Reason being is that the "second chances" of APB and Gods and Heroes is notable but will soon be forgotten. The large amount for a virtual property is compelling but it's not like we haven't seen other peoople/organizations buy virtual property before.
I think the Rise of Freemium is notable because it's a big change in how these games earn revenue and will not only affect content but how these games are developed.
It's a paradigm shift that seems to resonate for me.
My reasoning exactly. All the other choices here will be forgotten soon, only this one has legs.
I'd have to say the biggest MMO news story of the year is that WoW sold something like twenty million dollars worth of their Celestial Steed mount.
Think about that. Even for a well funded triple-A game, that's about half of what it costs to build the full game.
... and they made this much back on a single cash shop item?
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I boggle at the lack of forsight shown by statements in the article... Premium games going free mode with stores not forseeable?
I saw that coming with LoTRO back when they offered "Lifetime Subscriptions". $200 US at $15 a month... That's a bit over a years worth of subscription time up front -- and that's going to keep an MMO running for years with no income from a large chunk of the community? No - that "Free Play" was planned for a while by that corporation.
The other Fremium's had been stagnate and losing ground, subscription wise, for some time. To beef them up, they looked at the "buy gold!" industry and decided there was extra-income potential from selling in-game items so we see online stores that sell stuff and some of what they sell does grant in-game advantages beyond what "non-payers" can do.
No -- no surprises here. More profits and only mutters from the bulk of the subscribers... FEW cancled accounts due to stores being put in and once in... more and more "functionality" will come up for sale to increase those sales. Why not? Few even tried to stop it with more than just whine posts and some of the games STILL have subscriptions -AND- in-game stores now...
Two of the 'top' stories are about two MMO's which nearly died and may have got a reprieve. We don’t know for sure either of those MMO’s will see the light of day. Does this not say something to you about the state of gaming currently?
I voted the Entropia Universe one. I mean geez...Thats a LOT of money
yeah i remember watching a show on discovery talkin about virtual online game and it was a guy he was a singer or celebrity of some sort after his wife died he sold his rl house spent the money from it on a huge chunk of the game then rented and sold all the rooms on it too other players. him and his wife both were hard core in that game.
As a startling admission of greed, and the fail of the industry to produce quality product that they can charge a premium price for, I agree.
I wouldnt have called it the rise of 'freemium' though (god, I loath these marketing buzz words that disguise the truth), I would have called it 'the rise of profiteering over fair profit at the expense of the gamer and his games'.
Reason being is that the "second chances" of APB and Gods and Heroes is notable but will soon be forgotten. The large amount for a virtual property is compelling but it's not like we haven't seen other peoople/organizations buy virtual property before.
I think the Rise of Freemium is notable because it's a big change in how these games earn revenue and will not only affect content but how these games are developed.
It's a paradigm shift that seems to resonate for me.
Exactly. Also this is a shift in payment models that I personally think will change the way we pay and play MMOs in the future. This will change the way MMOs will be designed for years to come. All of the other news stories are small potatoes compared to this one.
No other MMO was cancelled anywhere nearly as quickly as APB has, the idea of which seemed to shock the industry to some extent for both players and developers.
That APB was bought for a sum for a small fraction of it's development cost to be ressurected is just the icing on the cake.
It will change the MMO industry that many high standard MMO have gone free to play. I can see that payment model becoming more popular in the future, changing the MMO industry. If for the better or worse, I don't know, but it's certainly "the biggest story 2010" for me.
People believe the $335,000 story? A bigger story would have been the publicity stunt behind it.
None of the above. I think some posters gave us several good options. I'd have to go with EVE's fall of a massive player empire in-game. This is the most intriguing story ever for MMOs, in my opinion.
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My reasoning exactly. All the other choices here will be forgotten soon, only this one has legs.
I'd have to say the biggest MMO news story of the year is that WoW sold something like twenty million dollars worth of their Celestial Steed mount.
Think about that. Even for a well funded triple-A game, that's about half of what it costs to build the full game.
... and they made this much back on a single cash shop item?
I boggle at the lack of forsight shown by statements in the article... Premium games going free mode with stores not forseeable?
I saw that coming with LoTRO back when they offered "Lifetime Subscriptions". $200 US at $15 a month... That's a bit over a years worth of subscription time up front -- and that's going to keep an MMO running for years with no income from a large chunk of the community? No - that "Free Play" was planned for a while by that corporation.
The other Fremium's had been stagnate and losing ground, subscription wise, for some time. To beef them up, they looked at the "buy gold!" industry and decided there was extra-income potential from selling in-game items so we see online stores that sell stuff and some of what they sell does grant in-game advantages beyond what "non-payers" can do.
No -- no surprises here. More profits and only mutters from the bulk of the subscribers... FEW cancled accounts due to stores being put in and once in... more and more "functionality" will come up for sale to increase those sales. Why not? Few even tried to stop it with more than just whine posts and some of the games STILL have subscriptions -AND- in-game stores now...
There needs to be a none of the above option as none of these stories aere of much interest to many in not most all MMO players.
1st $335,000 Virtual Property - this from playing a video game? Win.
2nd The Rise of Freemium Gaming - totally expected thanks to social networks and browser MMOs F2P and cash shop explosion.
3rd All-Points Bulletin – The Death and Resurrection and Gods & Heroes – The Revival - as common as it gets.
Two of the 'top' stories are about two MMO's which nearly died and may have got a reprieve. We don’t know for sure either of those MMO’s will see the light of day. Does this not say something to you about the state of gaming currently?
Agreed. Like Freemium this was a ground breaking move and it should have been on the list.
Granted, it did not pass through as originally intended but then again, chances for G&H and APB to ever see light of the day are still slim to none.
yeah i remember watching a show on discovery talkin about virtual online game and it was a guy he was a singer or celebrity of some sort after his wife died he sold his rl house spent the money from it on a huge chunk of the game then rented and sold all the rooms on it too other players. him and his wife both were hard core in that game.
As a startling admission of greed, and the fail of the industry to produce quality product that they can charge a premium price for, I agree.
I wouldnt have called it the rise of 'freemium' though (god, I loath these marketing buzz words that disguise the truth), I would have called it 'the rise of profiteering over fair profit at the expense of the gamer and his games'.
Voted "Freemium". I was going to comment on profiteering but you beat me to it.
I see it as yet another way for developers to create games for the lowest common denominator.
What ever happened to having to rely on skill, time, and effort to attain the cool doohickies? Why bother? I can just whip out my CC#.
I'm so sick of mediocrity. Maybe I'm just getting too old for MMO"s.
number uno for me was the rise of the freemium. close second was the virtual world sale.
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Exactly. Also this is a shift in payment models that I personally think will change the way we pay and play MMOs in the future. This will change the way MMOs will be designed for years to come. All of the other news stories are small potatoes compared to this one.
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APB.
No other MMO was cancelled anywhere nearly as quickly as APB has, the idea of which seemed to shock the industry to some extent for both players and developers.
That APB was bought for a sum for a small fraction of it's development cost to be ressurected is just the icing on the cake.
Gods and Heroes!!!!!! I love it!
blah
Where is the "none of the above" choice?
I can't wait for F2P APB !!
I voted the Rise of Freemium Gaming.
It will change the MMO industry that many high standard MMO have gone free to play. I can see that payment model becoming more popular in the future, changing the MMO industry. If for the better or worse, I don't know, but it's certainly "the biggest story 2010" for me.
I voted for "The Rise of Freemium Gaming"
DDO showed that you can be successful in a f2p environment with a good product.
redemption of APB is also thanks to rise of freemium.
The Rise of Freemium Gaming. F2P DDO made huge impact on MMO genre
wrong thread please delete.
People believe the $335,000 story? A bigger story would have been the publicity stunt behind it.
None of the above. I think some posters gave us several good options. I'd have to go with EVE's fall of a massive player empire in-game. This is the most intriguing story ever for MMOs, in my opinion.
Once upon a time....
I don't know about freemium being biggest news story considering it was expected.
DDO had to go free to play or shut down.
LotRO wasn't as bad off but with the new MMO's on the horizon it had the same option coming up.
Same for EQ2
As is the same for CO.
All of these MMO's that went free to play did so in leu of closing down. We saw it coming and discussed it before it was ever announced lol.
Big news for me is something unexpected. Which the closing of APB and announced re-opening of APB in the future was.
I was sad to see it go and I'm excited to see it return.
Gods and Heroes