[SOE] Announces new free kids MMO in dev.

[Maxxius]

Originally Posted by cyanbane

rofl. I havent played EQ in years. I promise I don't miss it and that wasn't the intent of what I said, I just used EQ as a default, I could have used WoW also. I meant just a generic fantasy setting cookie cutter MMO. Everyone is going to spread their wings and take virt worlds to smaller and smaller niches, then in 5 or 6 years someone will come out with a generic fantasy setting and everyone will be like "hey eq/wow/daoc/uo was a blast I want to go back to something like that."

Give examples. And guess what, you can't. Yes MMO's have similar features, but they certainly aren't cookie cutters. There quite simply isn't another comparable game to WOW out there. None. Lotro did well opening up, but I submit that has more to do with it's name than anything. Remains to be seen if it can continue to grow. No one wants to make small niche games, it just isn't worth the costs. Plus who wants to shoot small? SOE certainly isn't thinking small here either, they quite possibly are eyeing the millions. Cuppy's post quoted by me above is simply spot on.

[tikkus]

I've completely enjoyed this thread. It has allowed for an objective discussion of MMO's so far without any dick waving.

On that note, I'll probably play it.

[Kolle]

we need to get all the hostiles in the world hooked on mmo's. they can spend time being catass instead of killing people.

and yes this is relevant. those little girls are not to be trusted.

[Drave]

Should make for an interesting... and bizarre community...

[masteen]

Originally Posted by Faille

will protection from Pedos be a velvet rope paid service?

No the velvet rope will be rooms full of candy in which you can entertain your youthful visitors.

[cyanbane]

Originally Posted by Maxxius

Give examples. And guess what, you can't. Yes MMO's have similar features, but they certainly aren't cookie cutters. There quite simply isn't another comparable game to WOW out there. None. Lotro did well opening up, but I submit that has more to do with it's name than anything. Remains to be seen if it can continue to grow. No one wants to make small niche games, it just isn't worth the costs. Plus who wants to shoot small? SOE certainly isn't thinking small here either, they quite possibly are eyeing the millions. Cuppy's post quoted by me above is simply spot on.

"No one wants to make small niche games, it just isn't worth the costs. "

Those costs are becoming smaller and smaller every single day. There is probably some forum community out there creating a decent MMO as you read this. The majority of MMOs (some who might actually be successful) will be coming from companies whose primary revenue is far away from gaming.

"There quite simply isn't another comparable game to WOW out there. "

Wow's popularity is a product of a great game, low end graphics, less bugs, and a shit load of cumulative advantage. As for "comparable", if you mean in a sense of # of subs, your right. If you mean as a game as a whole, in the scheme of things (to come?) there really isn't that much difference in wow, eq, eq2, daoc, etc etc. In 2020 we will look back and say "you remember that whole genre of fantasy MMOs in the late 1990s and early 2000s?"

[Maxxius]

So basically you went full circle, since originally you were arguing cyclical, now you are concluding what others have said, things eventually just "pass on" to evolution.

[cyanbane]

So basically you went full circle, since originally you were arguing cyclical, now you are concluding what others have said, things eventually just "pass on" to evolution.


One post:
we will look back and say "you remember that whole genre of fantasy MMOs in the late 1990s and early 2000s?"

Another Post:
someone will come out with a generic fantasy setting and everyone will be like "hey eq/wow/daoc/uo was a blast I want to go back to something like that."



What do you not get?

[Greyform]

Originally Posted by Neric

One seriously starts to wonder how people like Smed keep their job.

Cultivating your customer base at an early age is considered a good business practice, that’s how.

[Maxxius]

Originally Posted by cyanbane

MMOs are now cyclical. For the next 5 years or so everything that will come out will be RMT/hyperdemographicly targeted niche MMOs till someone comes out with an EQ clone in 2013 (what we all bitch about now) and everyone falls in love with it because it feels "old school". SOE just happens to have one of each (ie they know/knew the divide is/was coming).

Reposted for your review Cyanbane. These games EVOLVE they don't recycle, which is the point many have made. Coleco pong isn't making a comeback. SOE is looking to go down a new road, which may or may not work for them. Retreading old games just isn't adding to their balance sheet. Now what don't you get?

[cyanbane]

These games EVOLVE they don't recycle, which is the point many have made. Coleco pong isn't making a comeback. SOE is looking to go down a new road, which may or may not work for them. Retreading old games just isn't adding to their balance sheet. Now what don't you get?

Coleco pong is an mmo?

I said the MMO "MARKET" is cylical not SOE, it may or may not be SOE that does a well done cookie cutter MMO in 5 years and everyone rushes back to it.

[Maxxius]

Ok you just don't get it. NONE of these games are cyclical. NONE. That was the lesson Brad couldn't learn either. Cost MS over 30 million as well. IF people look back it is simply nostalgia and nothing more. And you simply don't understand this concept since you are literally talking in circles now. SOE presumeably is starting to wiseup tis why they are saying they will be moving away from subscription games. Re-read Cuppy's dam post and THINK about it before just arguing for the sake of arguing.

[Tolanin]

It sounds really cool cause I heard that they will use in game stuff to make your pony look different, like if you eat healthy grass your pony gets a different coat. And i hear philip moris signed a contract with SOE now so that if your pony smokes it gets thiner and prettier. ;p

Am I the only guy here who loved my little ponies? =/

[Cuppycake]

Maxxius makes good points. Of course there are exceptions, but generally - when it comes to games, people want the latest and greatest. If we look back all nostalgic-like on Pong, sure there are fond memories. Sure the idea of playing it again would be fun for a little while. But the latest technologies and new ideas are what keep everyone spending money in the industry. Wii is so successful for a number of reasons - but one good point is its casual-friendly nature and games that appeal to a wide variety of ages. Couple that with ease of entry (cheaper retail price comparitively) and next-gen ideas such as Virtual Console...and you are quite literally looking at the exact model of success for games such as Free Realms, Second Life, Virtual Laguna Beach, etc. This is what sells. Hence, this is what companies are looking to provide.

Have you ever tried to show EQLive to someone who was new to MMO's with WoW or EQ2? It's hideous. No one (but those of us with fond memories) wants to touch that game with a 10 foot pole. There is a select niche audience that likes games like that, but its margin of success is MUCH narrower than a casual-friendly game like WoW. This is why we're (hopefully) not going to see any EQ clone's come about in the future. The MMO genre really is about evolution and reinventing the wheel and combining game elements that WORK to make something new. As much as those of us played UO or EQ might hate it, MMO's are going in a completely different direction and I hope somebody quotes me and shoves it in my face if I'm wrong.

[Jestor Rodo]

Originally Posted by tad10

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/bu...ss&oref=slogin

Smed announced a new "free" MMO due out in Winter 2007.

Article is interesting for two reasons:

1. Smed says he wants to move away from subs to velvet rope (pay for special areas), RMT transactions for in-game items (EQ2 does this already), and in-game advertising.

2. This particular MMO is aimed at 10-year old girls who like horses (I kid you not). So here come the niche super-targeted MMOs.

I personally can't wait for Everbaby.

* * *

Anyway, the "velvet rope" idea is interesting considering how much content gets developed for raiding guilds that isn't seen by a lot of the rest of the playerbase. I'm wondering if Smed is thinking of charging a premium for raiding.

Sounds like a cross between My little Pony and Second Life , but it may become the future breeding ground for Sexual offenders.
Smed says he wants to move away from subs to velvet rope (pay for special areas)??? Smed already has done that 13 times for Everquest ( expansions).