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Are we entering a new 'Golden Age' of MMO's?
dreamsofwar
Member Posts: 468
With many games turning to a F2P model and seeing an increase in their player base and profits and the much discussed and eagerly anticipated launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic do you think we will see a new era for the genre?
Hear me out, if F2P models are earning more for companies it gives them a chance to increase the quality of their content, if Star Wars is highly successful it may also inspire a new generation of high quality MMO's. Also, with World of Warcraft releasing its newest expansion next year Blizzard may be forced to increase the quality of their content depending on the success of Biowares venture into the genre in order to keep their large player base and majority share in the market.
Or with any luck, the theme park dominated market may encourage developers to bring us a solid sandbox that some of us have been waiting for?
Comments
It seem obvious to me, that the developers create games that they think people will want to play, else there would be no prospective profit. I do NOT believe there are developers out there that are solely concerned with creating a good MMO game, none.
So I am thinking that a consequence of this unfortunate situation will probably be that the attitude gamers have will sort of be reflected in the games that are made for them. And even worse, people who have little or no experience with gaming, will have to spend a lot of time getting to like mediocre games, or maybe end up finding them repulsive for some reason, sort of putting development of MMO games in eh grave danger of being something entirely different that what it could be so to speak.
I myself find the current situation hopeless. People who design MMO games ought to have played Eve online for two or three years in my opinion, in order to get an idea of how the multiplayer part in MMO can work for the better on several levels (and learn from the mistakes). A mistake in Eve online is the unsolved problem of asset destruction, in relation to how when this happens, with players being on and off in the different time zones. Leading to ping pong play. A pacing mechanic is on order.
If MMO games patently turn into being a co-op mode without the massively multiplayer part to it, having micropayment systems, having fancy pants graphics and who knows what else, then I worry that developers will want to impose restrictions on their game development efforts compared to a generic MMO game with an original and open ended format sans forced co-op mode, micropayment or a reliance on stunning graphics void of engaging game mechanics.
Actually, if SWTOR is as financially successful as I think it will be, we're going to see a not so subtle shift over to story based MMO's but the standard theme park model will become even more firmly entrenched and is likely to stifle real creativity in the genre for many more years to come.
No, I think the Dark Ages of MMORPG's might continue for at least another decade or two.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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"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
I would say just the opposite.
There really is no popular sandbox options out there (other than EVE)
There hasn't been anything new or exciting created recently (unless you count a 'billing model' as new)
SW:TOR (I'm almost certain) will be labeled a flop; it falls well short of most people's expectations
Perhaps I'm just saying this because I'm not interested in any MMO right now...GW2 couldn't come soon enough!
Hello new account.
So which one is it, "not interested" or "waiting for GW2"?
On topic:
There is some hope, in that the market will end up not being completely dominated by a single game. Looking forward to this time next year, I may actually be playing three titles simultaneously.
Variety is always good for the marketplace.
Golden age? There's a way to go before we reach that point.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
I stopped following Guild Wars 2 months ago, going to keep an open mind about it though due to its pvp focus, something ive always enjoyed in the genre but unfortunately something that is rarely done right.
What if this is it? What if themepark is all there is? How many 6 year olds turned 13 since WOW released and are now entering the genre? For every "old guy" gamer there are several new "kids" entering the hobby. The stuff we have seen for years is new to them. No, maybe t they dont want any of the old games like WOW,EQ2 or LOTRO but a shiney new themepark is maybe enough to keep them occupied. Say the TOR fans are correct and TOR is around for 7-10 years. How many 6 year olds will turn 13 in that time? Maybe this is all there is.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
Yes I would say we are, swtor for the scifi people, and gw2 for fantasy people.
I cannot say for how much tor will be improved after release, because Bioware is new to the genre, but Bioware creates quality games so be prepared. (I say that while I have no iterest in TOR.)
However I can say as an old GW player that Anet has also produced nothing but quality also, and following the production week by week I just don't see GW2 being a let down for the majority.
Plus can we not forget about Rift? This game is putting out more content by months then most MMO's do in a year. Trion knows what they are doing an are a very young and ambitious company. Their RTS they have coming out should be a big hit, and the Defiance will be HUGE. This could also bring in a lot of scifi fans, as it will have a tv show (on syfy) that runs as the game progresses, and will be mult-platform.
We have Aion throwing out their huge v3 patch soon, which introduces possibly one of the best housing systems to date.
Tera looks awesome if they can keep up the whole political system and other sandbox elements that are so refreshing to see!
I haven't looked much into ArcheAge yet but I see a lot of hype for it and screen captures look good!
Who knows when blizzard will release it's monster - codename "Titan"
And How much will WoW evolve now that it has decent competition!? I see a lot of new features in the next expansion, that I would never have expected, and just as much in their next update. The problem is WoW needs to update faster, their last patch to bring content was in june. I can say that with confidence because they have the power and money to do a decent update a month, and should have always done so.
You see with the sudden resurgence of PC gaming (due to Action - RTS's like LoL) company's are once again looking at us. Don't believe me? Then look at all the exclusives we will be getting, hell even 2 old school shooting games have found their way back to the PC Tribes, and Planetside, How awesome! I've beeen playing tribes and enjoy it very much I might add. So what I am getting at is that these company's realise we are still here, and looking for something new, and maybe not an MMO. So they are going to try their hardest to make what ever MMO they are creating look appealing.
I'm telling you do not let these MMO communities hinder your gaming experience, we have had decent games and are expecting better, get off the boards crying and try to have some fun in them!
True, true, we will have a better idea next year, which is why i thought it may be possible we're entering one rather than in one. So many titles, i want to be passionate about a game again!
As a life long Star Wars fan since the late 70's, early 80's...I recently got to do the SWTOR beta. Yeah....major disappointment. Just more of the same bland cookie-cutter garbage with some voice overs...which are also lifeless btw.
This.
"a new golden age of mmo's.." ? sadly, in my opinion, no. I believe the current status-quo will hold sway over the genre for many years to come yet.
Hmm, maybe I should have said a new commercial golden age for MMO's, although that does make me sad too if the money doesn't get put into high quality content rather than a second or third standard MMO by the same company.
Planetside2, Pathfinder, WoD...
It's not that bad.
What? Aren't we in the midst of a golden age right now? There was a huge surge of players in the '05-'06 and there's been no decline since.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
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ESKA, Playing MMORPG's since Ultima Online 1997 - Order of the Silver Serpent, Atlantic Shard
Well this is purely subjective but I always thought he "golden age" of MMOs was from 99-2004. You know when games were very different and one choice wasn't absurdely similiar to an extremely popular choice..
I am aware of that period in gaming. UO, DAOC, Shadowbane.. I was a bit too young back then though... but anyway, thats why i said a new golden age ^^
what Bioware is doing IMO is very bad for MMO genre. they are basically charging $15 month for these people to play a dumbed down hybid mix of a single player RPG/MMO. kinda like the flop STO had on their hands with their similar business model. game companies need to stop trying to call their crap "MMOs" like bioware is doing just so they can milk people for $15 month. sucker born every minute.
Here is the crazy part. If it were single player only I'd be interested. However, I'm not paying 15 a month just to play solo. I'm certainly not raiding, and apparently that's all an MMO means anymore.
It's been what? 10 real years or so of MMO growth?
Golden age of television, Lucy was on.
Golden age of comics, Superman was born.
We're more in the RERUN ERA.
Lucy's on syndication and Superman had to be reborn as an alien weak to a rock.
That's where we're at with MMO development. The idea cannot be changed, only rehashed (often times oddly).
What we need is a good SILVER AGE where all of the good ideas that people are seeing as a prescription to "fix" the stagnation gets put into effect and modernized.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
In 2000-2003 the MMOs out there had far more depth than the single player games. At that time I had thought I would never go back to playing single player games. Yet, here I am playing single player games, because they have far more depth than our current MMOs.
There are going to be less and less people who pay a monthly fee for a single player game that is never updated, or the part that is updated is only played by the dedicated spouseless, jobless players.
I know, I keep hearing how great the story/campaign aspect is to this game and propably would have bought it as well if it were a regular single player RPG. but EA/bioware sees the opportunity to label it an "MMO" and charge the fee. and if people pay it, more power to 'em.
In general, I'm not all that optimistic about the genre. I don't see huge influxes of players. Perhaps they're being pulled in directions other than MMORPGs, such as MOBAs, ultra-casual chat oriented games, and SP RPGs. Without growth, I don't see much to get excited about.
The big news over the past two years seems to be the conversion of subscription games to Freemium and Free to Play. I don't look forward to it, but I cannot help but wonder if next years big news is going to be subscription plus cash shop.
I'd like to see a Golden Era happen. Question is who will lead us into it.
until we see a better variety of mmo styles - I dont see any evidence for a new golden age
games not released yet are nothing more than hype (TERA, Secret World, GW2, Neverwinter Nights, and others)
I remember when DDO was forthcoming and the retail product was nothing like what I was expecting for a DnD MMO
(DDO had alot in common with Guild Wars 1 for instancing)
I think 2012 will be a great year for mmos
but I doubt it will be heralding the foundation for a new golden age
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