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PC Gamer - MMO of the year
Jackdog
Member UncommonPosts: 6,321
PC gamer named LoTRO MMO of the year. Grats to Turbine
quote:
A lot of MMOs thrived this year, but their success was dampened by a lack of major updates or innovation. When it came to keeping us entertained all year long with small updates, plus throwing us the occasional party with huge loads of free content, LotRO treated its fans the best. Two new Epic Books’ worth of quests alongside the franchise’s memorable characters and two new regions were added; character creation and starter regions were completely revamped, in-game events were expanded and UI elements were improved—and then the game went free-to-play in September.
Turbine’s signature hybrid free-to-play subscription model proved to be a great success, generously letting curious players browse Middle-earth and sample the content before deciding whether or not to open their wallets. It’s quickly redefining the way a successful subscriptionless MMO is run.
The future’s looking good for LotRO—even with this year’s huge additions, it’s wisely pacing itself to avoid burning through the books’ story content too quickly. There’s a long road ahead before we’re knocking on Mordor’s door with the One Ring, and that road is lined with good friends (LotRO’s community is one of the most friendly and enthusiastic around), excellent gameplay and free updates, and at the rate Turbine is going, we’ll be enjoying the journey for years to come.
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/01/11/pc-gamer-uss-games-of-the-year-awards/4/
I miss DAoC
Comments
Nice!!
Gratz to Turbine
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
Huge additions?
Its pacing itself?
This one line completely discredits this award IMO. How anyone who has spent any meaningful time in LOTRO over the last year plus would make these statements is just plain silly.
I think Lotro is a good game, for what it is at this point, does it deserve awards for "MMO of the Year"? Sure, I guess it could depending what one wants out of a MMO, but when reviewers completly out themselves by making statements like these, it really leaves the Award and the reviewer suspect to motivations and or actual game knowledge or enough time spent in the game to actual have an opinion one way or another.
Stuff like this along with the whole slew of awards STO won over at Massively just start to make me think that these awards are bought and or completely without objectivity.
LoTRO game of the year?
Just goes to show how crappy 2010 was for MMORPGs.
Gratz to Lotro!
I am a huge fan of PCgamer, and I am sure they came to this conclusion after a very detailed study.
If you have played Lotro, you would know that it is deserving of such accolades. Lotro is a very nice MMO that has plenty enough content to keep people entertained for a long long time.
Seems like the years was some kinda waste.
A detailed study?
Please explain this line from that article:
"The future’s looking good for LotRO—even with this year’s huge additions, it’s wisely pacing itself to avoid burning through the books’ story content too quickly."
I am all for Lotro winning an award, despite how I feel towards Turbine for their mismanagement of this fine IP, but when statements like these are made, I am sorry, but the knowledge of the person reviewing and giving out the award is very suspect.
Even the most die hard Lotro/Turbine fans admits that since MoM this game has been extremely content light.
Congrats Turbine!
Sure, if you are new to the game, but then again, there are many games with far more content on the market if this is the criteria.
For the long time player at level cap, there has been a drought of content since 6 months post MoM launch. And for the time period of this award nearly zero meaningful content for endgame for capped characters.
They are not looking at it from gamers perspective. So old game that did so little would not win the title.
They are looking at it from business prespective. And from that angle they are right with the title and with the comments. Moving the game to F2P was a huge change. It is surprising how many F2P features you can find in originally pure P2P game and how many more there are still untapped and how you can make the two models work together. Progressing the story so slow it is unrealistic for it to ever culminate is wise business decision in regards to IP.
Good for LOTRO, good for business, sad for us MMO players.
In a lean year LOTRO's converstion to the fremium model was certainly its biggest accomplishment so is worthy of the award, if for little else.
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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Poor year for MMOs
LOTRO is an abomination to the Tolkien legacy.
It might be good for business but like the one guy said for us folks who have all their alts at end game, it was a very shallow year. I'm sorry whoever did the work for the article at pc gamer just lost all credibility. Huge update for free to play yes, but end game still in the dumpster since som rolled out. I know there is supposed to be an xpac soon, lol i not buying it, just another shallow excuse to get into my pocket.
PC Gamer aren't great when it comes to MMO's. The UK version last year started running a load of articles about guild management and playing in WoW like the game had only just come out. I believe that some of their staff only decided that year to engage with the game seriously but it undermined them in some peoples eyes, (There suppose to be experts in gaming, thats why you buy the magazine for their expert opinion on new releases, if they've only just tried something like WoW how can you trust there views, i.e. pay for them?) . Of course it's humanly impossible to play all games to an expert level, (and they cover all aspects of PC gaming, which is large), but as long as someone's paying for that opinion that argument will remain.
I think it's a problem a lot of magazine publishers face, the pace of change through the internet means that an, 'opinion', on something is pretty much instantaneous and people will just gravitate towards who they think has a similar mindset to them through a variety of portals. You have to rely on the quality of writing to sell these days and the glory days of that are long gone.
As for LOTRO, a lot of people like the f2p model but it just goes to show what a poor year it was for MMO's that a game that was failing as a subscription model changed and is seen as a great triumph. I wish LOTRO and it's fans well, but lets hope there a couple more new title success stories this year eh?
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
Awarding LOTRO the MMO of the year award because of their switch to the freemium platform is pretty much the same as awarding Jack Black the actor of the year award for somehow still being allowed to make movies.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
Pretty sure I pay $15 a month.
Thats such a huge cop out and fallacy to try and "sell" the games player base that they "need" to hock items in the store. ALso if its true, as you say, that shows a compnay who completely droped the ball with their game.
The thing the gets me with some around here, they claim the game was not dying off, but in the same breath they claim that Turbine "needs" these new plyers to survive.
Well, let's think about it.
I've been playing since closed beta. I've seen the swell of population and the dip in population over the course of the game's life. Once new content is introduced there's a swell. Then after a while there is a dip. longer it goes the greater the dip. And then? New content and a swell.
So it is very apparent that there is a core group of players and then those who come and go for whatever reasons.
This last dip, before the f2p, was just one of the dips that have been going on since "since'.
As far as your statement about needing new players "yes", every game needs new players or else eventually the population will dip until it's just a core group of hardcore players. Eventually, over the course of years, players will move on. If you don't replace them then you will get an ever dwindling playerbase.
Look at DAoC? There are players playing and a decent amount per night. But nothing in size like the more popular games out there. And there are players still playing UO. But again, not the same size.
So if LOTRO did not court new players, eventually it would end up like those games with a hard core following but that's about it.
So I don't see the issue.
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
No joke. But still Lotro was a good game for it's run. Lets just say it wont be repeating in 2011.
never heard of player churn?
http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2009/11/04/how-big-social-games-maintain-their-sticky-factors/
I miss DAoC
Merely changing the revenue model seems to be a huge amount of content in the eyes of PC Gamer.
Either that, or other MMOs have really declined from past years for LOTRO to win MMO of the year this time.
No game could survive just catering to its endgame players. you need new players to replace the older players as they leave.
Its even worse in lotro due to the sizable amount of lifetime players that no longer pay turbine to play lotro.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
they have done a lot more than just change the subscription options. Instances and skirishes have redefined the way people play/level. Lots and lots of options on play styles in this game. Other than hard core full loot open world PvP, LoTRO pretty much has something for everone who likes a fantasy DIKU style MMO
I miss DAoC
Not sure I agree but I do agree that it is a better choice than Eve Online which caters to only the most dedicated and hardcore players who has way too much time to spend on gaming.
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