Home?
Well I suppose you meant MMO RPG something like that.
Home?
Well I suppose you meant MMO RPG something like that.
You know, if the only problem preventing devs from releasing MMOs on consoles is the number of keys you need to use to play it, this gen would be the first in history to allow MMOs on consoles because all three consoles support USB keyboards. (The PS3 also supports USB mice (I think the 360 does too, but I can' remember) and bluetooth keyboards and mice) Devs could just make a keyboard required to play the game, and if it's good enough, no one will complain.
However, IMO, the reason MMOs aren't made for consoles is because the devs can't charge a subscription cost.
Not trying to be a fanboy. Of course, it's hard when you own the best console eve... dang it
^^^ Another reason they weren't introduced to consoles much before is the requirement for patches and updates. Now we have the storage capacity for these when only the xbox did last gen.
Mummelmann said:
The Guild Wars game has sold fairly well, or even very well here in Scandinavia so the revenue from software sales is high. They also release expansions all the time, or chapters if you will, and these cost as much as the original game. So basically, you'll end up loosing a heap of content if you refuse to purchase anything besides the core game, so it's not really hugely different from monthly fees in that sense. And these expansions and the game itself has high dev costs, and all the other obvious disadvantages I mentioned for consoles still apply. Fact is; making MMO's is very expensive (Age of Conan has a budget of over 200 million NOK), so if you have no fees monthly, you need to sell software add on's or big amounts of core software to make money on it. So, whether you pay (here in Norway) 100NOK a month or purchase a 250-300NOK expansion every 3-4 months, it still ends up costing the player quite a bit, making the two bussiness models more similar than one would initially assume. Of course; with the optional expansions you actually have a choice whether to spend more, but when 95% of the players have the packs and you don't, there's basically nothing there for you in the end, which is why (as the developers know) you'll end up buying the expansions anyway and net them steady revenue even after the core game's purchase. |
Actually, that choice element is the crucial difference.
I don't think you lose out if you don't upgrade because you don't lose any of the features in the original (or core) package. My son hasn't bought all the expansions and I note it hasn't hindered his play in any way.
And if you do decide to buy the next release, you know for a fact you're getting essentially more content for the same game - is this really difference from buying Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3? Halo 3 is only Halo with extra polish and levels at the end of the day.
The problem with the fee in MMO is that updates can be few and far between and it can seem like you're paying just to keep playing the same core content. With the NCSoft model you only actually ever pay for new content when its ready - and you even have the choice of not paying. On a console I think this is like buying Warhawk but not extra levels - doesn't hinder you playing the levels you have.
I guess until it comes out its a moot point but this is the best model for an MMO to work on a console IMO.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...
Reasonable said:
Actually, that choice element is the crucial difference. I don't think you lose out if you don't upgrade because you don't lose any of the features in the original (or core) package. My son hasn't bought all the expansions and I note it hasn't hindered his play in any way. And if you do decide to buy the next release, you know for a fact you're getting essentially more content for the same game - is this really difference from buying Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3? Halo 3 is only Halo with extra polish and levels at the end of the day. The problem with the fee in MMO is that updates can be few and far between and it can seem like you're paying just to keep playing the same core content. With the NCSoft model you only actually ever pay for new content when its ready - and you even have the choice of not paying. On a console I think this is like buying Warhawk but not extra levels - doesn't hinder you playing the levels you have. I guess until it comes out its a moot point but this is the best model for an MMO to work on a console IMO. |
I think its the best model for MMO's, period. Fee's are uncalled for I think, like Wow which has, what? 2-3 expansions now? That's not good enough.
One of my best friends bought and played Guild Wars for a period, but he quickly got bored with it. Then he bought 2 new chapters and was set for weeks on end! I guess what I'm trying to say is; I do agree that the Guild Wars model is the way to go, but sooner or later you're gonna want to shell out for more content, it could be that your son is in that small percentage that feels it is adequate (for now) with the core content, I really don't know. One other things is; if everyone else buys expansions and you don't, you'll end up loosing your character(s) that you spent ages leveling up when you are no longer allowed on the server since its converting all the content to fit all the chapters after a while, I know a few folks experienced this first hand in WoW a few months after the first expansion pack released. The developers can't have a tiny number of players on every server dictate what content it'll sport, so it gets tricky both for dev's and playes after a while (I could no longer access my old WoW server even if I wanted to because my files don't have the expansion (s) registry). I could start on another server, but my 47 level character is still unavailable to me because of this. I don't play anymore, and I never will, but its quite a funstopper for those who do/did!