Comments on: Wait and See

By: Ethic

Ethic — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:05:54 +0000

Well that’s just common sense right there. The more popular games are going to lose more players than the less popular. I also think many MMO players “try” all new games but they don’t always make the “switch”.

As always, time will show us how much the new MMOs will drain players from the old ones.

By: Openedge1

Openedge1 — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:01:10 +0000

@ Ethic
I would beg to differ on this point…
According to a small poll here
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/180457/page/1
When asked if leaving a big MMO to play…besides people staying with their game…WoW has a surprising lead as the top game people will leave…which seems normal with how many people actually play it…
But, the 2nd “named” MMO that people will leave is….LOTRO

So, there is a good possibility that these “fans” are not such big fans that they would not be interested in trying something new or even leaving their game of choice..

I do agree with the WAR statement. If Mythic can start to make the game look pleasing…then we will see defectors from all games..
Right now though…it sure is one major WoW looking clone..and it does not make me feel like the next “evolution” of WoW.

By: Ethic

Ethic — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:26:03 +0000

Age of Conan is in an ugly position. Anyone interested in it right now is mostly just killing time until Warhammer comes out. LotRO fans and WoW fans are most likely not that interested in it. Most WoW burnouts are waiting for WAR. LotRO fans are happy where they are. The biggest thing AoC needs to worry about is the release of WAR.

By: Openedge1

Openedge1 — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:54:23 +0000

@NBarnes
Agreed on this statement…
Again…LOTRO may be #3 on NPD’s charts, but it does not make it a good “quality” game..
Stability does not equal quality
Landscapes does not equal quality
It is a lackluster game for people who don’t have much time to game or need a simple game to play to pass time…
It did not bring anything new to the table..
Design decisions make the game a truly boring enterprise to pick up…
I still always remember a friend of mine who said he would always watch TV while playing the game…
Some people may like it, but it is because they maybe burned out on WoW and needed something different, or they are lore junkies and just are not worried if the game is fun…
To me, Age of Conan has proven to be fun, has changed the landscape a bit in the way a story can be told, has shown that combat does not have to be “hit key and watch your actions…” and visually is a step above LOTRO and their landscapes (as they also decided to make their people and animations look great also…something LOTRO did not do)
AoC is not a WoW killer, or even an LOTRO killer (maybe…time will tell)…but it is a good game that shows the MMO genre is not dead and full of copycats (Tabula Rasa and LOTRO being two of those…)

By: NBarnes

NBarnes — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:58:19 +0000

I think it’s a pretty serious mistake to equate ’subscription numbers’ to ‘quality’. I think it’s much more like movies; there are a lot of very well-made movies that don’t get a lot of people going to see them, ’cause they don’t have a lot of mass appeal. I’m looking at you, Lost In Translation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Similarly, MMOGs can be very well-crafted games with a lot of niche appeal without having a chance in Hades of competing with WoW and LotRO and whatnot for subscription numbers. EVE and A Tale In The Desert are good examples of this.

By: lufia22

lufia22 — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:16:53 +0000

It looks like you’ve come down with the lazy unemployed bum that is bored with WoW (or insert MMO of choice) syndrome that I have come down with, Keen. I’ll be frying people tomorrow afternoon with my brother on the Bane server. I can’t wait either…I’m much too bored and had enough fun in the open beta that I figured I’d give AoC a shot.

By: Keen

Keen — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:42:01 +0000

If I weren’t bored out of my mind I would be waiting there with you Ethic. Alas, I’m going crazy browsing the web all day. If the game sucks it sucks. If it’s good then I have a distraction until WAR.

By: Talyn

Talyn — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:00:50 +0000

Turbine should “apologize” because they are the #3 subscription MMO but it wasn’t the game for you? Sorry, mate, but get over yourself. I personally can’t stand EQ2 but there are a few hundred thousand people who love it. I don’t begrudge them, and I love reading of their adventures. Same for EVE, it’s not for me but it’s entertaining reading of others’ exploits in that universe.

AoC isn’t going to be for everyone either, but I certainly won’t expect Funcom to “apologize” to all the people who dislike the game. They’re aiming for a specific audience. Cater to that audience, let everyone else find their own niche.

I enjoy the overall “MMO meta-community” but I don’t see any reason I should feel “required” or “obligated” to like/play every single MMO that comes out, nor do I feel everyone else should bow down, love and offer their souls to the same games I like to the exclusion of all others.

It’s only after this morning’s patch to AoC that I’ve even decided to give the retail game a shot, and even then, it won’t be for several months to let things smooth over.