Its really simple to upgrade your computer cheaply. 60$ buys you 4 gig of ram. You dont need more than 4 gig of ram... 59$ buys you an athlon x2 5400 99$ ASRock A780GXH/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX RAM I am sure most of you fall under the, I neeed more RAM category. YOU do not need more than 4 gig of ddr2 800. This is cheap shit. Out of the entire year,, buy one less game. That one game you didnt buy just got you 4 gig of ram. VIDEO CARD SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB will do wonders. This costs 99$. Im sure a lot of you will be able ti replace your RAM and video card and then play any game on the market at a decent resolution with decent frames per sec. Buying this will cost you two games. So for the cost of not buying 3 games this year, you have a decent rig. OH noes three fucking games. I am sure some of you can simply add RAM and others simply a video card. I am sure some of you will have to buy RAM, a MOBO, a video card, and a CPU, which can be had for under the cost of a PS3. So dont buy that paper weight PS3 and upgrade your PC. If you dont know how to upgrade your PC, purchase the board game Operation and practice for a few hours, then grab your little brothers fit the triangle in the fucking triangle slot game and the square in the fucking square slot, then practice for a few hours. Now you can successfully upgrade your own computer. Oh, and dont forget to unplug the fucking thing, I dont want to be the cause of any electro-shock therapy...
I think you missed the point. One on this forum your preaching to the quire, i am sure 90% of the people who read this forum already know these things and a lot more. Two the whole point of the topic is about good biz practices and how it relates to the consumer in general population and there average type of machine. The ones that are showing success are the ones who are going for the large numbers and not a target niche group. There targeting people who don't fall in the category of wanting to spend the cost of three games. They just want to download it and play it with no hastle, socialize and have a little adventure or get there rocks off killing a few people in game. Games that cater to these people are going to win the ones who don't are obviosuly failing.
Its really simple to upgrade your computer cheaply. 60$ buys you 4 gig of ram. You dont need more than 4 gig of ram... 59$ buys you an athlon x2 5400 99$ ASRock A780GXH/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX RAM I am sure most of you fall under the, I neeed more RAM category. YOU do not need more than 4 gig of ddr2 800. This is cheap shit. Out of the entire year,, buy one less game. That one game you didnt buy just got you 4 gig of ram. VIDEO CARD SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB will do wonders. This costs 99$. Im sure a lot of you will be able ti replace your RAM and video card and then play any game on the market at a decent resolution with decent frames per sec. Buying this will cost you two games. So for the cost of not buying 3 games this year, you have a decent rig. OH noes three fucking games. I am sure some of you can simply add RAM and others simply a video card. I am sure some of you will have to buy RAM, a MOBO, a video card, and a CPU, which can be had for under the cost of a PS3. So dont buy that paper weight PS3 and upgrade your PC. If you dont know how to upgrade your PC, purchase the board game Operation and practice for a few hours, then grab your little brothers fit the triangle in the fucking triangle slot game and the square in the fucking square slot, then practice for a few hours. Now you can successfully upgrade your own computer. Oh, and dont forget to unplug the fucking thing, I dont want to be the cause of any electro-shock therapy...
I think you missed the point. One on this forum your preaching to the quire, i am sure 90% of the people who read this forum already know these things and a lot more. Two the whole point of the topic is about good biz practices and how it relates to the consumer in general population and there average type of machine. The ones that are showing success are the ones who are going for the large numbers and not a target niche group. There targeting people who don't fall in the category of wanting to spend the cost of three games. They just want to download it and play it with no hastle, socialize and have a little adventure or get there rocks off killing a few people in game. Games that cater to these people are going to win the ones who don't are obviosuly failing.
yep your absolutly right
check free realm work on browser lol
automatic succes 3.5 million play this game
simple you can loose 15 min easy no drama because you missed the 6.30 raid that last 4 hour minimum
F2P has been doing better than subscription MMOs since 2005. The economy has only been in the toilet for a year.
In 2005, gamers were still praising how great World of Warcraft which was released in 2004.
It's only recently F2P has gained ground.
There are a few factors that has lead to the raise of F2P:
Economy: I would argue this is the number one factor. With people losing their jobs nobody can afford to spend $15/month or over $1000 for a new computer and upgrades.
Disappointing Releases: Five years ago gamers were all hyped up on P2P games like Warhammer, Darkfall, Tabula Rasa. When these titles were released fans were disappointed they didn't get want was advertised.
Improved F2P: F2P has slowly gotten better with gameplay and graphics.
Originally posted by t0nyd
Its really simple to upgrade your computer cheaply.
60$ buys you 4 gig of ram. You dont need more than 4 gig of ram...
I understand that there are some hardcore gamers who lives with their benefices, but spending $218 is not cheap for the average person - especially when you have to spent it between food and bills.
The average adult could easly spend 200 USD. or save it up within three months. No one has that tight budgets in the real world.
F2P has been doing better than subscription MMOs since 2005. The economy has only been in the toilet for a year.
In 2005, gamers were still praising how great World of Warcraft which was released in 2004.
It's only recently F2P has gained ground.
There are a few factors that has lead to the raise of F2P:
Economy: I would argue this is the number one factor. With people losing their jobs nobody can afford to spend $15/month or over $1000 for a new computer and upgrades.
Disappointing Releases: Five years ago gamers were all hyped up on P2P games like Warhammer, Darkfall, Tabula Rasa. When these titles were released fans were disappointed they didn't get want was advertised.
Improved F2P: F2P has slowly gotten better with gameplay and graphics.
Originally posted by t0nyd
Its really simple to upgrade your computer cheaply.
60$ buys you 4 gig of ram. You dont need more than 4 gig of ram...
I understand that there are some hardcore gamers who lives with their benefices, but spending $218 is not cheap for the average person - especially when you have to spent it between food and bills.
The average adult could easly spend 200 USD. or save it up within three months. No one has that tight budgets in the real world.
men i wish i was you i bet you dont have kids right
This article discusses a good point, but there are many, many factors that make a succesful mmo. WoW was accessible in another way, the gameplay. And there are many other things that made WoW the most succesful MMO ever. But I think it succeeded for one reason and one reason only: it's a damn good game. The whole package was good. It performed well, gameplay was easy to get into but still had challenges, the world was very coherent, it was fairly polished (compared to most MMO launches), etc.
Companies need to work on making good games, not trying to focus on one little thing that they think will win over customers. The complete package must be made. Unfortunately, to get a game on the same level as WoW would require a lot of resources, something many development teams don't have.
Simplicity is also a good idea. Your average gamer has no idea what a pixel shader is, let alone what 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. whatever else is out there now (stopped caring about this stuff awhile ago). They want simple settings that are easy to figure out.
Then again, you CAN also target the niche markets and do very well. Look at EVE, it continues to grow because it serves its niche very well. It's a good game though not quite as polished as WoW is, and thus, continues to be succesful and has only really started becoming very big recently because they've fixed a ton of things wrong with the game and made a big marketing push with Apocrypha.
This article discusses a good point, but there are many, many factors that make a succesful mmo. WoW was accessible in another way, the gameplay. And there are many other things that made WoW the most succesful MMO ever. But I think it succeeded for one reason and one reason only: it's a damn good game. The whole package was good. It performed well, gameplay was easy to get into but still had challenges, the world was very coherent, it was fairly polished (compared to most MMO launches), etc. Companies need to work on making good games, not trying to focus on one little thing that they think will win over customers. The complete package must be made. Unfortunately, to get a game on the same level as WoW would require a lot of resources, something many development teams don't have. Simplicity is also a good idea. Your average gamer has no idea what a pixel shader is, let alone what 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. whatever else is out there now (stopped caring about this stuff awhile ago). They want simple settings that are easy to figure out.
Then again, you CAN also target the niche markets and do very well. Look at EVE, it continues to grow because it serves its niche very well. It's a good game though not quite as polished as WoW is, and thus, continues to be succesful and has only really started becoming very big recently because they've fixed a ton of things wrong with the game and made a big marketing push with Apocrypha.
yep and the only game that might be starting to scare blizzard right now is even for me a huge surprise
freerealm 3 million sub in 2 month not a lot of brand new game can brag about that even wow didnt have that many in 2 months so for soe its a huge succes
f2p was always hard to get american player to play
i think its probably the only f2p that can brag about having succes in america
Its really simple to upgrade your computer cheaply. 60$ buys you 4 gig of ram. You dont need more than 4 gig of ram... 59$ buys you an athlon x2 5400 99$ ASRock A780GXH/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX RAM I am sure most of you fall under the, I neeed more RAM category. YOU do not need more than 4 gig of ddr2 800. This is cheap shit. Out of the entire year,, buy one less game. That one game you didnt buy just got you 4 gig of ram. VIDEO CARD SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB will do wonders. This costs 99$. Im sure a lot of you will be able ti replace your RAM and video card and then play any game on the market at a decent resolution with decent frames per sec. Buying this will cost you two games. So for the cost of not buying 3 games this year, you have a decent rig. OH noes three fucking games. I am sure some of you can simply add RAM and others simply a video card. I am sure some of you will have to buy RAM, a MOBO, a video card, and a CPU, which can be had for under the cost of a PS3. So dont buy that paper weight PS3 and upgrade your PC. If you dont know how to upgrade your PC, purchase the board game Operation and practice for a few hours, then grab your little brothers fit the triangle in the fucking triangle slot game and the square in the fucking square slot, then practice for a few hours. Now you can successfully upgrade your own computer. Oh, and dont forget to unplug the fucking thing, I dont want to be the cause of any electro-shock therapy...
Pretty sure none of those components will fit in my laptop.
No, laptop gaming is the wave of the future, step way from your desktop and set yourself free.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
F2P has been doing better than subscription MMOs since 2005. The economy has only been in the toilet for a year.
In 2005, gamers were still praising how great World of Warcraft which was released in 2004.
It's only recently F2P has gained ground.
There are a few factors that has lead to the raise of F2P:
Economy: I would argue this is the number one factor. With people losing their jobs nobody can afford to spend $15/month or over $1000 for a new computer and upgrades.
Disappointing Releases: Five years ago gamers were all hyped up on P2P games like Warhammer, Darkfall, Tabula Rasa. When these titles were released fans were disappointed they didn't get want was advertised.
Improved F2P: F2P has slowly gotten better with gameplay and graphics.
Originally posted by t0nyd
Its really simple to upgrade your computer cheaply.
60$ buys you 4 gig of ram. You dont need more than 4 gig of ram...
I understand that there are some hardcore gamers who lives with their benefices, but spending $218 is not cheap for the average person - especially when you have to spent it between food and bills.
Hardcore gamer? Ahh the age old moronic reply of " you must live with your parents if you can afford 218$!!! ". If you can not afford to spend 218$ every 2 years to play PC games, then go buy a used super nintendo...
why would we do that wow is still nice,gw is nice too f2p is getting mature
so all of us with 2003 computer can still have fun in pc gaming
I don't really think you can say system requirements are the reason some mmo's are successful and others aren't. Aside from AoC and EQ2, no mmo has ever been considered graphically equivalent to single player PC or console titles of the same vintage.
System requirements are partially responsible for Blizzard's massive audience, but a huge marketing budget and timing/word of mouth play an equal if not greater part.
Frankly, PC games are still a technologist's hobby. People that are uncomfortable swapping out a video card or a stick of ram should really stick to Bejeweled or the Wii. The days of 'plug and play' PC gaming are a long way off, if they ever arrive. The only thing that might change this are these horrible cloud computing services currently in development.
The computer I play on was absolute top-of-the-line in late 2006, early 2007. Since it was assembled, I've replaced 2 hard drives, 2 video cards, and memory. I had a lot more disposable income when I assembled it. I credit the power supply and motherboard for its longevity. If the motherboard, processor, or memory dies, it's more cost effective for me to buy a whole new rig. But until then, and since I have things like rent to deal with now, I have ZERO intention of buying any upgrades unless a part fails.
The 20" monitor I'm using currently is failing. It was purchased for $400 initially. Yesterday I ordered a 23" LCD for $160. If the "mid range" $150-200 video card I bought last year fails, I imagine I'll be buying a $40-70 one. Why?
Real life. Having to spend money on stuff other than hardware upgrades. And because the $40 video card today will run every MMORPG on medium settings and every first person shooter available on low settings. For online first person shooters, those in the know keep their graphics settings low for a competitive advantage. For MMO's... well, how much do you really pay attention to graphics?
I had my wife initially playing World of Warcraft on a 1.5-2 year old laptop with integrated graphics (She also played Sims 2 on this laptop). Later on we purchased a 19" LCD and a $230 desktop that had 2GB of memory and a PCI express slot. I had a spare video card that I bought 3 years prior for $50 and installed in her desktop. She has played Sims 3 and WotLK on this computer since.
I have 2 stepchildren. One of them has a desktop with integrated graphics and plays Team Fortress 2 regularly and doesn't complain about it. The other used to have a P4-based Celeron laptop with integrated graphics and played Runescape and World of Warcraft with it.
All in all, there are 6 computers between us, 3 of which are laptops, and 4 of the 6 computers have integrated graphics. And if you think people don't use integrated graphics to play video games, you should probably do a little research.
I'd like to think my family is more typical of MMO gamers than some of the people posting in this forum (especially the ones who think spending $800-1500 on a desktop computer, and upgrading every 6 months to a year, is normal). I don't foresee any of us playing any MMO, F2P or P2P, if it doesn't run on our current hardware. And that's the bottom line.
First of all i would argue that F2P is NOT a succesful genre outside of Korea who i believe started it all.I am talking F2P with item amll not an actual f2p game.
Secondly i have mentioned this SEVERAL times,WOW has NOTHING to do with specs.If Blizzard was truly after a game that ran on everything,they would have went after the Playstation market,since at the time it was the biggest gaming platform on the planet and they chose not to.That right there is proof enough specs had NOTHING to do with their planning,oh unless they decided they did not need that extra cash or the largest market to draw from....ya right.
Truth of the matter is that Vivendi was hurting for cash,this is why to this day Blizzard is still using an ancient game engine,they are a cheap developer who is afraid of taking chances or advancing technology because of the cost involved.I am sure Blizzard has the cash flow now to move on or advance,but they will milk that ancient cost efficient tech for as long as the suckers are willing to pay for it.
Back to the F2P issue,it has NEVER been a factor or mentioned in the north american market until the recent spam of F2P junk hitting the market everywhere.Most of these games are VERY old tech that would have no chance to charge an up front cost,they are in fact older games that have failed once and are tryin a go at it again as a f2p model.The F2P model is being spammed on every site so much that it is being shoved down our throats.
I do not think for one minute that the people with cash and are willing to P2P want anything to do with F2P.The mere fact that ANYONE can make players over and over is a PERFECT setup for RMT and troublew makers,because they have NOTHING to fear frlm losing a player,F2P will ALWAYS be a bad idea for gaming.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Originally posted by t0nydHardcore gamer? Ahh the age old moronic reply of " you must live with your parents if you can afford 218$!!! ". If you can not afford to spend 218$ every 2 years to play PC games, then go buy a used super nintendo...
That's nice. But I'm not living in the US; I'm in Hungary. I can't buy that motherboard/CPU/VGA for that price, it's closer to the reality with a 1,5-2 multiplier. Plus I don't have that money. (currently if something will die in my computer I can't replace it...)
I don't really think you can say system requirements are the reason some mmo's are successful and others aren't. Aside from AoC and EQ2, no mmo has ever been considered graphically equivalent to single player PC or console titles of the same vintage. System requirements are partially responsible for Blizzard's massive audience, but a huge marketing budget and timing/word of mouth play an equal if not greater part. Frankly, PC games are still a technologist's hobby. People that are uncomfortable swapping out a video card or a stick of ram should really stick to Bejeweled or the Wii. The days of 'plug and play' PC gaming are a long way off, if they ever arrive. The only thing that might change this are these horrible cloud computing services currently in development.
let me be blunt ,if guild wars could do all they did 4 years ago and have it all plug and play
i dont know why anybody couldnt do it 4 years later
are you saying game designer and computer maker are regressing (becoming retarded)
Haven't read the comments but have to say that even though I don't play WoW that I appreciated how easy it was to play on my computer. When I first started, I actually had a computer below specs but was still able to play reasonably. Graphics are actually not high on my list. I love WoW graphics. I just want a good game but too often in past year there has been cause for me to think (next computer is somewhere between a year and 6 months away) that I don't know if I will ever try the game if I find something else accessible and fun.
First of all i would argue that F2P is NOT a succesful genre outside of Korea who i believe started it all.I am talking F2P with item amll not an actual f2p game. Secondly i have mentioned this SEVERAL times,WOW has NOTHING to do with specs.If Blizzard was truly after a game that ran on everything,they would have went after the Playstation market,since at the time it was the biggest gaming platform on the planet and they chose not to.That right there is proof enough specs had NOTHING to do with their planning,oh unless they decided they did not need that extra cash or the largest market to draw from....ya right. Truth of the matter is that Vivendi was hurting for cash,this is why to this day Blizzard is still using an ancient game engine,they are a cheap developer who is afraid of taking chances or advancing technology because of the cost involved.I am sure Blizzard has the cash flow now to move on or advance,but they will milk that ancient cost efficient tech for as long as the suckers are willing to pay for it. Back to the F2P issue,it has NEVER been a factor or mentioned in the north american market until the recent spam of F2P junk hitting the market everywhere.Most of these games are VERY old tech that would have no chance to charge an up front cost,they are in fact older games that have failed once and are tryin a go at it again as a f2p model.The F2P model is being spammed on every site so much that it is being shoved down our throats. I do not think for one minute that the people with cash and are willing to P2P want anything to do with F2P.The mere fact that ANYONE can make players over and over is a PERFECT setup for RMT and troublew makers,because they have NOTHING to fear frlm losing a player,F2P will ALWAYS be a bad idea for gaming.
lol p2p for average game maker is a dying way of doing business in pcmmo
solo would probably sell but mmo is just too competitive
everyone of p2p dream of the money wow make now
but dont forget when wow went online it was a wreck
but lucky them wow saved them
but now another issue point and it the huge lost of money from activision
and blizzard can just hope for better days
nobody really knows what the futur mmo way of paying for it
but one thing is sure ,player arent buying p2p as they used to and tends to go f2p route
Interesting read. While I personally don't think that hardware specifics make or break it ones MMO experience since most die hard gamers such as myself invest in the next gen technology or as close as they can get it. They always have and always will. One can buy a really decent gaming rig for around $900 US ( and shopping around for parts subsequently less)
Here is something I found while surfing the web taken from the web site of Steam. "Each month, Steam collects data about what kinds of computer hardware our customers are using. The survey is incredibly helpful for us as game developers in that it ensures that we're making good decisions about what kinds of technology investments to make. Making these survey results public also allows people to compare their own current hardware setup to that of the community as a whole". Link store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/ Their survey is very insightful as to what gaming rigs their average user has which is above average in system specs.
The whole free to play vs pay to play really does boil down to the economy. While the average Joe on the street has felt crunch ( since it was officially acknowledged) for roughly a year it has in fact been in a downward spiral since 2002. A bad economy doesn't happen over night for everyone but rather years. While new MMO's come and go the reason really boils down to in my view is what their paying customer base will put up with for the buck.
Excellent article. As much as I despise wow, I will give it credit in many places, and graphics is one of them. I'm not a big fan of the childish style of the game, but the actual graphics engine is freaking PERFECT.
"It is in your nature to do one thing correctly; Before me, you rightfully tremble. But, fear is not what you owe me. You owe me awe." ~Francis Dolarhyde
I am sorry, but I think this one is making it too easy. GTA: San Andreas had no low reqs. GTA 4 has pretty high specs. Sims 3 is quite hardware hungry, Spore is despite its looks not that happy with a low-end machine either. CoD4 sold like hot buns, yet wants quite a machine. Oblivion, The Witcher, Fallout 3...... there is a huuuuge number of gamers and interested people who do have good machines. There is accessability, and there is laziness. The latter one is the problem. Age of Conan and especially Warhammer ran like crap because their engines are not well-coded. They are not well-made, and are not suited to the demands of an MMORPG. Look at Aion: It runs BETTER than WoW once about 20 people are on screen, and looks infinitely better. Look at Guild Wars, a game that can handle basically anything without dying. WoW isnt even particularly well-coded. As soon as you got more than about 20 to 30 characters on screen, anything even remotely near the minimum reqs just dies. I had guildmates who met the recommended reqs, and couldnt enter Dalaran during Primetime, and we had to move their characters on our machines to Naxxramas. The relatively lower system specs may well have helped WoW at its launch, but today, anything but empty zones full of solo quests requires much more power than can be justified with the bad graphics and tech. What matters is using an engine, using tech that is suited to the demands of a MMORPG. You dont have to have it run on a calculator to be successful, there are millions of players out there whose rigs are not hamster-wheel-powered with wooden dial-up and a broken bathroom mirror as screen. What you need is to do what Guild Wars did, what Aion did, create a game engine that isnt a rip-off of a singleplayer shooter, but that works for 60 people on screen. And that means scrap the 20 shaders, real-time physics and 30-layer-textures, leave those to the powerhouses that can make them manageable like a good Shooter. Hire the best of the best texture artists, use a decent netcode, polish the hell out of your code, and your game will both look excellent, and run well. Maybe it could be prettier, yeah. But crappy graphics with the excuse of accessability is not the way to go. Today is not 5 years ago.
^this^
I do not think that the majority of MMO games are well optimized. NCsoft in particular has shown me that you can "have it all" as long as the game has good optimization.
Having said that, I would love a good, new, isometric MMO. That's actually the perspective I'm most comfortable with (I don't come from a FPS background), and I think the decision to go isometric has huge advantages:
1) Developers can create worlds that have both a large size and a lot of detail if you go isometric...seamless too.
2) Developers can concentrate more on the content development side of things.
3) The game affords certain tactical advantages, and allows the player more control over the character.
__________________________ "Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it." --Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints." --Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls." --Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
The problem with F2P (not really the right term because most force you to pay to compete) and the reason I don't like them is because they favour the rich. If you are poor and cannot afford to sped hundreds a month in it, you will not be able to compete with the top players.
I agree with the O.P, and I'd like to add a few thoughts. Most of the subscription games lately seemed to view WoW as a cash cow. They seemed to try to copy and ship it ASAP to try to get their slice of the pie.
The problem? In short, they suck. You can tell they were thrown together or revamped half-way through development, or revamped after going live--all on the hurry-up offence plan--in an attempt to cash in on Blizzard's action.
Why didn't this work? WoW doesn't suck. What I mean is, it actually works. It wasn't built in a hurry, revamped halfway through development or, god-forbid, after it went live--a real kick in the groin to gamers. Because it doesn't suck, it's actually worth paying a subscription fee for.
Gamers aren't as stupid as some producers seem to think. We really don't want to pay for stuff that doesn't work, even if it happens to be not working on a PC.
This brings us full circle to the success of f2p games. If they suck, so what? It's free. Why not give it a try? If it's fun, great. If it doesn't draw me into some nasty RMT marketting scheme along the way. even better. The risks of this, if they exist, are still generally hidden so to speak.
I can login to a subscription based game right away and tell whether or not the game is functional. If it's not, forget about it. Even if a f2p game has some crazy RMT model (e.g. you can be a pet trainer for free, but actual pets will cost you extra...), it's going to take me a while to figure out what's going on. This is especially true, sadly, if the game is marketted to minors; and many of these are.
Personally, I think people will inevitably realize that some f2p games have user friendly business models, whereas others do not. It's going to take some time though. Once people figure this out, I expect the games with manipulative cash schemes to fizzle out, leaving only those who remain hooked on the experience, or continue to be unaware of the dynamics.
Whatever the model, my preference would simply be that MMO producers are up-front about the cost of playing the game, and that they actually work. I think people generally don't like paying for broken games, and I think tolerance for hidden fees is at an all-time low; once people recognize they are actually there.
This is the first time I've felt compelled to disagree with one of MMORPG.com's articles.
I am sorry to the guy who wrote this, but I think you've missed some very huge marks.
First off, anyone who is a traditional MMO player is not going to want to play many of the F2P games out there today. I have tried just about every one of them. And frankly, to me, they sucked. I could not get into any of them. The closest I came was with Runes of Magic. But the sound was bad. Really bad. And in spots, it wasn't even there. So I had to let it go.
Secondly, I might be stepping out on a very small limb here, but I think that most MMO gamers (I mean real MMO gamers, not WoW gamers) don't mind spending a little extra money here and there to upgrade their computers.
And lastly, I honestly do not want to play with someone who can't afford to get a nice computer. That might sound elitist, but I really don't care. I think it's time that the more mature gaming crowd start stomping its feet and making some noise. We are a market and we deserve the great games that are (dare I say it) hard to play. If that is elitist, then I'm damn proud to be one. And eventually, the children of today will grow up and they can be elitists too.
The games you're speaking of are games that I would bet can run on a console. Let developers start making console MMO's and then the subscribers to things like XBox Live can download those. But do not ruin the in depth games that I have grown to love. And do not take my beautiful graphics away either. I love stepping into a beautiful world that is using the nicest technology available.
I get the idea that the MMO gaming industry is about making money. But I also feel that there is a sweet spot of developers who also like doing it for other reasons as well.
I don't post in the forums on this website. To do so is a fruitless endeavor that will only result in flaming and/or circular arguments, terrible grammar, and all manner of other Internet attrocities.
But this article is so insanely fallacious, that I felt a post was necessary, regardless of the results. I sincerely hope Dana reads it, and I apologize in advance for any insults. Your article has incensed me.
You completely ignored a few crucial facts:
-What is the universe in which WoW is set? Why, the WARCRAFT universe. You know, the one created by Blizzard as an RTS, which continued on with three iterations, and a single expansion on the third? Yes, that one. Blizzard is also the creator of Starcraft, it's expansion, Starcraft: Broodwar, and (soon) Starcraft II. To add to this impressive list, we hav Diablo, and Diablo II, as well as Diablo II's expansion, and the upcoming Diablo 3. Now, Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 are irrelevant to the topic at hand, but I thought I'd mention them because I'm a fanboi, and I wnated to maybe kindle some interest (like any of you haven't already heard about them, anyway, eh?)
Now, I'm by no means a genius, but I'd say that a company with such adored titles as Warcraft (I, II, and III), as well as Starcraft (original, and it's expansion), would be exceptionally high in regards to visibility and vererability. Now, Blizzard then decides that it wants to create an MMO out of one of it's most successful "universes," Warcraft. Did anyone with even a slight modicum of intelligence actually expect WoW to fail? There's your reason for the success of WoW. If it didn't have such a massive PRE-EXISTING player/fan-base, then it would have been like any other MMO. But it does, and so it's not. Warcraft was/is even popular in the East. What other so-called "Western" MMO's, which had a preexisting fan-base in both regions due to massively popular games produced under 'X' title, do you know of that are massively popular in both the West and the East? Or, to even give you more room, what other games do you know of which meet the previously stated quota?
As far as the success of FTP games...well, that's rather obvious. I dislike WoW, though I recognize that it is a quality game, it's just not to my tastes, but even I've dabbled in Runes of Magic. And let us be honest, RoM is very nearly WoW in a yellow suit. I'd simply rather not pay for something that I can otherwise get for free. That's the reason FTP games are so egregiously popular. People can simply download the client, patch up, and hop in. No comitment required from your wallet. I don't feel guilty about not playing RoM for over a week because I'm not "wasting" my money on unutilized time. I enjoy being able to take a short stroll through the world and then log off at my leisure.
I don't understand why any of that wasn't immediately obvious to you, or anyone else. There were entecedent factors in place which allowed WoW to gain such a gargantuan player-base. FTP MMO's are attractive because they're free...
It's not because WoW is easy, though that may play a part. It's not the system requirements, though, to be redundant and annoying, that may play a small part. It's because Blizzard is known for making quality games, and many of us are extremely fond of the Warcraft title.
I view MMOs as a type of interactive artform. Stop suggesting that all MMOs be made to be simpleton's games. Stop suggesting that all MMOs be made to resemble a fourth-grade student's rendition of 'X.' You may enjoy the heavily exagerated, "cartoony" graphics of WoW, but I don't. I don't like the simplistic gameplay, and it saddens me that most MMOs have taken to this...direction, without considering all of the reasons WoW is so cursedly successful. Diversity is the key. Make all the WoW-clones you wish, but to even suggest that all MMOs should be the same level of difficulty and the same quality of graphics is, without doubt, the most foolish idea I've ever seen a sane person espousing on the Internet in all manner of sincerity.*
As an addendum, I'd also like to say that one can easily build a quality gaming rig for $600. I run Bioshock on full settings, and have no delay or lag. I can run Vanguard:SoH at full settings (wish shadows set to medium) at 40-50 FPS in moderately populated areas, Veskal's Exchange, for example.
AMD Phenom II x550 Callisto BE
4 gigs Kingston 800 DDR2
WD 500gb 7,200 RPM
ATI Radeon 4850 (512mb)
ASUS M4A78 Plus (I regret not purchasing an ACC enabled mobo for the extra cores [chance], but this one works perfectly. OCs well)
Win 7 64bit RC (excellent OS, btw)
Antec 300
Antec Earthwatts 650w PSU
Just under $600, and it runs everything I've thrown at it without issues. Also runs cool, and I haven't purchased an after-market coolers, except for a small tube of AS5 (about $7) to replace to thermal grease on the CPU and GPU.
Get a copy editor, Run this by someone who reads mmorpg making sure its not just fluff or mental masturbation. This is for your entertainment. Do you really think your telling someone reading mmorpg something they dont already know? By the way, Steam Sucks, Why Steam? Ever comb your registry after youve installed steam? After the HF code episode steam is the worste. F2P and P2P? Compare the top rated F2P (include micro's) and top P2P (subsription based). The top 2 and not one copy of another. That might be something we dont already know.
This post is intentionally written as to not make any sense what so ever. Thank You Very Much.
Comments
I think you missed the point. One on this forum your preaching to the quire, i am sure 90% of the people who read this forum already know these things and a lot more. Two the whole point of the topic is about good biz practices and how it relates to the consumer in general population and there average type of machine. The ones that are showing success are the ones who are going for the large numbers and not a target niche group. There targeting people who don't fall in the category of wanting to spend the cost of three games. They just want to download it and play it with no hastle, socialize and have a little adventure or get there rocks off killing a few people in game. Games that cater to these people are going to win the ones who don't are obviosuly failing.
I think you missed the point. One on this forum your preaching to the quire, i am sure 90% of the people who read this forum already know these things and a lot more. Two the whole point of the topic is about good biz practices and how it relates to the consumer in general population and there average type of machine. The ones that are showing success are the ones who are going for the large numbers and not a target niche group. There targeting people who don't fall in the category of wanting to spend the cost of three games. They just want to download it and play it with no hastle, socialize and have a little adventure or get there rocks off killing a few people in game. Games that cater to these people are going to win the ones who don't are obviosuly failing.
yep your absolutly right
check free realm work on browser lol
automatic succes 3.5 million play this game
simple you can loose 15 min easy no drama because you missed the 6.30 raid that last 4 hour minimum
and its so various it please to a big crowd
yes its a bit famly oriented
In 2005, gamers were still praising how great World of Warcraft which was released in 2004.
It's only recently F2P has gained ground.
There are a few factors that has lead to the raise of F2P:
Economy: I would argue this is the number one factor. With people losing their jobs nobody can afford to spend $15/month or over $1000 for a new computer and upgrades.
Disappointing Releases: Five years ago gamers were all hyped up on P2P games like Warhammer, Darkfall, Tabula Rasa. When these titles were released fans were disappointed they didn't get want was advertised.
Improved F2P: F2P has slowly gotten better with gameplay and graphics.
I understand that there are some hardcore gamers who lives with their benefices, but spending $218 is not cheap for the average person - especially when you have to spent it between food and bills.
The average adult could easly spend 200 USD. or save it up within three months. No one has that tight budgets in the real world.
In 2005, gamers were still praising how great World of Warcraft which was released in 2004.
It's only recently F2P has gained ground.
There are a few factors that has lead to the raise of F2P:
Economy: I would argue this is the number one factor. With people losing their jobs nobody can afford to spend $15/month or over $1000 for a new computer and upgrades.
Disappointing Releases: Five years ago gamers were all hyped up on P2P games like Warhammer, Darkfall, Tabula Rasa. When these titles were released fans were disappointed they didn't get want was advertised.
Improved F2P: F2P has slowly gotten better with gameplay and graphics.
I understand that there are some hardcore gamers who lives with their benefices, but spending $218 is not cheap for the average person - especially when you have to spent it between food and bills.
The average adult could easly spend 200 USD. or save it up within three months. No one has that tight budgets in the real world.
men i wish i was you i bet you dont have kids right
This article discusses a good point, but there are many, many factors that make a succesful mmo. WoW was accessible in another way, the gameplay. And there are many other things that made WoW the most succesful MMO ever. But I think it succeeded for one reason and one reason only: it's a damn good game. The whole package was good. It performed well, gameplay was easy to get into but still had challenges, the world was very coherent, it was fairly polished (compared to most MMO launches), etc.
Companies need to work on making good games, not trying to focus on one little thing that they think will win over customers. The complete package must be made. Unfortunately, to get a game on the same level as WoW would require a lot of resources, something many development teams don't have.
Simplicity is also a good idea. Your average gamer has no idea what a pixel shader is, let alone what 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. whatever else is out there now (stopped caring about this stuff awhile ago). They want simple settings that are easy to figure out.
Then again, you CAN also target the niche markets and do very well. Look at EVE, it continues to grow because it serves its niche very well. It's a good game though not quite as polished as WoW is, and thus, continues to be succesful and has only really started becoming very big recently because they've fixed a ton of things wrong with the game and made a big marketing push with Apocrypha.
yep and the only game that might be starting to scare blizzard right now is even for me a huge surprise
freerealm 3 million sub in 2 month not a lot of brand new game can brag about that even wow didnt have that many in 2 months so for soe its a huge succes
f2p was always hard to get american player to play
i think its probably the only f2p that can brag about having succes in america
Pretty sure none of those components will fit in my laptop.
No, laptop gaming is the wave of the future, step way from your desktop and set yourself free.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
In 2005, gamers were still praising how great World of Warcraft which was released in 2004.
It's only recently F2P has gained ground.
There are a few factors that has lead to the raise of F2P:
Economy: I would argue this is the number one factor. With people losing their jobs nobody can afford to spend $15/month or over $1000 for a new computer and upgrades.
Disappointing Releases: Five years ago gamers were all hyped up on P2P games like Warhammer, Darkfall, Tabula Rasa. When these titles were released fans were disappointed they didn't get want was advertised.
Improved F2P: F2P has slowly gotten better with gameplay and graphics.
I understand that there are some hardcore gamers who lives with their benefices, but spending $218 is not cheap for the average person - especially when you have to spent it between food and bills.
Hardcore gamer? Ahh the age old moronic reply of " you must live with your parents if you can afford 218$!!! ". If you can not afford to spend 218$ every 2 years to play PC games, then go buy a used super nintendo...
why would we do that wow is still nice,gw is nice too f2p is getting mature
so all of us with 2003 computer can still have fun in pc gaming
I don't really think you can say system requirements are the reason some mmo's are successful and others aren't. Aside from AoC and EQ2, no mmo has ever been considered graphically equivalent to single player PC or console titles of the same vintage.
System requirements are partially responsible for Blizzard's massive audience, but a huge marketing budget and timing/word of mouth play an equal if not greater part.
Frankly, PC games are still a technologist's hobby. People that are uncomfortable swapping out a video card or a stick of ram should really stick to Bejeweled or the Wii. The days of 'plug and play' PC gaming are a long way off, if they ever arrive. The only thing that might change this are these horrible cloud computing services currently in development.
There is not so mush to say about this topic, only:
"/agree"
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waiting for ... nothing..
The computer I play on was absolute top-of-the-line in late 2006, early 2007. Since it was assembled, I've replaced 2 hard drives, 2 video cards, and memory. I had a lot more disposable income when I assembled it. I credit the power supply and motherboard for its longevity. If the motherboard, processor, or memory dies, it's more cost effective for me to buy a whole new rig. But until then, and since I have things like rent to deal with now, I have ZERO intention of buying any upgrades unless a part fails.
The 20" monitor I'm using currently is failing. It was purchased for $400 initially. Yesterday I ordered a 23" LCD for $160. If the "mid range" $150-200 video card I bought last year fails, I imagine I'll be buying a $40-70 one. Why?
Real life. Having to spend money on stuff other than hardware upgrades. And because the $40 video card today will run every MMORPG on medium settings and every first person shooter available on low settings. For online first person shooters, those in the know keep their graphics settings low for a competitive advantage. For MMO's... well, how much do you really pay attention to graphics?
I had my wife initially playing World of Warcraft on a 1.5-2 year old laptop with integrated graphics (She also played Sims 2 on this laptop). Later on we purchased a 19" LCD and a $230 desktop that had 2GB of memory and a PCI express slot. I had a spare video card that I bought 3 years prior for $50 and installed in her desktop. She has played Sims 3 and WotLK on this computer since.
I have 2 stepchildren. One of them has a desktop with integrated graphics and plays Team Fortress 2 regularly and doesn't complain about it. The other used to have a P4-based Celeron laptop with integrated graphics and played Runescape and World of Warcraft with it.
All in all, there are 6 computers between us, 3 of which are laptops, and 4 of the 6 computers have integrated graphics. And if you think people don't use integrated graphics to play video games, you should probably do a little research.
I'd like to think my family is more typical of MMO gamers than some of the people posting in this forum (especially the ones who think spending $800-1500 on a desktop computer, and upgrading every 6 months to a year, is normal). I don't foresee any of us playing any MMO, F2P or P2P, if it doesn't run on our current hardware. And that's the bottom line.
First of all i would argue that F2P is NOT a succesful genre outside of Korea who i believe started it all.I am talking F2P with item amll not an actual f2p game.
Secondly i have mentioned this SEVERAL times,WOW has NOTHING to do with specs.If Blizzard was truly after a game that ran on everything,they would have went after the Playstation market,since at the time it was the biggest gaming platform on the planet and they chose not to.That right there is proof enough specs had NOTHING to do with their planning,oh unless they decided they did not need that extra cash or the largest market to draw from....ya right.
Truth of the matter is that Vivendi was hurting for cash,this is why to this day Blizzard is still using an ancient game engine,they are a cheap developer who is afraid of taking chances or advancing technology because of the cost involved.I am sure Blizzard has the cash flow now to move on or advance,but they will milk that ancient cost efficient tech for as long as the suckers are willing to pay for it.
Back to the F2P issue,it has NEVER been a factor or mentioned in the north american market until the recent spam of F2P junk hitting the market everywhere.Most of these games are VERY old tech that would have no chance to charge an up front cost,they are in fact older games that have failed once and are tryin a go at it again as a f2p model.The F2P model is being spammed on every site so much that it is being shoved down our throats.
I do not think for one minute that the people with cash and are willing to P2P want anything to do with F2P.The mere fact that ANYONE can make players over and over is a PERFECT setup for RMT and troublew makers,because they have NOTHING to fear frlm losing a player,F2P will ALWAYS be a bad idea for gaming.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
That's nice. But I'm not living in the US; I'm in Hungary. I can't buy that motherboard/CPU/VGA for that price, it's closer to the reality with a 1,5-2 multiplier. Plus I don't have that money. (currently if something will die in my computer I can't replace it...)
Signatures are boring things.
dude, i loved every single thing u said, that's all i'll say
let me be blunt ,if guild wars could do all they did 4 years ago and have it all plug and play
i dont know why anybody couldnt do it 4 years later
are you saying game designer and computer maker are regressing (becoming retarded)
Haven't read the comments but have to say that even though I don't play WoW that I appreciated how easy it was to play on my computer. When I first started, I actually had a computer below specs but was still able to play reasonably. Graphics are actually not high on my list. I love WoW graphics. I just want a good game but too often in past year there has been cause for me to think (next computer is somewhere between a year and 6 months away) that I don't know if I will ever try the game if I find something else accessible and fun.
lol p2p for average game maker is a dying way of doing business in pcmmo
solo would probably sell but mmo is just too competitive
everyone of p2p dream of the money wow make now
but dont forget when wow went online it was a wreck
but lucky them wow saved them
but now another issue point and it the huge lost of money from activision
and blizzard can just hope for better days
nobody really knows what the futur mmo way of paying for it
but one thing is sure ,player arent buying p2p as they used to and tends to go f2p route
is it the futur? nobody know
Interesting read. While I personally don't think that hardware specifics make or break it ones MMO experience since most die hard gamers such as myself invest in the next gen technology or as close as they can get it. They always have and always will. One can buy a really decent gaming rig for around $900 US ( and shopping around for parts subsequently less)
Here is something I found while surfing the web taken from the web site of Steam. "Each month, Steam collects data about what kinds of computer hardware our customers are using. The survey is incredibly helpful for us as game developers in that it ensures that we're making good decisions about what kinds of technology investments to make. Making these survey results public also allows people to compare their own current hardware setup to that of the community as a whole". Link store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/ Their survey is very insightful as to what gaming rigs their average user has which is above average in system specs.
The whole free to play vs pay to play really does boil down to the economy. While the average Joe on the street has felt crunch ( since it was officially acknowledged) for roughly a year it has in fact been in a downward spiral since 2002. A bad economy doesn't happen over night for everyone but rather years. While new MMO's come and go the reason really boils down to in my view is what their paying customer base will put up with for the buck.
Excellent article. As much as I despise wow, I will give it credit in many places, and graphics is one of them. I'm not a big fan of the childish style of the game, but the actual graphics engine is freaking PERFECT.
"It is in your nature to do one thing correctly; Before me, you rightfully tremble. But, fear is not what you owe me. You owe me awe." ~Francis Dolarhyde
^this^
I do not think that the majority of MMO games are well optimized. NCsoft in particular has shown me that you can "have it all" as long as the game has good optimization.
Having said that, I would love a good, new, isometric MMO. That's actually the perspective I'm most comfortable with (I don't come from a FPS background), and I think the decision to go isometric has huge advantages:
1) Developers can create worlds that have both a large size and a lot of detail if you go isometric...seamless too.
2) Developers can concentrate more on the content development side of things.
3) The game affords certain tactical advantages, and allows the player more control over the character.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
The problem with F2P (not really the right term because most force you to pay to compete) and the reason I don't like them is because they favour the rich. If you are poor and cannot afford to sped hundreds a month in it, you will not be able to compete with the top players.
I agree with the O.P, and I'd like to add a few thoughts. Most of the subscription games lately seemed to view WoW as a cash cow. They seemed to try to copy and ship it ASAP to try to get their slice of the pie.
The problem? In short, they suck. You can tell they were thrown together or revamped half-way through development, or revamped after going live--all on the hurry-up offence plan--in an attempt to cash in on Blizzard's action.
Why didn't this work? WoW doesn't suck. What I mean is, it actually works. It wasn't built in a hurry, revamped halfway through development or, god-forbid, after it went live--a real kick in the groin to gamers. Because it doesn't suck, it's actually worth paying a subscription fee for.
Gamers aren't as stupid as some producers seem to think. We really don't want to pay for stuff that doesn't work, even if it happens to be not working on a PC.
This brings us full circle to the success of f2p games. If they suck, so what? It's free. Why not give it a try? If it's fun, great. If it doesn't draw me into some nasty RMT marketting scheme along the way. even better. The risks of this, if they exist, are still generally hidden so to speak.
I can login to a subscription based game right away and tell whether or not the game is functional. If it's not, forget about it. Even if a f2p game has some crazy RMT model (e.g. you can be a pet trainer for free, but actual pets will cost you extra...), it's going to take me a while to figure out what's going on. This is especially true, sadly, if the game is marketted to minors; and many of these are.
Personally, I think people will inevitably realize that some f2p games have user friendly business models, whereas others do not. It's going to take some time though. Once people figure this out, I expect the games with manipulative cash schemes to fizzle out, leaving only those who remain hooked on the experience, or continue to be unaware of the dynamics.
Whatever the model, my preference would simply be that MMO producers are up-front about the cost of playing the game, and that they actually work. I think people generally don't like paying for broken games, and I think tolerance for hidden fees is at an all-time low; once people recognize they are actually there.
This is the first time I've felt compelled to disagree with one of MMORPG.com's articles.
I am sorry to the guy who wrote this, but I think you've missed some very huge marks.
First off, anyone who is a traditional MMO player is not going to want to play many of the F2P games out there today. I have tried just about every one of them. And frankly, to me, they sucked. I could not get into any of them. The closest I came was with Runes of Magic. But the sound was bad. Really bad. And in spots, it wasn't even there. So I had to let it go.
Secondly, I might be stepping out on a very small limb here, but I think that most MMO gamers (I mean real MMO gamers, not WoW gamers) don't mind spending a little extra money here and there to upgrade their computers.
And lastly, I honestly do not want to play with someone who can't afford to get a nice computer. That might sound elitist, but I really don't care. I think it's time that the more mature gaming crowd start stomping its feet and making some noise. We are a market and we deserve the great games that are (dare I say it) hard to play. If that is elitist, then I'm damn proud to be one. And eventually, the children of today will grow up and they can be elitists too.
The games you're speaking of are games that I would bet can run on a console. Let developers start making console MMO's and then the subscribers to things like XBox Live can download those. But do not ruin the in depth games that I have grown to love. And do not take my beautiful graphics away either. I love stepping into a beautiful world that is using the nicest technology available.
I get the idea that the MMO gaming industry is about making money. But I also feel that there is a sweet spot of developers who also like doing it for other reasons as well.
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</OBAMA>
I don't post in the forums on this website. To do so is a fruitless endeavor that will only result in flaming and/or circular arguments, terrible grammar, and all manner of other Internet attrocities.
But this article is so insanely fallacious, that I felt a post was necessary, regardless of the results. I sincerely hope Dana reads it, and I apologize in advance for any insults. Your article has incensed me.
You completely ignored a few crucial facts:
-What is the universe in which WoW is set? Why, the WARCRAFT universe. You know, the one created by Blizzard as an RTS, which continued on with three iterations, and a single expansion on the third? Yes, that one. Blizzard is also the creator of Starcraft, it's expansion, Starcraft: Broodwar, and (soon) Starcraft II. To add to this impressive list, we hav Diablo, and Diablo II, as well as Diablo II's expansion, and the upcoming Diablo 3. Now, Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 are irrelevant to the topic at hand, but I thought I'd mention them because I'm a fanboi, and I wnated to maybe kindle some interest (like any of you haven't already heard about them, anyway, eh?)
Now, I'm by no means a genius, but I'd say that a company with such adored titles as Warcraft (I, II, and III), as well as Starcraft (original, and it's expansion), would be exceptionally high in regards to visibility and vererability. Now, Blizzard then decides that it wants to create an MMO out of one of it's most successful "universes," Warcraft. Did anyone with even a slight modicum of intelligence actually expect WoW to fail? There's your reason for the success of WoW. If it didn't have such a massive PRE-EXISTING player/fan-base, then it would have been like any other MMO. But it does, and so it's not. Warcraft was/is even popular in the East. What other so-called "Western" MMO's, which had a preexisting fan-base in both regions due to massively popular games produced under 'X' title, do you know of that are massively popular in both the West and the East? Or, to even give you more room, what other games do you know of which meet the previously stated quota?
As far as the success of FTP games...well, that's rather obvious. I dislike WoW, though I recognize that it is a quality game, it's just not to my tastes, but even I've dabbled in Runes of Magic. And let us be honest, RoM is very nearly WoW in a yellow suit. I'd simply rather not pay for something that I can otherwise get for free. That's the reason FTP games are so egregiously popular. People can simply download the client, patch up, and hop in. No comitment required from your wallet. I don't feel guilty about not playing RoM for over a week because I'm not "wasting" my money on unutilized time. I enjoy being able to take a short stroll through the world and then log off at my leisure.
I don't understand why any of that wasn't immediately obvious to you, or anyone else. There were entecedent factors in place which allowed WoW to gain such a gargantuan player-base. FTP MMO's are attractive because they're free...
It's not because WoW is easy, though that may play a part. It's not the system requirements, though, to be redundant and annoying, that may play a small part. It's because Blizzard is known for making quality games, and many of us are extremely fond of the Warcraft title.
I view MMOs as a type of interactive artform. Stop suggesting that all MMOs be made to be simpleton's games. Stop suggesting that all MMOs be made to resemble a fourth-grade student's rendition of 'X.' You may enjoy the heavily exagerated, "cartoony" graphics of WoW, but I don't. I don't like the simplistic gameplay, and it saddens me that most MMOs have taken to this...direction, without considering all of the reasons WoW is so cursedly successful. Diversity is the key. Make all the WoW-clones you wish, but to even suggest that all MMOs should be the same level of difficulty and the same quality of graphics is, without doubt, the most foolish idea I've ever seen a sane person espousing on the Internet in all manner of sincerity.*
As an addendum, I'd also like to say that one can easily build a quality gaming rig for $600. I run Bioshock on full settings, and have no delay or lag. I can run Vanguard:SoH at full settings (wish shadows set to medium) at 40-50 FPS in moderately populated areas, Veskal's Exchange, for example.
AMD Phenom II x550 Callisto BE
4 gigs Kingston 800 DDR2
WD 500gb 7,200 RPM
ATI Radeon 4850 (512mb)
ASUS M4A78 Plus (I regret not purchasing an ACC enabled mobo for the extra cores [chance], but this one works perfectly. OCs well)
Win 7 64bit RC (excellent OS, btw)
Antec 300
Antec Earthwatts 650w PSU
Just under $600, and it runs everything I've thrown at it without issues. Also runs cool, and I haven't purchased an after-market coolers, except for a small tube of AS5 (about $7) to replace to thermal grease on the CPU and GPU.
*And I've been to Myspace forums.
Get a copy editor, Run this by someone who reads mmorpg making sure its not just fluff or mental masturbation. This is for your entertainment. Do you really think your telling someone reading mmorpg something they dont already know? By the way, Steam Sucks, Why Steam? Ever comb your registry after youve installed steam? After the HF code episode steam is the worste. F2P and P2P? Compare the top rated F2P (include micro's) and top P2P (subsription based). The top 2 and not one copy of another. That might be something we dont already know.
This post is intentionally written as to not make any sense what so ever. Thank You Very Much.