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This may not matter to MMORPG.com users, but do MMOs do better with hot/cute/s**y characters
Baalzharon
Member RarePosts: 514
Partly this topic idea derives from the BDO thread made by AAAMEOW. But also not forgetting that TERA (not sure how it is now) for a long a while, if not still, also seemed to be the case to this...
But it seems games with hot/skimpy/cute/s**y characters make quite a lot of money on people buying stuff for those characters.
Would BDO even have the same success if they didn't have "hot" characters (keeping in mind looks are in eye of the beholder, but many DO agree BDO has good looking characters)? Would TERA not have the success if they didn't have that creepy Elin race (which seemed to be the most popular race in TERA for buying cosmetic items on)?
Or are those two MMOs just a coincidence and the characters had nothing to do with it? That one I'm not so sure on, cause to me I think many people play BDO (not sure about TERA these days) mostly for how good the characters look.
In a different setting, WoW characters look decent and a lot of people play the "good" looking characters (like blood elves being a prime example). Of course WoW relies far more than just character looks...but what if in WoW the character models looked like junk and super ugly? Not just in character physical appearance, but what if transmogs were also super ugly? I'm sure some would still play it, probably most would, but many people do seem to make their characters look as good as possible in WoW
Which goes back to BDO and (again not sure how it is now) TERA. TERA must have seen massive success just because of the characters...especially if you guys/gals remember the skimpy ads for TERA. TERA had borderline softcore porn ads. As for BDO. Are the characters and outfits what really makes them the big bucks because how many perceive them to be "good" looking?
Keep in mind, for BDO/TERA I'm not exactly talking about population. But BDO reached 1 billion in gross sales...would it see the same success or even CLOSE to that success if the characters and outfits looked ugly? I don't think that matters to many MMORPG.com users, but it seems enough gamers think it matters to buy a total of 1 billion+ in sales
But it seems games with hot/skimpy/cute/s**y characters make quite a lot of money on people buying stuff for those characters.
Would BDO even have the same success if they didn't have "hot" characters (keeping in mind looks are in eye of the beholder, but many DO agree BDO has good looking characters)? Would TERA not have the success if they didn't have that creepy Elin race (which seemed to be the most popular race in TERA for buying cosmetic items on)?
Or are those two MMOs just a coincidence and the characters had nothing to do with it? That one I'm not so sure on, cause to me I think many people play BDO (not sure about TERA these days) mostly for how good the characters look.
In a different setting, WoW characters look decent and a lot of people play the "good" looking characters (like blood elves being a prime example). Of course WoW relies far more than just character looks...but what if in WoW the character models looked like junk and super ugly? Not just in character physical appearance, but what if transmogs were also super ugly? I'm sure some would still play it, probably most would, but many people do seem to make their characters look as good as possible in WoW
Which goes back to BDO and (again not sure how it is now) TERA. TERA must have seen massive success just because of the characters...especially if you guys/gals remember the skimpy ads for TERA. TERA had borderline softcore porn ads. As for BDO. Are the characters and outfits what really makes them the big bucks because how many perceive them to be "good" looking?
Keep in mind, for BDO/TERA I'm not exactly talking about population. But BDO reached 1 billion in gross sales...would it see the same success or even CLOSE to that success if the characters and outfits looked ugly? I don't think that matters to many MMORPG.com users, but it seems enough gamers think it matters to buy a total of 1 billion+ in sales
Comments
Same goes for aesthetics.
Why ask what is common knowledge?
Tera clearly didn't do well with.. whatever it was going for.
WoW you may have a point, but maybe I'm biased, I played a Moonkin for 8 years and hardly ever seen my character.
To answer your question, I think pretty much anything does "better" with scantily clad people around. How much better does something like that affect an MMO? I think very little in the long term, I know for myself, personally, if the game isn't good, I won't be playing it very long, regardless if I can play completely naked (Mortal Online is a good example).
Short term, probably a lot more. I remember the Evony ads that were all over the place, who knows how many people went on to play that game because of those..
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Perhaps LotRO and EVE, but I'm going to guess that any art depicting characters whether in game or advertising doesn't show a lot of unattractive characters wearing their ugliest clothes. Appeal isn't limited to skimpy attire either. I'm sure there are many beautiful garments in LotRO that aren't revealing in any way. Such would probably sell better there anyway, given the setting and community.
There are a lot of reasons a MMORPG would avoid the route of blatant sex appeal.
A company may feel it doesn't fit their game, such as LotrO mentioned above. A company may feel such is not in keeping with their values, as seemed to be the case when I was playing Villagers and Heroes. Games that have a large percentage of female players may worry it will offend them. The game may be targeted to children, such as Wizard 101, so they want to stay far away from introducing any gear or cosmetics inappropriate for that audience. I'm sure there are many other possible reasons, but that should suffice for example.
The game needs to work on a mechanical and enjoyable level first, then it can also be sexy.
I think you'll agree that a game that doesn't cross your line will be more enjoyable when it has visuals you find pleasing rather than atrocious. Also, as I said in another post, sex appeal doesn't depend on blatant display, but can be done with more subtle visuals.
Either way, it boils down to the same approach, just tailored to the expected tastes of your audience. People are more attracted to what they find desirable. Most find alluring and otherwise pleasing aesthetics desirable. Providing both in a way that suits the majority of a game's audience will make the game more profitable.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
I don't know if MMO's do better with such characters but i will tell you this, the first thing i do when a new MMO comes out is check the website to see if they have a silly looking race to play.
Aloha Mr Hand !
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Although I'm not the target market for today's MMO developers - I've never spent so much as a cent on microtransactions and likely never will. I'm happy to pay for the game, but not if it's being sold piecemeal.