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Originally Posted by Aradune Mithara  STUFF |
Well I was wondering why this thread was back up again, but I was expecting a nerd fight or flamewar.
Brad, you must have thick skin and brass testicles; I didn't expect you to come into this thread.
I didn't see you mention probably one of the biggest concerns, and that is the station pass (assuming I didn't miss some announcement and the hike has been rescinded). I have several RL friends that were willing to look past whatever flaws VG might have at release, even when I wouldn't. But with the announcement of yet another AAP price hike,
every single one said to me that they would be dropping the pass and might possibly drop VG as well. Maybe things will die down after awhile, but I can't imagine this being a good thing for VG. IMO all the bugs and the things needing to be finished are almost a non-issue at the moment, in comparison. Those people who couldn't accept them aren't playing, and those who can are indeed in VG, though they may be bitching a little.
I could be wrong, but I wonder how much good will come out of an advertising blitz at this late of date. A lot has been said already about VG, opinions have been formed and cemented, and people have already chosen what side they would come down on around release. Maybe this is only valid with respect to the hardcore players or those 'in the know', maybe the advertising you are planning will work with people that are simply ignorant of VG, and perhaps MMOs in particular. It could just be me, but I can't imagine myself being swayed by any amount of advertising that is put out. For many, it will be too late, imho.
And I do agree wholeheartedly on the topic of managed expectations and addressing of issues pre-release. But, that horse has already been beaten into the dirt so I'll say no more, even though thats what did in VG for me personally, before release was even announced.
Oh, and Brad, if you read this let me just say: For the Love of God and all that is holy, please change your love-fest that is
Brad McQuaid's Website . I don't even know if it's just me or what, but it seriously hit a nerve with me. It's so sickenly pro-VG that I seriously felt ill the first time I read the text portion. I know it's old at this point, but still...
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...To many MMOG players, you may already know about Vanguard and are either looking forward to it, or at least looking forward to getting into beta or checking out the game being played by someone else in beta, or perhaps even waiting to see how launch goes. To many other MMOG gamers, especially long time gamers, you're already active on our boards and avidly looking forward to the game. But then for many other MMOG gamers, there's a lot of about Vanguard you might not know about. Or, worse yet, you might have heard some rumors floating about that simply aren’t true. Perhaps you might have heard that it's yesterday’s game with nothing revolutionary or exciting, or only for hard core players with no lives, or that it's more about challenge and tedium than fun. Or, on the other hand, you may be playing in one of the current MMOGs and are looking for something new on the horizon. Well, if any of that’s true, our message and our efforts, whether interacting with people on our message boards, or releasing a series of screenshots or in-game videos, or doing interviews in magazines or on the web, may come as a bit of a surprise: yep, that’s right, this game was likely made for someone just like you.
No, no, of course you can’t make a game that’s everything for everybody (and, really, who’d want to?). And neither do we want to make a game that’s a copy or clone of a popular game that’s already out there – players want choices, and meaningful ones at that. But with our experience and the efforts and design we’ve put into the game, I bet there’s a very good chance Vanguard has something in it for you. Yep. Even if you’ve never heard of it, and especially if you have heard about it but the rumors sounded, well, ‘un-fun’. And so while we love the Internet and would hate to see rumors and stories and conspiracy theories go away completely, it is our job, especially with release closing in on us fast, to get the right messaging out… to let you know about this game, why it’s the next big thing, and just as importantly, to dispel some of those rumors so you can make an informed choice about what massively multiplayer game you’ll be spending your time playing early next year. Because spending your time is important, especially in a virtual world. You’re not just spending time, you’re investing time, both in your characters and in the relationships you form in these games. Some people may not understand online interactive entertainment yet and still think of them as just games, but while those guys play catch-up, we know they’re really so much more – they’re online communities – these people are real whether they live across the street or in another country and they’re our friends. And these ‘games’, the good ones anyway, aren’t just games, they’re homes.
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The last 2 underlined sentences stick in my craw. IMO you guys
didn't get the right message out, the rumors were not dispelled, and the whole 'we have to release due to funding' issue didn't help any either. Had some of the rumors been dispelled or addressed pre-release, or even before the NDA had been lifted, I might be playing atm.
EDIT: Let me be more constructive and say I would change/edit it now that it's post release, rather than me segueing into a rant about pre-release rumors =/
