Hasn't failed, because there's a new wave of MMOs on the horizon.
The reason it's suffering is the result of replacing massively multiplayer cooperative and organic gameplay, roleplay, freedom and immersion with convenience, predetermined narratives, and stale formulaic designs and systems that are meant to regulate the way people play.
All for the sake of money, of course. Money that never came.
That is just partly true. I think it have more to do with the fact that the soloplayers that loves easy content have been moving to mobile platforms the last few years and that bleeds players from the games made for that player group.
Most MMOs in development seems to be more focused on social playing again but the largest publishers are currently putting their MMOs on hold or cancel them, those games were designed for the crowd that seems to be leaving.
I think we will see where the genre is moving about 3 years from now when a bunch of indie and crowdfunded games actually is out, once that is clear more games will go in that direction and if enough players get into it the large houses will get into it again.
South Korea and Japan is in a rather different position from us but the games there also seem to be undergoing changes. I expect a few Japanese VR MMOs in a couple of years since the crowd there is screaming for it (there are loads of books, mangas and animes in the setting and a lot of talk). With Korea I ain't sure exactly how things will go, it depends a lot on Lineage: Eternal. If that fails I think they will go more oldschool, Lineage 1 is still having 3 million subs and a similar game with modern graphics would probably be huge.
Anyways, MMOs moved from group based to solobased around 2006/2007 (which is 10 years after the first real group based MMO, Meridian 59. Now we got 10 years of soloplaying and people tired of that as well. If the genre moves back to group based or to something else is anybodies guess but there is a kind of pattern to it.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
In my opinion MMORPGs failed to become the more robust, social living worlds which I had expected them to evolve into.
While they started down this path in the early days, it became evident to developers a large majority of the marketplace was just looking for their next new game to play, and not an alternate life.
So many of the mechanics which supported player interaction, interdependence, and long term interest were streamlined or done away with to appeal to the greater masses.
It made a shet load of money for some devs, ground others into dust, and over time led to a lack of new ideas which burnt out the masses and sent them looking at other genres which could more readily cater to their preferences.
There is good news of sorts, this lack of evolution has allowed the few still out there to succeed in a manner of sorts.
Titles such as EVE, EQ1/2, even DAOC still live on and sometimes thrive for some on private shards which harken back tovan earlier age.
Had the virtual world market really progessed as I expected these titles would have long since been killed off and replaced.
The good news is with the current lull in intetest in MMORPGs from the big dev houses, it has opened the door for smaller groups to try and bring some of the earlier designs back into play.
The trick is to not only have enough money to create a world players will pay for long term, but to not just copy verbatim the early designs right down to their worst flaws which few really want to see return.
So I'm more optimistic today than 5 years ago that maybe one or two of these efforts will result in world with long term appeal.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
We obviously have seen successes in the likes of WOW, SWTOR and ESO (probably the biggest 3), but we have seen no development of triple A mmos in recent years.
Rather we have seen a trickle of funds to indie or crowd-sourced projects, which have no accountability or oversight so are more likely to fail.
We have seen a rise of MOBAs and limited multiplayer RPGs.
Is it just that the sun has set on MMORPGs? Is the genre over?
You get introduced to your first MMO. Youre in love, youre consumed by this fantastic new world. It becomes the only game you play for the next 2-6 years as you pour your every free moment into it. And so when you eventually get bored and burned out its not just that one game, its the whole damn genre youre sick and tired of. Problem is you dont realize thats the case so you start jumping from MMO to MMO looking for that feeling you had when you started playing your first one. But thats no longer possible because they can only offer you what youre already tired of. Thus you decide MMOs failed as a genre.
I guess we've gotta break down the word 'failure.' Hundreds of millions being made by the genre doesn't seem like a fail to me. Besides the ones you mentioned, you've got FFXIV which is a success. You have Star Citizen which raised 100+ million and Amazon.com has announced an MMO. Amazon isn't known for backing losers.
The glass isn't full, but it certainly isn't empty.
We obviously have seen successes in the likes of WOW, SWTOR and ESO (probably the biggest 3), but we have seen no development of triple A mmos in recent years.
Rather we have seen a trickle of funds to indie or crowd-sourced projects, which have no accountability or oversight so are more likely to fail.
We have seen a rise of MOBAs and limited multiplayer RPGs.
Is it just that the sun has set on MMORPGs? Is the genre over?
It's what Developer's do, we iterate, with each iteration we take what we have and streamline it the theory being and for most cases its true that the more streamlined and iterations something has gone through the better it will be.
Sadly MMO's are one of the genre's where complexity is actually a good thing and not a bad thing, its one of those very few genre's where more complex things should be worked on and not streamlining, another perfect example of this is the RTS genre, just look at or think back to games like Dune II, C&C, Home World,Age of Empires, Settlers II, they had it all game play wise but each of those games developers iterated the hell out of them and as a result RTS games have become 3 minute long rush battles.
Developers, Game Designers, Programmers, the people making these games need to wake up and understand that sometimes, less is not MORE!.
If I could pick one genre to be exclusively be developed it would be MMO, but the masses have spoken and they prefer other genres no matter how shallow they are... ahem(moba, fps). I guess people with more free time prefer MMO while others prefer little shit drop in and out multiplayer... If only there could be a union between the two. I think they should increase drop rates or something the longer you're logged out so the people with little time to play feel like they are being rewarded when they do play. Maybe that's not an ideal solution since they're being rewarded for NOT playing but I guess the rest of us should probably get a life or something, and we'll be rewarded the same.
They havent "failed", the reason why we arent seeing constant new AAA mmorpgs made is:
1. Market saturation 2. 4-5 year development time 3. Declining market popularity 4. Very high development cost
All the above put together add up to "very high risk" of not getting a return on investment, which is why AAA devs are shying away from MMORPGs right now.
^ ^ ^ This.
I think the future of AAA MMORPGs is going to be Indy titles. They will start Indy and then gain a solid player base. Once an AAA studio sees one of these do well, they will BUY IT. Why? Because the hard work is done. The programming, lore, development and a lot of the balancing is done. Now AAA studios can swoop in, purchase the game and invest in it knowing they will make money. And with their resources they will make a better game out of it.
It is because of this very likely outcome for a good game that I am hesitant to invest in kickstarters.
Of course, a lot of the charm that attracts the base audience will be lost because AAA studios are enslaved to their market value. But IMO that is the future of MMORPGs, at least until we get a Sword Art Online style VRMMORPG.
The world is going to the dogs, which is just how I planned it!
The genre hasn't failed... people have simply lost interest in it. And when I say 'people' I mean the 'people' who keep insisting the genre has failed.
Like it has been said a thousand times before... if you don't enjoy something... stop doing it. Unless of course, misery is what you enjoy.
Reality check my friend... things come and go all the time... it's the natural order of things. Like the TV commercial says... "It's time to let go".
The genre hasn't failed... people have simply lost interest in it. And when I say 'people' I mean the 'people' who keep insisting the genre has failed.
It's not even "people" who have moved on to other things, it's the accidental tourists that have. The tour guides just had to say "Next stop, MOBAs!" and away they went.
MMO fans are still here playing them.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
1) Because MMORPGs as a whole are not mass market. This genre tends to lean toward extensive play in terms of how much time it takes to invest to get the most out of a game. If I log into WoW for instance, and put in 1 hour, I don't get much value out of that, it is hard to concentrate as there is so much content, and so much going on. If I power up a game on my phone, I can play several levels/games/sessions in 1 hour and feel more rewarded from the time I put into the game.
2) PCs are not the primary gaming platform around the world. The majority of the market sales are mobile/consoles. MMORPGs are not being developed for console demographics.
3) MMORPGs are not a failed genre. You forgot EverQuest, while not as high-grossing as WoW, it made millions each year and was one of the most successful games of its time. WoW has grossed billions since its release. While the genre as a whole is not as successful as say...the FPS genre, the fact that there are so many MMORPG titles, both indy and AAA and that there are still successful MMORPGs on the market (WoW, EVE, SWTOR, etc.) proves that the genre is not a failure. If you want to talk about a failed genre, look at Adventure games.
4) Failure is not defined by a product not meeting your own expectations.
Floods of WoW like games and F2P causing oversaturation. Since a lot of MMORPG development has been stagnated, safe and oversaturated there is no new safe avenue to developers to try.
For example if another SWG had been tried a couple of times there probably would be a safe formula for developers to try. Since SWG was considered a failure there is nothing for investors to hold into with a sunset game.
Where are the links and sources that show the genre has failed?
Exactly. The market is probably bigger than its ever been, its just that customers are spread over a larger area than they were ten years ago. Im still a firm believer that MMORPG's have another golden age ahead of them.
If I could pick one genre to be exclusively be developed it would be MMO, but the masses have spoken and they prefer other genres no matter how shallow they are... ahem(moba, fps). I guess people with more free time prefer MMO while others prefer little shit drop in and out multiplayer... If only there could be a union between the two. I think they should increase drop rates or something the longer you're logged out so the people with little time to play feel like they are being rewarded when they do play. Maybe that's not an ideal solution since they're being rewarded for NOT playing but I guess the rest of us should probably get a life or something, and we'll be rewarded the same.
Comments
Most MMOs in development seems to be more focused on social playing again but the largest publishers are currently putting their MMOs on hold or cancel them, those games were designed for the crowd that seems to be leaving.
I think we will see where the genre is moving about 3 years from now when a bunch of indie and crowdfunded games actually is out, once that is clear more games will go in that direction and if enough players get into it the large houses will get into it again.
South Korea and Japan is in a rather different position from us but the games there also seem to be undergoing changes. I expect a few Japanese VR MMOs in a couple of years since the crowd there is screaming for it (there are loads of books, mangas and animes in the setting and a lot of talk). With Korea I ain't sure exactly how things will go, it depends a lot on Lineage: Eternal. If that fails I think they will go more oldschool, Lineage 1 is still having 3 million subs and a similar game with modern graphics would probably be huge.
Anyways, MMOs moved from group based to solobased around 2006/2007 (which is 10 years after the first real group based MMO, Meridian 59. Now we got 10 years of soloplaying and people tired of that as well. If the genre moves back to group based or to something else is anybodies guess but there is a kind of pattern to it.
But purple is so meh...I'm gunning for orange.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
While they started down this path in the early days, it became evident to developers a large majority of the marketplace was just looking for their next new game to play, and not an alternate life.
So many of the mechanics which supported player interaction, interdependence, and long term interest were streamlined or done away with to appeal to the greater masses.
It made a shet load of money for some devs, ground others into dust, and over time led to a lack of new ideas which burnt out the masses and sent them looking at other genres which could more readily cater to their preferences.
There is good news of sorts, this lack of evolution has allowed the few still out there to succeed in a manner of sorts.
Titles such as EVE, EQ1/2, even DAOC still live on and sometimes thrive for some on private shards which harken back tovan earlier age.
Had the virtual world market really progessed as I expected these titles would have long since been killed off and replaced.
The good news is with the current lull in intetest in MMORPGs from the big dev houses, it has opened the door for smaller groups to try and bring some of the earlier designs back into play.
The trick is to not only have enough money to create a world players will pay for long term, but to not just copy verbatim the early designs right down to their worst flaws which few really want to see return.
So I'm more optimistic today than 5 years ago that maybe one or two of these efforts will result in world with long term appeal.
If not, well I can always go back to EVE.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Why?
The greed and cash.
That's why.
The glass isn't full, but it certainly isn't empty.
I self identify as a monkey.
That's twice is just the last week...
You must be easily amused. Now gimme my LOL.
Sadly MMO's are one of the genre's where complexity is actually a good thing and not a bad thing, its one of those very few genre's where more complex things should be worked on and not streamlining, another perfect example of this is the RTS genre, just look at or think back to games like Dune II, C&C, Home World,Age of Empires, Settlers II, they had it all game play wise but each of those games developers iterated the hell out of them and as a result RTS games have become 3 minute long rush battles.
Developers, Game Designers, Programmers, the people making these games need to wake up and understand that sometimes, less is not MORE!.
This.
I think the future of AAA MMORPGs is going to be Indy titles. They will start Indy and then gain a solid player base. Once an AAA studio sees one of these do well, they will BUY IT. Why? Because the hard work is done. The programming, lore, development and a lot of the balancing is done. Now AAA studios can swoop in, purchase the game and invest in it knowing they will make money. And with their resources they will make a better game out of it.
It is because of this very likely outcome for a good game that I am hesitant to invest in kickstarters.
Of course, a lot of the charm that attracts the base audience will be lost because AAA studios are enslaved to their market value. But IMO that is the future of MMORPGs, at least until we get a Sword Art Online style VRMMORPG.
The world is going to the dogs, which is just how I planned it!
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Like it has been said a thousand times before... if you don't enjoy something... stop doing it. Unless of course, misery is what you enjoy.
Reality check my friend... things come and go all the time... it's the natural order of things. Like the TV commercial says... "It's time to let go".
MMO fans are still here playing them.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Where are the links and sources that show the genre has failed?
2) PCs are not the primary gaming platform around the world. The majority of the market sales are mobile/consoles. MMORPGs are not being developed for console demographics.
3) MMORPGs are not a failed genre. You forgot EverQuest, while not as high-grossing as WoW, it made millions each year and was one of the most successful games of its time. WoW has grossed billions since its release. While the genre as a whole is not as successful as say...the FPS genre, the fact that there are so many MMORPG titles, both indy and AAA and that there are still successful MMORPGs on the market (WoW, EVE, SWTOR, etc.) proves that the genre is not a failure. If you want to talk about a failed genre, look at Adventure games.
4) Failure is not defined by a product not meeting your own expectations.
For example if another SWG had been tried a couple of times there probably would be a safe formula for developers to try. Since SWG was considered a failure there is nothing for investors to hold into with a sunset game.
Im still a firm believer that MMORPG's have another golden age ahead of them.