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AoC's Expansion???...I have doubts.
Blackwell99
Member Posts: 352
The odds are way against Funcom and the huge salvage operation they have before them. I would personally say they have a zero chance of AoC being profitable from here on in.
Most of AoC’s hope rest on the shoulders of the expansion. Now this maybe months and months away, but I would expect that it’s priority status has been cranked into overdrive with the recent lay offs.
Is there anybody who doesn’t expect this Xpac to be a absolute train wreck?
-As history has taught us they can’t get patches in AoC correctly without breaking a mechanic (like sieges, which basically crash every time-not all of them, but enough that people refuse to participate in them)
-FC come across as being under enormous pressure; which could mean an unfinished, untested, and deeply flawed expansion.
-There is a crazy amount of new and relevant MMO to compete with on the horizon. Never mind what has already been released recently and the expansion for established games that will be coming out / or been out by the time Godslayer comes out.
-The official AoC boards are absolutely covered in angry customers, and it has been that way all September. Is there any bigger indicator of losing population than that? How does that turn around?
-Plus they have a crap load of bugs to fix right now, are they going to get that right first?. Because they have had 1.5 years to clean it up, and a lot of players will tell you that the game is way worse than before patch 1.05.
-The xpac; from what we are told of now, even if it was perfect..it is fairly skinny in content with no new classes, or an increase in level cap. (really just pets and a new race and expanded talent tree, which is broken for most classes atm anyways)
-The population is dismal at best right now. Imagine what will it be like 4-5 months from now?
-The game engine is 10 years old; which some games can pull off but with all the new blood entering the market-won’t it seem like a dinosaur by then? I mean it’s Anarchy Online’s engine.
-Plus what about all the former customers who were lied to and fed empty promises--they won’t come back no matter what.
-The niche of low-fanasty is a myth. The only difference with AoC and WoW is that AoC doesn’t have glowing armour and weapons. So there really isn’t a niche at all.
-PvE instances Crash like Vistrix all the time
-Class balance is still out of whack.
The question is: How in the world does AoC manoeuvre from here? Thats a lot of stuff for a smaller company, one that has recently been downsized even more.
Is F2P the answer?
What would have to happen to make the release of Godslayer a success?
Comments
I don't care. but f2p don't mean their make more money.
It's possible. But no one really knows.
It is very doubtful that the expansion will have a retail box. How could it with just 100k players worldwide.
If there is no retail box, then the expansion is completely about 'existing customers'. When a WOW expansion puts a box on the shelves, there is a huge influx of new players because of visability. With a non-retail expansion, it's just 'another' patch.
AOC is dead, they are just going to milk existing players one last time.
Well i think one solution would be:
In some businesses getting to this point in it's lifecycle. Its not a bad idea to dissolve it and reopen under "New Management." It's costs alot but basically you change the company name, logo, letter-head...some management...etc.
Then you start fresh,
Release a brand new product that kicks-ass from here to Zonkers.
And bang! People know the new product has something to do with the Former FC, but the new product is associated with the new company...next thing you know...you're right on track. This new product kicks off the new brand!
If it was my company--I would strongly recommend this and snagging some talent from another company to add to the highlight reel. This allows for a "rebirth."
Again it's a logistical nightmare, and is extremely costly-but the reward (if the execution was correctly performed) could evolve the company a great deal.
Yes...but you are talking if FC could actually execute something properly....besides themselves.
Hey another hate AoC thread. Good for you! Yes Funcom is satan and everyone needs you to point it out.