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Bubble Bursting On the MMO Market?

Posted by Soulskill on from the how-many-rats-can-you-kill dept.

An anonymous reader writes "An article at Ten Ton Hammer has an interesting take on the current state of the MMO genre; not too doom-and-gloomy, but it makes some good points. Ultimately, it's about how games that foster community the most will stay strong."

5 of 162 comments (clear)

  1. A definite maybe by hat_eater · · Score: 5, Informative

    What a disappointment. It's little more than a fluff piece promoting Rift.

  2. And we should believe him - why? by DerekLyons · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Pretty much the whole article is about how cool Rift is, how smart he is, and how cool Rift is. Other than being an unabashed Rift fanboy - the author's qualifications are what?

  3. Skinner Boxes by zwei2stein · · Score: 5, Informative

    People are getting disgusted with MMOs, it is inherently amoral business.

    Eventually, player realizes what excatly is being done to him:
    http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/2487-The-Skinner-Box
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber
    http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

    Once you realize that, everything about MMO stops being fun, every reward is spolied because you know it is conditioning to keep you playing to get further rewards. Then you get slightly pissed at authors for abusing skinery-boxy mechanics of human psychology. And you quit for good.

    Changing MMO does not help: it is just differently colored lever you have to press to get pelets. Nothing devs can do can help past this point except abandoning notion of chaining player to game.

    --
    -- Technology for the sake of technology is as pathetic as eschewing technology because it's technology.
    1. Re:Skinner Boxes by argStyopa · · Score: 4, Insightful

      By that same standard, just about ANY entertainment is equally immoral. Go read a book - whups, the author MIGHT be telling you that story merely to hook you and get you to read his next book!

      Seriously, you're 'discovering' the relationship between media, consumer, and producer that's existed since advertising was invented, but reached its zenith with free-broadcast TV: the programs are bait, to get your eyeballs on the screen, and your attention is being sold to the advertisers, the real customers in the transaction. When you say "there are too many commercials", that just means the bait is too small for the hook, and the fish are swimming away.

      So for MMOs, they continue to entertain you with a carefully-metered trickle of rewards to keep you entertained? So what? If you're paying to be entertained, isn't that the point? I can drop $15 on a month of an MMO, and have hundreds of hours of fun, or I can spend $15 on a theater movie (and get 90 minutes of entertainment, and perhaps a pop or popcorn), or I can spend $15 on a pro sports ticket and get maybe 15 minutes of a game. Which is the best entertainment value?

      For all the people complaining about being conditioned as a faux-excuse for their excessive gameplay: grow up, and either enjoy your hobby unashamedly, or (if you feel your focus on it is too excessive) just change your friggin' behavior.

      --
      -Styopa
  4. Rubbish by DerekLyons · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't get me wrong, 38 isn't too old to be playing MMORPGs

    Being just shy of 48 myself and an active MMORPG player, I should hope not.
     

    Perhaps the MMORPG bubble is bursting for almost 40-somethings like himself, the article would be more believable if it came from a 20-something with some actual numbers showing a decline in players

    And why would a 20-something be more believeable than a 30- or 40- something?