WoW is losing steam on its own, not because of any pathetic upstarts like Rift.
Well, technically WoW is losing steam because of its age, as is normal in this market.
If those players move to Rift, and then on to the next new thing (TOR and then GW2) six months later, that's Rift's failure, not anyone else's. If you're confident that you can nail down a majority of the transient game-homeless before the Next Big Thing picks them off, then feel free to talk big, Trion.
But unless you act fast and act Big--those transients are going to keep moving. This narrow window of opportunity is Trion's only chance to nail down as many of those players as they can.
Less chest-thumping and more content release is in order.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
As much as I'm not a TOR nuthugger (just ask Badspock) I think u've just grossly underestimated it. There is a good chance TOR will eat rift alive. I don't know rifts sub numbers as of recently but from what I've heard, they're not very impressive therefore not really a logical reason to be so confident about its survival.
I mean, the last time I remember hearing anything about rift was because they dropped the price of their game to $20 or something. Seems like a desperate tactic, did it boost sales and subs?
I dont know. The general consensus about Rift was that it would attract WOW burnouts, like myself, which it may have done. Im wondering how many WOW players have the patience for the cut scenes that, from what I understand, will be used quite often in TOR. Even in LOTRO, I was always the last guy in the followship to come out of the instance because I liked to watch the cut scene and learn more of the story In general most people skipped that and went on. If the mature player base LOTRO, at least used to have,didnt have the patience for them, im not sure the WOW crowd will be to enthused about the heavy use of such scenes. Its all conjecture on my part, and ive been wrong before but I think there is going to be some disappointed people after the TOR launch. Some of us will play it, perhaps, and find some value in it but the hardcore "nuthuggers" (lol I like that) I think are going to be in for a rude awakening.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
As much as I'm not a TOR nuthugger (just ask Badspock) I think u've just grossly underestimated it. There is a good chance TOR will eat rift alive. I don't know rifts sub numbers as of recently but from what I've heard, they're not very impressive therefore not really a logical reason to be so confident about its survival.
I mean, the last time I remember hearing anything about rift was because they dropped the price of their game to $20 or something. Seems like a desperate tactic, did it boost sales and subs?
I dont know. The general consensus about Rift was that it would attract WOW burnouts, like myself, which it may have done. Im wondering how many WOW players have the patience for the cut scenes that, from what I understand, will be used quite often in TOR. Even in LOTRO, I was always the last guy in the followship to come out of the instance because I liked to watch the cut scene and learn more of the story In general most people skipped that and went on. If the mature player base LOTRO, at least used to have,didnt have the patience for them, im not sure the WOW crowd will be to enthused about the heavy use of such scenes. Its all conjecture on my part, and ive been wrong before but I think there is going to be some disappointed people after the TOR launch. Some of us will play it, perhaps, and find some value in it but the hardcore "nuthuggers" (lol I like that) I think are going to be in for a rude awakening.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
As much as I'm not a TOR nuthugger (just ask Badspock) I think u've just grossly underestimated it. There is a good chance TOR will eat rift alive. I don't know rifts sub numbers as of recently but from what I've heard, they're not very impressive therefore not really a logical reason to be so confident about its survival.
I mean, the last time I remember hearing anything about rift was because they dropped the price of their game to $20 or something. Seems like a desperate tactic, did it boost sales and subs?
I dont know. The general consensus about Rift was that it would attract WOW burnouts, like myself, which it may have done. Im wondering how many WOW players have the patience for the cut scenes that, from what I understand, will be used quite often in TOR. Even in LOTRO, I was always the last guy in the followship to come out of the instance because I liked to watch the cut scene and learn more of the story In general most people skipped that and went on. If the mature player base LOTRO, at least used to have,didnt have the patience for them, im not sure the WOW crowd will be to enthused about the heavy use of such scenes. Its all conjecture on my part, and ive been wrong before but I think there is going to be some disappointed people after the TOR launch. Some of us will play it, perhaps, and find some value in it but the hardcore "nuthuggers" (lol I like that) I think are going to be in for a rude awakening.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
As much as I'm not a TOR nuthugger (just ask Badspock) I think u've just grossly underestimated it. There is a good chance TOR will eat rift alive. I don't know rifts sub numbers as of recently but from what I've heard, they're not very impressive therefore not really a logical reason to be so confident about its survival.
I mean, the last time I remember hearing anything about rift was because they dropped the price of their game to $20 or something. Seems like a desperate tactic, did it boost sales and subs?
I dont know. The general consensus about Rift was that it would attract WOW burnouts, like myself, which it may have done. Im wondering how many WOW players have the patience for the cut scenes that, from what I understand, will be used quite often in TOR. Even in LOTRO, I was always the last guy in the followship to come out of the instance because I liked to watch the cut scene and learn more of the story In general most people skipped that and went on. If the mature player base LOTRO, at least used to have,didnt have the patience for them, im not sure the WOW crowd will be to enthused about the heavy use of such scenes. Its all conjecture on my part, and ive been wrong before but I think there is going to be some disappointed people after the TOR launch. Some of us will play it, perhaps, and find some value in it but the hardcore "nuthuggers" (lol I like that) I think are going to be in for a rude awakening.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Did you get to make choices that effected your character in the long run? Or beyond the Accept/Cancle optoins?
As much as I'm not a TOR nuthugger (just ask Badspock) I think u've just grossly underestimated it. There is a good chance TOR will eat rift alive. I don't know rifts sub numbers as of recently but from what I've heard, they're not very impressive therefore not really a logical reason to be so confident about its survival.
I mean, the last time I remember hearing anything about rift was because they dropped the price of their game to $20 or something. Seems like a desperate tactic, did it boost sales and subs?
I dont know. The general consensus about Rift was that it would attract WOW burnouts, like myself, which it may have done. Im wondering how many WOW players have the patience for the cut scenes that, from what I understand, will be used quite often in TOR. Even in LOTRO, I was always the last guy in the followship to come out of the instance because I liked to watch the cut scene and learn more of the story In general most people skipped that and went on. If the mature player base LOTRO, at least used to have,didnt have the patience for them, im not sure the WOW crowd will be to enthused about the heavy use of such scenes. Its all conjecture on my part, and ive been wrong before but I think there is going to be some disappointed people after the TOR launch. Some of us will play it, perhaps, and find some value in it but the hardcore "nuthuggers" (lol I like that) I think are going to be in for a rude awakening.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Did you get to make choices that effected your character in the long run? Or beyond the Accept/Cancle optoins?
I hope your game is everything you hope it to be. But I doubt it.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
Rift was a filler game from people who were bored for WoW, which I do think SWTOR will be to a large extent as well. People are chomping at the bit for something new, which neither is really providing.
Its good that you kept your promise of being the mouthpiece of the "people" ...
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Did you get to make choices that effected your character in the long run? Or beyond the Accept/Cancle optoins?
I hope your game is everything you hope it to be. But I doubt it.
So no I take it?
In LOTRO/AOC there was no reason to watch the cut scenes unlinke TOR and GW2
Never quite got into Rift, though I gave it tries during open beta and later as a trial account.
Personally I think posturing and calling out WoW is meh. I'd rather have facts presented or information about what your game has/does or has planned. But not saying it isn't smart marketing, WoW is well known so if you can manage to get your name associated with their name by calling them out constantly and picking a fight with them. That could lead to more people looking at that game than otherwise would and could end up with more subs.
So in the end probably a more smart than dumb plan by them :P For Trion it is really win/win, in that they don't lose anything by talking that way, but they could gain a lot by talking that way.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Did you get to make choices that effected your character in the long run? Or beyond the Accept/Cancle optoins?
I hope your game is everything you hope it to be. But I doubt it.
So no I take it?
In LOTRO/AOC there was no reason to watch the cut scenes unlinke TOR and GW2
Everyone knows what the TOR talking points are. My point stands, if people dont have the patience to watch a cutscene why do you think they will sit around and listen to an NPC talk, then click, and listen to more talk? Most people want to play a the game, not listen to NPC's talk. No reason to watch the cutscenes in LOTRO/AOC? Isnt that the "story" part of a game that EA is counting on to draw subs?
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Did you get to make choices that effected your character in the long run? Or beyond the Accept/Cancle optoins?
I hope your game is everything you hope it to be. But I doubt it.
So no I take it?
In LOTRO/AOC there was no reason to watch the cut scenes unlinke TOR and GW2
Everyone knows what the TOR talking points are. My point stands, if people dont have the patience to watch a cutscene why do you think they will sit around and listen to an NPC talk, then click, and listen to more talk? Most people want to play a the game, not listen to NPC's talk. No reason to watch the cutscenes in LOTRO/AOC? Isnt that the "story" part of a game that EA is counting on to draw subs?
If what you're saying is true then people would never buy games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age and I would throw Half Life into the mix. I think people don't pay attention to the story in an MMO because it has yet to be presented in a fun and engaging way, and instead what we get is a cut scene here and there, not an engaging story if you ask me.
There is no reason to lesson the VO in AOC but everyone I talked to who played the game said it was a welcomed feature while it lasted.
I had the same experience with Rift. It's a very nice looking, and well polished game. The trouble is, you very soon end up with the feeling of "been there, done that", and "meh".
While I realize there are always new players coming into the genre, the vast majority of people who are gaming now, are getting sick of the same stuff over and over again. These game deves are going to have to come up with something more than just making the games look prettier or sound better. The shine wears off real fast now, and what is left is the core gameplay and community features (which aren't even put into most games anymore).
I think SWTOR is going to feel the same way for a lot of people very soon after launch. Just watching videos of it makes me yawn. The combination of the cut scenes and the 'standard' gameplay mechanics are going to slow the game down and negatively outweigh the Star Wars IP draw for many. I already don't care for the cartoony graphics style, so that doesn't even matter.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
These marketing articles / interviews and the wild claims of the staff are all just desperate efforts on Trion's part to remain relevant in a genre that is quickly forgetting their game. They have to release something like this every month or so or else nobody would talk about them at all.
SW:TOR, GW2, and TSW will definitely take a lot of Rift's population away, whether they admit it or not. Even without those games releasing, however, Rift's subs would continue to dwindle, and they'll likely never have more players than they do right now (only less). It is a shallow WoW-formula game in a tiny, linear world with no soul. Most folks grow tired of the same old mechanics and the lack of replayability in record time. The strict adherence to conventional wisdom and the extraordinarily tight scope allowed them to polish the game to a fine shine...but it also makes their game, at the most basic level, forgettable and not much fun. The dropping subs they are experiencing were completely predictable by anyone who's been following this genre for any length of time.
If they don't shut the lights off by the end of next year or go free to play, I'll be very surprised. As I've said before, WoW is about as worried about Rift as an aircraft carrier is about dolphin turds. If WoW's population is shrinking, it is only because of what Blizzard themselves are doing, and because after many years, eventually people grow tired of even the best game. It has little or nothing to do with Rift. It's actually quite sad that Rift hasn't been able to pull a lot more of WoW's population, considering the fact that a significant portion of WoW's players are chomping at the bit for anything new. Sadly, Rift doesn't offer much in that regard, only a lame version of the same thing.
I'm guessing Lars is doing some marketing because they got all the mileage they could out of those lame "first impression" articles that we kept reading over and over even months after release. As long as you don't play the game for more than 20 hours, it's super great! Smoke up, Lars (must be some good stuff)...the party will be over soon, and you've got only yourselves to blame.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Did you get to make choices that effected your character in the long run? Or beyond the Accept/Cancle optoins?
I hope your game is everything you hope it to be. But I doubt it.
So no I take it?
In LOTRO/AOC there was no reason to watch the cut scenes unlinke TOR and GW2
Everyone knows what the TOR talking points are. My point stands, if people dont have the patience to watch a cutscene why do you think they will sit around and listen to an NPC talk, then click, and listen to more talk? Most people want to play a the game, not listen to NPC's talk. No reason to watch the cutscenes in LOTRO/AOC? Isnt that the "story" part of a game that EA is counting on to draw subs?
If what you're saying is true then people would never buy games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age and I would throw Half Life into the mix. I think people don't pay attention to the story in an MMO because it has yet to be presented in a fun and engaging way, and instead what we get is a cut scene here and there, not an engaging story if you ask me.
There is no reason to lesson the VO in AOC but everyone I talked to who played the game said it was a welcomed feature while it lasted.
Yep, BW has fans. How many WOW players find story driven games appealing I wonder? How many MMO players actually pay attention to story? Or are they there to interact with others? TOR has been said to be the game that takes millions of subs from WOW, I just dont see it. Ive played WOW and have seen the community first hand for quite a few years. I think there will be people who enjoy the type of MMO to come out of BW but I dont think its the majority of MMO gamers.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
I think the fact Blizzard has made 100000000 times in profit the sum that they used on developing wow kind of makes blizzard unafraid of new franchises trying to competite with their almost decade old one.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Did you get to make choices that effected your character in the long run? Or beyond the Accept/Cancle optoins?
I hope your game is everything you hope it to be. But I doubt it.
So no I take it?
In LOTRO/AOC there was no reason to watch the cut scenes unlinke TOR and GW2
Everyone knows what the TOR talking points are. My point stands, if people dont have the patience to watch a cutscene why do you think they will sit around and listen to an NPC talk, then click, and listen to more talk? Most people want to play a the game, not listen to NPC's talk. No reason to watch the cutscenes in LOTRO/AOC? Isnt that the "story" part of a game that EA is counting on to draw subs?
If what you're saying is true then people would never buy games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age and I would throw Half Life into the mix. I think people don't pay attention to the story in an MMO because it has yet to be presented in a fun and engaging way, and instead what we get is a cut scene here and there, not an engaging story if you ask me.
There is no reason to lesson the VO in AOC but everyone I talked to who played the game said it was a welcomed feature while it lasted.
Yep, BW has fans. How many WOW players find story driven games appealing I wonder? How many MMO players actually pay attention to story? Or are they there to interact with others? TOR has been said to be the game that takes millions of subs from WOW, I just dont see it. Ive played WOW and have seen the community first hand for quite a few years. I think there will be people who enjoy the type of MMO to come out of BW but I dont think its the majority of MMO gamers.
I believe many MMO players would listen to story if it was presented in a fun and engaging way. WoW only makes up a small fraction of the MMO playerbase so to judge anything by its community isn't wise.
Literally every single person I play RIfts with, including me, is leaving when SWTOR comes out. Every. One.
That is a guild with about 25 people in it, and that, I expect, is not uncommon.
The problem is, Rift doesnt offer anything WoW and SWTOR don't offer. There is a real small world, with a lack of depth (my opinion, but shared by quite a few). Don't get me wrong, I like the game and I play it. But I am playing it to kill time until SWTOR, then GW2 come out. Odds are at that point, I will never look back.
I suspect I am not the only one.
For the little story Rift has: random live events, petless classes, swimming, day/night cycles, guild banks, appearance tabs, gear dyes and you can hide those awful shoulderpads too
(edit) however I agree with others, RIFT needs more content: an Xpack with a whole new continent.
The simple fact is, these ultra-themeparks are taking away more than they are offering. Sure, you may be getting more story, and more 'content', but your freedom in the game is less and less. The breadth of the experience is narrowing. Your experience of the world ends up on rails, and any aspect of a 'virtual world' is replaced by 'virtual disneyland'. Nothing feels alive, dynamic or truly player-driven.
Those of you who are bored now, are going to be bored next year and year after too until these games truly start to evolve. That's a crappy thing to say, and I don't like seeing myself type it any more than you like reading it, but it's the truth.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
The simple fact is, these ultra-themeparks are taking away more than they are offering. Sure, you may be getting more story, and more 'content', but your freedom in the game is less and less. The breadth of the experience is narrowing. Your experience of the world ends up on rails, and any aspect of a 'virtual world' is replaced by 'virtual disneyland'. Nothing feels alive, dynamic or truly player-driven.
If my options are Sandbox games were you have to make your own fun vs themeparks were you don't have to go out of your way to have fun, I think I'll go for the Themepark.
All my gaming friends save for about 4 do not play MMO because WoW offers too much for them to do what makes your think they will play a sandbox MMO?
I have been a longtime member to this site for quite sometime now, don't you agree? Anyways, here's my deal. Since about early last year, this site has seriously started ruining thier site credibility. Look at the title of this thread post. Are you guys really trying to start flame wars or what? You sit here and instill these rules for us to follow, yet you make threads that counteract the very same thing your against. Can someone, anyone from mmorpg.com tell me why this is so? Do you guys even care? Sorry to point this out, but like the say Sunday on NFL Gameday, "Come on Man!"
Back on topic I guess, RIFT is fine, WoW is fine. RIFT probably is the biggest contender right now to WoW, but look at what games its going up against. To be honest, who cares. Play games to play them. It's suppose to be for fun right? Enjoy the weekend!
Comments
Well, technically WoW is losing steam because of its age, as is normal in this market.
If those players move to Rift, and then on to the next new thing (TOR and then GW2) six months later, that's Rift's failure, not anyone else's. If you're confident that you can nail down a majority of the transient game-homeless before the Next Big Thing picks them off, then feel free to talk big, Trion.
But unless you act fast and act Big--those transients are going to keep moving. This narrow window of opportunity is Trion's only chance to nail down as many of those players as they can.
Less chest-thumping and more content release is in order.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Actually you are way off base. RIFT is doing quite well.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
I dont know. The general consensus about Rift was that it would attract WOW burnouts, like myself, which it may have done. Im wondering how many WOW players have the patience for the cut scenes that, from what I understand, will be used quite often in TOR. Even in LOTRO, I was always the last guy in the followship to come out of the instance because I liked to watch the cut scene and learn more of the story
In general most people skipped that and went on. If the mature player base LOTRO, at least used to have,didnt have the patience for them, im not sure the WOW crowd will be to enthused about the heavy use of such scenes. Its all conjecture on my part, and ive been wrong before but I think there is going to be some disappointed people after the TOR launch. Some of us will play it, perhaps, and find some value in it but the hardcore "nuthuggers" (lol I like that) I think are going to be in for a rude awakening.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
When it came to LOTRO everything had to be read when it came to quest (I never made it passed 20 so my knowlege is limited) While in TOR you have a Bioware story telling excperiance.
I have yet to beat Morrowind because of the lack of VO when compared to Oblivion. AOC was concidered a fun game until level 20 when the VO stopped and a lot of people quit.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
No. The book quests always had cut scenes you could watch and most skipped them.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
Did you get to make choices that effected your character in the long run? Or beyond the Accept/Cancle optoins?
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
I hope your game is everything you hope it to be. But I doubt it.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
Its good that you kept your promise of being the mouthpiece of the "people" ...
So no I take it?
In LOTRO/AOC there was no reason to watch the cut scenes unlinke TOR and GW2
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
Never quite got into Rift, though I gave it tries during open beta and later as a trial account.
Personally I think posturing and calling out WoW is meh. I'd rather have facts presented or information about what your game has/does or has planned. But not saying it isn't smart marketing, WoW is well known so if you can manage to get your name associated with their name by calling them out constantly and picking a fight with them. That could lead to more people looking at that game than otherwise would and could end up with more subs.
So in the end probably a more smart than dumb plan by them :P For Trion it is really win/win, in that they don't lose anything by talking that way, but they could gain a lot by talking that way.
Everyone knows what the TOR talking points are. My point stands, if people dont have the patience to watch a cutscene why do you think they will sit around and listen to an NPC talk, then click, and listen to more talk? Most people want to play a the game, not listen to NPC's talk. No reason to watch the cutscenes in LOTRO/AOC? Isnt that the "story" part of a game that EA is counting on to draw subs?
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
If what you're saying is true then people would never buy games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age and I would throw Half Life into the mix. I think people don't pay attention to the story in an MMO because it has yet to be presented in a fun and engaging way, and instead what we get is a cut scene here and there, not an engaging story if you ask me.
There is no reason to lesson the VO in AOC but everyone I talked to who played the game said it was a welcomed feature while it lasted.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
I had the same experience with Rift. It's a very nice looking, and well polished game. The trouble is, you very soon end up with the feeling of "been there, done that", and "meh".
While I realize there are always new players coming into the genre, the vast majority of people who are gaming now, are getting sick of the same stuff over and over again. These game deves are going to have to come up with something more than just making the games look prettier or sound better. The shine wears off real fast now, and what is left is the core gameplay and community features (which aren't even put into most games anymore).
I think SWTOR is going to feel the same way for a lot of people very soon after launch. Just watching videos of it makes me yawn. The combination of the cut scenes and the 'standard' gameplay mechanics are going to slow the game down and negatively outweigh the Star Wars IP draw for many. I already don't care for the cartoony graphics style, so that doesn't even matter.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
These marketing articles / interviews and the wild claims of the staff are all just desperate efforts on Trion's part to remain relevant in a genre that is quickly forgetting their game. They have to release something like this every month or so or else nobody would talk about them at all.
SW:TOR, GW2, and TSW will definitely take a lot of Rift's population away, whether they admit it or not. Even without those games releasing, however, Rift's subs would continue to dwindle, and they'll likely never have more players than they do right now (only less). It is a shallow WoW-formula game in a tiny, linear world with no soul. Most folks grow tired of the same old mechanics and the lack of replayability in record time. The strict adherence to conventional wisdom and the extraordinarily tight scope allowed them to polish the game to a fine shine...but it also makes their game, at the most basic level, forgettable and not much fun. The dropping subs they are experiencing were completely predictable by anyone who's been following this genre for any length of time.
If they don't shut the lights off by the end of next year or go free to play, I'll be very surprised. As I've said before, WoW is about as worried about Rift as an aircraft carrier is about dolphin turds. If WoW's population is shrinking, it is only because of what Blizzard themselves are doing, and because after many years, eventually people grow tired of even the best game. It has little or nothing to do with Rift. It's actually quite sad that Rift hasn't been able to pull a lot more of WoW's population, considering the fact that a significant portion of WoW's players are chomping at the bit for anything new. Sadly, Rift doesn't offer much in that regard, only a lame version of the same thing.
I'm guessing Lars is doing some marketing because they got all the mileage they could out of those lame "first impression" articles that we kept reading over and over even months after release. As long as you don't play the game for more than 20 hours, it's super great! Smoke up, Lars (must be some good stuff)...the party will be over soon, and you've got only yourselves to blame.
Fun game for a few months.
Terrible PvP.
Worse gear treadmill than WoW.
An average themepark MMO, it won't be able to hold a candle to TOR.
Yep, BW has fans. How many WOW players find story driven games appealing I wonder? How many MMO players actually pay attention to story? Or are they there to interact with others? TOR has been said to be the game that takes millions of subs from WOW, I just dont see it. Ive played WOW and have seen the community first hand for quite a few years. I think there will be people who enjoy the type of MMO to come out of BW but I dont think its the majority of MMO gamers.
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
I think the fact Blizzard has made 100000000 times in profit the sum that they used on developing wow kind of makes blizzard unafraid of new franchises trying to competite with their almost decade old one.
I believe many MMO players would listen to story if it was presented in a fun and engaging way. WoW only makes up a small fraction of the MMO playerbase so to judge anything by its community isn't wise.
For the little story Rift has: random live events, petless classes, swimming, day/night cycles, guild banks, appearance tabs, gear dyes and you can hide those awful shoulderpads too
(edit) however I agree with others, RIFT needs more content: an Xpack with a whole new continent.
The simple fact is, these ultra-themeparks are taking away more than they are offering. Sure, you may be getting more story, and more 'content', but your freedom in the game is less and less. The breadth of the experience is narrowing. Your experience of the world ends up on rails, and any aspect of a 'virtual world' is replaced by 'virtual disneyland'. Nothing feels alive, dynamic or truly player-driven.
Those of you who are bored now, are going to be bored next year and year after too until these games truly start to evolve. That's a crappy thing to say, and I don't like seeing myself type it any more than you like reading it, but it's the truth.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
If my options are Sandbox games were you have to make your own fun vs themeparks were you don't have to go out of your way to have fun, I think I'll go for the Themepark.
All my gaming friends save for about 4 do not play MMO because WoW offers too much for them to do what makes your think they will play a sandbox MMO?
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
I have been a longtime member to this site for quite sometime now, don't you agree? Anyways, here's my deal. Since about early last year, this site has seriously started ruining thier site credibility. Look at the title of this thread post. Are you guys really trying to start flame wars or what? You sit here and instill these rules for us to follow, yet you make threads that counteract the very same thing your against. Can someone, anyone from mmorpg.com tell me why this is so? Do you guys even care? Sorry to point this out, but like the say Sunday on NFL Gameday, "Come on Man!"
Back on topic I guess, RIFT is fine, WoW is fine. RIFT probably is the biggest contender right now to WoW, but look at what games its going up against. To be honest, who cares. Play games to play them. It's suppose to be for fun right? Enjoy the weekend!
As some people has said, I just can't get into Rift. I tried!
I think it had some to do wit the lack of content. Only leveling paths, 1 for each faction. I understand it's a newer game but yeah.
Maybe I'll try again one day after I get my fill of SWOTR and GW2
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