[Column] General: Three Questions for 2014

SBFord

Last week, Rob Lashley gave you three words to sum up 2013. This week, he is back, this time with three questions for the forthcoming year. See what Rob wants to know before heading to the comments to tell us what you want to find out in 2014.

Happy 2014 everyone. While I know not every day will be merry I hope you have more good than bad and in the end find yourself in a better place than you do now. Last week I talked about 3 words that could sum up 2013 for me. This week I’ll talk about 3 questions that I hope we get answered for us this year.

Read more of Rob Lashley's Three Questions for 2014.

Rockniss

Answers 1. No 2. Yes 3. No

Facebook is a function of the week competition
A lot of people love sub model, the sub only model may be gone but the hybrid f2p/sub definitely has its place
Console mom's will not be successful from my perspective, they won't put the type of game I wanton consoles I guess, and the cculture needs to much work, I was hoping to shape that culture but console makers are very untrustworthy and the barriers they put in place are to overwhelming. Now if you cconsider the steambox a console, then we might have to reconsider.

My questions
1. When does destiny come to pc?
2. When is Wildstar release date?
3. When does the polished and release version of Day come?

Rockniss

Doh facebook? That was supposed to say Final fantasy

Rockniss

Side note: I would edit it if it was easier to edit using the mobile page.

centkin

No, Yes, No.

 

Final Fantasy failed, and many will not give it that second bite at the cherry.

 

Yes, a good subscription game is what a lot of people are looking for.  Whales are a major problem in FTP games.  Yes it pays for the thing, but it means a normal player will never "win" any contests etc anymore.  If you aren't willing to drop a grand, you are not going to compete.  I like the ideal of paying $20 and having an equal playingfield.

 

Consoles will only result in the dumbing down of MMOs.  Yes it can work well with a golf MMO or even something akin to vindictus, but I do not see a console WoW.

rodingo

1. No. I didn't think it was relevant in 2013.

2. No.  Game studios are only fooling themselves if they think their game is going to draw a mint off of subscriptions these days.  Blizzard is really the only exception.

3. Yes.  I personally hardly play any console games except the Last of Us and GTA5, but I do know a lot of game studios and publishers keep pushing more for console games due to easier development and a steady growing player base.

CrazKanuk

Yeah, Final Fantasy will probably last a while longer. However, it's not something that will transcend it's own fanbase. I haven't seen, or heard of, masses of people who are saying "I played <insert game here> but now I'm playing FFARR because it's so much better." Luckily it doesn't take much to maintain games these days. 

 

Sure, 2014 might actually be the first time that I decide to carry multiple subscriptions! I usually move my subs around because I concentrate on a game at a time, but there are enough coming out that look good enough to possibly justify more money. The bigger question is whether or not this model still works! If you take a look at mobile games with micro transactions, the best of these are doing millions of dollars per DAY!!! So it's not so much a question of whether or not a subscription model can be successful, but whether it's as profitable. 

 

Yes, actually, this is a bit of a coming-out year for console MMOs I think. You've got the stereotypical MMO in EQ:Next, something geared to the person who said "I love Skyrim, but I wish I could play with other people" and then you've got The Division for people who are looking for more shooter. Oh! Plus Planetside 2 is coming to PS4 for the FPS lover. So I think it's a bit of a re-defining year for console MMOs and also MMOs in general. Sure, the purist will still want their 6 slots of 12-skill action bars, but even with PC mmos, we're seeing a divergence from this idea, which makes MMOs on consoles more accessible. If they end up support M/KB in some of the more traditional games, then I think it could work. 

delta9

1: No

 

2: No

 

3: Possibly 

just keep console players away from the PC players - hearing "i am on my playstation so hard to type so i wont" in FF XIV many times i do not want to play mmo group content with people who take 5 minutes to type something or simply refuse to communicate, that for a PC player is no issue

AlBQuirky

For what my thoughts are worth

"After winning MMORPG.com's Game of the Year Award Will FFXIV:ARR be relevant in the west in six more months?"
I really do not know. It really depends on how these new games launch. FF XIV may take a dip, but after all is said and done, it may recover those lost players.

"Can Subscription Based MMOs be Successful Again?"
Depends on your definition of "success." Subscriptions are a very viable money making model. What keeps them from being successful are that MMOs are no longer good enough to warrant a sub. There has not been an MMO released in the past few years that gave most players a world and characters they cared about.

"Will Console MMOs be a Success and Expand the Genre?"
They will expand the genre, for sure. Success? Business-wise, yes. Companies will be raking in the dough hand over fist even more than they do now. But, with console's limitations, it will be a detriment to the genre overall. But there will be millions upon million more players playing. We saw how well that worked for the gameplay in the mid 2000s. Do we need/want even more of these players?

SomeOldBloke

No: Its just like every other themepark MMO out there. FF fans may stick it out but others will move on to the next shiny thing.

Yes: MMOs that offer depth will survive as people are willing to play for the good stuff.

Yes: Most new themepark MMOs have no community anyway and are more like action RPGs. Consoles are ideal.

Com_Raven

That depends on your definition if success- FF XI seems to have done well enough for itself on PS2. Same goes for PSO.

Yes, neither of those did WoW numbers, but by that measure, 99% if PC MMOs are unsuccessful as well.

And there have so far been very few attempts to create a MMO designed for consoles- certainly nothing anywhere close to the resources being out into Destiny and Division.

Samhael

I didn't last long with FFXIV even though I was desperate for something to play. 2 and a half weeks and I was gone. So I don't think it retained relevance for anything other than being the "new" MMO to come out in the second half of 2013.

I do believe subscription MMOs can be successful again -- it all depends on the game though.

I don't believe console MMOs are going to be successful... this year. Perhaps with more entries into the console market for MMOs, this will change. I personally don't have any interest in it but it just seems like Destiny might be the only thing even remotely intriguing and I'm not going to do a console MMO so I'll be passing on that. 

I actually believe ESO will be considerably less successful than Wildstar. The videos released from both make me think that ESO is basically Skyrim with a chat interface and a MMO needs a lot more to be truly involving from a social aspect. Wildstar on the other hand looks like it's made to be enjoyed in a group setting.