To be completely honest I dont think either of them will be very good at all. Why MMORPGs based on existing IPs are restricted in what they can and cant do, they have the legions of rabid fans to deal with, often times decades of history and a (most of the time) very controlling IP owner to deal with on every move they make.
If they are set in the time of the current super heros these issues become even more amplified. If they set it in a different time/universe without the well known super heros then what is the point of even having the Marvel / DC license?
I really dont like the trend we are seeing in MMORPGs at all with regard to existing IPs being turned into games. SWG, Matrix, D&D, LotR, Star Trek Online and these 2 comic ones (am I missing any?).
Games like these are destined to be static worlds were nothing ever really changes and there is not story arc that evolves and changes the game. Maybe this is what people want hell WOW is the most static world I have ever seen and people seem to like it.
Could one of these games not fall to the trappings I have listed maybe? Perhaps DC will take the chance, have the game world evolve; follow the same story lines they are developing in their comics? A game world that is driven by the comics and perhaps some elements from the game world could drive the comics themselves. Have Batman out running around kicking the crap out of baddies instead of standing like a statue for photo ops (screenshots) and handing out quests. What if the big names were actually controlled by live people employed by SOE so that you could be out fighting some baddie and Batman happens by stop, help, gives you some crap about needing help and then vanish. Ahhh who am I kidding it wont happen, not with SOE at the controls.
As for the Marvel one Xbox, Microsoft and the king of the raiding mentality for a developer. This just sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Marvel and Microsoft, when two evil meet. They are going to have a HARD time to convince me to even try their game...especially when it is Brad who is talking! I am Looking dubiously at the Lawsuits fanbois!
SoE and DC...maybe, maybe not. I am forgiving for past situations, especially that despite everything that can be thrown at SoE, they always care and try to improve their game. They often do poorly, but they are trying, it is hard to remain angry at folks who do poorly (eh, remember when they put PINK and got flooded by feedbacks and choose to remove the pink after much H8tred?). I am looking "indifferently" but interested. I will throw them a *boogy* for the encouragement!
CoV and CoH, despite many mistake, they are the best, or less bad, MMOs out there atm. Imperator was looking to be better, but it is not fleshed out yet...and no idea about near to come MMOs, CoV and CoH are by far the best MMOs out there, to bad there is little end game, but a lack of end game is better than a wrong end game. I am looking friendly at them and they can count on my subscription for now.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
I got a good chuckle out of this, and I totally agree.
There's this, then there's the fact that SOE is one of the most wobbly companies out there right now. It seems that their games have zero stability and I won't be putting any more money on their stuff.
As for the other game, I think that it could go great. This opinion is largely based on having been a fan of the X-Men forever. I'm too cynical about MMORPGs anymore, though, and final opinion is that they're all going to suck. lol.
None of these designers seem to have any imagination. They chuck their franchise off onto some business smuck and it's all down hill from there.
So sad, I'm becoming a MMORPG fatalist.
Originally posted by Torak The Marvel on would be the game to go with if I had to pick... Sony will rush the DC and release it incomplete then revamp it after 9 to 14 months. Then maybe again at the 2 year mark for good measure. On top of it they will more then likely stick with the tried and true EQ formula and one way or another we will more then likely end up killing rats to start with "over a thousand quest" (read basic kill task and fedx runs) Sony DC NPC - "Hello SuperMMO Man, go out and kill 10 Super Rats for me and I will give you 10 Super Pies in return" Another DC NPC - SuperMMO Man, you must bring this Super letter to NPC X right away...the fate of Superland depends on it. Return to me for a reward of 10 Super pennies! LoL, I really hope they wouldn't do that.....but you know what they say, Past preformance is the best indicator of future
hmm this topic and most of the replys to it are inacurate and uninformed, i will only coment on a few. SOe is not unsuccesfull, i would hardly consider the owners of 5 MMO games unsuccesfull, i do not like there games but a lot of people do like there games and they have a following.CoH and CoV can not be considerd the perfect hero game becuase it is the only hero game, saying htat it is perfect , means that you are compairing it to something,..anything, even if you said it was the worst youd still be wrong,..its still the only so you can only say that it is the only...ummm i have sudenly turned into Mojo Jojo ..so ill stop now
I think DC made a mistake going with SOE. I know far too many people, myself included, who will never ever play another SOE game. Personal issues aside, SOE has failed to capitalize on what should have been the easiest sell ever, a Star Wars MMO. That should say more than enough by itself.
Originally posted by Wardrop Should have went with another company. SOE's rep is really terrible. Nothing like playing russian roulette with millions. Gamers arnt that forgiving. But im sure it will appeal to someone. Just not me.
I would just about bet that most of the people who would buy this game would be people who could care less about SOE, much less even heard of them. They're thinking about the comic book heroes. Same way a lot, if not most, of the people who bought WoW have never played an MMO before.
============================= It all seems so stupid It makes me want to give up But why should I give up When it all seems so stupid
After what I've read about SWG and my experience with Matrix Online, I'm kind of wary about any $OE MMO period.
What concerns me is the more-fanboi-than-thou attitude that adds to the steaming pile of drama that already happens in a typical MMO. Some people are not drawn to these games because they are huge fans of the franchise. They are drawn to them because they like MMOs but aren't fantasy fans. Games like these are something different to that type of customer. If the fanboys play thier cards right, they might add new fans to Marvel or DC or whatever. Instead, in games like this I've felt alienated.
That's what happened to me in MxO. I don't wanna whine or troll so I'll make this short: It looked different and fun, but I was educated rather harshly that I was not good enough to play because I didn't worship at the altar of Neo. Many people were treated like this and the public forums became a black hole of angst. Not fun. One could argue that $OE did them a favor by deleting the old boards and removing the public section.
The point I'm trying to make is that an exclusive attitude does not help an MMO succeed. Newbies coming to DC Online, or Marvel Online, or STO or whatever maybe just looking for a different game. This doesn't mean kiss every n00b's ass or you have to agree with everything they say. Settle down, agree to disagree, add them to the /iggy list or /report if they're being a prick, and remember it's a game and you're supposed to be having fun.
Nsoft and SOE have track records to look back on so people can get an idea of how things will run with these two. This could help or hurt them depending on how people view these companies.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Sigil does not even have a game out yet so they are the new kid on the block which could help them; only thing that might bring them down a little is how some people view Microsoft.
There are 3 Major players. Yes I called SOE a major player. Time will tell if SOE fails. I am sure Smiley or Smedly will be ousted soon. Will all of their MMORPG's in a downward slant SOE stock holders will call for changes but thats another thing.
SOE & DC Online. Lets leave the fact SOE can kill any good Idea and that they bought EQ their only real claim to fame. The DC Online game is planned to be a full MMORPG where you can play in the game world of DC even go against the DC villians. No way your going to play Batman or any Icon characters. But it will have crafting and resources and skills. Characters will have secret ID's and houses etc. There may even be dependant NPCs to your character. This will be a Full Scale MMORPG un-like the NCsoft 1/4 MMORPG. If SOE makes major changes in the next year and a half DC Online will rocket to success!
Marvel & Microsoft. Because it will be for the 360 in 2008 its hard to tell that it will be much of anything at this time. The upgrades and new features that will be added to the Xbox 360 over the next year will change it from anything we know now. The added PVR and DVD Burner etc are just a few items. By 2008 bandwidth will double and the audio channels for the 360 will be good. The blue tooth controlers are already outstanding. However I am sure any release to the 360 will be dummed down and set for kids. So I don't see any major MMORPG shifts in it.
NCsoft CoH & CoV. NCsoft has been making great profits because its the only Hero game in town. Its lame attempt at adding crafting and super team HQ's was a nice attempt. Their lack of long term play is already showing. Its really fun for about 30 days at a time. An speaking of time its about time they released a full MMORPG where there is crafting, ownership, vehicles, gadgets Secret IDs, loot of somekind if only endorements. I can only hope that they have something in the works to compete because if not there will be a huge challenage to maintain customers.
Originally posted by plaa SOE & DC Online. Lets leave the fact SOE can kill any good Idea and that they bought EQ their only real claim to fame.
Sony did not buy EQ. 3 in house employees proposed the idea for the game but the executives at Sony did not know what an MMOG was. To avoid having Sony directly associated with it's potential failure they created Verant which was owned by Sony to develop the game and Sony remained the publisher. After EQ was a sucess they re-absorbed Verant into SOE. As to wether or not they can kill any good idea, the rest of their games prove that.
Originally posted by plaa NCsoft CoH & CoV. NCsoft has been making great profits because its the only Hero game in town. Its lame attempt at adding crafting and super team HQ's was a nice attempt. Their lack of long term play is already showing. Its really fun for about 30 days at a time. An speaking of time its about time they released a full MMORPG where there is crafting, ownership, vehicles, gadgets Secret IDs, loot of somekind if only endorements. I can only hope that they have something in the works to compete because if not there will be a huge challenage to maintain customers. Plaa
Not everyong is a loot whore and adding crafting to a game to just have crafting is foolish (ala SWG). Other than Anakin making his own robot and pod racer or Luke making his own lightsaber, there was no crafting going on in the Star Wars movies (don't mistake repairing for crafting, lots of repairing in the movies). Many fans of CoH love it because there is no loot or idiotic crafting. Crafting has always been a means to an end not a reason to play for most gamers so as long as we can get it done without crafting there is no need for crafting. MMOGs should not be a list of features, this leads to bad game design. They should be designed to make sense within their own continuity and should stick to it. Crafting is a feature and not a necessity. Same goes for loot.
I have been playing CoH for going on 2 years now which is twice as long as I have played any other mmog. It is fun, engaging and to the point. It does not confuse the player as to what they are supposed to do or add in foolish and ill concieved features and it keeps true to the genre. I have no faith in SOE's ability to make a fun and engaging game. Their initial success is due as much to circumstances as to quality of product and they have proven that at best they can make a mediocre game. SOE has said that about 4.5 million players have tried out Everquest, yet they could not break the 500k subscriber barrier. A lot of those people won't ever play another SOE game. Gone are the days when players would try anything that came out just because it was different and gone of the days when players will reward crap with their subscription money. There are simply too many choices out there now.
I played COH/COV because of my love of comic books....DC and Marvel will both get a try from me when their respective games come out because of that love.
That being said I am well aware of the possible roadblocks to success for each game (SOE and Xbox 360) but if I am to call myself a true comics fan I have to at least take a look at the games that are produced using their IP.
I find COH/COV dull and tedious as the quests are the same in content and locale. How many times can you fight your way through the exact same office building interior or cave interior to eliminate a boss? Nevermind the lack of skills, equipment, etc. my one hope would be that the devs of the Marvel and DC games realize that if you are creating a "realistic" game where superheroes battle supervillians those characters need to be able to do more than stand around in costume or construct a base/lair.
Yes the character customization is great but the fact that all superheroes/villains have the same select few powers to choose from just means that the only differences are cosmetic.
The community in COH/COV was the only reason I stayed around as long as I did. The game was completely secondary. Perhaps M$ or $OE will create games that allow me to have more freedom to create a great character. At this point I am willing to wait and see.
I am a long time player of CoH and CoV and I have been pretty satisfied with their content thusfar. Yes I do agree with a lot of the complaints people have about the game. But those issues haven't discouraged me enough to run away from it. Maybe its because I myself am a game designer and still have the respect for the complexity and depth CoH has.
To be truthful I'm looking forward to any competition NC or rather Cryptic will get. It has seemed to me that they have become somewhat lax about the new content they have com out with mainly for Coh. I understand they have just released Cov, but it still seems they have neglected their first born. Their attempt in crafting was pretty lame. Only a small percentage of the players can use it and the things you can make arn't even useful for combat unless in the rare occassion your fending off your base.
In my opinion Marvel and DC have quite an advantage to design their games. They have plenty of resources to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of coh and attack what coh lacks in. The character creation in coh is probably the greatest strength in coh and cov. In my opinion, that aspect can still have an abundance of improvement to be shown in.
Obviously DC and Marvel won't be creating games that copy Coh, otherwise there will be another lawsuit and DC and Marvel would be on the receiving end this time. There is plenty of content to take advantage for example the secret identity concept is an interesting idea that would intrigue me. I'm sure plenty of original writers or people can come with even more concepts to take advantage of. Crafting would be an easy one, Bruce Wayne crafted all of his gadgets.
I can't beleive any of these guy are making a design for a console let alone the 360. By the time of their release dates, it seems to me the 360 would somewhat old news with the release of the PS3 and the Revolution. they're already going in with a handicape trying to make an mmog on a console.
Oh well, bottom line is that I am looking forward to the competition. Hopefully it will push all of them to make something bigger and better, which is always better for the consumer. I heard Statesman a while back say something about moving coh to places besides Paragon, like underwater or outerspace areas. Maybe this could be a starting of their sequel, "Universe of Heros."
OK, this thread may be near the end of it's lifespan, but...
Recent news is the Crytic Studios (the development house of City of Heroes and City of Villains) and Microsoft have teamed with Marvel to create the Marvel MMORPG. It will be for both Xbox 360 and, *SURPRISE* Windows Vista according to a recent accouncement from Cryptic Studios. Cryptic claims to remain loyal to NC Soft, the publisher of CoX games while bringing on additional staff to help develop the new MMO and keep a team on CoX for many more content updates. That makes it really just "City of Heroes+Microsoft+Marvel" versus "Sony Online+development house+DC Comics" Sony has struggled lately failing to capture the market share they had hoped for EQ2 and Matrix Online after losing much of their base for SWG and Planetside. Sony does have a great deal of resources though as well as experience in MMO deployment whereas MSoft has little to none of the experience. Cryptic Studios developed the City of Heroes game duo but NC Soft was their publisher (arguably the premier MMO publisher currently); now they will have to work with Microsoft who does not have much MMO publishing history. Can Microsoft's money ensure a solid launch for this hybrid PC&Xbox MMO while smoothing over egos at both Marvel and Cryptic Studios?
The players in this war have teamed up on one side leaving only two factions. Now it is truly Marvel vs DC and the battle should be quite intense, if Sony does not simply drop the DC project off to smaller publisher and run before the battle even begins. I would not fault them for it either since it is quite possible to lose money on the venture in what is likely to be a highly saturated market of MMO games.
Thanks for the update. I look forward to the "war" aswell. I hope that Cryptic and Microsoft will make a good team, because I very much enjoyed CoH and CoV - except for their lack of player-influence on the game world. The downside I see is that they make their game exclusive for one operating system (Vista), which will cost them potential subscribers, as I for one don't plan to upgrade to Vista anytime soon. Using a new MMOG as a marketing tool to force people to use a certain OS won't work in the long-run and it might prove to be a disaster for Cryptic, after CoH and CoV both got much praise from players and press alike. Sony thus may not be as helpless as it may seem right now. Their games aren't doing all that well in recent years, but without the OS restriction on their Superhero-MMOG, they might be more successful than Cryptic/MS this time. We'll see.
Marvel Comics boasts Spider-man, the X-Men and Microsoft's power behind it. DC Comics tapped Sony Online Entertainment to power its stable that includes Superman. And we have the current kings of online-superhero games: NCSoft and developer Cryptic Studios with their titles City of Heroes and City of Villains. As these three superpowers go at it, who will win? Who has the inside track? Who has the best license? Staff Writer Andree Ehrig examines these questions in this new editorial.
Creating a multiplayer title based on Superman, Batman and other DC heroes appears to be equally complicated. The heroes usually do their heroic deeds alone and the amount of character customization options in a DC MMOG is going to be more limited than in a Marvel competitor. The DC game is scheduled for release on console and PC in winter 2007, so until then, SOE will have to deal with various issues. Firstly the same ones Sigil Games have to deal with. But primarily, SOE have a problem called bad publicity. SWG has turned into SOE’s public nightmare due to game changes that caused uproar in the player base and left many players disgruntled, swearing to never touch a SOE game again. This bad publicity might hurt them in the long run when their DC superhero game is trying to build a community. On the other hand, the ideological battle between the DC fan base and the Marvel followers has been infamous for years and both fan groups are quite large, untapped potential for huge MMOG communities. If the DC fans can forgive the mistakes SOE have made in the past, a DC-based superhero MMOG is also destined for success.
So true, im an ex-SWG player, I wanted to try EQ2 but i still didnt because i hate and dont trust SOE due to what they did to SWG with the NGE. Ppl are telling me that the bad guy there was LA and not SOE, that SOE didnt have the control to decide things at that point. I might give EQ2 a try now but defnetely SOE has big problems with the bad publicity that the SWG issue has became.
Comments
To be completely honest I dont think either of them will be very good at all. Why MMORPGs based on existing IPs are restricted in what they can and cant do, they have the legions of rabid fans to deal with, often times decades of history and a (most of the time) very controlling IP owner to deal with on every move they make.
If they are set in the time of the current super heros these issues become even more amplified. If they set it in a different time/universe without the well known super heros then what is the point of even having the Marvel / DC license?
I really dont like the trend we are seeing in MMORPGs at all with regard to existing IPs being turned into games. SWG, Matrix, D&D, LotR, Star Trek Online and these 2 comic ones (am I missing any?).
Games like these are destined to be static worlds were nothing ever really changes and there is not story arc that evolves and changes the game. Maybe this is what people want hell WOW is the most static world I have ever seen and people seem to like it.
Could one of these games not fall to the trappings I have listed maybe? Perhaps DC will take the chance, have the game world evolve; follow the same story lines they are developing in their comics? A game world that is driven by the comics and perhaps some elements from the game world could drive the comics themselves. Have Batman out running around kicking the crap out of baddies instead of standing like a statue for photo ops (screenshots) and handing out quests. What if the big names were actually controlled by live people employed by SOE so that you could be out fighting some baddie and Batman happens by stop, help, gives you some crap about needing help and then vanish. Ahhh who am I kidding it wont happen, not with SOE at the controls.
As for the Marvel one Xbox, Microsoft and the king of the raiding mentality for a developer. This just sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Marvel and Microsoft, when two evil meet. They are going to have a HARD time to convince me to even try their game...especially when it is Brad who is talking!
I am Looking dubiously at the Lawsuits fanbois!
SoE and DC...maybe, maybe not. I am forgiving for past situations, especially that despite everything that can be thrown at SoE, they always care and try to improve their game. They often do poorly, but they are trying, it is hard to remain angry at folks who do poorly (eh, remember when they put PINK and got flooded by feedbacks and choose to remove the pink after much H8tred?). I am looking "indifferently" but interested. I will throw them a *boogy* for the encouragement!
CoV and CoH, despite many mistake, they are the best, or less bad, MMOs out there atm. Imperator was looking to be better, but it is not fleshed out yet...and no idea about near to come MMOs, CoV and CoH are by far the best MMOs out there, to bad there is little end game, but a lack of end game is better than a wrong end game. I am looking friendly at them and they can count on my subscription for now.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
I got a good chuckle out of this, and I totally agree.
There's this, then there's the fact that SOE is one of the most wobbly companies out there right now. It seems that their games have zero stability and I won't be putting any more money on their stuff.
As for the other game, I think that it could go great. This opinion is largely based on having been a fan of the X-Men forever. I'm too cynical about MMORPGs anymore, though, and final opinion is that they're all going to suck. lol.
None of these designers seem to have any imagination. They chuck their franchise off onto some business smuck and it's all down hill from there.
So sad, I'm becoming a MMORPG fatalist.
Wheeeeeeeeewwwwweeeeeeeyyyy!!!
Who Blew that
STINKER?!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like SOE has givin birth yet again to another: *Drum roll please*
DOOMED MMO GAME
The game knowing SOE will have no origionality, be a complete rippoff of CoH/CoV, change some of the names, and wabam! New SOE Creation.
I, will not, nor will i ever.
Buy into that greed enforced corporation, so i will not support this game what so ever.
Mark my words "This will be what it just is now, crap. smell that smell" *breathes deep*
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Just don't let them lick off your tears, when they crush your hopes.
P.S. I am very glad to see the response we get from other people. I cannot thank SOE enough for showing how terrible it is to the industry.
I think DC made a mistake going with SOE. I know far too many people, myself included, who will never ever play another SOE game. Personal issues aside, SOE has failed to capitalize on what should have been the easiest sell ever, a Star Wars MMO. That should say more than enough by itself.
=============================
It all seems so stupid
It makes me want to give up
But why should I give up
When it all seems so stupid
After what I've read about SWG and my experience with Matrix Online, I'm kind of wary about any $OE MMO period.
What concerns me is the more-fanboi-than-thou attitude that adds to the steaming pile of drama that already happens in a typical MMO. Some people are not drawn to these games because they are huge fans of the franchise. They are drawn to them because they like MMOs but aren't fantasy fans. Games like these are something different to that type of customer. If the fanboys play thier cards right, they might add new fans to Marvel or DC or whatever. Instead, in games like this I've felt alienated.
That's what happened to me in MxO. I don't wanna whine or troll so I'll make this short: It looked different and fun, but I was educated rather harshly that I was not good enough to play because I didn't worship at the altar of Neo. Many people were treated like this and the public forums became a black hole of angst. Not fun. One could argue that $OE did them a favor by deleting the old boards and removing the public section.
The point I'm trying to make is that an exclusive attitude does not help an MMO succeed. Newbies coming to DC Online, or Marvel Online, or STO or whatever maybe just looking for a different game. This doesn't mean kiss every n00b's ass or you have to agree with everything they say. Settle down, agree to disagree, add them to the /iggy list or /report if they're being a prick, and remember it's a game and you're supposed to be having fun.
Guild Wars is still an MMO.
Nsoft and SOE have track records to look back on so people can get an idea of how things will run with these two. This could help or hurt them depending on how people view these companies.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Sigil does not even have a game out yet so they are the new kid on the block which could help them; only thing that might bring them down a little is how some people view Microsoft.
There are 3 Major players. Yes I called SOE a major player. Time will tell if SOE fails. I am sure Smiley or Smedly will be ousted soon. Will all of their MMORPG's in a downward slant SOE stock holders will call for changes but thats another thing.
SOE & DC Online. Lets leave the fact SOE can kill any good Idea and that they bought EQ their only real claim to fame. The DC Online game is planned to be a full MMORPG where you can play in the game world of DC even go against the DC villians. No way your going to play Batman or any Icon characters. But it will have crafting and resources and skills. Characters will have secret ID's and houses etc. There may even be dependant NPCs to your character. This will be a Full Scale MMORPG un-like the NCsoft 1/4 MMORPG. If SOE makes major changes in the next year and a half DC Online will rocket to success!
Marvel & Microsoft. Because it will be for the 360 in 2008 its hard to tell that it will be much of anything at this time. The upgrades and new features that will be added to the Xbox 360 over the next year will change it from anything we know now. The added PVR and DVD Burner etc are just a few items. By 2008 bandwidth will double and the audio channels for the 360 will be good. The blue tooth controlers are already outstanding. However I am sure any release to the 360 will be dummed down and set for kids. So I don't see any major MMORPG shifts in it.
NCsoft CoH & CoV. NCsoft has been making great profits because its the only Hero game in town. Its lame attempt at adding crafting and super team HQ's was a nice attempt. Their lack of long term play is already showing. Its really fun for about 30 days at a time. An speaking of time its about time they released a full MMORPG where there is crafting, ownership, vehicles, gadgets Secret IDs, loot of somekind if only endorements. I can only hope that they have something in the works to compete because if not there will be a huge challenage to maintain customers.
Plaa
Sony did not buy EQ. 3 in house employees proposed the idea for the game but the executives at Sony did not know what an MMOG was. To avoid having Sony directly associated with it's potential failure they created Verant which was owned by Sony to develop the game and Sony remained the publisher. After EQ was a sucess they re-absorbed Verant into SOE. As to wether or not they can kill any good idea, the rest of their games prove that.
Not everyong is a loot whore and adding crafting to a game to just have crafting is foolish (ala SWG). Other than Anakin making his own robot and pod racer or Luke making his own lightsaber, there was no crafting going on in the Star Wars movies (don't mistake repairing for crafting, lots of repairing in the movies). Many fans of CoH love it because there is no loot or idiotic crafting. Crafting has always been a means to an end not a reason to play for most gamers so as long as we can get it done without crafting there is no need for crafting. MMOGs should not be a list of features, this leads to bad game design. They should be designed to make sense within their own continuity and should stick to it. Crafting is a feature and not a necessity. Same goes for loot.
I have been playing CoH for going on 2 years now which is twice as long as I have played any other mmog. It is fun, engaging and to the point. It does not confuse the player as to what they are supposed to do or add in foolish and ill concieved features and it keeps true to the genre. I have no faith in SOE's ability to make a fun and engaging game. Their initial success is due as much to circumstances as to quality of product and they have proven that at best they can make a mediocre game. SOE has said that about 4.5 million players have tried out Everquest, yet they could not break the 500k subscriber barrier. A lot of those people won't ever play another SOE game. Gone are the days when players would try anything that came out just because it was different and gone of the days when players will reward crap with their subscription money. There are simply too many choices out there now.
I played COH/COV because of my love of comic books....DC and Marvel will both get a try from me when their respective games come out because of that love.
That being said I am well aware of the possible roadblocks to success for each game (SOE and Xbox 360) but if I am to call myself a true comics fan I have to at least take a look at the games that are produced using their IP.
I find COH/COV dull and tedious as the quests are the same in content and locale.
How many times can you fight your way through the exact same office building interior or cave interior to eliminate a boss?
Nevermind the lack of skills, equipment, etc. my one hope would be that the devs of the Marvel and DC games realize that if you are creating a "realistic" game where superheroes battle supervillians those characters need to be able to do more than stand around in costume or construct a base/lair.
Yes the character customization is great but the fact that all superheroes/villains have the same select few powers to choose from just means that the only differences are cosmetic.
The community in COH/COV was the only reason I stayed around as long as I did. The game was completely secondary. Perhaps M$ or $OE will create games that allow me to have more freedom to create a great character. At this point I am willing to wait and see.
=Dan
I am a long time player of CoH and CoV and I have been pretty satisfied with their content thusfar. Yes I do agree with a lot of the complaints people have about the game. But those issues haven't discouraged me enough to run away from it. Maybe its because I myself am a game designer and still have the respect for the complexity and depth CoH has.
To be truthful I'm looking forward to any competition NC or rather Cryptic will get. It has seemed to me that they have become somewhat lax about the new content they have com out with mainly for Coh. I understand they have just released Cov, but it still seems they have neglected their first born. Their attempt in crafting was pretty lame. Only a small percentage of the players can use it and the things you can make arn't even useful for combat unless in the rare occassion your fending off your base.
In my opinion Marvel and DC have quite an advantage to design their games. They have plenty of resources to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of coh and attack what coh lacks in. The character creation in coh is probably the greatest strength in coh and cov. In my opinion, that aspect can still have an abundance of improvement to be shown in.
Obviously DC and Marvel won't be creating games that copy Coh, otherwise there will be another lawsuit and DC and Marvel would be on the receiving end this time. There is plenty of content to take advantage for example the secret identity concept is an interesting idea that would intrigue me. I'm sure plenty of original writers or people can come with even more concepts to take advantage of. Crafting would be an easy one, Bruce Wayne crafted all of his gadgets.
I can't beleive any of these guy are making a design for a console let alone the 360. By the time of their release dates, it seems to me the 360 would somewhat old news with the release of the PS3 and the Revolution. they're already going in with a handicape trying to make an mmog on a console.
Oh well, bottom line is that I am looking forward to the competition. Hopefully it will push all of them to make something bigger and better, which is always better for the consumer. I heard Statesman a while back say something about moving coh to places besides Paragon, like underwater or outerspace areas. Maybe this could be a starting of their sequel, "Universe of Heros."
I imagine that SOE will do the same thing for Superman as Kryptonite did.
As for MS and Marvel well....not sure if good idea just to put it on a 360 console maybe if it is allowed on PCs too it may have a chance.
Let My Think I Think The Cov And Coh Can Beat Them Up!!
OK, this thread may be near the end of it's lifespan, but...
Recent news is the Crytic Studios (the development house of City of Heroes and City of Villains) and Microsoft have teamed with Marvel to create the Marvel MMORPG. It will be for both Xbox 360 and, *SURPRISE* Windows Vista according to a recent accouncement from Cryptic Studios. Cryptic claims to remain loyal to NC Soft, the publisher of CoX games while bringing on additional staff to help develop the new MMO and keep a team on CoX for many more content updates. That makes it really just "City of Heroes+Microsoft+Marvel" versus "Sony Online+development house+DC Comics" Sony has struggled lately failing to capture the market share they had hoped for EQ2 and Matrix Online after losing much of their base for SWG and Planetside. Sony does have a great deal of resources though as well as experience in MMO deployment whereas MSoft has little to none of the experience. Cryptic Studios developed the City of Heroes game duo but NC Soft was their publisher (arguably the premier MMO publisher currently); now they will have to work with Microsoft who does not have much MMO publishing history. Can Microsoft's money ensure a solid launch for this hybrid PC&Xbox MMO while smoothing over egos at both Marvel and Cryptic Studios?
The players in this war have teamed up on one side leaving only two factions. Now it is truly Marvel vs DC and the battle should be quite intense, if Sony does not simply drop the DC project off to smaller publisher and run before the battle even begins. I would not fault them for it either since it is quite possible to lose money on the venture in what is likely to be a highly saturated market of MMO games.
"Fire is never a gentle master..."