I was playing EQ when EQII & WoW launched, and I have to say that a large portion of the players I knew at the time wanted an easier game, they also wanted a game that was different, that worked, EQ was at the time going through a painful expansion launch.
Gates of Discord, which was so ridiculously hard at launch that many baulked at it, it later became known that it was essentially level 70 content that had not been detuned to level 65 after not implementing the level raise that was originally planned to go with the expansion.
So EQ had been the "big dog" of MMO's by that point & video gamers love new things, EQ's new thing was brutally tough, broken in many places & at the top end, not in fact even completed (several raid events were still in production at launch date) so WoW caused a pretty significant dip in the EQ subs as I recall, it did bounce back a bit later on though.
SOE's self-developed titles have all had depth & class, longevity is built into the DNA of their titles, they understand the genre probably better than anyone else does so I'm confident that when they take a risk & go in a new direction they'll surprise & infuriate but also they'll do things nobody even expected & what gamers want is not the same thing they've had for 15 years now. People speak of the "Perfect Storm" WoW had, well I believe that was a one time deal, but there's also a pretty big window of opportunity here for SOE to come to the market with a fresh approach & steal a march on the competition. I'm expecting EQNext to be the new "template" in much the way EQ was.
Gates of Discord, which was so ridiculously hard at launch that many baulked at it, it later became known that it was essentially level 70 content that had not been detuned to level 65 after not implementing the level raise that was originally planned to go with the expansion.
I loved GoD, it made my PoP gear finally matter. I'm so tired of the WoW-Tera games and their easy as cake, superficial, console action combat. I want something real, something that doesn't try to cater to the mainstream.
Although it's probably just wishful thinking, the moment players will encounter any hard content or anything that resembles a timesink, the tears and non-stop cries to make the game easier will be there.
Even Vanguard, which wasn't a hard game, got completely overhaulded after people started crying they had to run for 5 minutes.
OP makes GREAT points. I would LOVE to see this game released as advertised. However! There are a couple really, REALLY good reasons to cringe.
1) Wizardry Online
2) Dragon's Prophet
Both games had such potential. I mean SOE basically took the Wizardry franchise and added in some permadeath and how can you mess it up? Well, download it.
Secondly, you've got Dragon's Prophet! Ummmmm, let's see, it's freakin' Runewalker. Oh, oh, yeah and there are freakin' DRAGONS! How can you possibly mess that up? Well.... download it.
I am literally ill thinking about EQN. First, I want to love it, I pray that it is half as good as it's being hyped, but then I also look at the other games that have been horrible. It's not even that the ideas are horrible, but the games are unfinished, unrealized, and uninspired.
So! I think that the real question here, since you've basically got someone (Smed) trying to control the head of a dragon (SOE), is what wins? Money or "The Vision", because the delta between what we're expecting and what will actually be delivered will ultimately be sopping up cash, so unless someone writes a blank check to get this game done right, it will likely let us down.
It's time to learn the difference between published and developed.
Ok, so first of all, I referenced Runewalker with regards to Dragon's Prophet, so *face palm* to your argument altogether.
As far as the other arguments related to these games NOT being DEVELOPED by Sony, the argument amounts to a hill of beans because you're basically talking about the difference between funnelling money into a third party, or funnelling money into your own Development firm. I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that the people handling the money will be treating the people developing the game no differently than they would a third party. In fact, most companies, Sony included, have these two functions operate independent of each other for the precise reason that it's still a business and, as much as I'd love it, they can't funnel money into a project that won't have the desired return. Period.
Give your head a shake, if it was as simple as making a tweet, then don't you think it would have been done already? Some people must think that game developers are idiots and haven't the foggiest idea of what they're doing.
You clearly have no idea about SoE's role as a publisher. They are just there to supply the servers, support staff and handle the transactions. Runewalker are the company entirely responsible for the quality of the game itself. SoE does not own Runewalker, nor are they funnelling money into their game.
Think of it like this. SoE is a venue, say a dance hall. Runewalker are the event coordinators, who manage the music and entertainment. Is it the venue's fault that the event was poorly organised and the music was bad? No. If there was a fault with the venue itself (ie: the servers, support staff or with a transaction in the case of SoE) then you could blame them, but you cannot blame them for the event in general.
Originally posted by Arclan OP makes excellent points. The WoW masses must be ready for a new challenge by now. Massive opportunity for $OE if they play their cards right which, history has shown, they don't. But I'm hoping they have finally learned a thing or two about business.
History has shown?...List of Awesome SOE Games...
Yes history has shown $OE mismanages their IP. I completely agree that SOE developers create magnificent work and at an incredible pace.
That's an opinion and a stretch of one at that.
LA mismanaged SWG, not SOE.
EQ was managed great. It takes real solid management to keep an MMORPG alive for 14 years.
EQ2 was also managed well.
Vanguard was taken over by SOE and revived with defibrillators. That's solid management if I've ever seen it.
Planetside and PS2 have also been well taken care of.
I won't comment on other SOE games because I haven't played them personally. But given my experiences with their games, I can hardly think of any company that both creates top notch products and manages them as well as SOE. It's easy to nit pick and make criticism, but if you take a more objective view of the things they've done, they stand head and shoulders over most other companies.
They are by no means perfect, but no one is, and both their development team and post production management is pretty stellar. I feel that MMORPG players invest a lot of time and passion into games, and are a quite a bit hyper-critical, especially when it's not really deserved.
Changes to SWG were 100% $OE's decision. Google the om-nom-nom tweet.
EQ alientated 99% of its players so no I would not call that great management. The reasons for this are many and verbose and out of scope for this discussion.
Can't speak to EQ2 other than to say I'm surprised it is still running. Tried it for the first time five years ago and found it mind numbingly dull.
$OE saved Vanguard with the condition that WoW gameplay elements be implemented. (Quest hubs and safer travel = poison). After a couple months of mindless one-click quests, I got sick of the game real fast.
Planetside 1 was awesome but $OE did nothing to attract new players.
Planetside 2 had potential, but is a "F2P" cash grab that is full of hackers, has a population that has plumetted, and will not have even 10% of the staying power that PS1 had.
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon. In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit
Comments
I was playing EQ when EQII & WoW launched, and I have to say that a large portion of the players I knew at the time wanted an easier game, they also wanted a game that was different, that worked, EQ was at the time going through a painful expansion launch.
Gates of Discord, which was so ridiculously hard at launch that many baulked at it, it later became known that it was essentially level 70 content that had not been detuned to level 65 after not implementing the level raise that was originally planned to go with the expansion.
So EQ had been the "big dog" of MMO's by that point & video gamers love new things, EQ's new thing was brutally tough, broken in many places & at the top end, not in fact even completed (several raid events were still in production at launch date) so WoW caused a pretty significant dip in the EQ subs as I recall, it did bounce back a bit later on though.
SOE's self-developed titles have all had depth & class, longevity is built into the DNA of their titles, they understand the genre probably better than anyone else does so I'm confident that when they take a risk & go in a new direction they'll surprise & infuriate but also they'll do things nobody even expected & what gamers want is not the same thing they've had for 15 years now. People speak of the "Perfect Storm" WoW had, well I believe that was a one time deal, but there's also a pretty big window of opportunity here for SOE to come to the market with a fresh approach & steal a march on the competition. I'm expecting EQNext to be the new "template" in much the way EQ was.
I loved GoD, it made my PoP gear finally matter. I'm so tired of the WoW-Tera games and their easy as cake, superficial, console action combat. I want something real, something that doesn't try to cater to the mainstream.
Although it's probably just wishful thinking, the moment players will encounter any hard content or anything that resembles a timesink, the tears and non-stop cries to make the game easier will be there.
Even Vanguard, which wasn't a hard game, got completely overhaulded after people started crying they had to run for 5 minutes.
You clearly have no idea about SoE's role as a publisher. They are just there to supply the servers, support staff and handle the transactions. Runewalker are the company entirely responsible for the quality of the game itself. SoE does not own Runewalker, nor are they funnelling money into their game.
Think of it like this. SoE is a venue, say a dance hall. Runewalker are the event coordinators, who manage the music and entertainment. Is it the venue's fault that the event was poorly organised and the music was bad? No. If there was a fault with the venue itself (ie: the servers, support staff or with a transaction in the case of SoE) then you could blame them, but you cannot blame them for the event in general.
Changes to SWG were 100% $OE's decision. Google the om-nom-nom tweet.
EQ alientated 99% of its players so no I would not call that great management. The reasons for this are many and verbose and out of scope for this discussion.
Can't speak to EQ2 other than to say I'm surprised it is still running. Tried it for the first time five years ago and found it mind numbingly dull.
$OE saved Vanguard with the condition that WoW gameplay elements be implemented. (Quest hubs and safer travel = poison). After a couple months of mindless one-click quests, I got sick of the game real fast.
Planetside 1 was awesome but $OE did nothing to attract new players.
Planetside 2 had potential, but is a "F2P" cash grab that is full of hackers, has a population that has plumetted, and will not have even 10% of the staying power that PS1 had.
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon.
In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit