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Is CCP, makers of EvE Online, a AAA company?
Khalathwyr
Member UncommonPosts: 3,133
CCP was a little known company before they created a sandbox game called EvE: Online. They weathered their fair share of storms and over the years and through controversy have grown EvE to a respectable MMO. They have done well enough that they have purchased a well known Pencil and Paper gaming company in White Wolf (of Vampire:TM, Mage, Werewwolf, etc., fame) started work on their second MMO based on the new version of World of Darkness.
Has Cinderella finally made it to the AAA ball?
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Comments
eve is a masterpiece i wish more mmos were as complex as it
i agree with him
i agree with him
i wish someone would try to adapt the eve style to an avatar based game
imagine having to train your character to use certain types of weapons and fighting styles to use with them
They are definitely a AAA company as far as I'm concerned. They're working on 2 MMOs at the moment - World of Darkness, and Dust 514, which is made more awesome by the fact that there is no publisher breathing down their necks telling them what to put in their games. They seem like an incredible company to work for, attracting no lack of talent from seemingly everywhere. I'd say their 'rags to riches' success with EVE has been pretty impressive, and more than earns them the title of a AAA company. Not to mention they have one of the very few games, if not the only, to consistently rise in subscriptions since its release.
I think that CCP is one of the rare actual AAA MMO companies, although many of them thump their chest in such claims. They sell quality, keep in touch with their vision, expand their product and support it, invest in new technologies to support expanding their game.
To be honest, I'm confused why this is even a topic. As vague a definition as "AAA" is, it's pretty frickin clear CCP is a producer of quality MMORPGs.
Whether or not you're part of the niche-y crowd EVE appeals to (I'm not,) you have to admit it's AAA-quality.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
I have to go with yes.
No. AA? Sure. They have money, a game with fans, and their purchase of White Wolf shows they've got some business sense. BUT... they've had too many problems that were handled poorly. Turning a blind eye to employees cheating in the companies game on their private accounts until players break the story shows that they are not AAA.
AAA usually means two things in company:
1) They belong to the American Automobile Association... which is doubtful since they are an Icelandic company.
2) they have the best credit rating you can get.Since I doubt you are referring to the first instance then I don't know how everyday gamers can comment on the credit rating of a company without the facts to back it up...
Can you define your definition of AAA rating for a MMO game developer?
i agree with him
i wish someone would try to adapt the eve style to an avatar based game
imagine having to train your character to use certain types of weapons and fighting styles to use with them
That game is called Darkfall.
The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
what is a AAA company, ive heard the term countless times but does anyone know what it actually means?
You have to create more than one niche game that has had 6 years of development to make better. EVE is a great title for the people who like it and it's an A for the stuff it tries but it ain't no AAA must have for everyone.
Wait for their two new games to come out and see how well they do.
Valve are AAA
Blizzard are AAA
Nintendo are AAA
CCP at one time hosted the game RF Online and even though it wasn't their flagship game, they just kind of let it out to rot and die.
Of course, EVE is top notch, but I don't quite think they're AAA quality yet.
"IRL is a pretty upstanding MMO with thousands of classes, a lot of PvP and even some pretty unique emotes and titles you can acquire. Explore that world first, then we'll talk about this virtual one."
The only AAA company that actually matters is the one that give you roadside assistance.
MMORPG wise, best let the games speak for themselves individually.
That's CCR
They've produced one outstanding game. I'm not sure being a 1-hot wonder qualifies as "AAA". If they can make a go of WoD and/or Dust then no-one could deny their status.l
Give me liberty or give me lasers
double post
I actually think it would be about where it is. People who play EVE right now are not likely to be be entertained by a themepark space MMO for very long. Sure, they might dabble in a new game, but they stay with EVE over the long haul.
Back on topic, I'd define a AAA company by how much funding it has to deliver a game, so on that basis I'd call CCP more of a AA company.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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They'll have to make another game that actually competes with other games. 1 niche game under your belt isn't much in the grand scheme of things. Remember, Eve has had NO competition. Theres not a single supported space based MMO out there in a niche subgenre of MMOs. CCP obviously made a great game for the people that enjoy it, has done some unique things and it does what it does well. But lets get real here. It has very little appeal outside a very specific audience and has thrived more due to not having to share its audience with anyone else and the fact that its growth has a lot to do with people buying 2 or 3 accounts. You'd be hardpressed to find many vets that aren't 2 boxing by now.
If Eve was doing space MMOs better than a bunch of others out there, you could say its awesome. But there aren't any other space MMOs out there=) Its like being the only one in town who sells hamburgers. Of course people are going to eat there. Where else are people going to eat hamburgers if you're the only ones selling them? Success in the face of adversity is the true test of a game and developer. CCP as had no real adversity and no competition, which means they have never been tested. To become great you need some sort of scale to judge a game on. Eve is the only MMO on its own scale. You can only judge it against itself.
A developer for me needs to become a little more mainstream and recognizable outside the nerd hardcore to be considered AAA. It needs to make some games better than others. It needs to compete and trounce other developers. It needs to have some actual influence over other games. CCP made 1 niche game radically different from others that slowly grew over many years within a sub genre it shares with no other games. C'mon. What did they really accomplish so far? They'll have to do a bit more.
Yes, but on technicallity no. To be AAA you need to be top 5 in subscriber base, which means that it gets pushed out of the list by crap like runescape and similar.
I guess you could always go New York Times book list and disqualify any genre you don't like. but that's not really a victory then.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
CCP has done some amazing things with EVE, but unless they make WOD (or another title) a great title like EVE im not ready to put them in the AAA category just yet.
Played : WOW, LOTRO, COH/COV, EQ2, SWG, and WAR.
Playing EVE Online and AOC.
Wtg for SW:TOR and WOD
Gonna make a compairison here, If Blizzard can be called a AAA company then CCP definetly is..
They've produced one outstanding game. I'm not sure being a 1-hot wonder qualifies as "AAA". If they can make a go of WoD and/or Dust then no-one could deny their status.l
Just so you understand Blizzard is also a one shot MMO wonder.
The meaning of AAA for me has always been about how much cash/credit a company is worth in order to back it's games. Blizzard, EA, Square Enix, SCE, Bioware and Nintendo are some AAA companies. But not all AAA companies put out AAA products all the time.
More so, even some independent companies can put out a AAA game: CCP with EvE Online, Rocksteady Studios with Batman: Arkham Asylum and Bethesda Softworks with Fallout 3. But I do not consider 1 or 2 hits from a company enough to qualify them as AAA.
Take Turbine, Inc. for instance. They have 3 titles under their belt which all happen to be MMOs. But because of the type of games they make, they are having a hard time finding the investors to raise the 300+ million they want for their next endeavor. As of now they have about 88 million of that. To me that's not a AAA company.
When a company reaches a status that has investors knocking at their door, has products or money invested into more than one platform (consoles, pc and/or movies) and is well known to more than mmo insiders. Then I would consider it AAA in my book.
**Of course this is all my opinion.
"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas."
Do I love EVE? Oh yeah I do. But, I don't think 1 game and a huge number of PR errors would make CCP a AAA company.
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Telthalion Rohircil - Guardian - Elemandir - Lord of The Rings Online
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== RIP == Torey - Commando - Orion - Tabula Rasa == RIP ==
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Jordaniel Torey - Navy Megathron, Active Armor Tank - Tranquility - EVE Online
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