all the self righteous types who think they are superior for having played some obscure MMO ten years ago that nobody even knows existes today... There is a big difference between a foul up of epic proportions 10 years ago and one in todays MMO market so easily the flops from the last few years where sales for a big success are measured in the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and productions costs are likewise staggering. Not to mention the huge sink of money and reputation that buying a top notch IP represents. Some generic-never-heard-of-it MMO flop from 8 or 10 years ago represents a monumental loss to the handful of people who made it and the barely larger handful who played it while the failure of an major MMO today, particuarly one tied to a top IP, can bring down hundreds of people and even rather large corporations and hundreds of millions of dollars. Not much comparison.
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This blunder by EA is what qualifies it as one of the biggest failures in MMORPG history.
SWG was definately a Failure.. the concept employed just didnt work as they were designed too.. the class blance was non existant.. however it was revamped and is currently growing boostered by SOe Station Pass this game has a chance to recover although its not very likely..
eq2 is a failure in the aspects that it was supposed to replace EQ . It did not all it has done is shadowed the original which has reinvigorated itself by transforming itself into a current MMORPG something which Ultima failed to do.
However Eq2 does have a solid fanbase and looks to be around for awhile.. it is no longer a replacement for Everquest and i Wish they would just change the title to reflect that
I actually agree with the reasoning of the above poster. People do not necessarily want another Everquest; they want a new, innovative game that achieves the "Everquest-feel." I understand that EQ 2 is coming out with an expansion, possibly even titled "Ruins of Kunark," but I not confident EQ vets want that. As an EQ-vet who plays here-and-there, I think Everquest had its time and proper place. Now, take what people enjoyed from there and create a new and innovative game.
Unbelieveable! Some further researching reveals:
"Despite a $300 million investment, "The Sims Online" from Electronic Arts Inc. only has about 80,000 subscribers more than a year after its release, far short of the company's stated goal of 1 million."
- CBS NEWS (AP), AUSTIN, Texas, April 1, 2004
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/01/entertainment/main609865.shtml
Case closed; Electronic Art's The Sims Online is the biggest failure in mmorpg history.
I dont think SWG was a failure, and this is why.
They had captured the Star Wars spirit in the game. Players dreamed about becomming a Jedi, but noone had a clue to do it. And they where busy trying to survival and to learn the complex crafting system and the bioengeenering
And this doesnt many MMO manage to do.
Otherwise Vanguard is a failure at moment, maybe im wrong in a year.