Let's say you're an investor. You find several companies in MMO market.
Several are in perpetual growth (think WoW or EvE). Some are making profits across the board and expanding (think GW) Some are a solid business (DaoC, UO) Then there's SWG.
Mind you, these are the titles. That's it. They all exist in the same market, with same customers (there is no difference between McD and BurgerKing customers). While many have found a way to run their business, SWG is failing.
I have to disagree with you here. If you look at WoW's release in 4th quarter 04 when comparing the charts at mmorpgchart.com you will notice that today the total MMOG active subscriber base for the industry has increased around 5 million. WoW has a subscriber base of 5-6 million. I am not saying all of their subscribers are new to the MMOG genre, but if you look at the curve of the graph for "total active subsribers" at the point WoW is released, that curve grows at a much faster rate then ever before.
What I'm saying is WoW did target a diffrent market because if it just targeted the pre-existing market then total activee MMOG subscribers would not have jumped the way it has. So it was not the same market. (Even if people have multiple subscriptions to diffrent MMORPG's it can not explan away that huge of an increase)
BUT--
This has nothing to do with the mismanagement of SWG.
(and I know mmorpgchart.com is not gospel, but I have not seen any other sources that track MMORPG users and the fact that developers treat SirBruce as a credable source gives me some comfort in the accuracy of his numbers.)
What vivendi did was amazing and should be a landmark on marketing.
One thing is to have a brand name and another is to use it properly.I too agree that a vast majority of the 5m are newcomers.
But here is what SWG did at release.
1)limited sales - i had to pre order months before it came out from the USA and use the DHL option
2)slow release outside NA- ok yes WoW took a few months to reach rest of the world but that was because they were preparing for a wide distrubition of the game.SWG got released many months later in the UK and was so quiet and hardly any ads and in just major gaming shops.
3)ignore potential markets.- i wrote an article a few weeks back about my trip to russia and how the only mmorpg i saw for sale in most places was WoW.Given it has moscow and st .peterburg were internet is widely avaliable and both cities have a population of well over 15m+ people .I recently was talking to a chap in planetside just back from prague and he said the exact same thing.
4)a horrible launch.WoW launch was not great but roses compared to SWG.I said it 1000 times a horrible launch can kill a mmorpg forever.AO learnt that the hard way.
Ya know, since Jim Ward is the supersalesman who worked for Nike and Microsoft and Ford, and who, in his own wee head is going to save gaming with his superior business modeling---why hasn't he put any effort at all into SWG? He has been on board at LA for long enough.
Is he unable to get his head around what the game is (or was)? Can't get the hang of the keyboard instead of a PS2 controller? Is he among us as the fat naked guy we see blowing a slitherhorn at starports and he never got farther in the game than that? Tsk.
Originally posted by Rabia Originally posted by BlazinBlades People need someone to blame and Smedly is it. There are many others that share in the blame (Ward, Smedly, Devs, players, Raph), some people just need one person or thing to focus there blame on, and thats Smedly. Thank you for your time. Aside from blaming Jim Ward and Smedley, we also need to blame the second class players that tolerate the garbage known as NGE.
Aww, how cute. I am only a second class player now.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Originally posted by Rabia Jim Ward is just as responsible as John Smedley for SWG.... why don't folks blam Mr. Ward as well?
I think Jim Ward's name should be utter in the same digust as John Smedley.... yet I don't see most folks doing that. Why?
I guess he hasn't personally offended as many people as smed. Keeping quiet tends to piss people off less than telling them they are wrong, and should shut up and take it or leave. That is the general smed attitude.
Originally posted by BlazinBlades I did say the players, former players and present players are still the players of SWG, and share in the blame. Thank you for your time.
Keep the blame to the game makers and nothing more. The shots and players new or old over what SWG is now is really just getting petty. It's a game, there is no reason for anyone to be that way at another person over a computer game.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
How many companies have become empty shells of the companies they once were, simply because some marketing genius said they can make a better user base? The ultimate decision belongs to the CEO. However, the power of the consumer is seldom exercised. How many people (myself included) stuck around SWG simply because of the friendships we have and the idea that the game can't get any worse? How many honestly thought (and still convince themselves) everything will get better? Those of us that chose not to vote with our feet and our wallet contributed to the illusion that everything was gonna be alright.
The old model of the MMO (retain customer base, and count on word of mouth) was thrown out in favor of more box sales, more attempts to grow to a different fan base. The old Axiom of not making omlettes without breaking eggs comes to mind. The game has become overly simplistic so that it is mainly geared toward the short attention span set. I squarely place the blame at the foot of both companies. Looking at the arrogance that accompanied the first CU and NGE seems a little too much like a Lucas trait (Jar Jar is going to be an important part of the story, Nemoidians don't really sound like bad chopsocky flicks, I am going to direct and write the prequels....etc.) He never subscribed to the notion that Star Wars belonged to anyone but him and anyone else can go **** themselves (i.e. Greedo fires first) Sony's horrible customer service has become a hallmark of theirs lately (over heating PSX, and PS2) In the end, the NGE seems almost to be par for the course. We shall see. DC comics is SOE's next big property, not to mention the PS3 equivilent of X-box live. If those fail in a mass of bad decisions, we will know that SOE has a problem in it's management.
And if you think George Lucas isn't prone to bad decisions, go rent Howard the Duck.
Comments
I went "who the hell is jim ward"?
Thats the thing LA kept out of the front line and SoE stood there.
I have to disagree with you here. If you look at WoW's release in 4th quarter 04 when comparing the charts at mmorpgchart.com you will notice that today the total MMOG active subscriber base for the industry has increased around 5 million. WoW has a subscriber base of 5-6 million. I am not saying all of their subscribers are new to the MMOG genre, but if you look at the curve of the graph for "total active subsribers" at the point WoW is released, that curve grows at a much faster rate then ever before.
What I'm saying is WoW did target a diffrent market because if it just targeted the pre-existing market then total activee MMOG subscribers would not have jumped the way it has. So it was not the same market. (Even if people have multiple subscriptions to diffrent MMORPG's it can not explan away that huge of an increase)
BUT--
This has nothing to do with the mismanagement of SWG.
(and I know mmorpgchart.com is not gospel, but I have not seen any other sources that track MMORPG users and the fact that developers treat SirBruce as a credable source gives me some comfort in the accuracy of his numbers.)
What vivendi did was amazing and should be a landmark on marketing.
One thing is to have a brand name and another is to use it properly.I too agree that a vast majority of the 5m are newcomers.
But here is what SWG did at release.
1)limited sales - i had to pre order months before it came out from the USA and use the DHL option
2)slow release outside NA- ok yes WoW took a few months to reach rest of the world but that was because they were preparing for a wide distrubition of the game.SWG got released many months later in the UK and was so quiet and hardly any ads and in just major gaming shops.
3)ignore potential markets.- i wrote an article a few weeks back about my trip to russia and how the only mmorpg i saw for sale in most places was WoW.Given it has moscow and st .peterburg were internet is widely avaliable and both cities have a population of well over 15m+ people .I recently was talking to a chap in planetside just back from prague and he said the exact same thing.
4)a horrible launch.WoW launch was not great but roses compared to SWG.I said it 1000 times a horrible launch can kill a mmorpg forever.AO learnt that the hard way.
Ya know, since Jim Ward is the supersalesman who worked for Nike and Microsoft and Ford, and who, in his own wee head is going to save gaming with his superior business modeling---why hasn't he put any effort at all into SWG? He has been on board at LA for long enough.
Is he unable to get his head around what the game is (or was)? Can't get the hang of the keyboard instead of a PS2 controller? Is he among us as the fat naked guy we see blowing a slitherhorn at starports and he never got farther in the game than that? Tsk.
Lets get this idiot down!
Fire Jim Ward from his position, now! Sign the petition!
Aww, how cute. I am only a second class player now.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
-----Zero Punctuation Eve Online Review-----
Keep the blame to the game makers and nothing more. The shots and players new or old over what SWG is now is really just getting petty. It's a game, there is no reason for anyone to be that way at another person over a computer game.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
How many companies have become empty shells of the companies they once were, simply because some marketing genius said they can make a better user base? The ultimate decision belongs to the CEO. However, the power of the consumer is seldom exercised. How many people (myself included) stuck around SWG simply because of the friendships we have and the idea that the game can't get any worse? How many honestly thought (and still convince themselves) everything will get better? Those of us that chose not to vote with our feet and our wallet contributed to the illusion that everything was gonna be alright.
The old model of the MMO (retain customer base, and count on word of mouth) was thrown out in favor of more box sales, more attempts to grow to a different fan base. The old Axiom of not making omlettes without breaking eggs comes to mind. The game has become overly simplistic so that it is mainly geared toward the short attention span set. I squarely place the blame at the foot of both companies. Looking at the arrogance that accompanied the first CU and NGE seems a little too much like a Lucas trait (Jar Jar is going to be an important part of the story, Nemoidians don't really sound like bad chopsocky flicks, I am going to direct and write the prequels....etc.) He never subscribed to the notion that Star Wars belonged to anyone but him and anyone else can go **** themselves (i.e. Greedo fires first) Sony's horrible customer service has become a hallmark of theirs lately (over heating PSX, and PS2) In the end, the NGE seems almost to be par for the course. We shall see. DC comics is SOE's next big property, not to mention the PS3 equivilent of X-box live. If those fail in a mass of bad decisions, we will know that SOE has a problem in it's management.
And if you think George Lucas isn't prone to bad decisions, go rent Howard the Duck.