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Has HBO thought too small?

fistormfistorm Member UncommonPosts: 868
in Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms

You currently hold the license to make a HUGE multi million dollar MMORPG, you have millions of fans nationwide, you are the #1 show on TV, and you make.....   A browser game?

 

Don't get me wrong, but a browser game will make a few million no problems.  What I don't get is you could be making HUGE off this title, sure it might take a few years to make, but wouldn't Game of Thrones be on atleast that much longer, I see four to five seasons at least.  

 

You could be making money well after the TV series.   Look at George Lucas and Star Wars......    Look at Warner Bros. games and LOTRO.... 

 

HBO has a real chance to get its foot in the gaming industry like these other movie studios and they make a browser game.

http://www.gameofthronesmmo.com/

 

What do you guys think, has HBO gone too small on this one? 

Comments

  • angerbeaverangerbeaver Member UncommonPosts: 1,273
    Development will probably be cheaper and maybe they have something else coming down the pipeline (although to do browser and mmo would seem odd).
  • SawlstoneSawlstone Member Posts: 301
    Does the browser fact make it more tablet friendly?
  • bcbullybcbully Member EpicPosts: 11,843
    YES very small. The thing is, I have no faith in any western developer making the Got world. They will slap the Got name on it, then fill it with fectht and kill quests, then add a handful of dungeons and a couple battle grounds.
  • aleosaleos Member UncommonPosts: 1,943

    I am sorry when i the consumer think about games.. i don't think about how much money I'm putting in someone else's pocket... i think about whats over that hill.. should the hill be there to begin with.

     

    but if i had to say something it would be..

     

    it doesn't matter what the setting or the lore of the game is when every mmo that comes out today is just a repeat of the last

  • Unknown

    I think they thought just right at least from a business sense.

     

    They could spend hundreds of millions on a massive MMO and hope game of thrones is still popular after a few years of development (Like the stargate MMO tried), or they could put out shovelware that probably cost a few million and less then a year of development to strike while the popularity is at it's peak.

     

    I look at a game like this to be comparable to the console games that get released at the same time their big budget movie counterparts get released, a practice that's been used since way back in the days of the original NES.

     

  • SpottyGekkoSpottyGekko Member EpicPosts: 6,916

    HBO probably knows about as much about the MMO game industry as Blizzard knows about making TV series.

     

    I'm sure HBO's mandate to the developer was to make something "with maximum accessibilty", so that they have the biggest possible audience and therefore the greatest potential income. The surprising thing is that it wasn't a FaceBook game instead of a browser-based one... image

  • KhalathwyrKhalathwyr Member UncommonPosts: 3,133

    I think HBO is smart. if they sent anyone to take a look at the forums of MMO game sites like this, massively, others, as well as taken a look at the MMO releases of the last 5+ years they would do exactly what they are doing now, if anything. Players (in the majority) are either grumpy old schoolers (my group and the group for which arm-chair developers say there aren't enough of to "cater" to) or post WoW players (started with WoW or after its launch) that hop from game to game after playing it 3(ish) months.

     

    They would would see beatniks yelling that subscriptions is a dying/dead business model and purists claiming that F2P attracts a bigger hive of scum and villainy than Mos Eisley. Add to this that for the most part existing IP MMOs have not fared well at all. They won't look into the specifics, they'll just see that of the handful of big name IP MMOs that have fully failed (i.e., closed down) you have IPs like Star Wars and The Matrix...ones any layman would think would be hits. Some would say "hey, SWG was not the right type MMO. TOR is still here". Yeah, not exactly a shining example of "here".

     

    So, no, I don't think HBO is thinking small. I think they are thinking jumping fully in to the MMO genre is more headache than it's worth. Making that few million and not having to...well I'll just say it...deal with gamers (all of us) is probably the more desired path for them. I really don't think they "want into the gaming industry". Just as much profit with as minimal investment and potential for PR nightmares.

    "Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."

    Chavez y Chavez

  • AlBQuirkyAlBQuirky Member EpicPosts: 7,432

    Originally posted by bcbully
    YES very small. The thing is, I have no faith in any western developer making the Got world. They will slap the Got name on it, then fill it with fectht and kill quests, then add a handful of dungeons and a couple battle grounds.
    Exactly! And totally missing the whole point of Game of Thrones as a book series. Not a lot of fighting goes in the books. Dungeons simply do not exist. Battlegrounds? Maybe for jousts and such :) Intrigue and character interaction abound, though. This does not translate well into today's MMO players' desires for 24/7 action.

    I have a feeling that HBO will have a cash cow on their hands, simply from the IP itself.

    - Al

    Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.
    - FARGIN_WAR


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