Originally posted by Wolfhammer I have to admit im not sure what Joystik and Massively are since I've never read them as far as I know... I usually do my reading here....
Do a search and check it out. It is a MMO news site it is still up.
Originally posted by grogstorm Competition makes everyone better. I hope a competitor comes along soon and starts poking the bear just to keep everyone on their A game
Its because of competition that Massively, among others are in trouble, because times are changing, and with the rise of Twitch and Youtube, that competition will only become the more fierce, how many these days, regularly watch the various Youtube podcasts, or follow live streams on Twitch, forums for game discussion are in some ways, reminiscent of the 'old style' Radio stations, competing with Colour Television Broadcasts, they can exist side by side, but there will be casualties, personally i don't see Machinima or Rock Paper Shotgun being too far behind Massively. Times are changing.
Originally posted by grogstorm Competition makes everyone better. I hope a competitor comes along soon and starts poking the bear just to keep everyone on their A game
More like there is no bear now for anyone to poke.
The biggest problem with MMORPG.com I have right now is that it's transitioned into "RPG" coverage in general and is in large part ignoring MMO coverage. I understand that the genres are similar in a few aspects, but they're completely different in others. There should be no reason that DA:I, The Banner Saga or a bunch of other single player games.
Instead this site needs to cover things like hidden quests within specific games, a look at game designs, and other things of that nature. Real in-depth looks at games from a gamer perspective. Too many articles on this site read that they're from a writer but not from a gamer and are far too vague and unappealing to read. Basically there's not enough MMO coverage on MMORPG.com. (GamesCom 2014 "Awards" was a total of 3 MMOs out of 8 total..the others was 4 RPG games that are not MMOs and 1 thing that was a device and not a game!).
P.S. Oh, and the real kicker. That big fiasco coverage of that game Scarlet Blade while having huge ass banners on the side of the game for advertisement. That kind of sold unethical biased right there.
P.P.S. The Player's Choice Awards for "Best of 20XX" has been a joke for quite some years. Why? Because it's been well known -and documented- that developers have been using social media to get their obsessive fans to bombard this site with votes for their game. Sure it gets your site traffic, but that's all it is seen as: a hollow attempt to boost traffic while handing out an award of pointlessness.
P.P.P.S. Stop giving coverage to crappy F2P Facebook or Mobile games that nobody in the real MMO circle would give 2-pennies about. One article maybe and that's it. You guys give way too much coverage to them that it becomes just as obnoxious as your over complicated website layout on the front page. Yes, it's horrible and everyone knows it. Why have 2 places for the same articles? And one place just links to a 2nd page where the real article is? That's not only completely annoying for the reader, but it's just clearly a waste of website design and programing showing a level of incompetence that one wonders about. Used to have good daily comic features as well as featured game screenshots, neither which have been in upkeep over the years.
I do agree on all points. I was ready massively a lot more then mmorpg.com lately because of this. mmorpg.com kinda lost it's track sometime ago. It is very hard to find useful infos about mmorpg's and MMO's amongst all the league of angels and other pointless browser crap.
I know you need to make a living and there are mouths to feed but this can't be the way.
I fear mmorpg.com will follow massively if they don't get back on track. What is left then? Not much to be honest.
Edit: I read that you have no control over who places ads. If i may be so blunt: Then get control over it. It completely destroys any credibility for this site if you got ads for crappy games cluttered all over the place. It happenes with other sites but on this one it is overwhelming.
The MMO space is pretty risky now. I don't see a lot of publishers jumping on board with a AAA development anytime soon.
Lot's of great stuff being crowd funded and a lot of great games RPGs coming out from indies. Let's hope MMOs follow. It is going to take the indies to give our hobby a shot in the arm; that or we'll all be playing iteration after iteration of Angry Birds or Farmville. If that's where we end up, I'll retire from MMOs.
This is my fear too. We saw a huge boom when WoW broke the mold, and now we're facing the backlash on the genre. Think of it much like the way 2D platformers died out in the 90s for a while.
Every genre needs innovation, and innovation tends to come from lower cost development, not big money corporations. The Indie games we're seeing now? Many may never be barn-burner million subscriber phenoms, but chances are they're going to direct exactly where the genre heads and fuel the fires of what will be a new wave of hit MMORPGs down the line.
And yes, MMORPG.com will weather that storm. We're privately owned by two guys (Ben and Craig), and have never accepted a dime of investor cash. Folks might see ads from the crappy game companies and balk, but they're part of what keeps us free to do what we do. They're a necessary evil for now.
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
Websites have gone the same way as MMO's and that's why they are dieing - recycling sub standard content. In the early days (when everything goes thru its honeymoon period) we had dedicated sites with great writers and loyal followers. In the pursuit of money they have just about all (even news sites etc) moved to networks of freelance writer funnels. The problem is any random with an Internet connection can write something now and what we end up with is recycling/funnels of content of which 90% is just plain some personal rambling of freelancers. You see the same rubbish networked everywhere. Everyone has gone for quantity over quality most probably due to the click bait profit model.
The biggest problem with MMORPG.com I have right now is that it's transitioned into "RPG" coverage in general and is in large part ignoring MMO coverage. I understand that the genres are similar in a few aspects, but they're completely different in others. There should be no reason that DA:I, The Banner Saga or a bunch of other single player games.
Instead this site needs to cover things like hidden quests within specific games, a look at game designs, and other things of that nature. Real in-depth looks at games from a gamer perspective. Too many articles on this site read that they're from a writer but not from a gamer and are far too vague and unappealing to read. Basically there's not enough MMO coverage on MMORPG.com. (GamesCom 2014 "Awards" was a total of 3 MMOs out of 8 total..the others was 4 RPG games that are not MMOs and 1 thing that was a device and not a game!).
P.S. Oh, and the real kicker. That big fiasco coverage of that game Scarlet Blade while having huge ass banners on the side of the game for advertisement. That kind of sold unethical biased right there.
P.P.S. The Player's Choice Awards for "Best of 20XX" has been a joke for quite some years. Why? Because it's been well known -and documented- that developers have been using social media to get their obsessive fans to bombard this site with votes for their game. Sure it gets your site traffic, but that's all it is seen as: a hollow attempt to boost traffic while handing out an award of pointlessness.
P.P.P.S. Stop giving coverage to crappy F2P Facebook or Mobile games that nobody in the real MMO circle would give 2-pennies about. One article maybe and that's it. You guys give way too much coverage to them that it becomes just as obnoxious as your over complicated website layout on the front page. Yes, it's horrible and everyone knows it. Why have 2 places for the same articles? And one place just links to a 2nd page where the real article is? That's not only completely annoying for the reader, but it's just clearly a waste of website design and programing showing a level of incompetence that one wonders about. Used to have good daily comic features as well as featured game screenshots, neither which have been in upkeep over the years.
I liked Massively's format better - easier to read and scroll through the news than the way MMORPG presents it.
But MMORPG has better forums, more user-content like pictures, blogs, etc.
I've been visiting both for a LONG time, and I'm sad to see Massively go.
I don't mind the advertising, I'm not an idiot - every business needs $ to survive.
I just hope MMORPG.com classes it up a bit - IGN/Gamespot rarely give any good coverage to the MMO genre, but they always get a LOT better access to devs, events like E3, etc.
I'm sure MMORPG.com's budget is a fraction of IGN/Gamespot, but focusing specifically on a single genre I hope ya'll can start offering the same level of access and exclusives to the MMO genre that IGN/Gamespot get.
Originally posted by BillMurphy Originally posted by jonp200The MMO space is pretty risky now. I don't see a lot of publishers jumping on board with a AAA development anytime soon.Lot's of great stuff being crowd funded and a lot of great games RPGs coming out from indies. Let's hope MMOs follow. It is going to take the indies to give our hobby a shot in the arm; that or we'll all be playing iteration after iteration of Angry Birds or Farmville. If that's where we end up, I'll retire from MMOs.
This is my fear too. We saw a huge boom when WoW broke the mold, and now we're facing the backlash on the genre. Think of it much like the way 2D platformers died out in the 90s for a while.
Every genre needs innovation, and innovation tends to come from lower cost development, not big money corporations. The Indie games we're seeing now? Many may never be barn-burner million subscriber phenoms, but chances are they're going to direct exactly where the genre heads and fuel the fires of what will be a new wave of hit MMORPGs down the line.
And yes, MMORPG.com will weather that storm. We're privately owned by two guys (Ben and Craig), and have never accepted a dime of investor cash. Folks might see ads from the crappy game companies and balk, but they're part of what keeps us free to do what we do. They're a necessary evil for now.
I would rather go down with my integrity intact than compromise my beliefs for the sake of longevity. But that's just me. Of course you're free to do whatever. But nothing lasts forever no matter how hard you sell out. Maybe when you get a little older, your legacy will matter more, I dunno.
The MMO space is pretty risky now. I don't see a lot of publishers jumping on board with a AAA development anytime soon.
Lot's of great stuff being crowd funded and a lot of great games RPGs coming out from indies. Let's hope MMOs follow. It is going to take the indies to give our hobby a shot in the arm; that or we'll all be playing iteration after iteration of Angry Birds or Farmville. If that's where we end up, I'll retire from MMOs.
This is my fear too. We saw a huge boom when WoW broke the mold, and now we're facing the backlash on the genre. Think of it much like the way 2D platformers died out in the 90s for a while.
Every genre needs innovation, and innovation tends to come from lower cost development, not big money corporations. The Indie games we're seeing now? Many may never be barn-burner million subscriber phenoms, but chances are they're going to direct exactly where the genre heads and fuel the fires of what will be a new wave of hit MMORPGs down the line.
And yes, MMORPG.com will weather that storm. We're privately owned by two guys (Ben and Craig), and have never accepted a dime of investor cash. Folks might see ads from the crappy game companies and balk, but they're part of what keeps us free to do what we do. They're a necessary evil for now.
Hey Bill, thanks for taking part in this discussion.
I agree with a lot of what Siphaed said, as some others here have; however, I particularly agree in regards to your site needing a major overhaul. I've built a few websites in my day and have recently gone back to school studying to become a mobile developer (at a school that's been advertised here in the past no less) and although I haven't had a ton of schooling in web, even I know enough to see that your website is a problem that may be hurting not helping.
They say content is king, but your homepage is just plan awful. It is a cluster **** of jumbled information. In today's day of hectic lifestyles and limited time, most people just don't want to have to take the time to analyze and sift through all the cluttered info on your homepage. In addition, more viewers than not, will never scroll down to view anything below what it immediately seen on their screens...yet your homepage goes on and on. There is a reason why so many sites have migrated over to a simplified-looking format. Anyone that knows web design, knows that you have a minimal amount of time to make an impression on first time viewers and I would guess that MMORPGs initial impression isn't great with most.
Like others have stated, I too preferred Massively's format for the fact that it was so much easier on the eyes, even if they too could have improved.
And that leads me to the point of all this and brings us back to the topic itself. We are now living in a time where life is crazier than ever and it is vital to provide simplfied bits of infomation in bursts that are sure to catch viewers immediate attention. I, myself enjoy reading, but even I'm finding less and less time to read or sift through cluttered sites. The competition is stiff for sites like yours as Youtube and Twitch are basically more advanced and enjoyable ways for gamers to get the info they need in regards to the games that appeal to them...yet I find it strange that MMORPGs presence on Twitch is non-existent.
It is often more assecible for people to watch video content than it is to read. You can digest more information in less time. Look at Twitter for instance, which is ginormous -- 140 characters or less is a major reason why! In addition, the major selling point of Twitch, is that I can still multitask while watching/listening. Case in point, I'm listening to a stream on Twitch while I'm writing this.
Let's face it, most would rather watch or listen to something than read as reading requires their full attention, which most people are giving less of these days. Don't agree with me, then riddle me this: Why are we talking about sites like Massively going the way of the dinosaur while Twitch is growing and flourishing?!
It's simple, I can watch and listen to twitch while I'm working, gaming, etc. and at the same time I am getting my fill of gaming news/content that matters.
I'm not sure if more video content/discussions is the way MMORPG will need to go in the future, but I would imagine the delivery of content on this site will have to change eventually. I'm not suggesting that you won't find people that are willing to read your articles, but I would imagine that the number of people is shrinking and will continue to diminish in the future.
Finally, while I do believe that the genre may be changing or even shrinking a bit, I believe this might be overblown as I don't think it's necessarily the genre as much as it is Massively and MMORPGs antiquated way of deliveriing gaming news. Like the newspaper to the Internet and the CD to digital music, times are a changing and sites like Massively and MMORPG must adapt or be left behind.
Sadly it's a 'no' and 'no'. I've been waiting 5+ years for a real non-instanced non-cashshop open world MMO. My hopes are zero at this point.
When World of Tanks gets called an MMO (nevermind WoW or SWTOR) you know the MMO experiment is over.
I completely agree. It's one thing for the direction of the genre to go towards one thing or another, it's quite another when everyone jumps on the bandwagon and screws the original and traditional audience. If anything, it would be more economically viable to cater to all types rather than everyone going down the "considered" gobs of money direction.
I'm not going to say I'm happy to see Massively go but their insistent beating of the F2P > everything drum, extreme pro solo anti group/raid bias and general focus of articles on the whole really drove me away from visiting the site daily to just once in a while to check in.
Originally posted by grogstorm Competition makes everyone better. I hope a competitor comes along soon and starts poking the bear just to keep everyone on their A game
Its because of competition that Massively, among others are in trouble, because times are changing, and with the rise of Twitch and Youtube, that competition will only become the more fierce, how many these days, regularly watch the various Youtube podcasts, or follow live streams on Twitch, forums for game discussion are in some ways, reminiscent of the 'old style' Radio stations, competing with Colour Television Broadcasts, they can exist side by side, but there will be casualties, personally i don't see Machinima or Rock Paper Shotgun being too far behind Massively. Times are changing.
Noticed this while going through and reading other's posts after posting my thoughts. Have a look at my post and it pretty much says the same thing as yours.
Seems you and I are both seeing the big picture on this one.
Websites have gone the same way as MMO's and that's why they are dieing - recycling sub standard content. In the early days (when everything goes thru its honeymoon period) we had dedicated sites with great writers and loyal followers. In the pursuit of money they have just about all (even news sites etc) moved to networks of freelance writer funnels. The problem is any random with an Internet connection can write something now and what we end up with is recycling/funnels of content of which 90% is just plain some personal rambling of freelancers. You see the same rubbish networked everywhere. Everyone has gone for quantity over quality most probably due to the click bait profit model.
I agree in large parts. 10 years ago i worked for a dutch game website. I worked there as forum crew. In those day's there weren't that many game sites yet. IGN was rather new and upcomming, there was gamespot and some others. But most game news was still read in game magazines and seen on TV in game shows (yeah youtube wasn't there yet).
Back then game sites still had game journalists, not just reviewers. People who actually looked into games. The quallity of reviews was a lot better and there was a hell lot more coverage that went indepth in games. Now 10 years later i cry when i see the website i worked for and what has happened to IGN and Gamespot and such. They all became weak when the industry became booming.
What also see now is that a lot of mainstream gamers become game reviewers. And they confuse their private life with their job. Something that has been bothering me for a long time now in the game press compared to how it used to be. Sure reviewing games is a part personal taste. But there is also the journalistic point where you need to look at the product you review and look at what works well and what doesn't. Even if the game is bad it doesn't mean you can't like it. Hell i love Dynasty Warrior but i know not every version is very good and i see how it for many people is not a good game. But many game reviewers don't think that way. They think "OMG OMG OMG OMG I get to play CoD before all those other B#tches! I'm so hyyyyyyped...o boy o boy o boy". And if you dare to say game sites need to be more consistant, then people shout "thats taking away their creative freedom". No you dodos! Its not, its makeing sure your website/magazine stays thrustworthy. Didn't anyone learn shizzle from Gamergate? HOw can you explain as Gamespot that you give CoD Ghost a 8, a solid 8!!!! When the game was not optimized on the PC, when the game was generic as shizzle and a overal poor game. Heck many of the die hard CoD fans were even disapointed with this game. A game that got hyped with "we got fish that swim away from you, o boy! No one ever done that befor ein a game...beside Mario 64 more then 15 years ago" and "We have a dog in our game!". And yet the same gamesite gives another game a rereview, that first had a 8.5 and after the rereview a 5.5...with as comments and i kid you not "Generic, doesn't do much new, gets old after a while". Right......this is a game that was made by only a few people with only a minor budget...but that is okay to give it a rereview and burn it down on the exact same things that are wrong with CoD...but CoD never gets a rereview cause the mainstream none gamers love that game so much, because THERE ARE BRIBES...Gamespot never ever been able to explain to me this. I been posting facts in many of their reviews where i saw that the games where burned down on weak AI, dated graphics and being generic. I always used CoD as example and pointed out with facts why CoD is not a 9 and what it doesn't make sense to punish lower budget games for the mistakes CoD makes who has a insane budget. Defenders always shout its done by a different reviewer..but that is the problem. It shouldn't matter who reviews what. A reviewer should never let personal taste overrule the fact that its his/her damn job to mention the good and the bad things of a game and give a HONEST score based on facts and have personal count with that..not the other way around where personal taste overrules all else.
Same with a game magazine that i used to respect in the Netherlands. The Power Unlimited, the reviewer in question let his fanboyism take over his professional side. And this is a guy that worked there for a long long time. Who i used to respect as a game journalist but these days is just another mainstream hypeboy. Rome 2 total war. Remember that game? That game that was so full of bugs that the startship troopers thought Rome was the bug planet. He gave the game a 9.2 and not once did he ever mentioned the freaking bugs. Game breaking bugs that where really breaking the game where not mentioned. How can we take the proffesional press seriousely when they are doing these kind of stunts? When their fanboyism takes over their proffesionallity?
That is the reason why game sites like IGN and Gamespot are lossing many readers these days. Cause after gamergate many people had more then enough of it. Why would you look at their reviews when they are either bribbed or just big fans who can't be trusted to write a honest review as they let their fanboy side take over. Why would you take their word over that of people on youtube who atleast show gameplay footage for a longer peroid of time so you can actually see how the game plays. And many youtubers do a much more indepth review with what is good and wrong about games that you can form a clear picture of the game and if its any good for you or not.
The site i worked for kicked out all the journalists who at some point where critical about the way things went over there. When they refused to give a better score because a publisher paid for advertisements. Hell publishers did do advertisements back then as well...only difference, 10 years ago the publisher depended on the game magazines/websites...now its the othe rway around to stay up and running it seems.
In essence, the entire genre is going to shit because of watering down of every facet of it, including the reporting and media side of it.
What mmorpg.com could do is provide 'hardcore' articles and reviews. The vast majority of writers who review games on this site are casuals at best basing their reviews upon single player or easy content in games. Not once have I ever read a article or a review here what went into depth about hardmode raiding, or end game PvP spoken from the writers personal experience. Not once in a decade. Thats a BIG problem.
Your current staff are unwilling to do as such, that is evident. So why not get some of the people who have been posting here for a decade or more on the books and writing about what the hardcore gamers actually want to read about, not just some expanded text on the press release or as we have seen a few times here, articles that the pr campaign 'paid' for so they would get favorable review. Which does incredible damage to the industry, plz for the love of bacon stop that shit, PLZ. Trash games get 8's and 9's that tank a month after release are an massive turn off to investors who think thats the best of the best and it was a poor investment. Leading to less money and less decent titles getting proposed, less to play, less to report on, less of everything.
One thing Massively done really well and i will miss was cover most of the big mmo's regularly such as FF14. Considering how well that game is doing the coverage this site gives it compared to other games some not even worth mentioning is terrible. As a mmorpg site first and foremost you should have at the very least one article a week on the core mmo's and a little less on other games such as standard rpgs. As much as i enjoy reading those articles i come to this site to read about the mmo's i play mainly. With Massively gone and your lack of coverage i now have to search for a new site.
Originally posted by Juice2000 One thing Massively done really well and i will miss was cover most of the big mmo's regularly such as FF14. Considering how well that game is doing the coverage this site gives it compared to other games some not even worth mentioning is terrible. As a mmorpg site first and foremost you should have at the very least one article a week on the core mmo's and a little less on other games such as standard rpgs. As much as i enjoy reading those articles i come to this site to read about the mmo's i play mainly. With Massively gone and your lack of coverage i now have to search for a new site.
Did you know we have a biweekly FFXIV column?
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
Originally posted by Juice2000 One thing Massively done really well and i will miss was cover most of the big mmo's regularly such as FF14. Considering how well that game is doing the coverage this site gives it compared to other games some not even worth mentioning is terrible. As a mmorpg site first and foremost you should have at the very least one article a week on the core mmo's and a little less on other games such as standard rpgs. As much as i enjoy reading those articles i come to this site to read about the mmo's i play mainly. With Massively gone and your lack of coverage i now have to search for a new site.
Did you know we have a biweekly FFXIV column?
Nope. And I'm a regular reader. Does that suggest you guys could possibly do a better job making it stand out?
(honestly, I don't care about FFXIV -- just saying I read daily and didn't realize there was a column)
Originally posted by Juice2000 One thing Massively done really well and i will miss was cover most of the big mmo's regularly such as FF14. Considering how well that game is doing the coverage this site gives it compared to other games some not even worth mentioning is terrible. As a mmorpg site first and foremost you should have at the very least one article a week on the core mmo's and a little less on other games such as standard rpgs. As much as i enjoy reading those articles i come to this site to read about the mmo's i play mainly. With Massively gone and your lack of coverage i now have to search for a new site.
Did you know we have a biweekly FFXIV column?
One article biweekly is not really enough coverage for a game that actually has queues to get onto. Not if you want to keep readers who come here primarily for articles about their favourite games. A year ago i would come here and read 5 to 10 articles a day not to mention a load of forum posts. These days 1 or 2 articles and a load or forum posts which is a shame because i enjoy this site and enjoy reading articles about mmo's.
the genre is broken for as long as studios keep trying and failing to emulate 1 game and dont bother to do anything fun or interesting instead, there is a huge potential player base out there who dream for a real MMO with depth and no AAA studio has the desire to do anything but copy 1 other and fail then move to f2p and milk the lovers of pixels for many $
Stop trying to take 1 games player base and failing but instead do something the rest of us want, its not that hard really they just dont have the vision
Why is it only the indie companies who see the potential these days?
I hope your site redesign improves the site dramatically, there is a lot of interesting content here but I just can't be bothered to find it these days, my time is more important.
What I would like to see from MMORPG.com is more coverage of Asian MMOs. Massively did it a little bit and I'm not expecting it to be of significance, but just the odd piece of coverage of how the market is coming along in China and Korea would be nice. And that doesn't mean talking about their business models, because they are usually free to play and that results in a comment section turning hostile. But there do have some interesting art and design choices, and more variation in what they do than western MMOs these days.
My favorite part of massively was honestly the betawatch articles every Friday. It gave me the heads up I needed to get into betas or look at new games on the horizon. And your game list on here is sort of haphazard and not really user friendly. It needs an update, badly.
Comments
Do a search and check it out. It is a MMO news site it is still up.
Nanulak
Its because of competition that Massively, among others are in trouble, because times are changing, and with the rise of Twitch and Youtube, that competition will only become the more fierce, how many these days, regularly watch the various Youtube podcasts, or follow live streams on Twitch, forums for game discussion are in some ways, reminiscent of the 'old style' Radio stations, competing with Colour Television Broadcasts, they can exist side by side, but there will be casualties, personally i don't see Machinima or Rock Paper Shotgun being too far behind Massively. Times are changing.
More like there is no bear now for anyone to poke.
I do agree on all points. I was ready massively a lot more then mmorpg.com lately because of this. mmorpg.com kinda lost it's track sometime ago. It is very hard to find useful infos about mmorpg's and MMO's amongst all the league of angels and other pointless browser crap.
I know you need to make a living and there are mouths to feed but this can't be the way.
I fear mmorpg.com will follow massively if they don't get back on track. What is left then? Not much to be honest.
Edit: I read that you have no control over who places ads. If i may be so blunt: Then get control over it. It completely destroys any credibility for this site if you got ads for crappy games cluttered all over the place. It happenes with other sites but on this one it is overwhelming.
Great news. I'm especially happy to hear they'll continue with their podcast.
This is my fear too. We saw a huge boom when WoW broke the mold, and now we're facing the backlash on the genre. Think of it much like the way 2D platformers died out in the 90s for a while.
Every genre needs innovation, and innovation tends to come from lower cost development, not big money corporations. The Indie games we're seeing now? Many may never be barn-burner million subscriber phenoms, but chances are they're going to direct exactly where the genre heads and fuel the fires of what will be a new wave of hit MMORPGs down the line.
And yes, MMORPG.com will weather that storm. We're privately owned by two guys (Ben and Craig), and have never accepted a dime of investor cash. Folks might see ads from the crappy game companies and balk, but they're part of what keeps us free to do what we do. They're a necessary evil for now.
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
My Review Manifesto
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Websites have gone the same way as MMO's and that's why they are dieing - recycling sub standard content. In the early days (when everything goes thru its honeymoon period) we had dedicated sites with great writers and loyal followers. In the pursuit of money they have just about all (even news sites etc) moved to networks of freelance writer funnels. The problem is any random with an Internet connection can write something now and what we end up with is recycling/funnels of content of which 90% is just plain some personal rambling of freelancers. You see the same rubbish networked everywhere. Everyone has gone for quantity over quality most probably due to the click bait profit model.
+1 enough said!
Asbo
I liked Massively's format better - easier to read and scroll through the news than the way MMORPG presents it.
But MMORPG has better forums, more user-content like pictures, blogs, etc.
I've been visiting both for a LONG time, and I'm sad to see Massively go.
I don't mind the advertising, I'm not an idiot - every business needs $ to survive.
I just hope MMORPG.com classes it up a bit - IGN/Gamespot rarely give any good coverage to the MMO genre, but they always get a LOT better access to devs, events like E3, etc.
I'm sure MMORPG.com's budget is a fraction of IGN/Gamespot, but focusing specifically on a single genre I hope ya'll can start offering the same level of access and exclusives to the MMO genre that IGN/Gamespot get.
Every genre needs innovation, and innovation tends to come from lower cost development, not big money corporations. The Indie games we're seeing now? Many may never be barn-burner million subscriber phenoms, but chances are they're going to direct exactly where the genre heads and fuel the fires of what will be a new wave of hit MMORPGs down the line.
And yes, MMORPG.com will weather that storm. We're privately owned by two guys (Ben and Craig), and have never accepted a dime of investor cash. Folks might see ads from the crappy game companies and balk, but they're part of what keeps us free to do what we do. They're a necessary evil for now.
I would rather go down with my integrity intact than compromise my beliefs for the sake of longevity. But that's just me. Of course you're free to do whatever. But nothing lasts forever no matter how hard you sell out. Maybe when you get a little older, your legacy will matter more, I dunno.
Hey Bill, thanks for taking part in this discussion.
I agree with a lot of what Siphaed said, as some others here have; however, I particularly agree in regards to your site needing a major overhaul. I've built a few websites in my day and have recently gone back to school studying to become a mobile developer (at a school that's been advertised here in the past no less) and although I haven't had a ton of schooling in web, even I know enough to see that your website is a problem that may be hurting not helping.
They say content is king, but your homepage is just plan awful. It is a cluster **** of jumbled information. In today's day of hectic lifestyles and limited time, most people just don't want to have to take the time to analyze and sift through all the cluttered info on your homepage. In addition, more viewers than not, will never scroll down to view anything below what it immediately seen on their screens...yet your homepage goes on and on. There is a reason why so many sites have migrated over to a simplified-looking format. Anyone that knows web design, knows that you have a minimal amount of time to make an impression on first time viewers and I would guess that MMORPGs initial impression isn't great with most.
Like others have stated, I too preferred Massively's format for the fact that it was so much easier on the eyes, even if they too could have improved.
And that leads me to the point of all this and brings us back to the topic itself. We are now living in a time where life is crazier than ever and it is vital to provide simplfied bits of infomation in bursts that are sure to catch viewers immediate attention. I, myself enjoy reading, but even I'm finding less and less time to read or sift through cluttered sites. The competition is stiff for sites like yours as Youtube and Twitch are basically more advanced and enjoyable ways for gamers to get the info they need in regards to the games that appeal to them...yet I find it strange that MMORPGs presence on Twitch is non-existent.
It is often more assecible for people to watch video content than it is to read. You can digest more information in less time. Look at Twitter for instance, which is ginormous -- 140 characters or less is a major reason why! In addition, the major selling point of Twitch, is that I can still multitask while watching/listening. Case in point, I'm listening to a stream on Twitch while I'm writing this.
Let's face it, most would rather watch or listen to something than read as reading requires their full attention, which most people are giving less of these days. Don't agree with me, then riddle me this: Why are we talking about sites like Massively going the way of the dinosaur while Twitch is growing and flourishing?!
It's simple, I can watch and listen to twitch while I'm working, gaming, etc. and at the same time I am getting my fill of gaming news/content that matters.
I'm not sure if more video content/discussions is the way MMORPG will need to go in the future, but I would imagine the delivery of content on this site will have to change eventually. I'm not suggesting that you won't find people that are willing to read your articles, but I would imagine that the number of people is shrinking and will continue to diminish in the future.
Finally, while I do believe that the genre may be changing or even shrinking a bit, I believe this might be overblown as I don't think it's necessarily the genre as much as it is Massively and MMORPGs antiquated way of deliveriing gaming news. Like the newspaper to the Internet and the CD to digital music, times are a changing and sites like Massively and MMORPG must adapt or be left behind.
Just my 2 cents worth.
I completely agree. It's one thing for the direction of the genre to go towards one thing or another, it's quite another when everyone jumps on the bandwagon and screws the original and traditional audience. If anything, it would be more economically viable to cater to all types rather than everyone going down the "considered" gobs of money direction.
I'm not going to say I'm happy to see Massively go but their insistent beating of the F2P > everything drum, extreme pro solo anti group/raid bias and general focus of articles on the whole really drove me away from visiting the site daily to just once in a while to check in.
Noticed this while going through and reading other's posts after posting my thoughts. Have a look at my post and it pretty much says the same thing as yours.
Seems you and I are both seeing the big picture on this one.
I agree in large parts. 10 years ago i worked for a dutch game website. I worked there as forum crew. In those day's there weren't that many game sites yet. IGN was rather new and upcomming, there was gamespot and some others. But most game news was still read in game magazines and seen on TV in game shows (yeah youtube wasn't there yet).
Back then game sites still had game journalists, not just reviewers. People who actually looked into games. The quallity of reviews was a lot better and there was a hell lot more coverage that went indepth in games. Now 10 years later i cry when i see the website i worked for and what has happened to IGN and Gamespot and such. They all became weak when the industry became booming.
What also see now is that a lot of mainstream gamers become game reviewers. And they confuse their private life with their job. Something that has been bothering me for a long time now in the game press compared to how it used to be. Sure reviewing games is a part personal taste. But there is also the journalistic point where you need to look at the product you review and look at what works well and what doesn't. Even if the game is bad it doesn't mean you can't like it. Hell i love Dynasty Warrior but i know not every version is very good and i see how it for many people is not a good game. But many game reviewers don't think that way. They think "OMG OMG OMG OMG I get to play CoD before all those other B#tches! I'm so hyyyyyyped...o boy o boy o boy". And if you dare to say game sites need to be more consistant, then people shout "thats taking away their creative freedom". No you dodos! Its not, its makeing sure your website/magazine stays thrustworthy. Didn't anyone learn shizzle from Gamergate? HOw can you explain as Gamespot that you give CoD Ghost a 8, a solid 8!!!! When the game was not optimized on the PC, when the game was generic as shizzle and a overal poor game. Heck many of the die hard CoD fans were even disapointed with this game. A game that got hyped with "we got fish that swim away from you, o boy! No one ever done that befor ein a game...beside Mario 64 more then 15 years ago" and "We have a dog in our game!". And yet the same gamesite gives another game a rereview, that first had a 8.5 and after the rereview a 5.5...with as comments and i kid you not "Generic, doesn't do much new, gets old after a while". Right......this is a game that was made by only a few people with only a minor budget...but that is okay to give it a rereview and burn it down on the exact same things that are wrong with CoD...but CoD never gets a rereview cause the mainstream none gamers love that game so much, because THERE ARE BRIBES...Gamespot never ever been able to explain to me this. I been posting facts in many of their reviews where i saw that the games where burned down on weak AI, dated graphics and being generic. I always used CoD as example and pointed out with facts why CoD is not a 9 and what it doesn't make sense to punish lower budget games for the mistakes CoD makes who has a insane budget. Defenders always shout its done by a different reviewer..but that is the problem. It shouldn't matter who reviews what. A reviewer should never let personal taste overrule the fact that its his/her damn job to mention the good and the bad things of a game and give a HONEST score based on facts and have personal count with that..not the other way around where personal taste overrules all else.
Same with a game magazine that i used to respect in the Netherlands. The Power Unlimited, the reviewer in question let his fanboyism take over his professional side. And this is a guy that worked there for a long long time. Who i used to respect as a game journalist but these days is just another mainstream hypeboy. Rome 2 total war. Remember that game? That game that was so full of bugs that the startship troopers thought Rome was the bug planet. He gave the game a 9.2 and not once did he ever mentioned the freaking bugs. Game breaking bugs that where really breaking the game where not mentioned. How can we take the proffesional press seriousely when they are doing these kind of stunts? When their fanboyism takes over their proffesionallity?
That is the reason why game sites like IGN and Gamespot are lossing many readers these days. Cause after gamergate many people had more then enough of it. Why would you look at their reviews when they are either bribbed or just big fans who can't be trusted to write a honest review as they let their fanboy side take over. Why would you take their word over that of people on youtube who atleast show gameplay footage for a longer peroid of time so you can actually see how the game plays. And many youtubers do a much more indepth review with what is good and wrong about games that you can form a clear picture of the game and if its any good for you or not.
The site i worked for kicked out all the journalists who at some point where critical about the way things went over there. When they refused to give a better score because a publisher paid for advertisements. Hell publishers did do advertisements back then as well...only difference, 10 years ago the publisher depended on the game magazines/websites...now its the othe rway around to stay up and running it seems.
In essence, the entire genre is going to shit because of watering down of every facet of it, including the reporting and media side of it.
What mmorpg.com could do is provide 'hardcore' articles and reviews. The vast majority of writers who review games on this site are casuals at best basing their reviews upon single player or easy content in games. Not once have I ever read a article or a review here what went into depth about hardmode raiding, or end game PvP spoken from the writers personal experience. Not once in a decade. Thats a BIG problem.
Your current staff are unwilling to do as such, that is evident. So why not get some of the people who have been posting here for a decade or more on the books and writing about what the hardcore gamers actually want to read about, not just some expanded text on the press release or as we have seen a few times here, articles that the pr campaign 'paid' for so they would get favorable review. Which does incredible damage to the industry, plz for the love of bacon stop that shit, PLZ. Trash games get 8's and 9's that tank a month after release are an massive turn off to investors who think thats the best of the best and it was a poor investment. Leading to less money and less decent titles getting proposed, less to play, less to report on, less of everything.
Did you know we have a biweekly FFXIV column?
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
My Review Manifesto
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Nope. And I'm a regular reader. Does that suggest you guys could possibly do a better job making it stand out?
(honestly, I don't care about FFXIV -- just saying I read daily and didn't realize there was a column)
One article biweekly is not really enough coverage for a game that actually has queues to get onto. Not if you want to keep readers who come here primarily for articles about their favourite games. A year ago i would come here and read 5 to 10 articles a day not to mention a load of forum posts. These days 1 or 2 articles and a load or forum posts which is a shame because i enjoy this site and enjoy reading articles about mmo's.
the genre is broken for as long as studios keep trying and failing to emulate 1 game and dont bother to do anything fun or interesting instead, there is a huge potential player base out there who dream for a real MMO with depth and no AAA studio has the desire to do anything but copy 1 other and fail then move to f2p and milk the lovers of pixels for many $
Stop trying to take 1 games player base and failing but instead do something the rest of us want, its not that hard really they just dont have the vision
Why is it only the indie companies who see the potential these days?
I hope your site redesign improves the site dramatically, there is a lot of interesting content here but I just can't be bothered to find it these days, my time is more important.
What I would like to see from MMORPG.com is more coverage of Asian MMOs. Massively did it a little bit and I'm not expecting it to be of significance, but just the odd piece of coverage of how the market is coming along in China and Korea would be nice. And that doesn't mean talking about their business models, because they are usually free to play and that results in a comment section turning hostile. But there do have some interesting art and design choices, and more variation in what they do than western MMOs these days.
Like Steparu does, but less frequent