MMOs

[CoM_Solaufein]

Yep. Blizzard with Diablo and Guild Wars don't seem to have a problem.

[Maria Caliban]

I played guild wars for over 100 hours.

 

same as diablo 2

 

thats the extent of my online rpg gaming

 

wow looked stupid, you had to buy the game, and then pay a monthly fee to play it? who the hell thought that was a good idea should be given a few dozen raises because apparently 12 million people thought it was brilliant.

 

I was raised among the age of gaming where you buy the game and then can play it all you want without a goddamn nanny making you cough up more cash just to play.

 

retarded bull is what that is.

 

'A goddamn nanny making you cough up more cash just to play' doesn't make sense. A nanny, in the metaphoric sense, is an authority that restricts what it perceives as negative or harmful behavior. For instance, when China restricted people's ability to play WoW and other MMORPGs to three hours a day, it was acting as a nanny-state. The same as when the USA's goverment make it illegal to drive without a seatbelt.

 

A better metaphor might be (off the top of my head) mobster as opposed to nanny, as they ran protection rackets in which people had to pay them on a monthly basis.

 

So should MMO developers just maintain and update the game servers over the years for free?

 

They should provide a price and pricing method that accommodates a wide range of consumers while maintaining a quality play experience. Games are a luxury item, so let the Great Chain decide.

Edited May 23, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[Hurlshort]

I've posted numerous times, as have others, exactly why an MMO needs to have monthly fees to stay afloat. I've also rebutted why Guild Wars and Diablo are not MMO's. I'm quite surprised at how many folks seem to live in a perpetual state of denial here.

 

I don't know many mobsters that come into the store and refresh your inventory when it runs low.

[Aristes]

I don't see anything wrong with charging a fee for keeping the servers running. This is especially true of Blizzard, which does patch and add content regularly. Sure, there have been two expansions for which they've charged, but there has been even more content added without charge.

 

Frankly, I don't see the issue. If you can't afford $15 a month for WoW (and you can reduce the monthly cost by paying for larger blocks at a time) then you definitely can't afford to buy a computer game every month. For myself, during the time that I was online most, I didn't buy other computer games. As I've spent less time playing, I have bought computer games again. I now use WoW as a way to keep in tough with family, and I see it no different than getting together to eat snacks and play PnP gaming or the like. I enjoy visiting with family and WoW provides a dynamic way for us to chat and do something together.

 

Admittedly, without my family and some family friends, I would have dumped WoW a long time ago, but I would not resent the time I voluntarily spent playing. Nor would I resent paying for that time.

Edited May 23, 2009 by Aristes

[Humodour]

$15 a month is too expensive (and that's American!). $10 is perfectly reasonable.

[Oner]

Well, the point of most MMOs is to have the game drag on and on forever to milk money from players for as long as possible. Several days/weeks of level grinding? Killing a boss (x+n)*3 times because..uh, you can't seem to pry his/her weapon from hir cold, dead fingers?

[kirottu]

Yep. Blizzard with Diablo and Guild Wars don't seem to have a problem.

 

It

[Hurlshort]

$15 a month is too expensive (and that's American!). $10 is perfectly reasonable.

 

There are a few games that offer that price point, or offer deals where you pay for a few months at a time to get a lower rate. It just depends. Some of these games really struggle financially, not all of them are WoW.

 

LotR Online is $10 a month. It's a promotional price, but they seem to offer it every couple months. That's why it's been easy for me to stay subscribed, I barely notice $10, even if I don't play for a month or two.

[Deraldin]

I've only tried one MMO and that was EVE. Never got past the free trial before I got bored and moved on to something else. I think I've gone through 5 or 6 trials so far, usually one every 6-8 months when I get the urge to try it again.

[Gorth]

I tried Warhammer Online for a few months, but gave up on it. I just can't find the time in my schedule to dedicate to it. It was fun seeing the setting come alive and run around and kill stuff in it, but to get your moneys worth, you need to spend the time to become part of the online community and team building. I don't have that time.

[Kaftan Barlast]

I try a new MMO's once a year to see whats happening in the genre but I have never played anything I liked thus far.

[Rosbjerg]

Hmm. The preliminary results are not what I was expecting. MMOs don't seem to have sticking power.

 

Because the Obsidian board has a large and diverse set of posters. Those 11.6 million people who play World of Warcraft are all flash in the pan and have been for five years now.

 

Hmm.. I don't know about that.. if we assume that the votes represent gamers in general, that still means that 25% of all gamers play MMOs, that's a pretty huge share. And ~50% have played it in the past and might come back for a good title.. I would be pretty happy with those numbers if I was running a MMO buisness.

[Hurlshort]

I think Maria Caliban was being facetious, flashes in the pan don't usually last for 5 years.

[Kjarista]

Hmm. The preliminary results are not what I was expecting. MMOs don't seem to have sticking power.

 

Because the Obsidian board has a large and diverse set of posters. Those 11.6 million people who play World of Warcraft are all flash in the pan and have been for five years now.

 

Hmm.. I don't know about that.. if we assume that the votes represent gamers in general, that still means that 25% of all gamers play MMOs, that's a pretty huge share. And ~50% have played it in the past and might come back for a good title.. I would be pretty happy with those numbers if I was running a MMO buisness.

 

I think that many gamers, particularly RPG players, tend to not be interested in the social aspects of MMOs, and that social aspect, ultimately, may be the only feature that makes MMOs worthwhile. If we grade MMOs using single player standards, they don't fare well.

 

I still play WoW, not because of what the game provides as much as hwat my friends and guildmates provide....the social interaction, the shared experience.

[Aristes]

I tried Warhammer Online for a few months, but gave up on it. I just can't find the time in my schedule to dedicate to it. It was fun seeing the setting come alive and run around and kill stuff in it, but to get your moneys worth, you need to spend the time to become part of the online community and team building. I don't have that time.

 

I kept not being able to sign on and then I kept getting booted. Even if my family hadn't started playing WoW and therefore sucked up all my MMO time, I would have ditched the game. I was excited by the idea of a Warhammer game much more than a Warcraft game, but I kept slamming into stability issues.

 

"I still play WoW, not because of what the game provides as much as hwat my friends and guildmates provide....the social interaction, the shared experience."

 

Yeah, this is true of me also.

Edited May 23, 2009 by Aristes

[Calax]

as the apparent lord of WoW around these parts, I feel it is my duty to say that if you play WoW in favor of most other games, you'll probably find that you save more money than you spend because usually you'll spend upwards of 50$ a month on games that you have a single run through.

[Malcador]

as the apparent lord of WoW around these parts, I feel it is my duty to say that if you play WoW in favor of most other games, you'll probably find that you save more money than you spend because usually you'll spend upwards of 50$ a month on games that you have a single run through.

 

True, but you miss out on a lot of fun games that way, generally you're right though. I still regret giving Vegas 2 a try - total waste of money.

Edited May 23, 2009 by Malcador

[Setzer]

I've played MMO's since about 1998 when Asheron's Call came out. I'm no where near hard core like some people are...the most I put in is about an hour or two a night. For me, MMO's are a great way to do stuff with friends who I normally don't see on a regular basis. A few of my friends live out of state and we all enjoy gaming, so MMO's provide us a place where we can get together and do something we all enjoy. If they weren't gamers, would I still be playing MMO's? Probably not. I'm more of a single player gamer because I like the freedom of being able to save and quit when I want to or even pause the game. You really don't have those same freedoms in an MMO...its almost like other people depend on you getting online and sometimes I don't like that.

[Shryke]

never really bothered

 

my brother keeps bugging me to start playing WoW, but i haven't played any games on my computer for months, so it seems pretty pointless paying a monthly fee for something i wont even be doing

[Gizmo]

After years, I decided to install the free 10 day trial of WoW...

 

I played for about 18 minutes and thought, "this is it?"; I played for a bit more, and it was...

I let the trial expire.

 

[Nightshape]

MMO's What can I really say about it, I've played alot of them. I've watched the genre mature(HA! Comedy, as a formula it ain't changed that much). That said I have a couple on the burner in an attempt to loose my social life (as rediculious as that sounds it's actually true, social life is far too expensive ).

 

Currently Playing: I'm actually a returning player to these.

 

Everquest 2

Lord of the Rings Online

 

Have Played:

 

Meridian 59

Ultima Online

Mankind

Everquest

Dark Age of Camelot

Neocron (really really awful)

Anarchy Online

Age of Conan

 

I don't count Guild wars and Diablo to be MMO's, online games sure, but MMO's no... They don't actually work.

Edited May 26, 2009 by Nightshape

[HoonDing]

After years, I decided to install the free 10 day trial of WoW...

 

I played for about 18 minutes and thought, "this is it?"; I played for a bit more, and it was...

I let the trial expire.

 

Same happened with me.

[Tigranes]

I liked Guild Wars for a while, because you could go on cooperative missions with a few people (i.e. your friends).

 

I'll stick to Diablo 3, thanks. the current crop of MMOs have way too much grinding and not enough awesome co-op/pvp moments per time spent.

[Gfted1]

Ive been playing WoW for almost as long as its been out and I still love it. I play whenever I can fit it around my family and that works out beautifully for me. Im not really there for the social aspect although I know lots of other players, I just like logging on for a few hours here and there and laying waste to stuff. The $15 a month isnt even a blip on my radar.

[Morgoth]

A bit WoW, AoC, WAR, and that's it I think. None of these have really grasp my interest for longer than 10 days, and I doubt any future releases will change that, including TOR.

Edited May 26, 2009 by Morgoth