MMO Market Trends

[ZakMan]

With the revelation that WOW has continued their decline (although with still very impressive numbers) and many of the newer MMO's, even those based on popular franchises or with large fan followings (TOR, DCU, GW2) going or even starting as F2P, or a hybrid of B2P & F2P, and relying on micro-transactions as a larger source of income, do you all think this will be the future of most MMO's that come out?

[flyersfan]

I'd say it's likely. The model seems to have proven itself successful. I wouldn't be surprised to see this become a trend.

 

It also makes me hopeful for a Mass Effect MMO.

[Andryah]

do you all think this will be the future of most MMO's that come out?

 

WoW will be the last P2P MMO from Blizzard.

[Digimanbyte_ID]

WoW had no real compeitition to take away its subscribers, most who popped up promising the world ended up failing. The problem with WoW as I see it is that I am paying for the same content every month because they never introduce anything new till the next expansion.

 

To top it off when it comes to PvP they have done nothing except sink their funds into class overhauling and micro balancing that ended up in mess where they will fix a class with a new system that ends up making them nerfed or OP on purpose inorder to keep subscribers. So much so that I ended up with nearly every class in the game at end game before I burned out.

 

TOR is different because it links our alts together with benefits that I find fun and new. Not to mention the new ways to play in this game such as the rail gun space fighting to huttball where you can toss the flag to another person that can be intercepted along with its improved graphics design.

 

WoW just wants funds for nothing, next expansion is going to be the same. The only interesting ones were TBC and WoTLK where they introduced nagrand bombing and siege engines but fell through.

 

GW2 seems to be improving on WoW's laziness of creativity without subs and TOR seems to be introducing new players with enticing content along with DCUO unique play on the button mashing beat em up play style and story line.

 

honestly WoW really needs to shape up to its customers or feel the wrath in their future games as they are remembered as a lazy money hungry MMO. Don't want to see that happen but that's what it felt like being their customer.

[Raltar]

I think that WoW's decline will continue and it is a symptom of all these so called "WoW killers" finally whittling down the numbers. WoW won't die and will still be the dominant MMO for a while to come, but the true glory days are over for them. Like it or hate it, WoW has been a force, but I think them losing subscribers is a good thing because the MMO market is finally maturing. What we will end up with is a lot of quality MMOs to choose from that fill different niches. And if the F2P model continues to grow, you'll be able to easily find the one best suited to your tastes and help that developer out by supporting that game.

[ZakMan]

WoW had no real compeitition to take away its subscribers, most who popped up promising the world ended up failing. The problem with WoW as I see it is that I am paying for the same content every month because they never introduce anything new till the next expansion.

 

To top it off when it comes to PvP they have done nothing except sink their funds into class overhauling and micro balancing that ended up in mess where they will fix a class with a new system that ends up making them nerfed or OP on purpose inorder to keep subscribers. So much so that I ended up with nearly every class in the game at end game before I burned out.

 

TOR is different because it links our alts together with benefits that I find fun and new. Not to mention the new ways to play in this game such as the rail gun space fighting to huttball where you can toss the flag to another person that can be intercepted along with its improved graphics design.

 

WoW just wants funds for nothing, next expansion is going to be the same. The only interesting ones were TBC and WoTLK where they introduced nagrand bombing and siege engines but fell through.

 

GW2 seems to be improving on WoW's laziness of creativity without subs and TOR seems to be introducing new players with enticing content along with DCUO unique play on the button mashing beat em up play style and story line.

 

honestly WoW really needs to shape up to its customers or feel the wrath in their future games as they are remembered as a lazy money hungry MMO. Don't want to see that happen but that's what it felt like being their customer.

 

Well, 2 points to add to that:

 

1. I think, as well as some people on this board think, that the main reason that WoW still has so many subscribers deals a lot in that people have put time and effort into their characters, and it's hard for them to just give that up, so if Blizzard's new MMO attempts the same subscription based business practice, it will be interesting to see how fans react.

 

2. My friend gave me his reason for wanting to quit WoW, which was constant carrot and stick action, it's like you work for months and months to get a new piece of gear, then the next patch comes out and they wave a slightly better piece of gear in your face, so now you grind for that one, and it's like that every patch until the expansion which makes all the gear you were grinding for pointless because the greens and blues you get from quests will almost immediately be better then anything you had before. I think it's that carrot and stick mentality that, because of time and effort, people are willing to put up with from WoW, but not with any other MMO.

[Andryah]

I think, as well as some people on this board think, that the main reason that WoW still has so many subscribers deals a lot in that people have put time and effort into their characters, and it's hard for them to just give that up

 

I agree. I even saw this back in DAOC back when WoW launched. There were a lot of DAOC veterans that refused to even try WoW initially because of how much time and effort they had invested in their DAOC characters. Of course DAOC only had a couple hundred thousand players at the time, so it was small scale by comparison. But it goes to human nature of people not wanting to let go of their investments (either real life, or virtual). It is likely the largest single component of WoW retentions really.

 

And with WoW over the years, we also got the subscribe-play-cancel-rinse&repeat model of play too. Actual WoW subs are hard to put a finger on since the game has a very transient population even among it's most veteran players.

[Lord_of_Mu]

I'd say it's likely. The model seems to have proven itself successful. I wouldn't be surprised to see this become a trend.

 

It also makes me hopeful for a Mass Effect MMO.

 

As much as I'd like an ME MMO, I don't think EA would be willing to invest in such a project. Unless EA learns to be more creative with their projects (which will never happen) they'll stick to the business of mass producing shlock.

 

Oh god, I'm becoming one of the anti-EA people. Somebody save me from this!

[Mezla]

There is no market trend. The only trend is that people refuse pay monthly sub for crappy games and WoW is getting old.

[davidpop]

As much as I'd like an ME MMO, I don't think EA would be willing to invest in such a project. Unless EA learns to be more creative with their projects (which will never happen) they'll stick to the business of mass producing shlock.

 

Oh god, I'm becoming one of the anti-EA people. Somebody save me from this!

 

Who can blame them, Madden sells year inn, year out, and it is the same freaking game they put out every year, so no need for them to be creative xD

[Yinata]

There is no market trend. The only trend is that people refuse pay monthly sub for crappy games and WoW is getting old.

 

Yep I agree with you, EA/Bioware failed to mention the other 60% that unsubscribed was due to their lack of content development and implementation into the game, fixing bugs that should have been fixed in beta still almost 8 months after launch. The other percentage of these people likely had terrible performance due to the games horrible game engine, and then add the server side performance and then dead servers for month and that sums up why the other 60% left. Also without looking further into why people selected Subscription as why they cancelled, the subscription reason could easily be linked to their lack of content, and performance issues not being worth the subscription fee.

 

Subscription MMO's aren't dead by any stretch of the imagination, the reason many of these new MMO's can't hold subs is because people play them and get the been there done that already feeling from playing WoW and the other WoW clones for so many years. Once another MMO comes out that is somewhat innovative it could easily succeed under the subscription model because players would feel a fresh and new experience and not have the been there done that feeling the majority feel after playing SWTOR.

Edited August 3, 2012 by Yinata

[ChazDoit]

Swtor didnt kill WoW but it punched it in the face and now that GW2 is coming out its gonna kick WoW in the teeth.

 

Every MMO that comes out brings something new, Swtor is a game with a strong IP, much better storytelling and voiceover. GW2 is a game with Dynamic Events and WvW, also there is Tera, TSW. None of these game may be competition for WoW on their own but they are still taking subscriptions away from them.

[Diktat]

Sure F2P is the trend of the market, but not because of P2P is the problem. There's a game that proves it is not. EVE-Online has got a stable player base around 400K for years (the game is older than WoW), and looks quite healthy.

 

The problem is the mismanagement and extreme greediness. Companies doesn't care about their products, they want release the game fast and swim in money even faster. And when that doesn't happen, because it can't happens when you release and unfinished buggy product, is when the cash shop comes in in an attempt to save a financial disaster.

 

Few companies (so far I know only 1) have made a succesfull f2p game from start that is not a money milk with the cash shop bugging the player in every corner. F2P is sick and mean, because is the maximum exponent of a capital sin: greed.

Edited August 3, 2012 by Diktat

[Cleet_Xia]

The "new" has long worn off of the MMO. At some point in it's lifespan every MMO will go F2P. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if MMOs are all F2P in 10 years.

 

As another poster put it, people are looking for something really new, but only getting little bits and pieces from each new game.

[TKMaster]

WoW will be the last P2P MMO from Blizzard.

 

This, they've already said Titan will be F2P.

 

Of course either .....

 

1) MMO nomads will say it's a brilliant move even after spending years bashing other MMO's for it.

 

or.....

 

2) They'll eat blizzard alive with thier lynch mob mass hysteria syndrome they seem to suffer from.