Give Me Pay-to-Play Anyday
Derek Hidey
Issue date: 10/4/06 Section: The AT Wire
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Massively-Multiplayer Online (MMO) gaming has become the leading genre in online gaming. Not too long ago this video game genre was limited to personal computers. Now, with consoles becoming more similar to PCs, we are seeing MMOs breaking through to console gamers. For example, Final Fantasy XI, the most recent addition to Square Enix's most popular game title, is playable either on the PC or for the Playstation 2. The most obvious drawbacks to the MMO aren't found in their gameplay or graphics, but their cookie-cutter design and monthly fees.
Notice how MMOs are being designed and created without innovation. Companies are no longer attempting to bring something new to the consumers. Instead, the companies realize that they stand to gain a ton of revenue by just sticking a name on their game. For example, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is, to quote Gamespot.com's summary, "…an MMORPG set in the Lord of the Rings universe." Other than that, it isn't much different from Lineage II, an MMO with a typical fantasy setting.
Take any major film or novel that has a huge fan base and that has generated a ton of revenue in other forms and you have your next big MMO title. The games themselves may differ slightly in gameplay, graphics, physics, combat system, etc., but they are more or less the same.
Another example is The Matrix Online. When I beta tested this game before its retail release, I thought it was fun. Not because it was extremely different from the other MMOs of the time, but because it was The Matrix. How could you resist the chance to be a part of the Wachowski brother's universe? That was the game's major advantage when it was forming a pre-release community. To The Matrix Online's credit, the combat system was slightly innovative to allow for a more realistic portrayal of the combat that took place in the movies. Despite that, the game was a rushed, cookie-cutter MMO based on a movie. So what have we concluded so far? MMOs tend to be generic and lacking of innovation compared to other genres of video games.
Notice how MMOs are being designed and created without innovation. Companies are no longer attempting to bring something new to the consumers. Instead, the companies realize that they stand to gain a ton of revenue by just sticking a name on their game. For example, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is, to quote Gamespot.com's summary, "…an MMORPG set in the Lord of the Rings universe." Other than that, it isn't much different from Lineage II, an MMO with a typical fantasy setting.
Take any major film or novel that has a huge fan base and that has generated a ton of revenue in other forms and you have your next big MMO title. The games themselves may differ slightly in gameplay, graphics, physics, combat system, etc., but they are more or less the same.
Another example is The Matrix Online. When I beta tested this game before its retail release, I thought it was fun. Not because it was extremely different from the other MMOs of the time, but because it was The Matrix. How could you resist the chance to be a part of the Wachowski brother's universe? That was the game's major advantage when it was forming a pre-release community. To The Matrix Online's credit, the combat system was slightly innovative to allow for a more realistic portrayal of the combat that took place in the movies. Despite that, the game was a rushed, cookie-cutter MMO based on a movie. So what have we concluded so far? MMOs tend to be generic and lacking of innovation compared to other genres of video games.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Magnificent Epiphany
Malshew
posted 10/05/06 @ 8:04 PM EST
The problem with free-to-play (F2P) games is that MMO's are expensive to run. You need customer support, money for servers, money for bandwidth, time to fix bugs, time to add content, etc. (Continued…)
Post a Comment