Depends on a variety of factors. Timing, competition, and if the game is overall fun. The third factor is generally the biggest.
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed: And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!" ~Lord George Gordon Byron
From what i've seen on streams, WS has the same graphic feel as WoW, but tries to go the action combat road. However, afaic the sort of action combat they provide isn't to my liking. You won't beat WoW if you're trying to feel like WoW and there's definitely better action combat out there too (TERA, B&S, Vindictus, ...).
All in all, i think WS will have a healthy player base, but no massive numbers like WoW.
While it's probably not a game for me i'd hazard a guess this will be a success and end up very popular. The days of WoW level of success is probably long gone so it would be silly comparing it to that.
Of the forums i'm a member of outside of mmorpg.com the general impression of the game is overwhelmingly favourable. It's been a long time since a game has came out and there has been very little negativity like this, people seem to be enjoying it thoroughly.
It gets some love. Who knows OP? We can't even agree on what a success in the industry is anymore. I mean I felt SWTOR was a complete fail and a terrible game but, guess what? Thanks to its shady free to play model and subscription base the game is making a good deal of money. The same can be said of several games I feel are failures like anything made by Cryptic right now. I think I am having to come to grips with the idea that a title doesn't have to be a great or even good game to make money they just have to business model right. Who knows man, before long maybe every game will sell hot bars one key at a time to you in order to make as much as they can before you realize the title sucks and stop playing.
When you talk about a MMORPG being successful you have to compare it to the only succesfull MMORPG which is WoW.
Wall of text and you ruin your point in the first sentence. WoW is the only successful MMORPG? Well gee, someone should let all the others know that they should shut down because they are unprofitable. I mean Everquest has been running for 14 years now, clearly just as charity since they weren't successful.
That is about as dumb as saying 'McDonalds is the only successful restaurant'.
Are games that don't sell as much as Call of Duty considered unsuccessful to you too? What is your definition of success anyway? For most publishers it is making a profit, but you seem to think it means that only the most profitable is successful.
To me, the only unsuccessful MMOs are the ones that have been shut down due to low profits, such as WAR or Auto Assault.
Will Wildstar join them? Probably not, its obviously a much higher quality MMO and will probably do quite well. Will it beat WoW? Only time will tell, but most games don't, and WoW has a pretty good looking expansion on the horizon which will stop it bleeding subs.
Fail or not it is still the best game that is coming out next year, with what should I compare it with? ESO? EQNext or lol ArcheAge?
At least with ESO, EQNext, and Archage they are actually trying to bring something different to the table. Wildstar is coping like so many past MMO titles of WoW with a few twists that all ended in a F2P conversion at some point. Wildstar might be the best of shitacular MMOs that are coming out this year. This year is a repeat of past years with a shift of minecraft elements.
Eyes are bleeding...few things though. At least the OP understands WoW stole it's majority from EQ, but WoW is not the only successful mmorpg ever. It's the biggest. Second just because wildstar looks like wow doesn't mean it will attract those players since times and people change.
IMHO all titles turn into niche games now. After the people that played, disliked it, and leave, the dust will clear and the true fans of the game will enjoy it. That will be the success. There is no overwhelming "success" in this genre anymore. /sigh
edit: No disrespect, I didn't read the entire block of text the OP put up. I have to go to work and only have about 2 hours until I have to leave!
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
It will not be popular as WOW by a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong shot.
If they are lucky there will be 500.000 to 800.000 subscribers. And by MMO standards of today , its successful.
Nothing will ever be as popular as WoW again. With the present day dominance of F2P and hybrid games, the total number of US subscriptions, to all games combined, is only 5.3 million. Even if every single one of those subs went to the same game, it still wouldn't match WoW's peak numbers. Too many different games on the market, the possibility of one dominating on that level just isn't there any more.
Originally posted by Crazy_Stick It gets some love. Who knows OP? We can't even agree on what a success in the industry is anymore. I mean I felt SWTOR was a complete fail and a terrible game but, guess what? Thanks to its shady free to play model and subscription base the game is making a good deal of money. The same can be said of several games I feel are failures like anything made by Cryptic right now. I think I am having to come to grips with the idea that a title doesn't have to be a great or even good game to make money they just have to business model right. Who knows man, before long maybe every game will sell hot bars one key at a time to you in order to make as much as they can before you realize the title sucks and stop playing.
Be fair. A game doesn't just need the right business model, it needs to find a player base that honestly thinks it is good or great so that they are willing to spend money on it. Just because something doesn't cater to your particular tastes, that doesn't make it objectively bad.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
Op you point out why mmo's haven't/can't get as big as WoW got then go on to say, but WildStar will do it? What is success anyway? Isn't success decided by the company that owns the game? Wildstar will go ftp or btp, but that could happen in 4 months or four years.
The game looks good, but it has no ip. How well will it hold onto people? For a sub game that is the biggest question, but with all the other games out and coming I doubt it can hold a huge amount for a long time.
Fail or not it is still the best game that is coming out next year, with what should I compare it with? ESO? EQNext or lol ArcheAge?
At least with ESO, EQNext, and Archage they are actually trying to bring something different to the table. Wildstar is coping like so many past MMO titles of WoW with a few twists that all ended in a F2P conversion at some point. Wildstar might be the best of shitacular MMOs that are coming out this year. This year is a repeat of past years with a shift of minecraft elements.
I'm curious why you think TESO is bringing more new stuff to the table than Wildstar?
Essentially it's copying from Elder Scrolls, cramming it into a MMO and gutting many of the unique Elder Scrolls features as a result, and taking A LOT of mechanics from other MMOs like DAoC's PvP system. The PvE is still standard quest hubbing, but just uses a lot of phasing, something they also took a note from on WoW.
On the other hand people calling Wildstar a WoW clone obviously haven't been following the game and definitely haven't played in the beta. Aside from the obvious graphics looking similar and the quest hub centric gameplay, there are many things in Wildstar that are completely different from WoW, from major things like combat to minor design choices.
I'm curious why you think TESO is bringing more new stuff to the table than Wildstar?
Essentially it's copying from Elder Scrolls, cramming it into a MMO and gutting many of the unique Elder Scrolls features as a result, and taking A LOT of mechanics from other MMOs like DAoC's PvP system. The PvE is still standard quest hubbing, but just uses a lot of phasing, something they also took a note from on WoW.
On the other hand people calling Wildstar a WoW clone obviously haven't been following the game and definitely haven't played in the beta. Aside from the obvious graphics looking similar and the quest hub centric gameplay, there are many things in Wildstar that are completely different from WoW, from major things like combat to minor design choices.
I for one think both games look great, and plan on playing both. But you have to remember that in terms of appropriate discussion on this forum, we are limited to publicly released information. Anything you would have to be in beta or keep up with beta leaks in order to know is something nobody should be mentioning. Going just on what is publicly released, other than the housing islands and the path system, Wildstar looks like Space WoW. Which isn't to say that's what it is, but with the public information it's fair to draw that conclusion.
As for Elder Scrolls, I really don't feel like they have publicly released enough information on that for very many conversations about it to be possible to any meaningful extent.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
When you talk about a MMORPG being successful you have to compare it to the only succesfull MMORPG which is WoW.
No need to read beyond here. Faulty premise is faulty. Any product that turns a profit is a success, there are many successful MMOs.
Exactly this. I stopped at the first sentence. Seriously, if your very first sentence is wrong, there's not much point in reading the rest of the novel you wrote.
Let's have fun and say the expense of keeping a staff, updating the games, maintaining the servers, ect costs 1 million dollars a month (BTW, it is no where near this high, but for the sake of the mathematically challenged, run with it).
It's much more than 1 million dollars on month. According to linkedin they are a company of the 51-200 employee size. Average salary for game devs is in the 75k-100k range, the lead designers im sure make quite a bit more. 100 employees will put you at a million just in salary if the overall average salary from top to bottom is 100k (which might be even a bit low). Then you have tons of other operating expenses (many of which I couldnt even think of). Some examples could be Rent, Utilities, Hardware (servers/workstations etc.), Legal, Advertising, Outsourcing, and much much more.
For reference though it is a much larger game (at least in player base) WoW has an operating expense between 16-18 million dollars a month, and that doesnt include advertising and many other things I'm sure.
Having said that it still doesnt require 10 million subs for a mmo to profit, not by a long shot.
Op you point out why mmo's haven't/can't get as big as WoW got then go on to say, but WildStar will do it? What is success anyway? Isn't success decided by the company that owns the game? Wildstar will go ftp or btp, but that could happen in 4 months or four years.
The game looks good, but it has no ip. How well will it hold onto people? For a sub game that is the biggest question, but with all the other games out and coming I doubt it can hold a huge amount for a long time.
So what if it's not something already established in "IP", so long as it holds it's own and can develop a significant lore by itself. The game actually makes me think very much of Firefly/Cowboy Bebop mixed with other things (i.e. something enjoyable).
For a sub question the biggest question isn't "intellectual property", but instead "what features are you paying for monthly?". Basically: features.
And have you seen Wildstar? The game is spewing with tons of features that an IP-rich game like TESO just seems lacking...
Features, such as:
Personal Housing
40vs40 sieges on custom built fortresses
PvP Arenas
PvP Battlegrounds
Dueling
Open World PvP
'Costume'/Town Cloths (with ability to overlap stat gear visually)
20-man and 40-man raids
Dungeons
4 Pathing choices (besides classes)
Farming
Action combat
Mounts (customizable with "flare")
PvP Gear and PvE Gear (just to thoroughly balance things)
The game's IP is one of both humor and abstract cartoony art. That is woven into the core features of the game that helps make it one hell of a product. It's undeniable how content-rich the game is shaping up to be compared not only to competing launching products of this year, but also of games that have been on the market for a few years now.
Op you point out why mmo's haven't/can't get as big as WoW got then go on to say, but WildStar will do it? What is success anyway? Isn't success decided by the company that owns the game? Wildstar will go ftp or btp, but that could happen in 4 months or four years.
The game looks good, but it has no ip. How well will it hold onto people? For a sub game that is the biggest question, but with all the other games out and coming I doubt it can hold a huge amount for a long time.
So what if it's not something already established in "IP", so long as it holds it's own and can develop a significant lore by itself. The game actually makes me think very much of Firefly/Cowboy Bebop mixed with other things (i.e. something enjoyable).
For a sub question the biggest question isn't "intellectual property", but instead "what features are you paying for monthly?". Basically: features.
And have you seen Wildstar? The game is spewing with tons of features that an IP-rich game like TESO just seems lacking...
Features, such as:
Personal Housing
40vs40 sieges on custom built fortresses
PvP Arenas
PvP Battlegrounds
Dueling
Open World PvP
'Costume'/Town Cloths (with ability to overlap stat gear visually)
20-man and 40-man raids
Dungeons
4 Pathing choices (besides classes)
Farming
Action combat
Mounts (customizable with "flare")
PvP Gear and PvE Gear (just to thoroughly balance things)
The game's IP is one of both humor and abstract cartoony art. That is woven into the core features of the game that helps make it one hell of a product. It's undeniable how content-rich the game is shaping up to be compared not only to competing launching products of this year, but also of games that have been on the market for a few years now.
No, the biggest question for any sub game is what do you have to offer that WoW doesn't, and for Wildstar that's better combat and nothing else, so good luck with that. WoW is going roll over Wildstar like a tank rolls over a puppy.
I'm curious why you think TESO is bringing more new stuff to the table than Wildstar?
Essentially it's copying from Elder Scrolls, cramming it into a MMO and gutting many of the unique Elder Scrolls features as a result, and taking A LOT of mechanics from other MMOs like DAoC's PvP system. The PvE is still standard quest hubbing, but just uses a lot of phasing, something they also took a note from on WoW.
On the other hand people calling Wildstar a WoW clone obviously haven't been following the game and definitely haven't played in the beta. Aside from the obvious graphics looking similar and the quest hub centric gameplay, there are many things in Wildstar that are completely different from WoW, from major things like combat to minor design choices.
I for one think both games look great, and plan on playing both.
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT!
You have to love one MMO and hate on the rest! I am pretty sure that is actually is a rule on the forums considering a lot of people seem to be following this rules.
However on the topic of wildstar's success. I think it will be a success. Nothing sensational, but just a good amount of active players, maybe even a slow growth.
Comments
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"
~Lord George Gordon Byron
From what i've seen on streams, WS has the same graphic feel as WoW, but tries to go the action combat road. However, afaic the sort of action combat they provide isn't to my liking. You won't beat WoW if you're trying to feel like WoW and there's definitely better action combat out there too (TERA, B&S, Vindictus, ...).
All in all, i think WS will have a healthy player base, but no massive numbers like WoW.
It will not be popular as WOW by a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong shot.
If they are lucky there will be 500.000 to 800.000 subscribers. And by MMO standards of today , its successful.
But I doubt it.
The game itself is made with F2P switch. They are ready for it. So at least that ...
Acolytes Gaming (forums.acolytesgaming.com)
Sheep or Shepard- Make up your own damn mind.
It is true, the older you get, the less patience you have for those who watch a Youtube video and from that believe they know it all.
While it's probably not a game for me i'd hazard a guess this will be a success and end up very popular. The days of WoW level of success is probably long gone so it would be silly comparing it to that.
Of the forums i'm a member of outside of mmorpg.com the general impression of the game is overwhelmingly favourable. It's been a long time since a game has came out and there has been very little negativity like this, people seem to be enjoying it thoroughly.
the length of the OP´s post does not compute with his username...
Will wildstar be a success?
Who knows?
What are its goals... because to measure if something is succesfull, you first need to know what it goals are...
Will it be able to reach WoW ish sub numbers, i highly doubt it..
Will it be able to sell 2 million boxes in the first year after release? maybe..
Will it keep the majorrity of players subbed longer then 3 months? we will see...
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
Success? I don't know.
I think it has the potential to be reasonably successful - but I certainly don't see it being a huge hit in the long term.
It's definitely not for me, so maybe I'm not the person to ask.
My estimate is 300-500K players after 6 months.
Wall of text and you ruin your point in the first sentence. WoW is the only successful MMORPG? Well gee, someone should let all the others know that they should shut down because they are unprofitable. I mean Everquest has been running for 14 years now, clearly just as charity since they weren't successful.
That is about as dumb as saying 'McDonalds is the only successful restaurant'.
Are games that don't sell as much as Call of Duty considered unsuccessful to you too? What is your definition of success anyway? For most publishers it is making a profit, but you seem to think it means that only the most profitable is successful.
To me, the only unsuccessful MMOs are the ones that have been shut down due to low profits, such as WAR or Auto Assault.
Will Wildstar join them? Probably not, its obviously a much higher quality MMO and will probably do quite well. Will it beat WoW? Only time will tell, but most games don't, and WoW has a pretty good looking expansion on the horizon which will stop it bleeding subs.
At least with ESO, EQNext, and Archage they are actually trying to bring something different to the table. Wildstar is coping like so many past MMO titles of WoW with a few twists that all ended in a F2P conversion at some point. Wildstar might be the best of shitacular MMOs that are coming out this year. This year is a repeat of past years with a shift of minecraft elements.
IMHO all titles turn into niche games now. After the people that played, disliked it, and leave, the dust will clear and the true fans of the game will enjoy it. That will be the success. There is no overwhelming "success" in this genre anymore. /sigh
edit: No disrespect, I didn't read the entire block of text the OP put up. I have to go to work and only have about 2 hours until I have to leave!
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
Nothing will ever be as popular as WoW again. With the present day dominance of F2P and hybrid games, the total number of US subscriptions, to all games combined, is only 5.3 million. Even if every single one of those subs went to the same game, it still wouldn't match WoW's peak numbers. Too many different games on the market, the possibility of one dominating on that level just isn't there any more.
Be fair. A game doesn't just need the right business model, it needs to find a player base that honestly thinks it is good or great so that they are willing to spend money on it. Just because something doesn't cater to your particular tastes, that doesn't make it objectively bad.Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Op you point out why mmo's haven't/can't get as big as WoW got then go on to say, but WildStar will do it? What is success anyway? Isn't success decided by the company that owns the game? Wildstar will go ftp or btp, but that could happen in 4 months or four years.
The game looks good, but it has no ip. How well will it hold onto people? For a sub game that is the biggest question, but with all the other games out and coming I doubt it can hold a huge amount for a long time.
I'm curious why you think TESO is bringing more new stuff to the table than Wildstar?
Essentially it's copying from Elder Scrolls, cramming it into a MMO and gutting many of the unique Elder Scrolls features as a result, and taking A LOT of mechanics from other MMOs like DAoC's PvP system. The PvE is still standard quest hubbing, but just uses a lot of phasing, something they also took a note from on WoW.
On the other hand people calling Wildstar a WoW clone obviously haven't been following the game and definitely haven't played in the beta. Aside from the obvious graphics looking similar and the quest hub centric gameplay, there are many things in Wildstar that are completely different from WoW, from major things like combat to minor design choices.
I for one think both games look great, and plan on playing both. But you have to remember that in terms of appropriate discussion on this forum, we are limited to publicly released information. Anything you would have to be in beta or keep up with beta leaks in order to know is something nobody should be mentioning. Going just on what is publicly released, other than the housing islands and the path system, Wildstar looks like Space WoW. Which isn't to say that's what it is, but with the public information it's fair to draw that conclusion.
As for Elder Scrolls, I really don't feel like they have publicly released enough information on that for very many conversations about it to be possible to any meaningful extent.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Exactly this. I stopped at the first sentence. Seriously, if your very first sentence is wrong, there's not much point in reading the rest of the novel you wrote.
It's much more than 1 million dollars on month. According to linkedin they are a company of the 51-200 employee size. Average salary for game devs is in the 75k-100k range, the lead designers im sure make quite a bit more. 100 employees will put you at a million just in salary if the overall average salary from top to bottom is 100k (which might be even a bit low). Then you have tons of other operating expenses (many of which I couldnt even think of). Some examples could be Rent, Utilities, Hardware (servers/workstations etc.), Legal, Advertising, Outsourcing, and much much more.
For reference though it is a much larger game (at least in player base) WoW has an operating expense between 16-18 million dollars a month, and that doesnt include advertising and many other things I'm sure.
Having said that it still doesnt require 10 million subs for a mmo to profit, not by a long shot.
So what if it's not something already established in "IP", so long as it holds it's own and can develop a significant lore by itself. The game actually makes me think very much of Firefly/Cowboy Bebop mixed with other things (i.e. something enjoyable).
For a sub question the biggest question isn't "intellectual property", but instead "what features are you paying for monthly?". Basically: features.
And have you seen Wildstar? The game is spewing with tons of features that an IP-rich game like TESO just seems lacking...
Features, such as:
No, the biggest question for any sub game is what do you have to offer that WoW doesn't, and for Wildstar that's better combat and nothing else, so good luck with that. WoW is going roll over Wildstar like a tank rolls over a puppy.
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT!
You have to love one MMO and hate on the rest! I am pretty sure that is actually is a rule on the forums considering a lot of people seem to be following this rules.
However on the topic of wildstar's success. I think it will be a success. Nothing sensational, but just a good amount of active players, maybe even a slow growth.