Legacy MMO's survive largely due to nostalgia, and most humans are creatures of habit.
I don’t agree at all. They continue because they are good for the people who play them.
In general I find older games far more interesting as they were made at a time when games still had some experimentation, They weren’t all trying to be the same or follow the same trends.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
After waiting for that holy grail new mmo for over 10 years, and instead we got only worse and worse trash - I know know and totally realize that nothing will replace the old MMOs
EVE, EQ, WOW(Classic), LOTRO ... this are the only options now
" Are these iterations the reason why modern MMOs struggle to maintain their player bases?"
No. Stupid article, if you ask me. As long as a game interests enough players, it will be played and paid for. If the new ones don't succeed, they are not good enough. It is as simple as that. I have played lots of MMORPGs for 25 years now. Some old ones I visit from time to time, some I never went back to. It depends on quality. If a new one is good, I will have a look. When it is good enough, it might keep me as a player. I don't care if old ones exis or not, when I decide what to play.
Games should remain for as long as they are felt acceptably profitable by their owners. When it is no longer so it makes sense to close them. What would be nice to see more of in the future is private servers reaching agreements with IP owners to continue on with not for profit versions of those games after they are shut down.
One must be out of things to think about to start a discussion point such as this. Makes sense, in a world where everybody gets a trophy and excuses for shortcomings are paramount.
People like Caspian and all those jolly crowdfunding recipients probably aren't spamming the "love" button on this quick enough.
"My game would have been a success had it not been for all those grumpy old men that refused to leave EQ1...and to top it off, the mean people at Blizzard released Classic servers so my stick figures on the screen couldn't compete...it's not fair, it's not my fault...here's a map drawn on a napkin, please buy it for 500$ and it will give you access to the buggiest mess of a sad excuse of a game prototype we have been working for 12 years on that you have ever seen, just sign this NDA so you can't tell anyone."
Or...maybe everybody else is right...new games struggle to thrive because people are tired of hearing excuses for the buggy, uninspired messes they have the audacity to release.
I had not thought of that; Stephen did not write this in that vein, but the idea of new developers sitting there getting annoyed that we don't want to play their 'wonderfully modern' MMOs did amuse me.
Games should remain for as long as they are felt acceptably profitable by their owners. When it is no longer so it makes sense to close them. What would be nice to see more of in the future is private servers reaching agreements with IP owners to continue on with not for profit versions of those games after they are shut down.
City of Heroes is a great example. It was shut down years ago but the code was saved. Private servers popped up and now they have official blessing of NCSoft. It is going strong and is completely free to play. In fact, you cannot spend money in any way, unless you manage to donate in the few minutes each month they allow this to cover server expenses.
That's like saying should we get rid of all the classic movies and music so the newer stuff can succeed? and obviously the answer to those is no, so it should be the same for gaming....People play these games because they enjoy them, pure and simple...They havent found anything better in the last 20 years.
Games should remain for as long as they are felt acceptably profitable by their owners. When it is no longer so it makes sense to close them. What would be nice to see more of in the future is private servers reaching agreements with IP owners to continue on with not for profit versions of those games after they are shut down.
City of Heroes is a great example. It was shut down years ago but the code was saved. Private servers popped up and now they have official blessing of NCSoft. It is going strong and is completely free to play. In fact, you cannot spend money in any way, unless you manage to donate in the few minutes each month they allow this to cover server expenses.
The best thing about CoH Homecoming is that any new superhero MMO will need to be truly better than CoH to even stand half a chance.
After NCSoft pulled the plug (and Champions Online having already proven itself to be subpar), a few optimistic volunteer operations got everyone's hopes up by claiming they'd make a "spiritual successor."
A full decade later, those are all still largely pipe dreams. Ship of Heroes looks like total ass, and while City of Titans looks better, it still seems to be in development limbo. They released a video with a lot of scenery but no gameplay about a year ago, and radio silence ever since. Valiance Online? Dead. Heroes and Villains? Dead.
Without Homecoming, one or more of these terrible games might have released by now, and people might have begrudgingly played it for lack of any other superhero MMO. The living legacy of a totally free CoH ensures that the next superhero MMO will have to be super, indeed.
After waiting for that holy grail new mmo for over 10 years, and instead we got only worse and worse trash - I know know and totally realize that nothing will replace the old MMOs
EVE, EQ, WOW(Classic), LOTRO ... this are the only options now
We even see the desire for better MMOs by the fact people are backing anything that has a slight chance of giving them game style they hope for. If a company could just go back to a payment model that fair and gives us a solid game. Maybe even a real tab targeting game. Im sure we would have a hit.
People play or invest time in money in what they enjoy. If new offerings don't merit the investment, they fail. I'm good with that, and so should everyone else. It puts the onus on developers to actually do something good that attracts people. If they don't, its' a resounding thud.
One must be out of things to think about to start a discussion point such as this. Makes sense, in a world where everybody gets a trophy and excuses for shortcomings are paramount.
People like Caspian and all those jolly crowdfunding recipients probably aren't spamming the "love" button on this quick enough.
"My game would have been a success had it not been for all those grumpy old men that refused to leave EQ1...and to top it off, the mean people at Blizzard released Classic servers so my stick figures on the screen couldn't compete...it's not fair, it's not my fault...here's a map drawn on a napkin, please buy it for 500$ and it will give you access to the buggiest mess of a sad excuse of a game prototype we have been working for 12 years on that you have ever seen, just sign this NDA so you can't tell anyone."
Or...maybe everybody else is right...new games struggle to thrive because people are tired of hearing excuses for the buggy, uninspired messes they have the audacity to release.
This was so specific. I feel like you were describing Pantheon ...
Hello, publisher, would you like to fund us for 5, but probably 10 years minimum before getting a return on investment? We swear we have a team dedicated to sacrificing the next decades of their lives for this one project. We promise, it'll be huuuuuuge.
Sorry, developer, but these guys are offering me a mobile gacha game done in 6 months with a quarter of your expected team size that'll rake in millions in its first month if released in the right regions. We'll uhhhh, take that deal, thanks.
Couldn't help but notice you didn't even mention WoW.....like, at all.....maybe pick on Funcom and Anarchy Online next. Seriously, though, WTF is this article!? It honestly reads like someone with an issue against these particular games or studios. If people are playing MMO XYZ, one can only hope it's because they enjoy it. I for one am thankful that there are studios that don't just abandon their playerbase, for the most part, which is the more likely outcome these days. This isn't the conversation starter, I think, you think it is.
BAD MMOs should die to make space for GOOD MMOs. The age of the game should be immaterial other than older games need continued investment to keep them fresh and engaging.
Who decides when it should die? The market? What does that mean exactly. Does that mean when Everquest isn't so profitable they shut down the servers? Does that mean a room full of corporate machines decides? Does that mean YOU decide?
Who decides?
It's a shame to see so many brainwashed blindly disagreeing with something, the implications of which they pobably DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND, or worse yet, CORPORATE TOOLS pushing an Agenda that others who just think
"no big deal"
eventually get sucked into Autocracy
The signs are EVERYWHERE, Kids. Be Alert.
BAD MMOs should die to make space for GOOD MMOs. The age of the game should be immaterial other than older games need continued investment to keep them fresh and engaging.
Who decides when it should die? The market? What does that mean exactly. Does that mean when Everquest isn't so profitable Sony shuts down the servers? Does that mean a room full of corporate machines decides? Does that mean YOU decide?
Who decides?
It's a shame to see so many brainwashed blindly disagreeing with something, the implications of which they probably DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND, or worse yet, CORPORATE TOOLS pushing an Agenda that others who just think
"no big deal"
eventually get sucked into Autocracy
The signs are EVERYWHERE, Kids. Be Alert.
It is about bringing the best you have and convincing people to purchase your product. If the new one is better then what is out there now, then it will thrive. If not, it goes away. As it should.
Comments
In general I find older games far more interesting as they were made at a time when games still had some experimentation, They weren’t all trying to be the same or follow the same trends.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
After waiting for that holy grail new mmo for over 10 years, and instead we got only worse and worse trash - I know know and totally realize that nothing will replace the old MMOs
EVE, EQ, WOW(Classic), LOTRO ... this are the only options now
No. Stupid article, if you ask me. As long as a game interests enough players, it will be played and paid for. If the new ones don't succeed, they are not good enough. It is as simple as that. I have played lots of MMORPGs for 25 years now. Some old ones I visit from time to time, some I never went back to. It depends on quality. If a new one is good, I will have a look. When it is good enough, it might keep me as a player. I don't care if old ones exis or not, when I decide what to play.
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2024: 47 years on the Net.
People play or invest time in money in what they enjoy. If new offerings don't merit the investment, they fail. I'm good with that, and so should everyone else. It puts the onus on developers to actually do something good that attracts people. If they don't, its' a resounding thud.
It's new, but kind of old as well.
This was so specific. I feel like you were describing Pantheon ...
Hello, publisher, would you like to fund us for 5, but probably 10 years minimum before getting a return on investment? We swear we have a team dedicated to sacrificing the next decades of their lives for this one project. We promise, it'll be huuuuuuge.
Sorry, developer, but these guys are offering me a mobile gacha game done in 6 months with a quarter of your expected team size that'll rake in millions in its first month if released in the right regions. We'll uhhhh, take that deal, thanks.
Who decides when it should die? The market? What does that mean exactly. Does that mean when Everquest isn't so profitable they shut down the servers? Does that mean a room full of corporate machines decides? Does that mean YOU decide?
Who decides?
It's a shame to see so many brainwashed blindly disagreeing with something, the implications of which they pobably DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND, or worse yet, CORPORATE TOOLS pushing an Agenda that others who just think
"no big deal"
eventually get sucked into Autocracy
The signs are EVERYWHERE, Kids. Be Alert.
Let's party like it is 1863!