Let's give some credit to the staff of this great site we are all on at the moment, and let's say that they are 100% correct. In their own words, what we see in August makes us all 'poop' ourselves in awe.
EQ Next blows us all away and gets tons of pre-orders and launches in the months soon after the reveal in August.
If that is going to be the case, then I would also assume that EQ Next would certainly be that 'WoW killer' so many games have been hyped up to be, but failed miserably at to this point. I mean who would want to still pay WOW when something like this comes along and takes the gaming community by storm?!? I mean even console gamers would be buying copies of EQ Next off the store shelves and it would obviously succeed with flying colors.
So my point...my question rather is in 5 years do we see World of Warcraft 2 (Titan) launching copying the success of EQ Next changes? Blizzard just makes their own little changes and enhancements to EQ Next's brilliant systems? And will there be 400 EQ Next clones over the coming years? Will we be reading in 5 years how EQ Next just surpassed 20 million subscribers? Oh wait, sorry 30 million subscribers because of the 10 million PS4 players, lol.
Is this the next big thing? Is this really the true 'WoW killer'? I know, I know... don't yell at me too much, but I can't help but think this now, even though almost every detail about EQ Next is still a mystery.
But is this game going to be THAT revolutionary in the mmo gaming world? This should definitely be an exiting few months coming up for the mmo community.
I've seen plenty of games hyped to the max here on these forums. But not ever have I seen such hype from the staff of this website. - And THAT my friends is why I truly ask what I do here now. ...Lets give them some credit, after all they have been through all the over hyped disappoints that we have as well. They've seen it all first hand time and time again. And they say this is the game that is gonna blow our minds.
WoW, just WoW... wait a minute. Wow is sooo "2004" *grins*
- Zaxx
To determine a game a "wow" killer, it would have to be able to have wow subscription numbers. Which means you'd have to convince me that 8 million people worldwide is looking forward to an american sandbox mmo. No matter how great it is as a sandbox, it's a genre that is just very nichy.
Originally posted by ReallyNow10 I think...1) EQ Next will "blow the gaming world away"2) Will take WOW's crown3) Will exceed 5 million box sales first month
I really doubt that thsi game will be that great...Let's not forget that the last 2 supposed great EQ successors (EQ2 and Vanguard) did not turn out very well.....I think EQN is going to have all these great ideas then in the end make another WoW clone.....
5 years down the line I see the majority if not all games (even most console games) going toward the sandbox or open world route. Some of us have been online gaming for a long time (17 years myself) and have tried and quit just about every type of game out there. So far, there haven't been any sandbox type games to find real success because I don't believe gamers or the devs were ready. EQN may be that game.
The only thing that will "kill" WoW is WoW. If they don't adapt, they will slowly bleed players, there subs aren't going up. Titan itself may be what most move to, who knows. But I'm guessing and hoping EQN does not draw the stereotypical WoW player. Obviously there are a lot of quality people in the game waiting for something else, but there are a lot of immature ADD instant gratification types that wouldn't enjoy EQ or EQN most likely.
SOE has said that they are keeping EQN locked away because they don't want others copying them before they get a chance to release it. WIth so many "sandbox" games on the horizon, this makes complete sense. Once it's out there of course it will be copied to some degree if it is successful, just like EQN will copy successful mechanics from games that came before it.
Hopefully MMO gaming in general is on the verge of a new era and we have many options to choose from. I find it such a bore to have games like WoW that take up so many players and leave other decent games empty because they missed some WoW feature in their design process. If EQN gets even a few hundred thousand long term invested players, I would call that a success and it would make for a great world and experience.
If EQN can hit the right points for multiple types of gamers, it will do well, but this is true for any game.
Looking at the games at E3 and that are in development, nothing strikes me as new or exciting, just polish on well established models. ArcheAge stands out, but unfortunately Eastern games don't have a lot of success in NA.
For EQN to be what a lot of us are wishing for, it will have to break the mold and will need to make players go "WoW, I can't believe they did that" and this may be why there is so much hype by this sites staff, SOE staff, and those following the game.
Originally posted by Waterlily If it's a WoW killer it means it's going to be a casual game, which means it's not EQ and I'm not interested.
Not sure about that. I think if the casual crowd was truly as massive as some would lead you to believe then Guild Wars 2 would have blown every other MMORPG out of the water, including World of Warcraft. I think the "hardcore" are a lot more populous and developers are finally starting to see this.
So are we really already setting the bar so high that it will have no chance in hell to ever meet it?
I think everyone needs to realize that it wont be what we want it to be.
If its just like EQ1, it wont be popular because it will be way too time consuming for most MMO players. Few want to go back to taking an hour to form a group only to go to a spot to camp for hours on end waiting for a spawn to pop let alone having a game were if you die, every single item you had one you is sitting on your corpse.
If it isn't like EQ1, it wont be what EQ1 players are looking for and will end up being a game with the EQ name on it that mirrors modern MMOs more then less.
I wonder if there could be a happy medium for both sides...nope.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
Originally posted by Waterlily If it's a WoW killer it means it's going to be a casual game, which means it's not EQ and I'm not interested.
Not sure about that. I think if the casual crowd was truly as massive as some would lead you to believe then Guild Wars 2 would have blown every other MMORPG out of the water, including World of Warcraft. I think the "hardcore" are a lot more populous and developers are finally starting to see this.
Actually GW2 is the most popular MMO to be released since WoW came out...and then if you factor in that Neverwinter is insanely populated right now. Casual rules. Hell, even that thing called TESO is being made with console players in mind which means CASUAL.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
An interesting point you make is how Blizzard will respond down the road.
Everquest 1 wasn't a bad game, it was just WoW kind of killed it. WoW was.. WoW. WoW even killed Warcraft 3 which was a pretty damn healthy game even competitively, but everyone switched to WoW.
I'm sure Blizzard will look at failing games, WoW's decline, WoW's peak, and if Everquest Next lives up to the hype, why they are succeeding, and we'll see how Titan responds.
I wonder sometimes if I could put out a list of amazing features to a game, not show anything about it, not say much else about it, and get money if I opened it up to preorders.
You might not be able to, but industry vets with one good game and one miserable failure under their belts can.
If someone can name one thing that SOE has done that is a really great idea,let me know,it will give me some confidence they have creativity in their books.
EQ1 AAs
SWG skill system
SWG crafting system
EQ2 crafting hqs/epics
SWG/EQ2 housing
And while it may not be for everyone, SoEmote
The first three speak for themselves. the crafting quests show that SoE is one of the few companies willing to take crafting seriously, which is absolutely essential for a sandbox. And the housing may not be original, but SWG and EQ2 housing are pretty easily 2 of the top 3 housing systems ever, and really nothing is close (Rift is a distant 4 and they copied EQ2's system anyway). And SoEmote is notable because its something for the rp community AND is thinking outside the box in a major way.
These are the sort of things that show SoE can excel at things that are essential to sandboxes: open ended skill systems, crafting, building, rp/immsersion elements.
If someone can name one thing that SOE has done that is a really great idea,let me know,it will give me some confidence they have creativity in their books.
Keeping EQ alive after 14 years seems fairly creative to me. While it might of hit points where a lot of people left or were tempted away by other games, others have remained and enjoyed a long, very richly filled game. I lost interest in WoW, DAoC, WAR, etc either before or after the 1st expansion came out.
To keep pumping out content (even if it is just the same old ideas) shows that they are invested in the franchise. PS2 and Forgelight are both great. Bringing in Storybricks to help with AI is a brilliant move instead of relying on only in-house devs.
No company has a spotless record, but SOE has done a lot of creative things throughout the years. Hopefully EQN is full of them.
EQnext will not be widely successful like wow unless it caters to the masses like wow. history tells us that sandbox games are not games that attract the masses.
it could still have a few million players though, especially if its F2P.
Originally posted by Wizardry If someone can name one thing that SOE has done that is a really great idea,let me know,it will give me some confidence they have creativity in their books.
EQ1 AAs
SWG skill system
SWG crafting system
EQ2 crafting hqs/epics
SWG/EQ2 housing
And while it may not be for everyone, SoEmote
The first three speak for themselves. the crafting quests show that SoE is one of the few companies willing to take crafting seriously, which is absolutely essential for a sandbox. And the housing may not be original, but SWG and EQ2 housing are pretty easily 2 of the top 3 housing systems ever, and really nothing is close (Rift is a distant 4 and they copied EQ2's system anyway). And SoEmote is notable because its something for the rp community AND is thinking outside the box in a major way.
These are the sort of things that show SoE can excel at things that are essential to sandboxes: open ended skill systems, crafting, building, rp/immsersion elements.
Problem is, SOE hasn't made any of that "good stuff" in many years. The "talent" behind most of that has moved on. The only people left at SOE, are the ones that have no where else to go. And interns/newbees. Which goes a long way in explaining why SOE has been putting out complete shit for the past 6+ years.
Even if SOE are able to make the game really funny and innovative I have my doubts about the coding itself. SOEs games have all had lots of bugs and bad performance, and they take a long time fixing things like that.
The next big thing would have to be better coded than that. At best it can be a hit with MMO fans but Wow have a lot of players that never even played another MMO.
Even if SOE are able to make the game really funny and innovative I have my doubts about the coding itself. SOEs games have all had lots of bugs and bad performance, and they take a long time fixing things like that.
The next big thing would have to be better coded than that. At best it can be a hit with MMO fans but Wow have a lot of players that never even played another MMO.
Still, I hope it is good.
They're actually short on programmers. Their main programmer is SKlug from Everquest. No offense to that person but EQ had a hacking program since forever. He's a nice guy, I talked to him a few times, but he can't make this game on his own.
They have 4 openings for programmers for EQNext on the SOE site and they repeat in every video they need programmers.
If anything is going to kill this game it is the lack of decent programmers. Being short on senior programmers should really be worrying so far into the project.
These are their openings for EQNext right now. They don't have a senior generalist, no senior graphics and no senior physics engineer. Most games have those from the start.
Originally posted by Waterlily If it's a WoW killer it means it's going to be a casual game, which means it's not EQ and I'm not interested.
This.
Furthermore, I don't want WoW to die. I want it to live on and keep all the people happy that think WoW is, somehow, the proper evolution of the MMO, and not rather the degeneration or deterioration that those of us who played early MMOs know it to be.
Let them have their fun, and we can have our fun.
I say this somewhat tongue in cheek. I personally think EQ Next is not going to be as niche as many old school EQ fans will want it to be. I think its going to have mass appeal in a different way, but without some of the limited and trivial content commonly being mass produced by the MMO industry. What exactly that means, I don't know, but my best guess is that it will mean more options, and a return to a world more suitable to the RPG genre... in one word, immersive.
EQnext will not be widely successful like wow unless it caters to the masses like wow. history tells us that sandbox games are not games that attract the masses.
it could still have a few million players though, especially if its F2P.
Uh... The only and I mean only reason WoW was successful is because of Asia lol. Asians for the most part love a grind if that is in EQNext of some sorts WOW is really screwed. Archeage + other Sandbox games launching = WoWs Asian population gone. North American for WoW had what best 2 million players where Asia 5 to 7 million players at peak.
As stated SoE are trying to set out to reimagine what a Sandbox is from its current form and also a MMO as was stated. BIG words being no one has said that in a long time and are throwing their company's future at it.
Not to mention no box sale it will be Free to download and play at launch or even before launch how to you compete with a gain you can try for free before sub.
If they get their asian launch right then numbers won't matter. Numbers really do not matter anyways longevity is what makes a MMO successful IMO. In todays market players hop around from game to game but if they keep coming back even after 4 to 10 years you are a success imo.
Uh... The only and I mean only reason WoW was successful is because of Asia lol. Asians for the most part love a grind if that is in EQNext of some sorts WOW is really screwed. Archeage + other Sandbox games launching = WoWs Asian population gone. North American for WoW had what best 2 million players where Asia 5 to 7 million players at peak.
You aren't giving Blizzard enough credit. "North American for WoW had what best 2 million players"....you make that sound like a small number. But when compared to most other MMO's in the U.S. which sports around 100k-300k players, that 2 million number is indeed impressive. WoW has 10x the amount of players in the U.S. than some of the other U.S. based MMO titles. I do get a chuckle every time people attempt to diminish WoW/Blizzard's success by bringing in the Asians though.
Anyways, EQNext won't be a WoW killer, WoW will be a WoW killer. The problem EQNext will have will be whether players will accept all the changes that Smed is claiming. Smed claims EQNext will be something completely differently, something different from the current MMORPG mold. Now remember people like familiarity, it's a fact of life, most people don't want change. People always claim they want something different, but yet the MMO genre continues to grow despite all the MMO's being the same 'ol same 'ol.
So by changing things around, they may very well shoot themselves in the foot. It all remains to be seen, as I can't believe how much hype there is for a game that nobody has seen yet. This hype can be a good thing if they live up to expectations, but they can be detrimental if they fail to live up to expectations.
WoW Killer? Wow killer... You want EQN, the only current hope for a not pvp focused fantasy MMO, to focus on ... killing a game designed for casual solo play?
What is wrong with you people? Don't worry about whose junk is bigger than whose. As long as it rubs you right it will get you off. Also, as long as it is built right, it will turn others on.
Yeah...baby. Relax.
If it doesn't work out, we still got a few alternatives left anyway.
I doubt anything other than stagnation and steady decline will "Kill WoW"....Infact I'm sure that WoW is a fluke or anomaly when compared to almost every other entry in the genre, past and present. I think that part of WoW's success is incredible timing, a loyal fanbase to the developing studio, and a rather well known lore and setting. It was also very popular with the mainstream eventually, even if it was infamous more than famous.
Furthermore I believe that a lot of the MMOs that released after it were trying to emulate that success and were more focused on being giant corporate money machines than delivering a quality product. Trying to emulate that phenomenal success that was WoW....And I don't really think it's possible, especially when the genre has a limited amount of consumers and they can only be spread so thin between so many games. The majority will remain with their friends and where they are comfortable.
The best option would be for devs to focus on creating a quality product with a reasonable budget, and hope to earn a steady income with the service they create that allows it to be self sustaining and provide additional revenue for growth and payment of course. Because WoW is like that album that sold the most copies in the world, or that show that had the most DVD boxsets sold worldwide...It's that once in a lifetime success that everyone wants to be, but not every body can be. And another point I was trying to make here is that recently many games have had budgets that are unworldy and that could never be justified without an absurd amount of sales.
Anyways NO, I don't think this will be a WoW killer. It may however be a very good product however if they design a game for gamers, rather than design a game to be milked for cash.
--Custom Rig: Pyraxis--- NZXT Phantom 410 Case Intel Core i5-4690 Processor - Quad Core, 6MB Smart Cache, 3.5GHz Asus Sabertooth Z87 Motherboard Asus GeForce GTX 760 Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0 Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 16GB
I'm basically trying to say that WoW is an oddity, an exception. If you look at all other MMOs and compare them to WoW, the numbers never even come close in the long run....And on a statistical or mathematical plot, it would be the outlier...The one data point that actually doesn't fit with all the rest. And that they should stop focusing on the whole WoW killer aspect...It'll likely never happen again and if it does it won't happen any times soon. And companies should stop trying to emulate that success, those subscription numbers and mainstream popularity. Rather they should focus on making the best possible product with a reasonable budget, hoping for a sustainable service.
Sorry, it's actually a conversation I had over skype between three people consolidated.
--Custom Rig: Pyraxis--- NZXT Phantom 410 Case Intel Core i5-4690 Processor - Quad Core, 6MB Smart Cache, 3.5GHz Asus Sabertooth Z87 Motherboard Asus GeForce GTX 760 Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0 Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 16GB
Originally posted by Waterlily Originally posted by Loke666Even if SOE are able to make the game really funny and innovative I have my doubts about the coding itself. SOEs games have all had lots of bugs and bad performance, and they take a long time fixing things like that.The next big thing would have to be better coded than that. At best it can be a hit with MMO fans but Wow have a lot of players that never even played another MMO.Still, I hope it is good.
They're actually short on programmers. Their main programmer is SKlug from Everquest. No offense to that person but EQ had a hacking program since forever. He's a nice guy, I talked to him a few times, but he can't make this game on his own.
They have 4 openings for programmers for EQNext on the SOE site and they repeat in every video they need programmers.
If anything is going to kill this game it is the lack of decent programmers. Being short on senior programmers should really be worrying so far into the project.
These are their openings for EQNext right now. They don't have a senior generalist, no senior graphics and no senior physics engineer. Most games have those from the start.
The open positions are alarming when you consider that talent generally returns to be part of a winning team. The Chicago Bears won Super Bowl XX because several great players, who were holding out for better offers, came back when they saw the team could win; and they wanted to be a part of that success and history.
BTw, excellent post Mardy.
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon. In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit
Comments
To determine a game a "wow" killer, it would have to be able to have wow subscription numbers. Which means you'd have to convince me that 8 million people worldwide is looking forward to an american sandbox mmo. No matter how great it is as a sandbox, it's a genre that is just very nichy.
Great thread title .........
~Hairysun
http://www.straightdope.com/
Sarcasm much?
- Zaxx
5 years down the line I see the majority if not all games (even most console games) going toward the sandbox or open world route. Some of us have been online gaming for a long time (17 years myself) and have tried and quit just about every type of game out there. So far, there haven't been any sandbox type games to find real success because I don't believe gamers or the devs were ready. EQN may be that game.
The only thing that will "kill" WoW is WoW. If they don't adapt, they will slowly bleed players, there subs aren't going up. Titan itself may be what most move to, who knows. But I'm guessing and hoping EQN does not draw the stereotypical WoW player. Obviously there are a lot of quality people in the game waiting for something else, but there are a lot of immature ADD instant gratification types that wouldn't enjoy EQ or EQN most likely.
SOE has said that they are keeping EQN locked away because they don't want others copying them before they get a chance to release it. WIth so many "sandbox" games on the horizon, this makes complete sense. Once it's out there of course it will be copied to some degree if it is successful, just like EQN will copy successful mechanics from games that came before it.
Hopefully MMO gaming in general is on the verge of a new era and we have many options to choose from. I find it such a bore to have games like WoW that take up so many players and leave other decent games empty because they missed some WoW feature in their design process. If EQN gets even a few hundred thousand long term invested players, I would call that a success and it would make for a great world and experience.
If EQN can hit the right points for multiple types of gamers, it will do well, but this is true for any game.
Looking at the games at E3 and that are in development, nothing strikes me as new or exciting, just polish on well established models. ArcheAge stands out, but unfortunately Eastern games don't have a lot of success in NA.
For EQN to be what a lot of us are wishing for, it will have to break the mold and will need to make players go "WoW, I can't believe they did that" and this may be why there is so much hype by this sites staff, SOE staff, and those following the game.
Not sure about that. I think if the casual crowd was truly as massive as some would lead you to believe then Guild Wars 2 would have blown every other MMORPG out of the water, including World of Warcraft. I think the "hardcore" are a lot more populous and developers are finally starting to see this.
So are we really already setting the bar so high that it will have no chance in hell to ever meet it?
I think everyone needs to realize that it wont be what we want it to be.
If its just like EQ1, it wont be popular because it will be way too time consuming for most MMO players. Few want to go back to taking an hour to form a group only to go to a spot to camp for hours on end waiting for a spawn to pop let alone having a game were if you die, every single item you had one you is sitting on your corpse.
If it isn't like EQ1, it wont be what EQ1 players are looking for and will end up being a game with the EQ name on it that mirrors modern MMOs more then less.
I wonder if there could be a happy medium for both sides...nope.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
Actually GW2 is the most popular MMO to be released since WoW came out...and then if you factor in that Neverwinter is insanely populated right now. Casual rules. Hell, even that thing called TESO is being made with console players in mind which means CASUAL.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
An interesting point you make is how Blizzard will respond down the road.
Everquest 1 wasn't a bad game, it was just WoW kind of killed it. WoW was.. WoW. WoW even killed Warcraft 3 which was a pretty damn healthy game even competitively, but everyone switched to WoW.
I'm sure Blizzard will look at failing games, WoW's decline, WoW's peak, and if Everquest Next lives up to the hype, why they are succeeding, and we'll see how Titan responds.
You might not be able to, but industry vets with one good game and one miserable failure under their belts can.
Just ask Mark Jacobs
EQ1 AAs
SWG skill system
SWG crafting system
EQ2 crafting hqs/epics
SWG/EQ2 housing
And while it may not be for everyone, SoEmote
The first three speak for themselves. the crafting quests show that SoE is one of the few companies willing to take crafting seriously, which is absolutely essential for a sandbox. And the housing may not be original, but SWG and EQ2 housing are pretty easily 2 of the top 3 housing systems ever, and really nothing is close (Rift is a distant 4 and they copied EQ2's system anyway). And SoEmote is notable because its something for the rp community AND is thinking outside the box in a major way.
These are the sort of things that show SoE can excel at things that are essential to sandboxes: open ended skill systems, crafting, building, rp/immsersion elements.
Keeping EQ alive after 14 years seems fairly creative to me. While it might of hit points where a lot of people left or were tempted away by other games, others have remained and enjoyed a long, very richly filled game. I lost interest in WoW, DAoC, WAR, etc either before or after the 1st expansion came out.
To keep pumping out content (even if it is just the same old ideas) shows that they are invested in the franchise. PS2 and Forgelight are both great. Bringing in Storybricks to help with AI is a brilliant move instead of relying on only in-house devs.
No company has a spotless record, but SOE has done a lot of creative things throughout the years. Hopefully EQN is full of them.
EQnext will not be widely successful like wow unless it caters to the masses like wow. history tells us that sandbox games are not games that attract the masses.
it could still have a few million players though, especially if its F2P.
EQ1 AAs
SWG skill system
SWG crafting system
EQ2 crafting hqs/epics
SWG/EQ2 housing
And while it may not be for everyone, SoEmote
The first three speak for themselves. the crafting quests show that SoE is one of the few companies willing to take crafting seriously, which is absolutely essential for a sandbox. And the housing may not be original, but SWG and EQ2 housing are pretty easily 2 of the top 3 housing systems ever, and really nothing is close (Rift is a distant 4 and they copied EQ2's system anyway). And SoEmote is notable because its something for the rp community AND is thinking outside the box in a major way.
These are the sort of things that show SoE can excel at things that are essential to sandboxes: open ended skill systems, crafting, building, rp/immsersion elements.
Problem is, SOE hasn't made any of that "good stuff" in many years. The "talent" behind most of that has moved on. The only people left at SOE, are the ones that have no where else to go. And interns/newbees. Which goes a long way in explaining why SOE has been putting out complete shit for the past 6+ years.Even if SOE are able to make the game really funny and innovative I have my doubts about the coding itself. SOEs games have all had lots of bugs and bad performance, and they take a long time fixing things like that.
The next big thing would have to be better coded than that. At best it can be a hit with MMO fans but Wow have a lot of players that never even played another MMO.
Still, I hope it is good.
They're actually short on programmers. Their main programmer is SKlug from Everquest. No offense to that person but EQ had a hacking program since forever. He's a nice guy, I talked to him a few times, but he can't make this game on his own.
They have 4 openings for programmers for EQNext on the SOE site and they repeat in every video they need programmers.
If anything is going to kill this game it is the lack of decent programmers. Being short on senior programmers should really be worrying so far into the project.
These are their openings for EQNext right now. They don't have a senior generalist, no senior graphics and no senior physics engineer. Most games have those from the start.
Uh... The only and I mean only reason WoW was successful is because of Asia lol. Asians for the most part love a grind if that is in EQNext of some sorts WOW is really screwed. Archeage + other Sandbox games launching = WoWs Asian population gone. North American for WoW had what best 2 million players where Asia 5 to 7 million players at peak.
As stated SoE are trying to set out to reimagine what a Sandbox is from its current form and also a MMO as was stated. BIG words being no one has said that in a long time and are throwing their company's future at it.
Not to mention no box sale it will be Free to download and play at launch or even before launch how to you compete with a gain you can try for free before sub.
If they get their asian launch right then numbers won't matter. Numbers really do not matter anyways longevity is what makes a MMO successful IMO. In todays market players hop around from game to game but if they keep coming back even after 4 to 10 years you are a success imo.
You aren't giving Blizzard enough credit. "North American for WoW had what best 2 million players"....you make that sound like a small number. But when compared to most other MMO's in the U.S. which sports around 100k-300k players, that 2 million number is indeed impressive. WoW has 10x the amount of players in the U.S. than some of the other U.S. based MMO titles. I do get a chuckle every time people attempt to diminish WoW/Blizzard's success by bringing in the Asians though.
Anyways, EQNext won't be a WoW killer, WoW will be a WoW killer. The problem EQNext will have will be whether players will accept all the changes that Smed is claiming. Smed claims EQNext will be something completely differently, something different from the current MMORPG mold. Now remember people like familiarity, it's a fact of life, most people don't want change. People always claim they want something different, but yet the MMO genre continues to grow despite all the MMO's being the same 'ol same 'ol.
So by changing things around, they may very well shoot themselves in the foot. It all remains to be seen, as I can't believe how much hype there is for a game that nobody has seen yet. This hype can be a good thing if they live up to expectations, but they can be detrimental if they fail to live up to expectations.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
WoW Killer? Wow killer... You want EQN, the only current hope for a not pvp focused fantasy MMO, to focus on ... killing a game designed for casual solo play?
What is wrong with you people? Don't worry about whose junk is bigger than whose. As long as it rubs you right it will get you off. Also, as long as it is built right, it will turn others on.
Yeah...baby. Relax.
If it doesn't work out, we still got a few alternatives left anyway.
I doubt anything other than stagnation and steady decline will "Kill WoW"....Infact I'm sure that WoW is a fluke or anomaly when compared to almost every other entry in the genre, past and present. I think that part of WoW's success is incredible timing, a loyal fanbase to the developing studio, and a rather well known lore and setting. It was also very popular with the mainstream eventually, even if it was infamous more than famous.
Furthermore I believe that a lot of the MMOs that released after it were trying to emulate that success and were more focused on being giant corporate money machines than delivering a quality product. Trying to emulate that phenomenal success that was WoW....And I don't really think it's possible, especially when the genre has a limited amount of consumers and they can only be spread so thin between so many games. The majority will remain with their friends and where they are comfortable.
The best option would be for devs to focus on creating a quality product with a reasonable budget, and hope to earn a steady income with the service they create that allows it to be self sustaining and provide additional revenue for growth and payment of course. Because WoW is like that album that sold the most copies in the world, or that show that had the most DVD boxsets sold worldwide...It's that once in a lifetime success that everyone wants to be, but not every body can be. And another point I was trying to make here is that recently many games have had budgets that are unworldy and that could never be justified without an absurd amount of sales.
Anyways NO, I don't think this will be a WoW killer. It may however be a very good product however if they design a game for gamers, rather than design a game to be milked for cash.
--Custom Rig: Pyraxis---
NZXT Phantom 410 Case
Intel Core i5-4690 Processor - Quad Core, 6MB Smart Cache, 3.5GHz
Asus Sabertooth Z87 Motherboard
Asus GeForce GTX 760 Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0
Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 16GB
What... did... I... just... read...
This post doesn't even make basic sense...
I'm basically trying to say that WoW is an oddity, an exception. If you look at all other MMOs and compare them to WoW, the numbers never even come close in the long run....And on a statistical or mathematical plot, it would be the outlier...The one data point that actually doesn't fit with all the rest. And that they should stop focusing on the whole WoW killer aspect...It'll likely never happen again and if it does it won't happen any times soon. And companies should stop trying to emulate that success, those subscription numbers and mainstream popularity. Rather they should focus on making the best possible product with a reasonable budget, hoping for a sustainable service.
Sorry, it's actually a conversation I had over skype between three people consolidated.
--Custom Rig: Pyraxis---
NZXT Phantom 410 Case
Intel Core i5-4690 Processor - Quad Core, 6MB Smart Cache, 3.5GHz
Asus Sabertooth Z87 Motherboard
Asus GeForce GTX 760 Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0
Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 16GB
They have 4 openings for programmers for EQNext on the SOE site and they repeat in every video they need programmers.
If anything is going to kill this game it is the lack of decent programmers. Being short on senior programmers should really be worrying so far into the project.
These are their openings for EQNext right now. They don't have a senior generalist, no senior graphics and no senior physics engineer. Most games have those from the start.
The open positions are alarming when you consider that talent generally returns to be part of a winning team. The Chicago Bears won Super Bowl XX because several great players, who were holding out for better offers, came back when they saw the team could win; and they wanted to be a part of that success and history.
BTw, excellent post Mardy.
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon.
In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit