Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Is there any MMO company out there that DOESN'T have a bad name?
gordunk
Member CommonPosts: 114
Ok...it's come to my attention that when looking for a game, the question of publisher(on foreign games more) or developer has become HUGE in the MMO Genre. The problem is, I have yet to find a company that has a reasonably ok rep. NCSoft, SOE, Aeria, IGG, Ijji, Funcom(More commonly called Failcom), Cryptic, and the list goes on.
I mean, really? What have all these companies done to warrant their reputation? Alright, so maybe they have a bad game or two, have had a few poor CS experiences, or their Cash Shop is overpowered. This doesn't mean that they're the 3rd anti-christ. Hell, it doesn't even mean that they're the worst company ever.
Take NCSoft, for example. I have absolutely no issue with them whatsoever. Almost every game I've played of their's has been high quality; Guild Wars, Exteel, Aion, etc. Yet a lot of people label them as a money grubbing company that doesn't care about its players at all.
So, my question is, why do players feel the need to hate on MMO companies so much?
Comments
Turbine , CCP , Arena Net
All of them proved to be dedicated in providing players some real value for their money.
Pushing great games and great content.
All of them also won developer of the year awards here at mmorpg.com
Killed MEO and made LOTRO.
LOTRO may be good (as I've heard), but I assure you it's no MEO.
Personally, I would vote for NCSoft and CCP. CCP is just CCP and the only 'back in the day' type developer out there, who seems to keep their indy roots and doesn't want to deviate from that. Indy is what drives the industry. Which is why 'back in the day' there were alot more great games than there are today. Back then, in the Super Nintendo -> N64 PS1 days, indy developers could compete with the large companies. Today, consumers expect so much that most indy devs really can't keep up with the demand. In the NES days, there were indy companies, but the work to create the NES games was about equivelant to what it takes to create a game today.... simply because they were so hard to program. (completely done in ASM) I know CCP wasn't around back then, but they have the same values that many of the indy companies had back then. Sadly, most of those indy companies are dead, so CCP would be the today version of all those comapnies rolled into one.
As far as NCSoft, I don't personally like any of their games. But, I can't see why they would have a bad name. They haven't really done anything to majorly piss off their player bases and as far as I know, have released some quality games. I mean, with a company like that, one game shouldn't kill their name. This is the company who's made Guild Wars, eXteel, CoX, and Lineage I & II. And I'm not sure, but did they actually even make Aion, or were they just the ones to port it to the west? Edit: I forgot their bad handling of botting. I take back what I said. lol
Like Trading Card Games? Click Here.
Ye, all three are well respected companies.
I would say newer indie companies like Fallen earth llc, hi-rez and the like have also earned a good reputation for them self.
Killed MEO and made LOTRO.
LOTRO may be good (as I've heard), but I assure you it's no MEO.
Well they didnt kill MEO.
It was developed by another company, that sadly didnt manage to finish it. Turbine didnt have no rights to work on it so they did their own game. LOTRO
Turbine only sin is killing of Asherons Call 2. It was quite a scandal. But they kept the house clean since...
Killed MEO and made LOTRO.
LOTRO may be good (as I've heard), but I assure you it's no MEO.
Well they didnt kill MEO.
It was developed by another company, that sadly didnt manage to finish it. Turbine didnt have no rights to work on it so they did their own game. LOTRO
Turbine only sin is killing of Asherons Call 2. It was quite a scandal. But they kept the house clean since...
They bought out MEO and got the rights to the movies as well as the books (MEO just had the books) and turned it into LOTRO. The developers behind MEO may have had some hard times, but Turbine really should have stuck to the core concepts of MEO.
Like Trading Card Games? Click Here.
What about (now-deceased) Origin Studios? I think they've only made one blunder and it wasn't MMO-related.
I hate WoW because it made my plush hamster kill himself, created twin clones of Hitler, punched Superboy Prime in reality, stared my dog down, spoiled my grandmother, assimilated me into the Borg, then made me into a real boy, just to make me a woman again.
You wanna know why companies have a bad name pretty much across the board?
Because most of the consumers dont have a clue. As you can see by the one reply above about Turbine killing MEO.
If people were aware of what actually goes on with some of these companies, and some of their favorite games, maybe they wouldn't post such hyperbole.
Now Turbine is at the top of the list in terms of companies that ship quality products, but, they are not with out fault. But those faults are ones that other consumers might not agree with. Hell, there are Funcom fan-boi's out there too ya know O.o
Killed MEO and made LOTRO.
LOTRO may be good (as I've heard), but I assure you it's no MEO.
Well they didnt kill MEO.
It was developed by another company, that sadly didnt manage to finish it. Turbine didnt have no rights to work on it so they did their own game. LOTRO
Turbine only sin is killing of Asherons Call 2. It was quite a scandal. But they kept the house clean since...
They bought out MEO and got the rights to the movies as well as the books (MEO just had the books) and turned it into LOTRO. The developers behind MEO may have had some hard times, but Turbine really should have stuck to the core concepts of MEO.
They don't have the rights to the movies.
Blizzard ?
They don't have the rights to the movies.
I remember reading an article, before the game was released, that they had scored the rights to use the movies as well as the books.
It was awhile ago and I'm probably wrong. I just looked up on their legal page and couldn't find anything that would make me think I'm right.
Of course, the rights to the movies could be held by someone else.
Like Trading Card Games? Click Here.
I don't exactly hate on any of them, I just don't trust them any more. The biggest thing an MMO dev needs is the trust of its players and recently far too many dev teams have entirely betrayed that trust. The other problem is that the community perspective on any given developer is based on the launch quality of their games since that's the only state most players will ever see their work in before leaving. So many games have launched in a bad state lately that, again, that trust is lost. I'll list a few things that, in my opinion, have broken that trust with respective developers-
SOE - Does what they want, regardless of community opinion (don't think they'll ever live down the SWG NGE), and recently filled all their games with cash shops on top of subscriptions. Can't trust them to make your time invested in their game well spent.
Cryptic - They're greedy. Simple as that. They don't just try to make money off their games, they try to nickel and dime every player they have. They not only use a cash shop on top of the subscription model but deliberately exasserbated the respec problems in CO just to add the option to their cash shop. On top of that they offered lifetime subs for both CO and STO prior to launch only, and after selling the lifetimes they implemented a last minute patch that changed so much that many of those lifetimers no longer wanted to play. There's just too much money grabbing with Cryptic.
NCSoft - They only produce asian grinders, not my thing, but that's not why I don't trust them. All of their games have MAJOR botting issues. NC West claimed they would have the botting issues handled at launch for Aion... yeah right, people were quitting in droves for that very reason. Their customer service is also awful, to the point that NCSoft Korea seems to only see the West as a quick grab for cash. They just localise the game they've already made, launch it in the West for quick box sales, then show no sign of even caring about player retention. The 'Vision' trailer is also dubious at best; an attempt to lure people into playing a game that doesn't exist and likely won't exist for many years, if ever.
Now on the other hand there are a few developers I DO have some faith in-
Blizzard - Despite their frequent unpopularity I don't think they've ever done anything wrong by me. Their decisions for the direction of WoW aren't always popular but they are in the interest of benfitiing the largest portion of their playerbase. Their customer service has always been acceptable for me as well.
ArenaNet - Just to remind the OP, NCSoft did not make Guild Wars, ArenaNet did, and it shows. They have a good history, GW was ridiculously popular and it's no surprise that GW2 is so eagerly anticipated.
Turbine - This one is iffy for me. They haven't really done anything 'bad' but their games tend to lack polish. But I'm willing to trust them enough to try their games out.
I'm probably forgetting some but I'm not going to comment on others I don't have much experience with. As I said in my opening paragraph though, the infamous devs out there basically betrayed their players.
I think the actual deciding factor is on whether or not the players feel like the devs want them to enjoy their game, or just want their money.
EDIT: Somehow forgot Mythic and Funcom... These devs don't really deserve the hate they get. The ones I listed screwed their players over after they'd already invested in what they saw as a good game. Mythic and Funcom just screwed up from the start, but it's not really their fault... the investors behind them are the ones to blame.
No matter what company you name, they will have pissed off someone, somewhere.
"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
Are you me?
yeah, I'm not sure how it all works exactly, but I know they're not allowed to make the models in LotRO look like the actors from the movies. I think maybe everyone has to get their rights from the Tolkein family - The movie house secured the rights then made the movie, but the Tolkein family can't grants rights to the movies themselves to others, only the stuff they own (books, character names, stories etc)
/agree
Pretty much. With the exception of maybe CCP, who DOES in fact have a great name. All the others have done something at some point that has made a large group of people mad.
Then there are companies like Cryptic & SOE, who just have horribly bad names where it's alot easier to find people who hate them, rather than think they are OK.
Like Trading Card Games? Click Here.
Hating on an MMO company makes you look cool on the internet!
I think people do need to start letting go of the hate with many companies.
Funcom have turned AoC arround, they know they messed up and have fixed it and are continuing to improve.
NCsoft create games for their market and release them in the west also. Hating a company for providing for its key market is stupid. Aion was east meets west. Not WoW with Animee skins. I think people got confused there.
I think you need to add Blizz to that list of hated developers as well. They get hated for being the most popular numbers wise.
It is even cooler to hate WoW than any other MMO around.
Aye pritty much no one escapes with 'borg perfection' these days - players hold long grudes for the minior issues as well - more then Dwarfs do
Bring on the WARRRRGGHH!
Blizzard, Bioware if you consider them MMO company already, CCP and ArenaNet in my book have an untarnished reputation. I do not like what Blizzard does, but as others above me, they dont actually screw up their players, the game, or whatever... they follow a certain plan, communicate their intention, and follow through on promises when its feasible (and sometimes when its not).
Funcom is a mixed bag. I liked Anarchy Online, and aside from roughly 6 months (pre-launch till 6 months in) Age of Conan is a great game. But those 6 months sure did wear out most goodwill.
SquareEnix is one I also still trust to a certain degree, as in I trust them to make a good game, but whether its a style of game I like remains to be seen. Their business practices are okay though, their intentions seem fair enough, and I have enjoyed FFXI a lot.
Ye, all three are well respected companies.
I would say newer indie companies like Fallen earth llc, hi-rez and the like have also earned a good reputation for them self.
QFT.
Originally posted by Scagweed22
is it the graphics? the repetativenesses? i mean what is the point? you could be so much more productive in real life
Real life brings repetition and pointlessness too. The only thing real life offers is Great graphics. Its kinda expensive too and way to dependent on the cash shop. Totally pay to win as well. No thank you. Ill stick to my games.
Hating on an MMO company makes you look cool on the internet!
I think people do need to start letting go of the hate with many companies.
Funcom have turned AoC arround, they know they messed up and have fixed it and are continuing to improve.
NCsoft create games for their market and release them in the west also. Hating a company for providing for its key market is stupid. Aion was east meets west. Not WoW with Animee skins. I think people got confused there.
I think you need to add Blizz to that list of hated developers as well. They get hated for being the most popular numbers wise.
It is even cooler to hate WoW than any other MMO around.
This is the problem, there are a lot of devs out there who are hated without a good reason just to look cool like you say, whilst there are also a few who truly deserve the hate they get.
A lot of players also tend to hate on devs simply for not living up to their wildly high expectations (hello Mythic and Funcom).
The devs that deliberately make changes at or after launch that alienate a large number of their players deserve the hate, like SOE and Cryptic. The others simply make mistakes, very big mistakes sure, but it's not like they wanted their game to be a disaster; they don't really deserve the hate.
Blizzard has always been a favorite of mine. Although I quit WoW I still consider Blizzard one of the best companies. They listen to their community, they fix shit, they make great games.
ArenaNet has been nothing but great even with a crappy publisher (NCSoft)
CCP is my all time favorite do to their community feedback response and just overall awesomeness. I also do enjoy their no expansion fee
Played: World of Warcraft (5Y), WarHammer (3M), Anarchy Online, Runescape (5+Y), Lord of the Rings Online, Runes of Magic, City of Heroes/Villains, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Fallen Earth (1M)
Currently Playing: Guild Wars
Currently Trying: None
Taking a Break From: EVE Online
Icarus (makers of Fallen Earth) is a great company. They have passion for their game and they dont try and send you to the poor house with item shops and expansion prices. Arena net is another company providing great products for value.
Really as long as you stay away from Bill Roper you probably wont get ripped off too badly.
Currently Playing: Fallen Earth
Played and liked: TCOS, Vanguard, Guild Wars, DDO
Played and didn't like: CO, MO, STO, DF, AoC, WAR, WoW, EQ2, EVE, most f2p
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, Secret World
Ncsoft is HORRID, it is unfathomable to me how anyone who played Lineage 2 would even think Aion would be anything different than a bot-infested gold-selling grindfest. I can't believe people even got hyped up for it. I never even gave it a second thought once i realized it was from NCsoft. In my opinion they lie to your face and say they are doing things for bots and they are not. They straight up lie. I've never hated a company more than i hated NCsoft. I refuse to ever give them my money ever again. To allow massive bots in an non-instanced world is just pathetic. I love it when they opened up a new server in LIneage 2 like 3-4 years ago and someone took a screen shots of 50 bots in the starter area with names like dhfklwe, andlfahsf, aekjwer. They know and they don't care.
I just started playing SWG and i've heard a lot about SOE but at least they try to improve their games.
CCP and Blizzard have great reputations, people may hate WoW but everyone must universally respect it for their success. It's like people who hated MJ for being so good, you hated him but it was cuz he was so good. You guys also know once BLizzard releases their next MMO. Everyone will be on top of themselves to check it out in droves.
Many will be like OMG it suxxors, but they'll probably have the highest subscription base.
Yes, i'm heavily biased against NCSoft, i'm the anti-homer, the anti-fanboy of NCsoft, i hope they go down like Enron. I don't have mental issues, I swear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The last bit was facetious.
Cryomatrix
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
Blizzard, CCP and Icarus Studios would be my choices.
Icarus might be new to the game, but they have been tirelessly working to ensure they don't end up as one of "those developers" who end up disappointing customers and in turn forming a poor rep for themselves in the process.
ArenaNet is great too, regardless of who there publisher is.
Hating on an MMO company makes you look cool on the internet!
Not hating on any MMO company makes you look like a saint with hip new sunglasses! Seriously, it's getting annoying with you "you only hate because its cool!" people, pretending like you're the all forgiving force on an internet forum. Use your brain, people look for a companies attitude, people read into a companies intention, bad companies exist whether you like it or not and those companies deserve ridicule, good word of mouth spreads just as quickly as bad and a company must earn the good.
I think people do need to start letting go of the hate with many companies.
No, no one should let go of their "hate" of a company. Cryptic is the best example of this, first CO then STO and soon another MMO in probably the same useless engine. It is hard enough trying to warn fan boys against companies that are only out to make a quick buck and then move onto their next MMO, having to "forgive" them for things that should soon put them out of business is absurd.
Funcom have turned AoC arround, they know they messed up and have fixed it and are continuing to improve.
AoC can turn into a better game there is no doubt, I had fun on my way to 80 even with all of the problems, but I won't play that game again... it is over for me
NCsoft create games for their market and release them in the west also. Hating a company for providing for its key market is stupid. Aion was east meets west. Not WoW with Animee skins. I think people got confused there.
They don't like ANY of the games they release so they don't like the company, how is that stupid? The games they do release are swimming in bots even after being assured that they will crack down on them like never before. If they haven't had a reason to like the company why should they? You get "hate" mixed up with "dislike" far too easily by the way, you can't just use hate at a whim. I dislike NCSoft but I'm not about to go out of my way to insult them, they have a market and I am not in it.
I think you need to add Blizz to that list of hated developers as well. They get hated for being the most popular numbers wise.
I don't like WoW but I like Blizzard as a company, they have released many games that I did enjoy. Their support of WoW, while expected due to the success of the game seems to be enough for those that do play it.
It is even cooler to hate WoW than any other MMO around.
It's even cooler to paint people with one broad stroke and call it rational insight. Most people I've seen that dislike WoW do so with a good reason - it's been long enough for you to have seen people explain their position so I have no doubt you ignore it and choose to see what you want to see.You choose what you want to see. That is what I expect from someone who can't tell the difference between a bad company and a good company yet mocks others knowing better.