That's what they said before World of Warcraft came out. It's got over five million accounts, and hasn't particularly affected the subscription rates of other games in the genre.
It's not like this is Yet Another Fantasy MMOG-- its gimmick hasn't been attempted before, save by Puzzle Pirates (which really can't be compared outside of the similarities in theme) and Pirates of the Burning Seas (which is still in development Hell). It will sink or swim on its own merits, not because of market oversaturation.
The other 2 mods that are listed, I am DEFINITELY buying. The first one, the Orrery, fits the 'cut pieces out' scenario perfectly. This was obviously planned before release because the Orrery already exists in the basic game. The door is locked and there is no key to unlock it.
There's no way in Hell that I'll be paying Bethesda for things that would have been provided for free if we were discussing Morrowind. I don't trust them to not simply shit in a virtual box and try to sell it to me, after the buggy mess that their more-complex-than-just-a-skin mod releases turned out to be for Morrowind.
Similarly, the idea of essentially just paying for an engine and shelling out a tenner for story arcs or quests makes my blood run cold. It leaves both the consumer and the producer in a very unpleasant situation: there's no guarantee that the 'extra' content will sell, making the producers loathe to finance the sub-projects; the first time that something fucks up, be it a shitty quest or a vicious bug, the devs lose the trust of the consumer. When you're reading a novel, or playing a full-featured game, a shitty chapter or an anemic side-quest isn't typically enough to drive the reader away, and if it is, they've already paid for the whole thing. Serialized material is another animal entirely.
"This set of statistics is bullshit. This set of statistics is slightly less so. I'd rearrange the numbers without actually/saying/ anything, but if you're into RPGs you can presumably do the same thing for yourself. That, right there, is why the industry is failing."
Of course, WotC also has the problem of selling a durable good: these books don't just wear out. Once they're sold, they're on the market forever. No gamer will ever buy more than one.
There it is folks, in black on white, the reason why having a gaming industry is the stupidest concept in history. How the Hell does one industrialize imagination? There is no true obsolescence, but merely feature creep and spirited attempts to break compatibility every so often. Wizards has been doing that since they were TSR; new 'editions' of campaign settings were a typical sight every couple of years, sporting just enough wide-ranging changes to completely invalidate what came before.
Does anyone seriously believe a developer when they claim that a new edition is intended to reduce cruft? Let's use D&D as the whipping boy again: 2nd Edition is released, followed quickly by the Complete Book of Fighters, followed throughout its lifetime by increasingly esoteric Complete Books that go from new bits of equipment and campaign ideas, to sweeping rules changes and what amount to whole new classes. 3rd Edition is released, followed just as quickly by its own set of class manuals. 3.5 is released, chased by yet new revisions to the same concepts, only in hardcover this time!
I used to be a raving GURPS fanthing, and still have a collection of SJG materials that's at least three feet tall, when stacked. That said, I really hope that GURPS 4th gives them a tremendous black eye. The new edition, with its insistence on thick hardcovers with glossy pages and grotty art, is a sad and pathetic "Me too, goddamn it!" that's long on long-winded game theory and short on the shit that gamers actually want. Given the shocking delays in development since 4E went active, it seems as if SJG winding up to give itself one Hell of a sucker punch.
Oh, and just a final note. To the bean-counters and 'developers' that have counted on obsessive-compulsive people rushing out to buy every new revision that they squat out onto the stands: lunch ended years ago; they're eating your dinner now. Those of us that don't have children, or more generally households to keep up and concern themselves with, have typically moved on to MMOGs for their number crunching, quasi-social interaction. Those of us that haven't are playing the old versions of your games.
I dunno, really. Why do self-styled Web 2.0 'developers' insist upon reinventing the wheel?
My god, it's turning into the bloody dot.bomb out there, all over again. This time though, nobody is investing and the would-be heirs to Mirabilis, Lotus and Sendmail are doing nothing but whining.
Just to clarify, NCSoft didn't develop City of X, Auto Assault, or Guild Wars. They're the publishers, yes, but actual coding is a wholly different animal.
Personally, I think that they're using their new, Stateside-developed games as a test bed for marketing strategies. City of Heroes and City of Villains are both playable exclusively to one another, while also potentially acting as an expansion pack. Guild Wars (which is about as much of an MMOG as Diablo is) has no monthly fee, but charges for major expansions and has little things like new music. Auto Assault is including in-game advertising (probably on the loading screens, to keep the audience captive as long as possible). City of Foozles also has a cross-marketing scheme that borders on the ludicrous, including card games, novels and tabletop RPGs (the latter which, at one point at least, included login codes to add new powers to your on-line heroes).
Beyond all of that, though, Auto Assault seems to be an experiment in determining just how much crap players will put up with. The writing is dire, the gameplay is dull, and there is really no benefit to joining a 'convoy'. Players have hoped for a new Car Wars, but this isn't even a Twisted Metal.
Slashdot Mirror
It's not like this is Yet Another Fantasy MMOG-- its gimmick hasn't been attempted before, save by Puzzle Pirates (which really can't be compared outside of the similarities in theme) and Pirates of the Burning Seas (which is still in development Hell). It will sink or swim on its own merits, not because of market oversaturation.
You get to bear my children for that. Hold still, the ovipositor will only be down your throat for a few seconds.
I can't decide whether to try to make an Excel Saga joke out of the project name, or merely reflect on the vague similarities to Baxter's "Moonseed".
Similarly, the idea of essentially just paying for an engine and shelling out a tenner for story arcs or quests makes my blood run cold. It leaves both the consumer and the producer in a very unpleasant situation: there's no guarantee that the 'extra' content will sell, making the producers loathe to finance the sub-projects; the first time that something fucks up, be it a shitty quest or a vicious bug, the devs lose the trust of the consumer. When you're reading a novel, or playing a full-featured game, a shitty chapter or an anemic side-quest isn't typically enough to drive the reader away, and if it is, they've already paid for the whole thing. Serialized material is another animal entirely.
"This set of statistics is bullshit. This set of statistics is slightly less so. I'd rearrange the numbers without actually /saying/ anything, but if you're into RPGs you can presumably do the same thing for yourself. That, right there, is why the industry is failing."
I dunno, really. Why do self-styled Web 2.0 'developers' insist upon reinventing the wheel? My god, it's turning into the bloody dot.bomb out there, all over again. This time though, nobody is investing and the would-be heirs to Mirabilis, Lotus and Sendmail are doing nothing but whining.
Given the opportunity and a low enough price point, I would not hesitate to buy or build one of these for myself.
Personally, I think that they're using their new, Stateside-developed games as a test bed for marketing strategies. City of Heroes and City of Villains are both playable exclusively to one another, while also potentially acting as an expansion pack. Guild Wars (which is about as much of an MMOG as Diablo is) has no monthly fee, but charges for major expansions and has little things like new music. Auto Assault is including in-game advertising (probably on the loading screens, to keep the audience captive as long as possible). City of Foozles also has a cross-marketing scheme that borders on the ludicrous, including card games, novels and tabletop RPGs (the latter which, at one point at least, included login codes to add new powers to your on-line heroes).
Beyond all of that, though, Auto Assault seems to be an experiment in determining just how much crap players will put up with. The writing is dire, the gameplay is dull, and there is really no benefit to joining a 'convoy'. Players have hoped for a new Car Wars, but this isn't even a Twisted Metal.