For the next real MMO of SOE (I am not talking about crap like DCU or The Agency) they should take in consideration some of the issues I stated above (or just keep doing normal games like The Agency and DCU and GTFO the MMO market).
The only way I can play another SoE MMO is if it is EQ3 and it will be a real RPG focused game, not a WoW copycat, and most importantly they need to state from start which category of player they will focus on.
If I see any statement such as "Everyone can enjoy EQ3" (the most disturbing sentence anyone can say about a
Well that is a long list with things that you are unhappy with and many of them are true, but unfortunately there will most likely be no new games in the future that has the features you like. For whatever it is EQ2 is oldfashioned today, and it is ok to dislike it but to hope that any company would launch something that you talk above is just fantasy when there is ample evidence that it will not sell.
And where is this ample evidence?
Certainly EQ2 with its 100K subs (and I am optimistic) cannot be listed on your evidence list.
I don't know if you even read what I wrote.................doesn't look like.
The only thing I mention that can be considered subjective is the Cash Shops, everything else is something pretty much objective.
But quite frankly what you guys do not understand (SoE in primis) is that positive spinning doesn't help, what I am saying is actually quite reasonable and can be applied for any kind of product, from orange juice to cars.
The game has a free trial for ages, I bet the vast majority of the MMO players tried the game already, still the game cannot retain enough players in order to be considered as a top game.
And that has to do with SoE and the game itself.........it is not my fault.
why?very easy!often the press is supplied by indepedent .like if a game is avail at say wallmart or ebgame like world of warcraft <<snip>>
sony decided to stop sending eq2 game to ebgame store hell time card havent been sent in decade so they lost a lot of client .some dont have the financial strengh to be at ebgame or wallmart or whatchemandcalit <<snip>> some silly guy at sony said ebgame or store like that werent needed anymore <<snip>> so eq2 is avail only to a very small market,and thats why press often dont bother with it and eq2 or eq get weak press if any good at all often they just copy and paste every year and thats it
You really think soe made the active choice to NOT sell their games at retail outlets?
Let me clear up your misconception. EQ2 isn't carried at various outlets (walmart, ebgames, etc), because it doesn't sell. Retailers are in charge of what they stock on their shelves. If EQ2 is not for sale at retail outlets, then it is a direct result of the game not selling well enough for retailers to keep it in stock. It really is that simple.
Why do you see those other games you listed for sale at eqgames, walmart? Correct, it is because people buy them.
On top of that you think press sites can't afford to buy a digital copy of eq2 to write a review of the game? That is the weakest excuse I have ever heard of. EQ2 doesn't get press anymore, because it doesn't deserve it and has become irrelevant in the market.
3. SOE does not advertise their products well, never has until recently when they *finally* put online ads out for EQ2.
4. SOE's shared resources business model, where they support 5+ live MMO's while developing 3 upcoming games. SOE is not big enough to support all these games therefore they end up stretching their resources thin. Instead of going for quality like Blizzard tends to do for their games, SOE goes for quantity.
I've played almost all SOE games and players have complained about this shared resources model for years now. It's very apparent when a game does not have enough dev resources (both staff and money) to function properly, to receive quality expansions, to get its much needed upgrades, and to receive advertisement money so playerbase do not always go on a continuous bleed. Remember, when a game bleeds population like all SOE games do, the people that this hurts the most is us....the paying subscribers. SOE makes money no matter what, through RMT, selling character services, and developing new games to sell them as new. But us players who are paying for these games only see the company not supporting their games well.
I think it really all comes down to the decisions made by SOE management, and many of these reasons are why SOE games can't compete well on the market. It's sad, because so many of us grew up with EQ1, so many of us looked up to SOE as the bomb of a gaming company. But now SOE is often viewed as 1) a company that uses shared resources model and can't staff enough devs for any of their games, 2) a company that loads their games up with RMT, 3) a company that does not advertise their own products well.
Seriously. I hear people on the official forums and at SOE Fan Faire throw tantrums cause there are no Mr. T commercials or a two page spread in their favorite gaming magazine.
1. How much exposure to the appropriate audience is going to draw millions of players in to the game as new subscribers during prime time? After a Dexter episode? Desperate Housewives? Half time during the playoffs on Sundays? Cartoon Network? It doesn't work and cost millions. SOE is owned by Sony Corp. However it is independent division and they can't just take cash from the PlayStation bank account to fund a Television advertising campaign.
2. Print Magazines are dead. They are taking the same dead man walking path as print newspapers. And, I know this first hand because I have been writing for both for almost 20 years. Magazines are moving to digital media.
As far as better press. Word of mouth is enough. I see WoW exiles asking questions on the SOE forums daily usually starting with "I'm bored with WoW..". EQ2 is still SOE's flagship MMO. Granted that's probably due to the antiquated graphics in the original EQ and the NGE that took place in SWG. Regardless its still going strong with about 6 servers so full that lag has become an issue. And, at least a dozen other servers with low to moderate populations.
It's not WoW numbers.. but then again.. people don't subscribe and then unsubscribe 6 months later in EQ2 either.
Not being a fanobis here. Just trying to add a little reality to the conversation.
Comments
Well that is a long list with things that you are unhappy with and many of them are true, but unfortunately there will most likely be no new games in the future that has the features you like. For whatever it is EQ2 is oldfashioned today, and it is ok to dislike it but to hope that any company would launch something that you talk above is just fantasy when there is ample evidence that it will not sell.
And where is this ample evidence?
Certainly EQ2 with its 100K subs (and I am optimistic) cannot be listed on your evidence list.
I don't know if you even read what I wrote.................doesn't look like.
The only thing I mention that can be considered subjective is the Cash Shops, everything else is something pretty much objective.
But quite frankly what you guys do not understand (SoE in primis) is that positive spinning doesn't help, what I am saying is actually quite reasonable and can be applied for any kind of product, from orange juice to cars.
The game has a free trial for ages, I bet the vast majority of the MMO players tried the game already, still the game cannot retain enough players in order to be considered as a top game.
And that has to do with SoE and the game itself.........it is not my fault.
You really think soe made the active choice to NOT sell their games at retail outlets?
Let me clear up your misconception. EQ2 isn't carried at various outlets (walmart, ebgames, etc), because it doesn't sell. Retailers are in charge of what they stock on their shelves. If EQ2 is not for sale at retail outlets, then it is a direct result of the game not selling well enough for retailers to keep it in stock. It really is that simple.
Why do you see those other games you listed for sale at eqgames, walmart? Correct, it is because people buy them.
On top of that you think press sites can't afford to buy a digital copy of eq2 to write a review of the game? That is the weakest excuse I have ever heard of. EQ2 doesn't get press anymore, because it doesn't deserve it and has become irrelevant in the market.
Why does EQ2 not get better press? To sum it up:
1. SOE
2. The game is 5 years old, it's not new anymore.
3. SOE does not advertise their products well, never has until recently when they *finally* put online ads out for EQ2.
4. SOE's shared resources business model, where they support 5+ live MMO's while developing 3 upcoming games. SOE is not big enough to support all these games therefore they end up stretching their resources thin. Instead of going for quality like Blizzard tends to do for their games, SOE goes for quantity.
I've played almost all SOE games and players have complained about this shared resources model for years now. It's very apparent when a game does not have enough dev resources (both staff and money) to function properly, to receive quality expansions, to get its much needed upgrades, and to receive advertisement money so playerbase do not always go on a continuous bleed. Remember, when a game bleeds population like all SOE games do, the people that this hurts the most is us....the paying subscribers. SOE makes money no matter what, through RMT, selling character services, and developing new games to sell them as new. But us players who are paying for these games only see the company not supporting their games well.
I think it really all comes down to the decisions made by SOE management, and many of these reasons are why SOE games can't compete well on the market. It's sad, because so many of us grew up with EQ1, so many of us looked up to SOE as the bomb of a gaming company. But now SOE is often viewed as 1) a company that uses shared resources model and can't staff enough devs for any of their games, 2) a company that loads their games up with RMT, 3) a company that does not advertise their own products well.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
Why does EQ2 need press or advertising?
Seriously. I hear people on the official forums and at SOE Fan Faire throw tantrums cause there are no Mr. T commercials or a two page spread in their favorite gaming magazine.
1. How much exposure to the appropriate audience is going to draw millions of players in to the game as new subscribers during prime time? After a Dexter episode? Desperate Housewives? Half time during the playoffs on Sundays? Cartoon Network? It doesn't work and cost millions. SOE is owned by Sony Corp. However it is independent division and they can't just take cash from the PlayStation bank account to fund a Television advertising campaign.
2. Print Magazines are dead. They are taking the same dead man walking path as print newspapers. And, I know this first hand because I have been writing for both for almost 20 years. Magazines are moving to digital media.
As far as better press. Word of mouth is enough. I see WoW exiles asking questions on the SOE forums daily usually starting with "I'm bored with WoW..". EQ2 is still SOE's flagship MMO. Granted that's probably due to the antiquated graphics in the original EQ and the NGE that took place in SWG. Regardless its still going strong with about 6 servers so full that lag has become an issue. And, at least a dozen other servers with low to moderate populations.
It's not WoW numbers.. but then again.. people don't subscribe and then unsubscribe 6 months later in EQ2 either.
Not being a fanobis here. Just trying to add a little reality to the conversation.