Originally posted by Ghost12 Do people actually want oldschool MMO's? Well, yes. People still play oldschool style MMO's. The real question you should be asking is: Is there a sizable portion of players that want somethig similar to old UO, AC, DAOC etc? The answer is...undoubtably and completely yes! There is a myth going around these forums that there isnt a large enough playerbase for investors and publishers to pump money into a game thats not going to sell to this kind of audience. THAT IS A MYTH!!! Its a myth because you have tons and tons of these publishers coming out backing up game after game of these WoW clones (many of them FTP with an Item Mall). MMO's dont always have to be big budget. Games dont always have to be big budget for them to be succesful - take Runescape for example. There you have a perfect shining example of a playerbase which exists on an "oldschool style" type of gameplay on a game which was not all that complicated to make. What it comes down to is laziness and greed. Why bother to create something in depth, deep and interesting when you can create a shallow game focused on gear, and hands off who wins in PvP to the highest paying player? The whole slew of FTP games trash on the market (especially the asian ones) are a great example of greed at its worst. The MMO industry is, slowly but surely, imploding due to a lack of innovation and creativity. These companies are like people who would throw gasoline on an already burning fire. The WOW demographic is oversaturated and the casual player who is happy to be on his little gear-treadmill grind isnt going anywhere. It is the gamers that want something more interesting "old school" as you may put it, is who are getting the shaft and are a potenial market for investors.
Because they don't make the kind of game you like?
Because they don't make the kind of game that caters to a marketable audience that hasn't been tapped into?
The argument of 'old school MMO' always comes up and how many people wants them (esp on this forum). The question is though, why aren't they playing the 'old school MMO' right now? Ryzom/Mortal Online/Dark fall to name a few are apparently 'old school'. But they just do not have the playerbase (sub numbers) that justifies heavy investments. Talking 7+ figures here.
Developers in general suffer from "Huge-itis". They don't want to do what Eve did (and what Perpetuum seems to be doing), which is to start a game off with the goal of, "We're going to be small, but really good." Even though it works. It worked for CCP, looks like it's going to work for Avatar Creations and it worked for Runic Games with Torchlight.
You'll never start and "old school" game off big. But you could start one off good and then make it big and successful. You could also start one off without the focus on PvP, which is something that MO and Darkfall did not do. This would attract more players. It could be done, but not the way it was done with Warhammer, LotRO or Rift. The way it's done didn't work out so well for Warhammer and it worked better for LotRO, but not as well as they'd hoped. Start small, make it big and you could make an Old School MMO and you could make it appeal to a large audience as well. At least I think so. But what do I know? I write business software and do performance analysis...I'm not any better than any other armchair developer out there. :-)
*edit* They aren't playing them because they're either under developed, or old. There are people who remember the old school days fondly, but they want it with a sexy new look and feel (imo).
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Well, yes. People still play oldschool style MMO's. The real question you should be asking is: Is there a sizable portion of players that want somethig similar to old UO, AC, DAOC etc?
The answer is...undoubtably and completely yes!
There is a myth going around these forums that there isnt a large enough playerbase for investors and publishers to pump money into a game thats not going to sell to this kind of audience.
THAT IS A MYTH!!!
Its a myth because you have tons and tons of these publishers coming out backing up game after game of these WoW clones (many of them FTP with an Item Mall).
MMO's dont always have to be big budget. Games dont always have to be big budget for them to be succesful - take Runescape for example. There you have a perfect shining example of a playerbase which exists on an "oldschool style" type of gameplay on a game which was not all that complicated to make.
What it comes down to is laziness and greed. Why bother to create something in depth, deep and interesting when you can create a shallow game focused on gear, and hands off who wins in PvP to the highest paying player? The whole slew of FTP games trash on the market (especially the asian ones) are a great example of greed at its worst.
The MMO industry is, slowly but surely, imploding due to a lack of innovation and creativity. These companies are like people who would throw gasoline on an already burning fire. The WOW demographic is oversaturated and the casual player who is happy to be on his little gear-treadmill grind isnt going anywhere. It is the gamers that want something more interesting "old school" as you may put it, is who are getting the shaft and are a potenial market for investors.
Because they don't make the kind of game you like?
Because they don't make the kind of game that caters to a marketable audience that hasn't been tapped into?
The argument of 'old school MMO' always comes up and how many people wants them (esp on this forum).
The question is though, why aren't they playing the 'old school MMO' right now?
Ryzom/Mortal Online/Dark fall to name a few are apparently 'old school'.
But they just do not have the playerbase (sub numbers) that justifies heavy investments. Talking 7+ figures here.
What I want to know is where are all the casual MMO's with 7+ figures player base. Besides WoW which other western MMO has hit over a million subs after the first couple of months. Looking at the MMO landscape suggesting the player base just wants casual WoW like games does not add up. Some have done well at launch, to lose half there player base before the first month is finished. It's time the developers to stop trying to take a piece of WoW's pie and start cooking up there own pie.
Well, yes. People still play oldschool style MMO's. The real question you should be asking is: Is there a sizable portion of players that want somethig similar to old UO, AC, DAOC etc?
The answer is...undoubtably and completely yes!
There is a myth going around these forums that there isnt a large enough playerbase for investors and publishers to pump money into a game thats not going to sell to this kind of audience.
THAT IS A MYTH!!!
Its a myth because you have tons and tons of these publishers coming out backing up game after game of these WoW clones (many of them FTP with an Item Mall).
MMO's dont always have to be big budget. Games dont always have to be big budget for them to be succesful - take Runescape for example. There you have a perfect shining example of a playerbase which exists on an "oldschool style" type of gameplay on a game which was not all that complicated to make.
What it comes down to is laziness and greed. Why bother to create something in depth, deep and interesting when you can create a shallow game focused on gear, and hands off who wins in PvP to the highest paying player? The whole slew of FTP games trash on the market (especially the asian ones) are a great example of greed at its worst.
The MMO industry is, slowly but surely, imploding due to a lack of innovation and creativity. These companies are like people who would throw gasoline on an already burning fire. The WOW demographic is oversaturated and the casual player who is happy to be on his little gear-treadmill grind isnt going anywhere. It is the gamers that want something more interesting "old school" as you may put it, is who are getting the shaft and are a potenial market for investors.
Because they don't make the kind of game you like?
Because they don't make the kind of game that caters to a marketable audience that hasn't been tapped into?
The argument of 'old school MMO' always comes up and how many people wants them (esp on this forum).
The question is though, why aren't they playing the 'old school MMO' right now?
Ryzom/Mortal Online/Dark fall to name a few are apparently 'old school'.
But they just do not have the playerbase (sub numbers) that justifies heavy investments. Talking 7+ figures here.
What I want to know is where are all the casual MMO's with 7+ figures player base. Besides WoW which other western MMO has hit over a million subs after the first couple of months. Looking at the MMO landscape suggesting the player base just wants casual WoW like games does not add up. Some have done well at launch, to lose half there player base before the first month is finished. It's time the developers to stop trying to take a piece of WoW's pie and start cooking up there own pie.
Exactly. I think some people here have lost sight of what exactly makes a successful business.
Lets say I wanted to open a restaurant. You would want to open your restaurant in a strategic location where there would be little competition from other restaurants. Am I right? There is the concept of "competition" that has a very real impact on sales. Even if you offer a superior product, your compeition will *always* draw customers from you.
Lets say WoW is a Pizza Parlor. Am I going to open a Pizza Parlor when you have another Parlor that not only has superior pizza but a dedicated consumer base? Only if I had to offer something special, or something unique or highly qualified would I open one. Its a bad business move to open up a parlor right next to the other; and well, the internet is a crowded place.
The problem is, most of these MMO companies arent offering anything all that superior to WoW. They are offering maybe a pie with different toppings, or a pie that is cooked differently, but its still a pizza parlor and most of the potential customer base will still be in good ol WoW land having their daily gear grind.
But - what if I opened a chinese Restuarant instead, or a Middle Eastern, etc?
Yes these restuarants may not appeal to a wide mass of people like pizza does, but if there is a niche willing to eat it, then you will indeed get a dedicated consumer base if its one of the few restuarants in town that offers that kind of food.
Thats that these companies and investors are losing sight of.
Right now, if the MMO market would look like a street on the block, you would have generic Pizza place after Pizza place, with a gigantic sprawling PIzza Parlor, World of Warcraft PizzaParlor, with little else. The market is oversaturated with themepark treadmills; hell, even across the street, you have the same restuarants. Sure, they have bells and whistles on the front of the building, but once you get inside...
"Hey,doesnt WOW Pizza parlor offer pizza too? The pizza is better there, I think I'll go back."
AC was my first 'real' MMO, I loved it's skill system, how you just got points and could spend them on whatever.. and your stats/skill all went into the character as a whole.. ..run speed, how high you could jump.. all could be increased.
Ahh, the days of Split Pea.. ..and horrible graphics.
Exactly. I think some people here have lost sight of what exactly makes a successful business.
Lets say I wanted to open a restaurant. You would want to open your restaurant in a strategic location where there would be little competition from other restaurants. Am I right? There is the concept of "competition" that has a very real impact on sales. Even if you offer a superior product, your compeition will *always* draw customers from you.
Lets say WoW is a Pizza Parlor. Am I going to open a Pizza Parlor when you have another Parlor that not only has superior pizza but a dedicated consumer base? Only if I had to offer something special, or something unique or highly qualified would I open one. Its a bad business move to open up a parlor right next to the other; and well, the internet is a crowded place.
The problem is, most of these MMO companies arent offering anything all that superior to WoW. They are offering maybe a pie with different toppings, or a pie that is cooked differently, but its still a pizza parlor and most of the potential customer base will still be in good ol WoW land having their daily gear grind.
But - what if I opened a chinese Restuarant instead, or a Middle Eastern, etc?
Yes these restuarants may not appeal to a wide mass of people like pizza does, but if there is a niche willing to eat it, then you will indeed get a dedicated consumer base if its one of the few restuarants in town that offers that kind of food.
Thats that these companies and investors are losing sight of.
Right now, if the MMO market would look like a street on the block, you would have generic Pizza place after Pizza place, with a gigantic sprawling PIzza Parlor restuarant in the center (WOW) with little else. The market is oversaturated with themepark treadmills, and offers little else. Its bland, its repetitive, and its dumb business.
If you want to appeal to the different audience, you'll find more competition among other games.
I don't have an answer but the question is
'If a game is similar to WoW, why not play WoW? Chances are someone within your gamer group has/does play WoW.'
'If a game is not similar to WoW, why not play Just Cause2, Crysis, Dragon Age, Mass effect, Bad Company2 etc?'
I have no doubt that old school MMOs have their appeal to certain gamers, what I don't see is massive amounts of them that justifies a large investment.
Gdemami - Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
Exactly. I think some people here have lost sight of what exactly makes a successful business.
Lets say I wanted to open a restaurant. You would want to open your restaurant in a strategic location where there would be little competition from other restaurants. Am I right? There is the concept of "competition" that has a very real impact on sales. Even if you offer a superior product, your compeition will *always* draw customers from you.
Lets say WoW is a Pizza Parlor. Am I going to open a Pizza Parlor when you have another Parlor that not only has superior pizza but a dedicated consumer base? Only if I had to offer something special, or something unique or highly qualified would I open one. Its a bad business move to open up a parlor right next to the other; and well, the internet is a crowded place.
The problem is, most of these MMO companies arent offering anything all that superior to WoW. They are offering maybe a pie with different toppings, or a pie that is cooked differently, but its still a pizza parlor and most of the potential customer base will still be in good ol WoW land having their daily gear grind.
But - what if I opened a chinese Restuarant instead, or a Middle Eastern, etc?
Yes these restuarants may not appeal to a wide mass of people like pizza does, but if there is a niche willing to eat it, then you will indeed get a dedicated consumer base if its one of the few restuarants in town that offers that kind of food.
Thats that these companies and investors are losing sight of.
Right now, if the MMO market would look like a street on the block, you would have generic Pizza place after Pizza place, with a gigantic sprawling PIzza Parlor restuarant in the center (WOW) with little else. The market is oversaturated with themepark treadmills, and offers little else. Its bland, its repetitive, and its dumb business.
If you want to appeal to the different audience, you'll find more competition among other games.
I don't have an answer but the question is
'If a game is similar to WoW, why not play WoW? Chances are someone within your gamer group has/does play WoW.'
'If a game is not similar to WoW, why not play Just Cause2, Crysis, Dragon Age, Mass effect, Bad Company2 etc?'
I have no doubt that old school MMOs have their appeal to certain gamers, what I don't see is massive amounts of them that justifies a large investment.
Unfortunately, you are correct. With the high cost of making MMO's, no major developer is going to targer anything but the highest possible audience. They won't build a game that doesn't have at least a chance to grab 7 figure subs and I don't think any of them feel targeting the smaller old-school niche can deliver those kinds of numbers.
They may even want to build such a game, would prefer to play such a game, but to get investors on board to help create a new MMORPG they've got to try and build what has proven to work in the past.
What is really going to stink is if games such as Rift, or even SWTOR hit the big time this year because they'll be the market trendsetters that every MMORPG copies for the next 5 years.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I understand the temptation to go after the 2-6 million subs and try for the golden goose, which leads to themepark after themepark game. I just get frustrated by the fact that not one AAA company has went for the guaranteed 500k-1million subscriptions that they could get (IMO) with a well made "old school" game. Of course, us old schoolers aren't all looking for the same game either. One thing we have to remember is that the old school games (UO, AC, EQ, DAoC, and sort fo SWG) were all very different games. The old school audience is prolly way to diverse for one game to attract even most of us. As a former EQ'er/DAoC'er (actually still subbed to DAoC), I would prolly sub to a UO style game, just to get away from the themepark handholding. But a lot of my former EQ gamers may not see it that way. And I'm pretty sure even a well done DAoC2 would feel a little too "WoWish" to many former UO gamers.
On the other hand, I would like to think that a game doesn't have to be totally casual and easy mode to attract a good subscription base. The devs would just have to be focused on making a great game/interface which is playable on average machines, instead of trying for the automatic win with a WoW-clone.
Tthe sad truth is that a lot of people won't pay $60 leave their comfortable, successful WoW careers only to start over on another game, especially if the level/gear grind is so much harder, more challenging. One way to increase the percentage of people that would actually do this, would be to go ahead and offer the box for $50, and drop the sub fees down to $10-$12. If the game gets released close to Blizzard releasing another expansion, your going to have more people willing to try it out. Do you pay $40 + $15 a month for the same ole, same ole, or do you pay $40-$50 and $10 a month for something new? I think you'd find a lot more people at least giving it a chance, at which point the quality of the game, and how much it offers that is different from WoW, will determine whether or not they keep their subs.
Unfortunately, you are correct. With the high cost of making MMO's, no major developer is going to targer anything but the highest possible audience. They won't build a game that doesn't have at least a chance to grab 7 figure subs and I don't think any of them feel targeting the smaller old-school niche can deliver those kinds of numbers.
They may even want to build such a game, would prefer to play such a game, but to get investors on board to help create a new MMORPG they've got to try and build what has proven to work in the past.
What is really going to stink is if games such as Rift, or even SWTOR hit the big time this year because they'll be the market trendsetters that every MMORPG copies for the next 5 years.
If all games follow SWTOR and have full voice acting and a compelling story (this is BW we are talking about) then I don't see the issue. :P
Gdemami - Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
I understand the temptation to go after the 2-6 million subs and try for the golden goose, which leads to themepark after themepark game. I just get frustrated by the fact that not one AAA company has went for the guaranteed 500k-1million subscriptions that they could get (IMO) with a well made "old school" game. Of course, us old schoolers aren't all looking for the same game either. One thing we have to remember is that the old school games (UO, AC, EQ, DAoC, and sort fo SWG) were all very different games. The old school audience is prolly way to diverse for one game to attract even most of us. As a former EQ'er/DAoC'er (actually still subbed to DAoC), I would prolly sub to a UO style game, just to get away from the themepark handholding. But a lot of my former EQ gamers may not see it that way. And I'm pretty sure even a well done DAoC2 would feel a little too "WoWish" to many former UO gamers.
The problem is, there is no guarantee for exactly the reason you listed. Even among the vocal old-school game crowd, they can't agree on what kind of game they want to play. Developers have a much better chance putting out a casual themepark game because those have a proven record of success. Old-school games do not. Any developer is going to go where the money is proven to be. If you want to change that, put up $50 million of your own dollars and 5+ years of your own time and prove them wrong.
Old school On line games died of age and they became distinct because they couldn't adapt.
Present day Multi Player On line games need to be FAST - FUN - FURIOUS.
There is a BIG reason why WOW evolved to what it is today: because it apllied the perfect formulas to a very nice but not very succesful game industry.
Those who say "but Blizzard killed our industry" are simply wrong.
They revived it or else it would linger with strategy wargames and ditto hexes that reach a market of 5.000 copies sold today
And 5.000 is about the average number of players playing original MMORPG's of the first generation (MUDS) ... worldwide.
You couldn't even invent another formula in Fantasy games these days, because you simply wouldn't bring in the players.
all this FUN crap has got to stop no one can ever mention what FUN means. Hell for me Everquest 1 before its dumb down has been more fun than every new MMORPG I can think off. So stop this FUN BS there is even a blog from a developer righting about the "FUN".
I'd rather play with 5.000 dedicated ones instead with millions of morons and instant gratification easy mode gamers.
As much as some of the easymode crowd will deny it, there is still a BIG market for oldschool games. A well done oldschool game will hold up a loyal playerbase for years to come, cause there is absolutely no competition outthere.
No there isn't a big market for old game mechanics in which every one sits 10 hours before a monitor to wait for a boss to spawn.
Mark my wording: there isn't a "BIG" market. Meaning anything worthwile developping for...
You may whine, cry, get a depression over it: it simply will no longer happen. Period.
No one is going to invest dozens of millions of dollars to satisfy 5 K old vets to seek out their own difficult to please wishes.
That's why pure board wargame/war/hex/ computer games have around a 5 K market.... worldwide.
Look at it this way: would YOU invest 20 million dollars to cater for 5.000 people ?
Of course not. So simple solution: play the available games and use your imagination.
If people want old school mmos they should play old mmos. New mmos should bring something new, however some good things from older mmos is good to preserve, but only things that don't affect the new stuff. you know what I mean? :P
Comments
Developers in general suffer from "Huge-itis". They don't want to do what Eve did (and what Perpetuum seems to be doing), which is to start a game off with the goal of, "We're going to be small, but really good." Even though it works. It worked for CCP, looks like it's going to work for Avatar Creations and it worked for Runic Games with Torchlight.
You'll never start and "old school" game off big. But you could start one off good and then make it big and successful. You could also start one off without the focus on PvP, which is something that MO and Darkfall did not do. This would attract more players. It could be done, but not the way it was done with Warhammer, LotRO or Rift. The way it's done didn't work out so well for Warhammer and it worked better for LotRO, but not as well as they'd hoped. Start small, make it big and you could make an Old School MMO and you could make it appeal to a large audience as well. At least I think so. But what do I know? I write business software and do performance analysis...I'm not any better than any other armchair developer out there. :-)
*edit* They aren't playing them because they're either under developed, or old. There are people who remember the old school days fondly, but they want it with a sexy new look and feel (imo).
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
What I want to know is where are all the casual MMO's with 7+ figures player base. Besides WoW which other western MMO has hit over a million subs after the first couple of months. Looking at the MMO landscape suggesting the player base just wants casual WoW like games does not add up. Some have done well at launch, to lose half there player base before the first month is finished. It's time the developers to stop trying to take a piece of WoW's pie and start cooking up there own pie.
Exactly. I think some people here have lost sight of what exactly makes a successful business.
Lets say I wanted to open a restaurant. You would want to open your restaurant in a strategic location where there would be little competition from other restaurants. Am I right? There is the concept of "competition" that has a very real impact on sales. Even if you offer a superior product, your compeition will *always* draw customers from you.
Lets say WoW is a Pizza Parlor. Am I going to open a Pizza Parlor when you have another Parlor that not only has superior pizza but a dedicated consumer base? Only if I had to offer something special, or something unique or highly qualified would I open one. Its a bad business move to open up a parlor right next to the other; and well, the internet is a crowded place.
The problem is, most of these MMO companies arent offering anything all that superior to WoW. They are offering maybe a pie with different toppings, or a pie that is cooked differently, but its still a pizza parlor and most of the potential customer base will still be in good ol WoW land having their daily gear grind.
But - what if I opened a chinese Restuarant instead, or a Middle Eastern, etc?
Yes these restuarants may not appeal to a wide mass of people like pizza does, but if there is a niche willing to eat it, then you will indeed get a dedicated consumer base if its one of the few restuarants in town that offers that kind of food.
Thats that these companies and investors are losing sight of.
Right now, if the MMO market would look like a street on the block, you would have generic Pizza place after Pizza place, with a gigantic sprawling PIzza Parlor, World of Warcraft Pizza Parlor, with little else. The market is oversaturated with themepark treadmills; hell, even across the street, you have the same restuarants. Sure, they have bells and whistles on the front of the building, but once you get inside...
"Hey,doesnt WOW Pizza parlor offer pizza too? The pizza is better there, I think I'll go back."
Its bland, its repetitive, and its dumb business.
AC was my first 'real' MMO, I loved it's skill system, how you just got points and could spend them on whatever.. and your stats/skill all went into the character as a whole.. ..run speed, how high you could jump.. all could be increased.
Ahh, the days of Split Pea.. ..and horrible graphics.
If you want to appeal to the different audience, you'll find more competition among other games.
I don't have an answer but the question is
'If a game is similar to WoW, why not play WoW? Chances are someone within your gamer group has/does play WoW.'
'If a game is not similar to WoW, why not play Just Cause2, Crysis, Dragon Age, Mass effect, Bad Company2 etc?'
I have no doubt that old school MMOs have their appeal to certain gamers, what I don't see is massive amounts of them that justifies a large investment.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
Unfortunately, you are correct. With the high cost of making MMO's, no major developer is going to targer anything but the highest possible audience. They won't build a game that doesn't have at least a chance to grab 7 figure subs and I don't think any of them feel targeting the smaller old-school niche can deliver those kinds of numbers.
They may even want to build such a game, would prefer to play such a game, but to get investors on board to help create a new MMORPG they've got to try and build what has proven to work in the past.
What is really going to stink is if games such as Rift, or even SWTOR hit the big time this year because they'll be the market trendsetters that every MMORPG copies for the next 5 years.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I understand the temptation to go after the 2-6 million subs and try for the golden goose, which leads to themepark after themepark game. I just get frustrated by the fact that not one AAA company has went for the guaranteed 500k-1million subscriptions that they could get (IMO) with a well made "old school" game. Of course, us old schoolers aren't all looking for the same game either. One thing we have to remember is that the old school games (UO, AC, EQ, DAoC, and sort fo SWG) were all very different games. The old school audience is prolly way to diverse for one game to attract even most of us. As a former EQ'er/DAoC'er (actually still subbed to DAoC), I would prolly sub to a UO style game, just to get away from the themepark handholding. But a lot of my former EQ gamers may not see it that way. And I'm pretty sure even a well done DAoC2 would feel a little too "WoWish" to many former UO gamers.
On the other hand, I would like to think that a game doesn't have to be totally casual and easy mode to attract a good subscription base. The devs would just have to be focused on making a great game/interface which is playable on average machines, instead of trying for the automatic win with a WoW-clone.
Tthe sad truth is that a lot of people won't pay $60 leave their comfortable, successful WoW careers only to start over on another game, especially if the level/gear grind is so much harder, more challenging. One way to increase the percentage of people that would actually do this, would be to go ahead and offer the box for $50, and drop the sub fees down to $10-$12. If the game gets released close to Blizzard releasing another expansion, your going to have more people willing to try it out. Do you pay $40 + $15 a month for the same ole, same ole, or do you pay $40-$50 and $10 a month for something new? I think you'd find a lot more people at least giving it a chance, at which point the quality of the game, and how much it offers that is different from WoW, will determine whether or not they keep their subs.
If all games follow SWTOR and have full voice acting and a compelling story (this is BW we are talking about) then I don't see the issue. :P
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
The problem is, there is no guarantee for exactly the reason you listed. Even among the vocal old-school game crowd, they can't agree on what kind of game they want to play. Developers have a much better chance putting out a casual themepark game because those have a proven record of success. Old-school games do not. Any developer is going to go where the money is proven to be. If you want to change that, put up $50 million of your own dollars and 5+ years of your own time and prove them wrong.
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
Now Playing: None
Hope: None
No there isn't a big market for old game mechanics in which every one sits 10 hours before a monitor to wait for a boss to spawn.
Mark my wording: there isn't a "BIG" market. Meaning anything worthwile developping for...
You may whine, cry, get a depression over it: it simply will no longer happen. Period.
No one is going to invest dozens of millions of dollars to satisfy 5 K old vets to seek out their own difficult to please wishes.
That's why pure board wargame/war/hex/ computer games have around a 5 K market.... worldwide.
Look at it this way: would YOU invest 20 million dollars to cater for 5.000 people ?
Of course not. So simple solution: play the available games and use your imagination.
If people want old school mmos they should play old mmos. New mmos should bring something new, however some good things from older mmos is good to preserve, but only things that don't affect the new stuff.
you know what I mean? :P
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