Curse

Synles Chyld · Jun 07, 2007, 01:56 AM // 01:56

this just in earlier from arena net on Next Generaton site: http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?op...887&Ite mid=2

heres what it has to say...

The infant MMO market is booming, but overexcitement and lack of experience will lead some investors and newer MMO developers to bust, Guild Wars developer ArenaNet tells Next-Gen.

ArenaNet co-founder and programmer Pat Wyatt says of MMO investment, “This is totally the area of ‘funny money.’ Everybody looks from the outside of the industry and says ‘Wow, there’s a lot of money to be made.’ …The challenge [for developers] is going to be to do something that’s different that makes people want to switch en masse to a game. So yeah, some people coming out who invest a lot of money are not going to get a good return. And we’re going to see a fallout in a couple years when these games reach fruition.”

ArenaNet co-founder and programmer Jeff Strain elaborates, “Even within the industry, what many game developers who have never made an MMO don’t realize is that an MMO is not a product. It’s a service. That’s where they often get tripped up—things like the cool game features they have or the technology they’d like to have.

“But successful MMOs, or successful online games in general, are successful because the development team comprehends and understands that ultimately what they’re making is a service.”

At last count, the NCsoft-published Guild Wars franchise had sold over 3 million copies across its three, full-priced standalone campaign packs. As opposed to a monthly subscription, ArenaNet has relied on releasing a new campaign pack every six months, although the upcoming expansion Eye of the North will be the first follow-up to require a previous version of Guild Wars.

The Bellevue, Wash.-based ArenaNet also recently announced Guild Wars 2, a full-blown sequel with beta testing beginning some time in 2008.

Wyatt's and Strain’s comments were made during a recent interview with ArenaNet’s co-founders regarding the Guild Wars business. The interview will be published in the coming days.

Bryant Again · Jun 07, 2007, 01:58 AM // 01:58

Pretty cool article, thanks for the post.

Cacheelma · Jun 07, 2007, 02:27 AM // 02:27

Infant MMO market? Were they serious?

If infant MMO's game like WoW can have 6 millions buyers, I'd really like to see the "puberty" or "mature".

Brianna · Jun 07, 2007, 02:40 AM // 02:40

Meh.. I personally see Better MMO's coming in the future, I don't find any current MMOs Anywhere near appealing to me, except guild wars. So i'd play guild wars or nothing at all.. so i guess in my eyes its infant, or whatever. I believe guild wars two will be a success if its not to much like the first one.

Bryant Again · Jun 07, 2007, 02:50 AM // 02:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

I believe guild wars two will be a success if its not to much like the first one.

I'm with you thar. I can't stress how many I've known who left after they found out the level cap was only 20...

Terra Xin · Jun 07, 2007, 02:52 AM // 02:52

Infant-like in terms of advancement, not population.

There's tons of improvements that can be made to MMO's in general, and it's not just about upgrading the technology, or seeing who can score the highest population game-base.

bilateralrope · Jun 07, 2007, 03:56 AM // 03:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryant Again

I'm with you thar. I can't stress how many I've known who left after they found out the level cap was only 20...

Yet the level cap is the only reason I'm staying with guild wars, because it means I'm not forced to grind in order to play the end game content. Though the LB title makes this point moot. Basically when someone tries to get me into a new MMO I ask one question first: What features does that MMO have that most others don't ?

For guild wars its the low amounts of grind to max out your characters stats (though each chapter seems to add more grind).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terra Xin

Infant-like in terms of advancement, not population.

There's tons of improvements that can be made to MMO's in general, and it's not just about upgrading the technology, or seeing who can score the highest population game-base.

The population measurement is especially bad when most MMO's measure the population as the number of active accounts, despite them being on separate shards and therefore unable to interact with each other. Or the free to play MMO's inactive accounts in the total population size.

Bryant Again · Jun 07, 2007, 04:05 AM // 04:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by bilateralrope

Yet the level cap is the only reason I'm staying with guild wars, because it means I'm not forced to grind in order to play the end game content.

That's of course assuming that there's little to nothing to do between the first and max level - which is assuming a lot.

LifeInfusion · Jun 07, 2007, 04:09 AM // 04:09

That's pretty odd that they make such a statement. Is it publicity or is it because they have an ace up their sleeve?

Who knows...

Omega X · Jun 07, 2007, 04:21 AM // 04:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

I believe guild wars two will be a success if its not to much like the first one.

You will probably get some heat for that one, but I agree with you. The current form of GW translated 100% directly into GW2 as is would be a lot of wasted time and energy. GW2 gives them a chance to do over and do it much better.

lyra_song · Jun 07, 2007, 05:16 AM // 05:16

THe current improvement of technology leaves to openings of VAST new markets for MMORPGs ie:

Smartphones with internet access....

Buster · Jun 07, 2007, 06:14 AM // 06:14

Ever since Arenanet released Guild Wars 1 they have had nothing but success with their game and I don't see any reason why they won't continue to be successful. These guys are experienced and know what they are talking about and doing.

I think GW2 is a smart move and they will broaden their user/fan base as well.
I see nothing but good things for GW players in the future.

drakun01 · Jun 07, 2007, 06:25 AM // 06:25

MMOs are a service...? This could be acknowledging that they know how unhappy some people have been of late, and are trying to fix that.
And yeah, GW2 needs to be different from GW1. Maybe not incredibly different, but there are definately some things I would like to see changed.

majoho · Jun 07, 2007, 07:20 AM // 07:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

Meh.. I personally see Better MMO's coming in the future, I don't find any current MMOs Anywhere near appealing to me, except guild wars. So i'd play guild wars or nothing at all.. so i guess in my eyes its infant, or whatever. I believe guild wars two will be a success if its not to much like the first one.

If GW2 is nothing like the first one what would be the point of it then, might as well play WoW then.

arcanemacabre · Jun 07, 2007, 07:58 AM // 07:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by majoho

If GW2 is nothing like the first one what would be the point of it then, might as well play WoW then.

Oh boy! Way to think outside the box. Obviously, if GW2 is going to be different than GW1, the only other game it can be compared to is WoW, since GW and WoW are the only two games that ever was and ever will be. Yeesh.

Seriously though, GW as it is, is pretty much an FPS, but with customization of characters, a decent story, and lots of loot. The creators simply want to take the more RPG side of GW, and improve upon that. I see nothing wrong with that, nor is it like WoW other than the fact that WoW is also an RPG. Whoop-de-friggin-do.

upier · Jun 07, 2007, 11:10 AM // 11:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synles Chyld

ArenaNet co-founder and programmer Jeff Strain elaborates, “Even within the industry, what many game developers who have never made an MMO don’t realize is that an MMO is not a product. It’s a service. That’s where they often get tripped up—things like the cool game features they have or the technology they’d like to have.

“But successful MMOs, or successful online games in general, are successful because the development team comprehends and understands that ultimately what they’re making is a service.”

I do hope I'll remember this quote and shove it in Gaile's face the next time we bitch about something and she pulls the "We do everything out of the kindness of our heart and if you're gonna bitch about it we might as well stop providing it!"-card out of her sleeve!

Cacheelma · Jun 07, 2007, 11:21 AM // 11:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by upier

I do hope I'll remember this quote and shove it in Gaile's face the next time we bitch about something and she pulls the "We do everything out of the kindness of our heart and if you're gonna bitch about it we might as well stop providing it!"-card out of her sleeve!

Before you try to insult her, please be aware that she said in the past already that this whole thing is a form of "Service". But the actual service stops at providing you servers to play on. Any extras (events, activities, festivities, tournaments, etc etc) are NOT part of it. And Anet can STOP doing those without breaking any agreement with you.

Bryant Again · Jun 07, 2007, 11:46 AM // 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cacheelma

Before you try to insult her, please be aware that she said in the past already that this whole thing is a form of "Service". But the actual service stops at providing you servers to play on. Any extras (events, activities, festivities, tournaments, etc etc) are NOT part of it. And Anet can STOP doing those without breaking any agreement with you.

Whether you guys like it or not, Cacheelma's got a point. To those people who demand changes/fixes/shit: You've already paid for the game. You cannot have any influence over ANet's way of things. If they do something you don't like, then you will have to live with it - it's their game, not yours. It's not your standard pay-to-play MMO, and because of that you are not entitled to anything except playing the game. If there was a monthly playing fee, things would probably be different as ANet would have to work more to satisfy your spending of $15 a month. But there isn't a fee - hence, ANet doesn't have to do anything to make you happy. If they wanted to they could've just never released any additional content, because you've already bought their game, they've sold their product, their done. As long as their game is working on your computer, you don't have much of a right to complain.

lacasner · Jun 07, 2007, 12:23 PM // 12:23

Quote:

Whether you guys like it or not, Cacheelma's got a point. To those people who demand changes/fixes/shit: You've already paid for the game. You cannot have any influence over ANet's way of things. If they do something you don't like, then you will have to live with it - it's their game, not yours.

Well whether you like it or not, changes are actually necessary because GW in itself is very restrictive and at times stagnant, plus I did pay for the game, and if Anet decisions to appeal to the customer, I can simply stop paying for it in the future, as well as many other players can as well.

Quote:

If GW2 is nothing like the first one what would be the point of it then, might as well play WoW then.

Arcane. think about it for a second. If it really is not much like the first game, plus the big fact that all of your things collected (armor,weapons, etc.) can not be transfered, why start something when WoW is already established. In reality, you'd be starting from scratch anyway.

upier · Jun 07, 2007, 12:24 PM // 12:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cacheelma

Before you try to insult her, please be aware that she said in the past already that this whole thing is a form of "Service". But the actual service stops at providing you servers to play on. Any extras (events, activities, festivities, tournaments, etc etc) are NOT part of it. And Anet can STOP doing those without breaking any agreement with you.

the point was that they are aware it is a service.
meaning - the quality of the service should be of such level that users continue to use it. and if the users express the feeling that the service provided is failing to reach that level - it might be smarter to look at the service rather then to pull the "you either like it or you won't get any more"-card that the lovely Gaile pulls out in her most embarrassing outings.

ohh and lets not go to the whole "they don't need to provide the extras"! lets just look at the ugly truth.
if they had known that the game has enough content to keep the players happy and willing to buy the next chapter - they wouldn't need to bring out the extras! my guess is that they KNOW that the extras are needed to keep the user base interested even if the users cant demand them!
surely you know that they didn't add the extra content out of the kindness of their heart?
and knowing that - what's wrong with exercising a bit of pressure?
it's a service - not a charity nor a friendship.