Why aren't superhero MMOs more popular?

MikeB

All I want to do is play City of Heroes again.

Wizardry

There is nothing stopping them from being great games as MMO's aside from the MANY bad game developers.

Those games you mentioned,although you like them,i have no problem with that,but they are SHALLOW game designs.

WE need more than just a  character and a bland meaningless world and that is the problem with game design,they always promise the world but in the end just another shallow game design.

I constantly bring it up,not because i am a fanbois,heck i don't even play the game anymore but 2003 FFXI was the LAST game to actually have some depth in it's design,everything since has been a down grade.

Game design is so bad now and so predictable,no longer the argument you need to play for months to really grasp the game,no now you can figure out what the game is doing in the first 5 minutes.

I am by no means cheap,i sit here everyday just hoping,praying some good developer coems along,heck i would pay 50 bucks a month "i am serious" if the game showed me some quality and was a REAL MMO+RPG not just a pile of mini games and goofy ideas.

Using the super hero theme,to me i look these current Super Hero games like playing Eve,you have your character or SHip and a meaningless world. I simply cannot get excited about that,i want those buildings to be full of life like they would in a real world,with chatting and npc's and shops and maybe a few policemen walking around ,Hospitols,doctors ect ect.After all what is the SUPER HERO protecting if there is no world?      

 

 

dreamscaper

Originally posted by MikeB
All I want to do is play City of Heroes again.

 

AndrewDoK

because when EVERYONE is a superhero, nobody feels like a superhero

OhhPaigey

Good question tbh, I'd probably turn the question around and ask why aren't they popular to developers, has there been some research or something that they are just not worth making anymore?

If yes, my argument would be that there hasn't been a good super hero MMO to play in years, so whatever study/research was done would be irrelevant basically.

Azaron_Nightblade

I'm guessing that they are intimidated by not even the big titles like DCUO doing well.

Devs: "What chance does an original IP stand when not even Bats and Supes can save the day?" =/

Something which is further reinforced by NCSoft killing off CoH, and CO never really going anywhere from day one.

 

nariusseldon

Originally posted by AndrewDoK
because when EVERYONE is a superhero, nobody feels like a superhero

just make it an illusion that only you are the super hero. Video games is all about illusion anyway. It is not like people actually achieve anything in video games but "achievements" are popular.

 

nariusseldon

Originally posted by maskedweasel

Marvel Heroes..... isn't really an MMORPG,  and while the gameplay is pretty interesting,  you can't create your own character.. you can't feel unique... and personally I don't see much longevity in character progression, so it falls flat for me.

 

That is the selling point, advantage of that game. When  i play a super hero game, i don't want to play a self-made iron man knock off .. .i want to play iron man, captain america and the famous characters.

And there are so many characters in MH that you can just play and "finish" each hero, and that will  last you a long time. It is a great single player game if you treat it as such. In fact, already better than Marvel Ultimate Alliance for me because it has more content.

 

goboygo

MMO's are popular because they are good regardless of what kind they are.  And actually I don't know any gamers personally ,and I know allot of them, that are particularly fond of superheros. 

So I guess the answer is because not to many people are into that sort of thing.

 

Sovrath

Originally posted by Kyleran
To quote evil villian Syndrome from the Incredibles, when everyone is super, no one will be, or something to that effect.

I just can't get into a MMO where there are hundreds if not thousands of super heroes around, takes away any of the unique awe super heroes are supposed to be.

Fantasy MMOs aren't quite the same, most players you run by pretty much look and act like average schmoos so it's easier to maintain illusion.

Heck, in EVE I'm practically a moisture farmer these days, devoting much of my time mining, no issues being surrounded by too many heroes.

I think there is something to this. Additionally,  horror games are as popular as other games yet "horror movies" are popular.

Same with with the Super Hero Movies.

I have to say I enjoy Super Hero Movies but have absolutely no interest in comics or even Super Hero games.

laserit

Why aren't superhero MMO's more popular?

 

Lets just say... Men in Tights 

Thebeasttt

I hate superhero MMO's because developers use the genre as an excuse to be as cheesy as humanly possible. The atmosphere should be more like The Watchmen and less like the Incredibles(though ironically Incredibles was the far superior movie lol).

daltanious

I think is not problem regarding popularity but low produce quality of all up to date MMO's with superheroes. Not talking about graphics which are great, loved CO's. Would continue to play if quality would be remotely as good as Wow, Swtor, ... with a lot of depth, necessary abilities combinations, ....

jonp200

It's the leotards.. Hard to feel heroic in a leotard....

CalmOceans

Superheroes is a strictly US phenomenon, we don't have any superheroes in Europe. We have bandes dessinees instead of comics, but they don't feature superheroes like they do in the US.

Maybe that might explain why there's not a lot of MMO about them. The market for superheroes is quite limited in scope.

hfztt

"When everybody is super, no one is."

nerovipus32

I am just not into superheroes and with the constant barrage of superhero movies it's an even bigger turn off.

Phry

Originally posted by CalmOceans

Superheroes is a strictly US phenomenon, we don't have any superheroes in Europe. We have bandes dessinees instead of comics, but they don't feature superheroes like they do in the US.

Maybe that might explain why there's not a lot of MMO about them. The market for superheroes is quite limited in scope.

Think you might have to narrow the scope to a significantly smaller area than Europe, no idea what badnes is, but i doubt its in any way Europe wide or would have heard of it, on the other hand, Superheroes are very much a well known and 'well read' thing, the amount of comics that contain them, is not just relegated to the USA.

COH/COV to my mind was the last successful MMO in the genre, neither CO or DCUO, really gained any real traction, although DCUO did pretty well for a time on Console, Marvel Heroes to my mind has more in common with MOBA's.

I think there is room for a decent Superhero game, the only real question is who is going to make one, using COH/COV would to my mind, be a good basis to build upon, if only..

BruceYee

IMO the only superhero game to come out that had real character was CoX and CO was ok.

DCUO & Marvel Heroes are too shallow and too cash shop heavy.

Sulaa

I don't find concept of playing SuperHero MMO or MMORPG interesting.   Why?  It is just not interesting for me.  I don't need any deeper reason or understanding tbh.

elocke

Originally posted by Dreamo84

Personally, I think it's largely the gameplay/combat style. People play superhero games they want big action, they wanna feel super strong and powerful and throw enemies all over the place.

I remember often getting my ass kicked in CoH by a gang of Mafia guys... ya... that's how I wanna feel like a superhero. Getting my ass kicked by Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta.

Now, if Cryptic had ever made a superhero MMO with combat similar to Neverwinter... we might be on to something.

Well said.  This is why I don't play em.  They haven't gotten the "feel" right yet.  I hated CoH, CO and DCU due to the character control "feel" on top of the instanced zones aspect although DCU at least feels bigger.  Need a true superhero MMO that is Open World with combat that is visceral, natural, has low TTK on regular mobs and feels great to play.  Character feedback, that's what it's called.

iixviiiix

We don't have enough joker in the deck  ...

Sector13

I just found superhero MMOs to be boring. You start as a hero with a costume and not much else is needed. In a fantasy MMO I can get skills, money, weapons, armor, trade skills, all kinds of things to progress. 

gervaise1

If you want to make a new mmo (game) you need:

• something to base the game on - a concept; this could be an existing concept or a new one.
• a market - people to buy the game

As far as "superhero mmo concepts go there are basically only two: Marvel and DC. Worldwide recognition through the film industry so a worldwide market. Just two big companies so 2 games basically. 

 

CoH, as the first superhero on the market, went down the path of creating a "new" stable of "heroes". Marvel filed a legal challenge the same year and whilst it didn't really progress anyone creating another such game would have to include the prospect in their deliberations.

 

Bandes dessinees e.g. Asterix, Tintin - and if you stretch the geographical definition the likes of Judge Dredd. All of these have gained wider recognition through films but .... the material for a superhero game? 

 

There are others creations but without wide audience recognition you have limited sales potential. Maybe the best you could hope for would be to take e.g. Dan Dare or Luther Arkwright (major creation of a "well known" main stream award winning "comic" star Bryan Talbot) into TSW say.

 

You need recognition to provide the market. And you need a wide ranging enough concept. You could make an Asterix or a Judge Dredd game but I suspect they would be single player type set of 50 hours mission play (or 30, or 100 or ..)

 

So we have DC and we have Marvel.

 

 

GeezerGamer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8I9pYCl9AQ