Let's get down to brass tax and admit that what SWTOR is offering is little different than what any other company offered over the last 7-8 years. Voice overs, cinematic scenes, etc have been readily available before.
I'm sure based on the information handed out so far that SWTOR will be a good MMO, however it is not going to be groundbreaking, define a new genre, etc. and that is the issue.
MMO consumers are just begging for a company to break the mold, take a risk , exercise some creativity and develop a next generation product that will get everyone "addicted" all over again.
SWTOR will probably be somewhat successful (2m subs short term) since it is "Star Wars", however I think the better games are yet to come from developers like Blizzard, CCP, etc who understand the market dynamic vs the cash grab mentality.
Heh, funny. I just responded on your other post where you stated that Bioware was charting in 'uncharted waters' because it didn't have the same features as other MMORPG's. the two posts sound a bit contradictory to eachother
I disagree on your statement in this post about the storytelling via quests: sure, voice overs and cinematic scenes have been done in some MMORPG's, but there hasn't been actual different decisions you can make, that also have consequences on later quests. Up till now it was boolean, either accept the quest or abandon it, outcome was the same. Also, the deepened storytelling via the quest gameplay has never been done to the extent that Bioware is doing it, fully integrated into the game world in all kinds of different quest types like Class Quests, World Quests, Flashpoints and World Arcs.
While it's true that a large number of MMO players want a company to break the mold, quite a number of failed MMO's in the past have proven that this alone is not enough: an even larger number of MMO players, many among them the same that crave innovation, want even more that a MMORPG is accessible and polished with smooth gameplay, above innovation and creativity, as the still large number of WoW subscribers prove.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
While it's true that a large number of MMO players want a company to break the mold, quite a number of failed MMO's in the past have proven that this alone is not enough: an even larger number of MMO players, many among them the same that crave innovation, want even more that a MMORPG is accessible and polished with smooth gameplay, above innovation and creativity, as the still large number of WoW subscribers prove.
I agree that the main thing past MMOs have proven is that rushing to meet a deadline is a really stupid idea for the MMO and parent company. If we had a few of them (even just Warhammer and Age of Conan) take some more time to properly finish, polish, and tune all of their features, then the MMO market would be a lot healthier and WoW wouldn't have 11 million subs. Instead we'd probably have a few MMOs with over a million subs and more innovation in the MMO-space. Unsurprisingly, most people aren't interested in a mal-formed game.
It doesn't seem that this is a lessen companies can learn well, however. Cryptic is basing their entire business strategy on rushing crap out the door and even Square-Enix clearly didn't take enough to do FFXIV properly. It's like they're all wandering into the Medusa's lair and completely ignoring the bodies that have been turned to stone. Hmm, or perhaps a better analogy would involve a fearsome rabbit and some bones strewn about.
TOR looks likely to be polished, which is good enough reason for it to do really well even if it ends up being 95% just like WoW. If it ends up as polished as it seems, then I wouldn't be surprised if it got several million players over the next couple years. A more innovative game would probably do better (depending on the innovations, of course), but that's how the cookie crumbles. People who want to play an MMO have to take what they can get.
Anyway, I expect TOR and GW2 to have a high level of polish, even Rift might fill that first condition, so it looks promising. Next hurdle however is content, will there be enough content to keep players entertained for a long time without feeling it to be a grind? Aion showed that polish isn't enought, if MMO gamers feel too much of a grind, they'll start leaving in droves as well.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
To the OP- seriously if you liked the single player game Knights of the Old Republic you are going to love this game. If you don't then your not going to like it, in my speculated opinion and I have no idea why I am letting you know, but somehow...I do..not...
Comments
Heh, funny. I just responded on your other post where you stated that Bioware was charting in 'uncharted waters' because it didn't have the same features as other MMORPG's. the two posts sound a bit contradictory to eachother
I disagree on your statement in this post about the storytelling via quests: sure, voice overs and cinematic scenes have been done in some MMORPG's, but there hasn't been actual different decisions you can make, that also have consequences on later quests. Up till now it was boolean, either accept the quest or abandon it, outcome was the same. Also, the deepened storytelling via the quest gameplay has never been done to the extent that Bioware is doing it, fully integrated into the game world in all kinds of different quest types like Class Quests, World Quests, Flashpoints and World Arcs.
While it's true that a large number of MMO players want a company to break the mold, quite a number of failed MMO's in the past have proven that this alone is not enough: an even larger number of MMO players, many among them the same that crave innovation, want even more that a MMORPG is accessible and polished with smooth gameplay, above innovation and creativity, as the still large number of WoW subscribers prove.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I agree that the main thing past MMOs have proven is that rushing to meet a deadline is a really stupid idea for the MMO and parent company. If we had a few of them (even just Warhammer and Age of Conan) take some more time to properly finish, polish, and tune all of their features, then the MMO market would be a lot healthier and WoW wouldn't have 11 million subs. Instead we'd probably have a few MMOs with over a million subs and more innovation in the MMO-space. Unsurprisingly, most people aren't interested in a mal-formed game.
It doesn't seem that this is a lessen companies can learn well, however. Cryptic is basing their entire business strategy on rushing crap out the door and even Square-Enix clearly didn't take enough to do FFXIV properly. It's like they're all wandering into the Medusa's lair and completely ignoring the bodies that have been turned to stone. Hmm, or perhaps a better analogy would involve a fearsome rabbit and some bones strewn about.
TOR looks likely to be polished, which is good enough reason for it to do really well even if it ends up being 95% just like WoW. If it ends up as polished as it seems, then I wouldn't be surprised if it got several million players over the next couple years. A more innovative game would probably do better (depending on the innovations, of course), but that's how the cookie crumbles. People who want to play an MMO have to take what they can get.
But that rabbit was truly fearsome, yes
Anyway, I expect TOR and GW2 to have a high level of polish, even Rift might fill that first condition, so it looks promising. Next hurdle however is content, will there be enough content to keep players entertained for a long time without feeling it to be a grind? Aion showed that polish isn't enought, if MMO gamers feel too much of a grind, they'll start leaving in droves as well.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
To the OP- seriously if you liked the single player game Knights of the Old Republic you are going to love this game. If you don't then your not going to like it, in my speculated opinion and I have no idea why I am letting you know,
but somehow...I do..not...