A True Jedi (at least he could see the future)

AceKahuna

So I am in nostalgia mode after having come back and found the game lacking.  So I took a look at the Allakazam forums which are still around from '03.  This thread caught my eye.  Pretty prophetic stuff.  Why cant this guy head up SOE?

 

Excerpt (from November 2003):

SOE's Strategy for keeping customers:

1) keep milking EQ profits with new expansions

2) allow SWG to draw in many new first time MMORP Gamers, keep them brand loyal to SOE.

3) launch EQ2 at a higher monthly price then EQ. Draw in the same types of people as EQ. SWG should have enlarged the market, making it an even more profitable product

4) close/consolidate EQ servers as they become unprofitable

Problems:

1) People are getting burnt out now on EQ, so SOE is starting to lose its customer base.

2) SWG was released too soon and with too many serious problems, most still not resolved. Instead of opening up the video game player market to SOE products, it is either turning people off on MMORPGs or off to SOE products. The one good thing that came out of this fiasco is they learned alot about the players needs and desires. Unfortunately for SOE, every competitor is also learning this lesson, and they didn't have to spend any money to learn the lesson. They are just watching and taking notes as it is all plainly visible to anyone who has a player account and access to the SWG forums.

3) Since EQ2 is not ready yet and SWG is not retaining customers, the customers are scattering and in a wait-and-see mode. This is a big problem, because SOE don't have a product to feed them, so they are susceptable to trying non-SOE games. Once a person plays a non-SOE game and likes it, it is expensive to draw them back.

4) Closing servers with no SOE product to hand them off to is losing a customer to a competing product.

Worlds of Warcraft: the main threat to SOE

If Blizzard releases Worlds of Warcraft (relatively) non-bugged, with lots of engaging content, and catering to achievers and explorers, then they will have performed a coup d'tat. Customers were supposed to graduate from EQ (and some from SWG) to EQ2, but WoW will be able to divert customers in EQ2's absence. If WoW is content rich, it will be able to retain these customers. Blizzard capturing and retaining customers will significantly damage SOE's profitability. SOE will need to win them back to SOE products by investing more money then originally intended(adding new features, less bugs, heavier advertising). As the contender, SOE will have to invest more money then Blizzard, since it is cheaper to defend a position then to attack it.

It is also easier to keep a customer then to make a new one. Since the customer field is fragmented now and people don't have any strong loyalties to what they are playing (too old, too buggy, "just playing until something better comes out," etc.) the next game out the door that can attract

and

retain customers will become the dominant player in the MMORPG market until the 3rd generation MMORPGs come to market. Sony should have held the crown and the customers, but they made two terrible mistakes: they started work on EQ2 too late (or they haven't added enough resources to get it out sooner) and they made too many errors with SWG (incorrectly targetting customers' needs, premature release, and things that added to the bad publicity and word of mouth).

But for customers, this is all very good news: competition brings out the best. If Blizzard puts out a great game, SOE will have to fight hard to avoid the risk of becoming marginalized (much as what SOE did to AC, AC2, AO, DAoC, etc.). In business, what SOE did was rare: they had the leading market position, were the highest up on the MMORPG learning curve, were in the position to dominate the market, and had a killer followup product. They milked the dominant product for too long, didn't use the knowledge they gained from EQ (loss of institutional memory//they decided to reinvent the wheel), mismanaged the follow up product and ruined their reputation and brand loyalty. The competition had time to catch up, learn from SOE's mistakes and, despite them not having any experience in the MMORPG market, their reputation isn't tarnished.

The futures of EQ and SWG depend on how Blizzard handles their MMORPG's release.

EDIT: fixed typos and some minor rewording

Edited, Fri Nov 28 20:42:36 2003 by Kuritsu

 

Mathos

seems to have hit it on the head with that one

HastorHadron

Originally posted by AceKahuna


So I am in nostalgia mode after having come back and found the game lacking.  So I took a look at the Allakazam forums which are still around from '03.  This thread caught my eye.  Pretty prophetic stuff.  Why cant this guy head up SOE?
 
Excerpt (from November 2003):
SOE's Strategy for keeping customers:

1) keep milking EQ profits with new expansions


2) allow SWG to draw in many new first time MMORP Gamers, keep them brand loyal to SOE.


3) launch EQ2 at a higher monthly price then EQ. Draw in the same types of people as EQ. SWG should have enlarged the market, making it an even more profitable product


4) close/consolidate EQ servers as they become unprofitable




Problems:

1) People are getting burnt out now on EQ, so SOE is starting to lose its customer base.


2) SWG was released too soon and with too many serious problems, most still not resolved. Instead of opening up the video game player market to SOE products, it is either turning people off on MMORPGs or off to SOE products. The one good thing that came out of this fiasco is they learned alot about the players needs and desires. Unfortunately for SOE, every competitor is also learning this lesson, and they didn't have to spend any money to learn the lesson. They are just watching and taking notes as it is all plainly visible to anyone who has a player account and access to the SWG forums.


3) Since EQ2 is not ready yet and SWG is not retaining customers, the customers are scattering and in a wait-and-see mode. This is a big problem, because SOE don't have a product to feed them, so they are susceptable to trying non-SOE games. Once a person plays a non-SOE game and likes it, it is expensive to draw them back.


4) Closing servers with no SOE product to hand them off to is losing a customer to a competing product.




Worlds of Warcraft: the main threat to SOE

If Blizzard releases Worlds of Warcraft (relatively) non-bugged, with lots of engaging content, and catering to achievers and explorers, then they will have performed a coup d'tat. Customers were supposed to graduate from EQ (and some from SWG) to EQ2, but WoW will be able to divert customers in EQ2's absence. If WoW is content rich, it will be able to retain these customers. Blizzard capturing and retaining customers will significantly damage SOE's profitability. SOE will need to win them back to SOE products by investing more money then originally intended(adding new features, less bugs, heavier advertising). As the contender, SOE will have to invest more money then Blizzard, since it is cheaper to defend a position then to attack it.




It is also easier to keep a customer then to make a new one. Since the customer field is fragmented now and people don't have any strong loyalties to what they are playing (too old, too buggy, "just playing until something better comes out," etc.) the next game out the door that can attract
and
retain customers will become the dominant player in the MMORPG market until the 3rd generation MMORPGs come to market. Sony should have held the crown and the customers, but they made two terrible mistakes: they started work on EQ2 too late (or they haven't added enough resources to get it out sooner) and they made too many errors with SWG (incorrectly targetting customers' needs, premature release, and things that added to the bad publicity and word of mouth).




But for customers, this is all very good news: competition brings out the best. If Blizzard puts out a great game, SOE will have to fight hard to avoid the risk of becoming marginalized (much as what SOE did to AC, AC2, AO, DAoC, etc.). In business, what SOE did was rare: they had the leading market position, were the highest up on the MMORPG learning curve, were in the position to dominate the market, and had a killer followup product. They milked the dominant product for too long, didn't use the knowledge they gained from EQ (loss of institutional memory//they decided to reinvent the wheel), mismanaged the follow up product and ruined their reputation and brand loyalty. The competition had time to catch up, learn from SOE's mistakes and, despite them not having any experience in the MMORPG market, their reputation isn't tarnished.




The futures of EQ and SWG depend on how Blizzard handles their MMORPG's release.


EDIT: fixed typos and some minor rewording




Edited, Fri Nov 28 20:42:36 2003 by Kuritsu
 

 

Very prophetic in lots of ways except one imho. In this case SOE did not produce better games after WOW came out, and more is the pity. Instead of building a better mousetrap--- the tried to take a bug zapper and make it look like the mousetrap in a rush.

ArcAngel3

Originally posted by Mathos


seems to have hit it on the head with that one

Bingo, the only thing missing is the utter acts of unethical desperation in an attempt to compete with WoW that would completely obliterate their brand name in the MMO market.  Then would come the shift away from the market where they've ruined their name to the next generation console audience--with a dash of continued copying of other successful PC models, and stab at making money via RMT.  It's like watching a train wreck that goes on for years.