Showing posts with label sw:tor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sw:tor. Show all posts
Friday, December 30, 2016
Goodbye 2016!
I think a lot of people will agree with the sentiment that happiness is viewing 2016 in the rear view mirror. I won't go on about real life; I think enough people outside gaming have already done so. Instead I'll take a quick look at gaming, or at least what has seeped into my awareness.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Who Wants Loading Screens?
Sometimes, playing other games helps me realize some of the things EVE Online just does right. Currently, I'm playing Star Wars: The Old Republic and fighting through the annoying lag that 40-45 players creates on Alderaan. Quite frankly, if I had a death star like Darth Vader, I'd vaporize the planet also. But I'm not here to praise EVE's time dilation (TiDi) system for handling lag. Instead, I have a more mundane concern to discuss: loading screens.
I've played a lot of MMORPGs throughout the years and EVE is probably the most instanced of those games. With each of the game's 7,000+ systems plus individual instances for when a player is docked, one might expect a lot of loading screens. Well, players do see a lot of loading screens, but they are probably the least annoying I've ever come across.
Above is an example of the loading screen I see in SWTOR after I select the character I want to play. The screen is nice, letting me know generally where in the story I am. But I have a long time to read the synopsis, as the game initially takes a lot longer to load than EVE. Okay, but I only have to put up with the long wait once, right?
Wrong. If traveling off-planet, even if a player only wants to hold a conversation on the ship with one of the player's companions, results in another long loading screen.
I think just hopping into and out of the ship is the most annoying thing about the instancing. I don't want to leave the planet, I just want to drop something off or talk to someone! Sometimes, a quest takes requires a visit to use the hologram receiver on the ship and a short conversation. Yet, I have to watch my ship take off from the spaceport and endure a loading screen. Then, once I'm done with my business, I have to watch my ship travel back to the planet, then endure another, longer loading screen.
Admittedly, except during large fleet fights, EVE doesn't have as many objects displayed on the screen as SWTOR. That said, EVE's loading screens when traveling between instances (i.e. systems) look a lot better than SWTOR's.
In the Odyssey expansion, CCP replaced the old loading bar with a warp tunnel effect to link two systems. While I had a period of adjustment due to the effect making my stomach queasy, the warp tunnel definitely does not break my immersion in the game. Unlike in SWTOR, the game does not take me out of the universe with a loading screen. That's really good, because sometimes I'll travel 25 jumps to visit a particular agent when I want to grind out Sisters of EVE loyalty points. If I had to endure 25 loading screens like I see in SWTOR, I'd probably rage quit.
I realize that loading screens seem like a small thing to criticize a game about. However, the little things do matter. Let enough annoyances build up and some people will stop having fun and unsubscribe. That's one of the reasons I'm okay with CCP trying to fix things like the New Player Experience, PvE content, and the UI before really marketing the game to new players again. EVE is hard enough to learn already without having annoying features. Fixing some of the major systems that either enhance or detract from the game will help the retention rate. And for a subscription MMO, a company needs to hang onto the players it attracts in order to pay the bills.
I've played a lot of MMORPGs throughout the years and EVE is probably the most instanced of those games. With each of the game's 7,000+ systems plus individual instances for when a player is docked, one might expect a lot of loading screens. Well, players do see a lot of loading screens, but they are probably the least annoying I've ever come across.
 |
| Hurry up, I want to play! |
Wrong. If traveling off-planet, even if a player only wants to hold a conversation on the ship with one of the player's companions, results in another long loading screen.
 |
| At least I learn something ... maybe. |
Admittedly, except during large fleet fights, EVE doesn't have as many objects displayed on the screen as SWTOR. That said, EVE's loading screens when traveling between instances (i.e. systems) look a lot better than SWTOR's.
Skip to 1:28 if the video starts at the beginning
In the Odyssey expansion, CCP replaced the old loading bar with a warp tunnel effect to link two systems. While I had a period of adjustment due to the effect making my stomach queasy, the warp tunnel definitely does not break my immersion in the game. Unlike in SWTOR, the game does not take me out of the universe with a loading screen. That's really good, because sometimes I'll travel 25 jumps to visit a particular agent when I want to grind out Sisters of EVE loyalty points. If I had to endure 25 loading screens like I see in SWTOR, I'd probably rage quit.
I realize that loading screens seem like a small thing to criticize a game about. However, the little things do matter. Let enough annoyances build up and some people will stop having fun and unsubscribe. That's one of the reasons I'm okay with CCP trying to fix things like the New Player Experience, PvE content, and the UI before really marketing the game to new players again. EVE is hard enough to learn already without having annoying features. Fixing some of the major systems that either enhance or detract from the game will help the retention rate. And for a subscription MMO, a company needs to hang onto the players it attracts in order to pay the bills.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Back To Star Wars: The Old Republic
I can only take so much stupidity before I start to do crazy things. I really shouldn't listen to ShadowandLight defend input broadcasting. I want to support CCP's new policy, but ShadowandLight makes such a great case for why the policy does not go far enough. Well, that and the arrogance. Drives me up the wall.
So what did I do this weekend? I played just enough EVE to finish my latest faction grind and get the loyalty points for two high-end implants and spent the rest of the time playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. That's right, I'm playing an EA game. I told you I start doing crazy things.
I haven't seriously played TOR since the game went free-to-play. Well, F2P violates truth in advertising since the game now seems designed to nickle-and-dime players until their wallets bleed so much they subscribe. I'm fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your point of view) that I purchased the collector's edition shortly after launch. Still, I wound up spending $10 on a package to get my third crew skill, 10 inventory slots, a pilot's license so I can use the speeder I received with the collector's edition at level 10, and a couple of other perks. But after that sour experience, I really don't want to pay any more. Really, paying for action bars?
I should mention something pretty shady. EA/Bioware offers an authentication service. Only one problem. I can't place an authenticator on my account because I'm not a subscriber. Okay, EA. I've heard of Pay-To-Win, but never Pay-To-Secure.
But with all the problems, once I got everything situated, I enjoyed the game. I'm playing the Imperial Agent and chose the female option because I love listening to Jo Wyatt. Besides, I tried playing a male IA a long time ago and Jo's portrayal just sounds better. Plus, less sex. Maybe one day I'll go back through and play a male, if I can find a male look that doesn't remind me of the 70s, but for now I like the cold, professional operative. Besides, I wanted to role a healer, and nothing tells geeks you've rolled a healer like making your character female.
Pro-tip for people coming into EVE from other games. Don't assume that women EVE players have the same mentality. Do so only if you want a quick trip to your medical clone.
I managed to get to level 13 by the end of Sunday night. I think I'm doing content a little above my level, which means I need to do a little grinding if I want to continue. I don't blame that on my lack of subscription status, because I experienced the same on the Smuggler I rolled up at launch.
Will I continue playing? I think so. One thing about TOR is that the stories are good, so playing the game is pretty much like reading a book. Well, maybe a magazine, since I've never seen a book that contains the constant barrage of ads as TOR. Still, the challenge of getting through the rest of the story without paying any more money is tempting to take.
Going back to the whole input broadcasting issue in EVE, I just want to conclude with a question Dirk asked on the GRN Show yesterday. He asked those who oppose input broadcasting if CCP came out and stated everything about the current version of ISBoxer did not break the EULA, would we leave EVE. My answer is, I might grumble if CCP did not balance EVE around the software. But as this weekend shows, I might play other games just to get away from their yapping.
So what did I do this weekend? I played just enough EVE to finish my latest faction grind and get the loyalty points for two high-end implants and spent the rest of the time playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. That's right, I'm playing an EA game. I told you I start doing crazy things.
I haven't seriously played TOR since the game went free-to-play. Well, F2P violates truth in advertising since the game now seems designed to nickle-and-dime players until their wallets bleed so much they subscribe. I'm fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your point of view) that I purchased the collector's edition shortly after launch. Still, I wound up spending $10 on a package to get my third crew skill, 10 inventory slots, a pilot's license so I can use the speeder I received with the collector's edition at level 10, and a couple of other perks. But after that sour experience, I really don't want to pay any more. Really, paying for action bars?
I should mention something pretty shady. EA/Bioware offers an authentication service. Only one problem. I can't place an authenticator on my account because I'm not a subscriber. Okay, EA. I've heard of Pay-To-Win, but never Pay-To-Secure.
But with all the problems, once I got everything situated, I enjoyed the game. I'm playing the Imperial Agent and chose the female option because I love listening to Jo Wyatt. Besides, I tried playing a male IA a long time ago and Jo's portrayal just sounds better. Plus, less sex. Maybe one day I'll go back through and play a male, if I can find a male look that doesn't remind me of the 70s, but for now I like the cold, professional operative. Besides, I wanted to role a healer, and nothing tells geeks you've rolled a healer like making your character female.
Pro-tip for people coming into EVE from other games. Don't assume that women EVE players have the same mentality. Do so only if you want a quick trip to your medical clone.
I managed to get to level 13 by the end of Sunday night. I think I'm doing content a little above my level, which means I need to do a little grinding if I want to continue. I don't blame that on my lack of subscription status, because I experienced the same on the Smuggler I rolled up at launch.
Will I continue playing? I think so. One thing about TOR is that the stories are good, so playing the game is pretty much like reading a book. Well, maybe a magazine, since I've never seen a book that contains the constant barrage of ads as TOR. Still, the challenge of getting through the rest of the story without paying any more money is tempting to take.
Going back to the whole input broadcasting issue in EVE, I just want to conclude with a question Dirk asked on the GRN Show yesterday. He asked those who oppose input broadcasting if CCP came out and stated everything about the current version of ISBoxer did not break the EULA, would we leave EVE. My answer is, I might grumble if CCP did not balance EVE around the software. But as this weekend shows, I might play other games just to get away from their yapping.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Levels vs Skills
Over the weekend, I decided to create a new character in Wildstar. Not because I needed another crafter to complement my first character or act as a mule. No, because my first character, and Exile engineer, just didn't feel right. I'd hit level 15 and about to do the quests in Thayd when I realized I didn't want to be a tank and the Exile story was getting pretty stale. So I created a Dominion medic and began the game again from level 1. Last night I hit level 5 and the story, for now, is much better.
Rerolling a new character because I don't like my original class isn't something new for me. In EverQuest 2, I originally created a paladin before switching my main to a ranger. Guild Wars 2 saw me create a thief before rerolling as a ranger. Alright, I like ranged DPS. What can I say?
Rerolling isn't so bad when the original characters are below level 20. But in Star Wars: The Old Republic, I wound up rerolling after my smuggler reached level 37 because the story turned so bad. That, more than any bugs or lag, killed the game for me.
Of course, EVE Online doesn't have levels. In EVE, a character is defined by its skills, not its class. So if I want to do something else, like fly Gallente ships instead of Minmatar, I don't have to create a Gallente character; I just start learning the skills to fly Gallente ships. The same holds true for crafting. My industrial character can theoretically make anything once she learns the skills, although some things are better, and more easily, made with friends. No armorer or weaponsmith crafting classes in EVE. And I only have an industrial character because EVE allows me to train characters on multiple accounts at the same time, even when I'm not logged into the game on any of the accounts. But that's a discussion for another post.
The skill-based system does have some benefits over the level-based one found in most MMOs. For instance, because learning new skills on an existing character or new character is basically the same, players will create fewer characters. Fewer characters created not only means fewer characters for the game to track, but less names used. Anyone remember the uproar when Wildstar's name reservation system didn't work quite right? Names are important to many players and the fewer good names on characters who never play the game, the better.
But for me, the biggest benefit is that some of the core skills I learned, like Engineering, Navigation, and Mechanics, are good for anything I wish to do. Even Accounting comes in handy for players changing from a trading style of play to PvP. Paying less in taxes when selling items is always a good thing. So if I want to change the type of ship I fly, or even my style of play, I don't have to start from scratch, which I have to do in a level-based system.
Don't misunderstand, a skill-based system doesn't automatically mean a game is so good I'll play for 5 years like I have EVE. While I enjoyed my time in The Secret World, another skill-based game, I never reached Egypt. And the fact that I'm playing Wildstar shows that level-based systems won't deter me from playing a game if the game looks interesting. But I do wish that I had more skill-based games to look at and possibly play.
Rerolling a new character because I don't like my original class isn't something new for me. In EverQuest 2, I originally created a paladin before switching my main to a ranger. Guild Wars 2 saw me create a thief before rerolling as a ranger. Alright, I like ranged DPS. What can I say?
Rerolling isn't so bad when the original characters are below level 20. But in Star Wars: The Old Republic, I wound up rerolling after my smuggler reached level 37 because the story turned so bad. That, more than any bugs or lag, killed the game for me.
Of course, EVE Online doesn't have levels. In EVE, a character is defined by its skills, not its class. So if I want to do something else, like fly Gallente ships instead of Minmatar, I don't have to create a Gallente character; I just start learning the skills to fly Gallente ships. The same holds true for crafting. My industrial character can theoretically make anything once she learns the skills, although some things are better, and more easily, made with friends. No armorer or weaponsmith crafting classes in EVE. And I only have an industrial character because EVE allows me to train characters on multiple accounts at the same time, even when I'm not logged into the game on any of the accounts. But that's a discussion for another post.
The skill-based system does have some benefits over the level-based one found in most MMOs. For instance, because learning new skills on an existing character or new character is basically the same, players will create fewer characters. Fewer characters created not only means fewer characters for the game to track, but less names used. Anyone remember the uproar when Wildstar's name reservation system didn't work quite right? Names are important to many players and the fewer good names on characters who never play the game, the better.
But for me, the biggest benefit is that some of the core skills I learned, like Engineering, Navigation, and Mechanics, are good for anything I wish to do. Even Accounting comes in handy for players changing from a trading style of play to PvP. Paying less in taxes when selling items is always a good thing. So if I want to change the type of ship I fly, or even my style of play, I don't have to start from scratch, which I have to do in a level-based system.
Don't misunderstand, a skill-based system doesn't automatically mean a game is so good I'll play for 5 years like I have EVE. While I enjoyed my time in The Secret World, another skill-based game, I never reached Egypt. And the fact that I'm playing Wildstar shows that level-based systems won't deter me from playing a game if the game looks interesting. But I do wish that I had more skill-based games to look at and possibly play.
Monday, December 9, 2013
There's More To Life Than Watching RMT
When I left Iceland following Fanfest back in April I didn't see much of a future writing about botting and RMT. Team Security had done a pretty good job containing the use of bots and I figured nothing exciting or of interest would really show up the rest of the year. I thought I'd write maybe one post a month. Ha! The last 2-3 months has seen a lot more posts than that. But I don't eat, drink, and breathe this stuff.
So what am I doing in the realm of something normal? Well, at least normal for a gamer? Currently I'm reading Nick Yee's new book, The Proteus Paradox: How Online Games and Virtual Worlds Change Us -- And How They Don't. People may remember Dr. Yee from The Daedalus Project, which involved interviewing gamers. When I heard the book was out, I downloaded it onto my Kindle. I've only read the first couple of chapters but I plan on finishing it riding to and from work on the train. He has included the results of The Daedalus Project in the book and I look forward to reading the results of his work.
Over the weekend I also decided to download Star Wars: The Old Republic again. I had problems the first time I played, but between having a better computer and the game going free-to-play I figured maybe I'd give it another try. But when I went to create a character I couldn't find a class I wanted to play. I have the Darth Bane trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn on my bookshelf. Maybe reading that will get me in the mood.
One game I don't have to get in the mood to play is Tropico 4. The opening music just makes me feel happy and ready to play. I started playing the game before Fanfest but only got to the 11th scenario in the campaign before EVE took over my free time for a few months. I'm back to playing once a week and am now on the fourth game of the campaign. I really want to finish this time.
One game I'm surprised I'm playing is City of Steam: Arkadia. I read Blagpuss' initial impressions on the relaunch and then just had to take a look for myself. I took a Riven gunner up to level 7 and an Ostenian channeler up to level 6. The channeler is the healer class in CoS and I think I may stick with that. One thing I noticed is that I had a choice of three armors to choose from and I don't think a correct choice really exists. I'll have to play around more. Yes, I had fun running through the tutorial. Just don't expect help from a wiki.
Of course, I also played some EVE Online. I am now up to 285,000 loyalty points with the Sisters of EVE. My current goal is to buy 2 blueprint copies each for the Astero and Stratios plus 4 Sisters launchers and 4 sets of probes before going back to Minmatar space. So I'm 80,000 LP away from my goal. If I just sit down for an hour or so a night I can knock that out by Sunday.
So I have some things I might write about in the future that aren't related to RMT. I still have one more RMT-related post I've tried to write for a few months now, but with any luck I can get back to some regular gaming posts. Unless, of course, someone nukes some bots or illicit RMT sites. That I'll gladly write about.
So what am I doing in the realm of something normal? Well, at least normal for a gamer? Currently I'm reading Nick Yee's new book, The Proteus Paradox: How Online Games and Virtual Worlds Change Us -- And How They Don't. People may remember Dr. Yee from The Daedalus Project, which involved interviewing gamers. When I heard the book was out, I downloaded it onto my Kindle. I've only read the first couple of chapters but I plan on finishing it riding to and from work on the train. He has included the results of The Daedalus Project in the book and I look forward to reading the results of his work.
Over the weekend I also decided to download Star Wars: The Old Republic again. I had problems the first time I played, but between having a better computer and the game going free-to-play I figured maybe I'd give it another try. But when I went to create a character I couldn't find a class I wanted to play. I have the Darth Bane trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn on my bookshelf. Maybe reading that will get me in the mood.
One game I don't have to get in the mood to play is Tropico 4. The opening music just makes me feel happy and ready to play. I started playing the game before Fanfest but only got to the 11th scenario in the campaign before EVE took over my free time for a few months. I'm back to playing once a week and am now on the fourth game of the campaign. I really want to finish this time.
One game I'm surprised I'm playing is City of Steam: Arkadia. I read Blagpuss' initial impressions on the relaunch and then just had to take a look for myself. I took a Riven gunner up to level 7 and an Ostenian channeler up to level 6. The channeler is the healer class in CoS and I think I may stick with that. One thing I noticed is that I had a choice of three armors to choose from and I don't think a correct choice really exists. I'll have to play around more. Yes, I had fun running through the tutorial. Just don't expect help from a wiki.
Of course, I also played some EVE Online. I am now up to 285,000 loyalty points with the Sisters of EVE. My current goal is to buy 2 blueprint copies each for the Astero and Stratios plus 4 Sisters launchers and 4 sets of probes before going back to Minmatar space. So I'm 80,000 LP away from my goal. If I just sit down for an hour or so a night I can knock that out by Sunday.
So I have some things I might write about in the future that aren't related to RMT. I still have one more RMT-related post I've tried to write for a few months now, but with any luck I can get back to some regular gaming posts. Unless, of course, someone nukes some bots or illicit RMT sites. That I'll gladly write about.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Christmas In My Virtual Worlds
I'm not a big fan of Christmas appearing in my video games. Unless I absolutely stumble across the events in-game I don't take part. Okay, that's not quite true. If the event drops crafting items and I can make special items then I'm interested. But if a game doesn't have holiday events I'm not upset.
In 2012 I played four MMORPGs and purchased three of them this year. So this being the Christmas season I thought I'd just take a quick tour of the games I've played, Eve Online, Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic and The Secret World.
Going slightly out of order, I think that fantasy games have the easiest time of incorporating Christmas into their lore. Humans have instituted celebrations around the winter solstice since pre-historic times so having some sort of celebration in-game makes sense. Also, unless the game uses an established IP like Lord of the Rings Online, the developers have the freedom to establish their own lore. In this tradition Guild Wars 2's Wintersday fits right in.
I'm not sure how immersion breaking Wintersday is hardcore GW2 players but it does seem an out of the way bit of fun as Lion's Arch is transformed into a winter wonderland. Okay, maybe not that idyllic, but I think the place looks prettier.
GW2 does have a substantial cash shop and ArenaNet has populated the store with holiday product for those interested. I actually don't plan on buying anything although the ear-muffs are pretty cute. The interface does allow players to preview what their purchases look like on their characters which is nice. While I'm not interested in the weapons skins available for sale I am intrigued by the crafted skins I can make. Turn my short bow into a sling shot? Who could resist.
I should also add that even though ArenaNet has a cash shop the company has also given out gifts this Wintersday. The one I really like is the 15-slot gift box. Even though I'm level 52 and am a leatherworker I still had an 8-slot bag. Seven extra slots means I can use the materials I gather for leveling instead of for adding more carrying capacity.
Moving away from fantasy, next on my list is Funcom's The Secret World. If any game is going to portray Christmas as a holiday in-game, The Secret World is the mostly likely candidate. Set in an alternative universe where all conspiracies are real, I saw no sign of the holiday even in the cash shop. That doesn't mean that Funcom didn't put anything in players' Christmas stockings. Given that TSW also falls into the horror genre, what better gift could Funcom give players that a portrayal of the Mayan prediction of the end of the world? And since the Mayans were not too specific, Funcom took the liberty to make it a zombie apocalypse. A zombie apocalypse? What better gift could players receive for Christmas than that?
Next I jump 22,000 years into the future into my main game, Eve Online. Icelandic developer CCP sticks to the lore and since Earth is just a vaguely remembered myth no official Christmas, or any holiday celebration for players. Of course, Eve being Eve the players usually organize events here and there, holding Secret Santas and such. But CCP also gives out presents during the season. This year the developers have incorporated an Icelandic tradition, the "Yule Lads", to get players into the holiday spirit.
So far on my two main accounts I've received 2 Inner Zone Shipping Imicus faction exploration frigates, a set of Genolution Core Augmentation implants, 7 New Eden Open trading cards and perhaps most importantly, 2 Festival Launchers and 1200 snowballs. CCP actually provided players a second set of snowballs due to all the fun everyone had launching snowballs at each other. We still are due to receive a set of fireworks on the 30th to use to kick-off the new year. They should add some sparkle to the light shows players usually organize around New Year's Eve.
The last MMORPG I played this year also takes place in a galaxy far, far away. I have to give credit to EA/Bioware for not putting an in-game holiday event into the game. The developers promised not to violate the IP like that and they kept their word. Well, for free anyway. But look in the cash shop and one finds this mount.
That's right, a snowblower with Christmas lights on it. Did I mention the price is $18? The other items for the Wookie holiday Life Day had what I thought was a Star Wars feel. But this mount? Ugh.
When the subject is what is in the cash shop, EA/Bioware is doing the same thing as ArenaNet is doing. Both GW2 and SW:TOR have a lot of holiday items for sale. The difference is what the two companies are giving their players. GW2 players do get a bunch of gifts to go along with all the items in the cash shop. SW:TOR players, even subscribers, receive nothing. EA/Bioware should have either followed GW2's lead or should have followed Funcom's practice in The Secret World of just ignoring the holiday season altogether.
I never thought that holiday events, and especially Christmas, would influence what games I play. I've played MMORPGs for seven years and this is the first time I've felt differently. I still want to play SW:TOR and this little money grab won't deter me from eventually returning. The one thing holding me back was eliminated with the raising of the character slot limit for F2P players from two to six. But I probably will wait until I've completed The Secret World now since that game is not only engaging but the Funcom actually seems to like their player base. EA/Bioware? I'm not so sure.
In 2012 I played four MMORPGs and purchased three of them this year. So this being the Christmas season I thought I'd just take a quick tour of the games I've played, Eve Online, Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic and The Secret World.
Going slightly out of order, I think that fantasy games have the easiest time of incorporating Christmas into their lore. Humans have instituted celebrations around the winter solstice since pre-historic times so having some sort of celebration in-game makes sense. Also, unless the game uses an established IP like Lord of the Rings Online, the developers have the freedom to establish their own lore. In this tradition Guild Wars 2's Wintersday fits right in.
I'm not sure how immersion breaking Wintersday is hardcore GW2 players but it does seem an out of the way bit of fun as Lion's Arch is transformed into a winter wonderland. Okay, maybe not that idyllic, but I think the place looks prettier.
 |
| Entering Lion's Arch |
GW2 does have a substantial cash shop and ArenaNet has populated the store with holiday product for those interested. I actually don't plan on buying anything although the ear-muffs are pretty cute. The interface does allow players to preview what their purchases look like on their characters which is nice. While I'm not interested in the weapons skins available for sale I am intrigued by the crafted skins I can make. Turn my short bow into a sling shot? Who could resist.
I should also add that even though ArenaNet has a cash shop the company has also given out gifts this Wintersday. The one I really like is the 15-slot gift box. Even though I'm level 52 and am a leatherworker I still had an 8-slot bag. Seven extra slots means I can use the materials I gather for leveling instead of for adding more carrying capacity.
Moving away from fantasy, next on my list is Funcom's The Secret World. If any game is going to portray Christmas as a holiday in-game, The Secret World is the mostly likely candidate. Set in an alternative universe where all conspiracies are real, I saw no sign of the holiday even in the cash shop. That doesn't mean that Funcom didn't put anything in players' Christmas stockings. Given that TSW also falls into the horror genre, what better gift could Funcom give players that a portrayal of the Mayan prediction of the end of the world? And since the Mayans were not too specific, Funcom took the liberty to make it a zombie apocalypse. A zombie apocalypse? What better gift could players receive for Christmas than that?
Next I jump 22,000 years into the future into my main game, Eve Online. Icelandic developer CCP sticks to the lore and since Earth is just a vaguely remembered myth no official Christmas, or any holiday celebration for players. Of course, Eve being Eve the players usually organize events here and there, holding Secret Santas and such. But CCP also gives out presents during the season. This year the developers have incorporated an Icelandic tradition, the "Yule Lads", to get players into the holiday spirit.
So far on my two main accounts I've received 2 Inner Zone Shipping Imicus faction exploration frigates, a set of Genolution Core Augmentation implants, 7 New Eden Open trading cards and perhaps most importantly, 2 Festival Launchers and 1200 snowballs. CCP actually provided players a second set of snowballs due to all the fun everyone had launching snowballs at each other. We still are due to receive a set of fireworks on the 30th to use to kick-off the new year. They should add some sparkle to the light shows players usually organize around New Year's Eve.
The last MMORPG I played this year also takes place in a galaxy far, far away. I have to give credit to EA/Bioware for not putting an in-game holiday event into the game. The developers promised not to violate the IP like that and they kept their word. Well, for free anyway. But look in the cash shop and one finds this mount.
 |
| Czerka LD-1 Celebrator - From DarthHater.com |
That's right, a snowblower with Christmas lights on it. Did I mention the price is $18? The other items for the Wookie holiday Life Day had what I thought was a Star Wars feel. But this mount? Ugh.
When the subject is what is in the cash shop, EA/Bioware is doing the same thing as ArenaNet is doing. Both GW2 and SW:TOR have a lot of holiday items for sale. The difference is what the two companies are giving their players. GW2 players do get a bunch of gifts to go along with all the items in the cash shop. SW:TOR players, even subscribers, receive nothing. EA/Bioware should have either followed GW2's lead or should have followed Funcom's practice in The Secret World of just ignoring the holiday season altogether.
I never thought that holiday events, and especially Christmas, would influence what games I play. I've played MMORPGs for seven years and this is the first time I've felt differently. I still want to play SW:TOR and this little money grab won't deter me from eventually returning. The one thing holding me back was eliminated with the raising of the character slot limit for F2P players from two to six. But I probably will wait until I've completed The Secret World now since that game is not only engaging but the Funcom actually seems to like their player base. EA/Bioware? I'm not so sure.
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Secret World Is Not SW:TOR
Except for running a couple of radar complexes in low-sec this weekend I spent all of my gaming time in The Secret World. I was a bit quick buying the game on Steam for $30 because Amazon sold it the next day for $15. Oh well.
I'm often amazed at the reactions to the game and wonder what would have happened if the game launched with the same buy-to-play model as Guild Wars 2. I work with a DUST bunny who's never played a subscription MMO but now that TSW has dropped the sub he's ready to go. Even the prospect of buying monthly DLCs doesn't phase him. That's because the game harkens back to the days of puzzle solving.
When I first heard of the game I thought the intellectual challenges might appeal to Eve players. I found out on Twitter that Seismic Stan loves the game and Sugar Kyle was persuaded to try it out. Yes, Sugar started a second blog for her non-Eve writings. So I do have some other opinions about the game to let me know I'm not completely crazy.
First is that I really think that The Secret World was really influenced by the design philosophy at EA, especially Star Wars: The Old Republic. The two biggest similarities between SW:TOR and TSW is the single-player feel of playing the game, at least so far, and the vast use of cut scenes. I would say that the developers in Norway looked at SW:TOR, figured story, the famed "fourth pillar" of game design, was the next big thing and decided they needed to make the game similar in order to ride the wave. Instead the wave is a tide going out to sea.
Next, I think that The Secret World is in a better position to recover from a rough start than SW:TOR. The EA/Bioware free-to-play formula more resembles a trial pushing people to subscribe while Funcom is emulating ArenaNet's business model with Guild Wars 2. I also wonder if EA and Funcom had any conflicts over the business model. I only think that because when The Secret World launched Xfire listed EA as the game's publisher and now Xfire lists Funcom as the publisher. Did something occur I don't know about?
Apart from the payment model, I also think that The Secret World is a higher quality game. On the graphics scale, TSW is closer to Eve Online while SW:TOR is closer to World of Warcraft. The Secret World is just pretty. At this point I also have to mention the cut scenes. In SW:TOR the voice acting for some gender/class combinations just led me not to play them. In TSW Funcom created "Hello Kitty" cut scenes; your avatar's lips don't move. While cut scenes can break immersion, at least I don't have an annoying voice representing me. That's a plus!
I also prefer the combat in TSW to SW:TOR. The 7 active and 7 passive attacks and abilities based on the two weapons equipped is similar to that found in Guild Wars 2. I should add that I'm equipping blade/assault rifle in TSW and I was playing smuggler/imperial agent in SW:TOR so perhaps the different combat styles account for part of this. But I've never had a mob stay standing for 2-3 seconds after I killed it in TSW like I did in SW:TOR.
The biggest draw for me is the puzzles. Star Wars: The Old Republic has jumping puzzles to get datacrons but that's really about all I saw. I'm only on Solomon Island in TSW but in addition to all the jumping puzzles to get to the honeycomb lore icons I've negotiated a booby-trapped laser maze, cracked a password on a smart phone and hacked into a computer. I currently have a mission to investigate a series of murders that requires using the Internet. Now I just need to avoid all the spoiler sites.
I should add one additional difference that is rather important. While Star Wars: The Old Republic is pretty family friendly The Secret World has an ESRB rating of M due to "Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence."
With the puzzles, rating and genre (modern day horror) The Secret World has all the characteristics of a niche game that will never pose a threat to the likes of World of Warcraft. But I've played Eve Online for over three years so I know that niche does not mean bad. The question now is what is Funcom's expectations for the game. Before launch I thought they expected a niche game to put up Guild Wars 2 numbers. Hopefully the change to the business model will allow TSW to last a long, long time.
I'm often amazed at the reactions to the game and wonder what would have happened if the game launched with the same buy-to-play model as Guild Wars 2. I work with a DUST bunny who's never played a subscription MMO but now that TSW has dropped the sub he's ready to go. Even the prospect of buying monthly DLCs doesn't phase him. That's because the game harkens back to the days of puzzle solving.
When I first heard of the game I thought the intellectual challenges might appeal to Eve players. I found out on Twitter that Seismic Stan loves the game and Sugar Kyle was persuaded to try it out. Yes, Sugar started a second blog for her non-Eve writings. So I do have some other opinions about the game to let me know I'm not completely crazy.
First is that I really think that The Secret World was really influenced by the design philosophy at EA, especially Star Wars: The Old Republic. The two biggest similarities between SW:TOR and TSW is the single-player feel of playing the game, at least so far, and the vast use of cut scenes. I would say that the developers in Norway looked at SW:TOR, figured story, the famed "fourth pillar" of game design, was the next big thing and decided they needed to make the game similar in order to ride the wave. Instead the wave is a tide going out to sea.
Next, I think that The Secret World is in a better position to recover from a rough start than SW:TOR. The EA/Bioware free-to-play formula more resembles a trial pushing people to subscribe while Funcom is emulating ArenaNet's business model with Guild Wars 2. I also wonder if EA and Funcom had any conflicts over the business model. I only think that because when The Secret World launched Xfire listed EA as the game's publisher and now Xfire lists Funcom as the publisher. Did something occur I don't know about?
Apart from the payment model, I also think that The Secret World is a higher quality game. On the graphics scale, TSW is closer to Eve Online while SW:TOR is closer to World of Warcraft. The Secret World is just pretty. At this point I also have to mention the cut scenes. In SW:TOR the voice acting for some gender/class combinations just led me not to play them. In TSW Funcom created "Hello Kitty" cut scenes; your avatar's lips don't move. While cut scenes can break immersion, at least I don't have an annoying voice representing me. That's a plus!
I also prefer the combat in TSW to SW:TOR. The 7 active and 7 passive attacks and abilities based on the two weapons equipped is similar to that found in Guild Wars 2. I should add that I'm equipping blade/assault rifle in TSW and I was playing smuggler/imperial agent in SW:TOR so perhaps the different combat styles account for part of this. But I've never had a mob stay standing for 2-3 seconds after I killed it in TSW like I did in SW:TOR.
The biggest draw for me is the puzzles. Star Wars: The Old Republic has jumping puzzles to get datacrons but that's really about all I saw. I'm only on Solomon Island in TSW but in addition to all the jumping puzzles to get to the honeycomb lore icons I've negotiated a booby-trapped laser maze, cracked a password on a smart phone and hacked into a computer. I currently have a mission to investigate a series of murders that requires using the Internet. Now I just need to avoid all the spoiler sites.
 |
| Amazing what you find when you hack a computer |
I should add one additional difference that is rather important. While Star Wars: The Old Republic is pretty family friendly The Secret World has an ESRB rating of M due to "Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence."
With the puzzles, rating and genre (modern day horror) The Secret World has all the characteristics of a niche game that will never pose a threat to the likes of World of Warcraft. But I've played Eve Online for over three years so I know that niche does not mean bad. The question now is what is Funcom's expectations for the game. Before launch I thought they expected a niche game to put up Guild Wars 2 numbers. Hopefully the change to the business model will allow TSW to last a long, long time.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Bad Voice Acting Made Me Do It
This weekend I didn't spend much time in Eve. Most of my Eve time was spent watching the New Eden Open, listening to Arydanika's interview of CCP Fozzie on Voices from the Void #60 or doing a research project. So when I logged into games this weekend, I chose Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Guild Wars 2 isn't a stretch because I've been playing the ArenaNet game for a few hours a week but I logged into SW:TOR to see if the free-to-play implementation is as bad as I've heard. One thing they both have in common is some bad voice acting.
Why is the voice acting important? Because I wound up playing female characters in both. Now, I do have a history of playing female characters. In EverQuest 2 I played a female wood elf because I really wanted to play a wood elf ranger. But when I rolled a male wood elf, the character looked so much like a female that I decided to just go ahead and roll a female character. When I went back to take a look at World of Warcraft, I rolled blood elf females because they looked like they could easily beat up their metrosexual male counterparts. At least in Eve Online I didn't create a female pilot because of the way the men looked. I was creating a CEO for my personal corporation and since the lore states that Vherokior women are very good at business I decided to go that route.
I really wanted to play a male Imperial Agent in SW:TOR. The thought of the whole cold blooded secret agent with a British accent concept is really appealing. Too bad that when I played a male Imperial Agent before the game became free-to-play that the actor's voice just drove me crazy. He sounds like a giant prick. So I currently have a level 3 female Imperial Agent with a voice that sounds the way I think a secret agent should sound. The actress who does the voice, Jo Wyatt, also does the voice for the female Hawke in Dragon Age 2. Maybe I should pick up that game instead of continuing with SW:TOR.
Speaking of bad voice acting, I just have to say that Guild Wars 2, while a game I'm enjoying, does have some really bad voice acting. I deleted the first character I rolled, a male Asura Engineer, because I just couldn't stand the sound of my character's voice after 5 minutes. I wound up playing a female human ranger because while her voice is sometimes annoying, at least I don't relate the voice as coming from me.
I really like the concept of story and voice acting in video games. I am, however, beginning to despise voice acting in MMOs. When the voice acting drives me away from content, that's when I start getting irritated with a game.
Why is the voice acting important? Because I wound up playing female characters in both. Now, I do have a history of playing female characters. In EverQuest 2 I played a female wood elf because I really wanted to play a wood elf ranger. But when I rolled a male wood elf, the character looked so much like a female that I decided to just go ahead and roll a female character. When I went back to take a look at World of Warcraft, I rolled blood elf females because they looked like they could easily beat up their metrosexual male counterparts. At least in Eve Online I didn't create a female pilot because of the way the men looked. I was creating a CEO for my personal corporation and since the lore states that Vherokior women are very good at business I decided to go that route.
I really wanted to play a male Imperial Agent in SW:TOR. The thought of the whole cold blooded secret agent with a British accent concept is really appealing. Too bad that when I played a male Imperial Agent before the game became free-to-play that the actor's voice just drove me crazy. He sounds like a giant prick. So I currently have a level 3 female Imperial Agent with a voice that sounds the way I think a secret agent should sound. The actress who does the voice, Jo Wyatt, also does the voice for the female Hawke in Dragon Age 2. Maybe I should pick up that game instead of continuing with SW:TOR.
Speaking of bad voice acting, I just have to say that Guild Wars 2, while a game I'm enjoying, does have some really bad voice acting. I deleted the first character I rolled, a male Asura Engineer, because I just couldn't stand the sound of my character's voice after 5 minutes. I wound up playing a female human ranger because while her voice is sometimes annoying, at least I don't relate the voice as coming from me.
I really like the concept of story and voice acting in video games. I am, however, beginning to despise voice acting in MMOs. When the voice acting drives me away from content, that's when I start getting irritated with a game.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Disappointed EA Turns Star Wars: The Old Republic Free To Play
"We couldn’t be more pleased with how the diversity of our business allows us to make up for a miss on one franchise with a big hit on another."Electronic Arts held its earnings call for the first quarter of FY 2013 yesterday. The call explains why Star Wars: The Old Republic is going free-to-play. The news was not all bad, as EA announced that SW:TOR drove subscriptions, advertising, and other digital revenue up by 69% compared to Q1 2012. Just about everything else concerning SW:TOR was bad, though.
- Frank Gibeau, President - EA Labels, Q1 2013 Earnings Conference Call
Of course, everything is not rosy for Electronic Arts as a whole. Here is how EA's CEO John Riccitiello started off his portion of the presentation to investors:
"EA delivered a solid performance in our first FY13 period, hitting EPS guidance for the quarter. The EPS loss of $0.41 cents was at the high-end of our guidance and a penny ahead of the Street consensus. The quarter was marked by a series of puts and takes that reflected the strength and diversity of our business across multiple brands, channels, business models and geographies.Losing 41 cents a share is good? EA really needed SW:TOR to come through for them. The results instead were "disappointing". If I read the numbers right, Ken Barker, EA's Chief Accounting Officer, indicated that SW:TOR is expected to bring into EA's coffers about $55 million less in FY 2013 than originally expected (p. 5).
"The disappointing results of Star Wars: The Old Republic were largely offset by a powerful performance from Battlefield 3 Premium service – although revenue-recognition rules will push this very significant EPS driver into our fourth quarter." (p. 2)
Frank Gibeau, quoted at the beginning of the post, spelled out the future of SW:TOR to the investors on the call:
"Although it launched well, subscriptions have been on a declining trajectory and have now slipped below one million. Last year we announced that the breakeven point was roughly 500,000 subscribers. And while we are well above that today, that’s not good enough. The message from players exiting the game is clear – 40 percent say they were turned off by the monthly subscription. And many indicated they would come back if we offered a free-to-play model.Outside of the call we discovered the name of SW:TOR's new executive producer. The original executive producer, Rich Vogel, left the company on 17 July. In the Executive Producer's letter to the players on the official forums, we learned his replacement is Jeff Hickman, the original producer for Warhammer Online.
"Our plan now is to pivot and provide a two-tiered pricing plan which will make the game more accessible and grow the audience. The new pricing will go into effect in November.
"The first tier is a Premium Players membership for Star Wars fans who want everything the game has to offer. For $15 a month, Premium Players will receive comprehensive access to the game plus monthly infusions of in-game currency which can be used for boosts, customization and for moving more quickly through each level.
"The second tier is a free-to-play option which allows consumers to experience the first 50 levels at no charge, but with some restrictions on content and advanced player features. Upgrades to the experience can be purchased with in-game currency. Players will move at their own speed and comfort level. If and when they’re ready, they can easily switch to the Premium tier.
"Additionally, we are introducing new pricing next week in North America and Europe. Beginning August 6, Star Wars: The Old Republic will retail for $14.99 – essentially offering the first month free." (p. 7)
I looked at the options chart between subscribers and free-to-play and I wasn't that impressed. The first person who responded to the Executive Producer's letter may have said it best:
"F2P till level 50?. Congrats you've just killed swtor."SW:TOR is a game that was designed for a player to solo to 50 and enjoy the leveling experience. Unless EA does something odious like only allow speeders to those who subscribe, I don't really see anyone needing to pay. Of course, I did subscribe to the game so I'll be getting some of the new cash coins if I ever go back. Going F2P is an enticement and I did like the stories. But I just get the feeling that EA will be one of the few companies to screw up the transition to F2P.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Digital Dozen: 17 July 2012
The rankings of the top twelve MMORPGs as determined by the players
of the Xfire community from play on Sunday, 15 July 2012. For more
details about the methodology, click here. Historical data can be found here.
Total MMORPG hours played Sunday: 135,477
| Rank | Prev Week | Game | Score | Hours Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | 55.1 | 55,139 |
| 2 | 2 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | 10.0 | 10,015 |
| 3 | 3 | The Secret World | 6.3 | 6,317 |
| 4 | 4 | Aion | 5.2 | 5,200 |
| 5 | 5 | Eve Online | 4.4 | 4,368 |
| 6 | 6 | Metin 2 | 3.7 | 3,744 |
| 7 | 7 | Lord of the Rings Online | 3.4 | 3,404 |
| 8 | 10 | Maple Story | 2.7 | 2,735 |
| 9 | 8 | APB: Reloaded | 2.5 | 2,549 |
| 10 | 9 | Tera | 2.5 | 2,475 |
| 11 | NR | Star Trek Online | 2.2 | 2,199 |
| 12 | 11 | Need For Speed World | 2.0 | 2,000 |
The Xfire community posted another increase in the amount of hours spent playing MMORPGs last week. Sunday's 2.3% increase was the fourth increase in a row. The big gainers percentage-wise were Star Trek Online (+60.5%), Star Wars: The Old Republic (+19.2%) and Maple Story (+13.5%). For the first time in a long time no game saw a double-digit drop in time played on Sunday, although Tera's drop of 7.7% led all losers.
No one can resist the power...: Since falling to its all-time low on 10 June, Star Wars: The Old Republic has bounced back with a 26.8% gain in time played in the past 5 weeks. The increase began on the heels of the announcement of free server transfers in response to howling from the player base about dead servers. However last week's big jump was probably due to the new free trial that allows players to play all 8 character classes up to level 15 plus allowing returning players to return to the game for 7 days beginning 10 July.
I would like to think that SWTOR is healthy, but remember the last big givaway occurred three weeks before EA announced their earnings report for their 2012 fiscal year. Isn't the Q1 earnings call due in about 3 weeks? Coincidence? I suspect that on the call investors will hear the term "active accounts" instead of "subscribers" to discuss the number of players in SWTOR.
Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend: Watch the number of hours played for every game drop next week as ArenaNet holds the third beta weekend for Guild Wars 2. The last beta weekend saw the Xfire numbers top ten thousand hours played on 10 June. With the Sylvari and Asura as playable races this coming Sunday expect GW2 to post similar numbers.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The Digital Dozen: 29 May 2012
The rankings of the top twelve MMORPGs as determined by the players
of the Xfire community from play on Sunday, 27 May 2012. For more
details about the methodology, click here. Historical data can be found here.
Total MMORPG hours played Sunday:120,053
The Free Month Is Over, Part 1: The game that saw the largest drop in interest on Sunday was Blue Hole Studio's Tera. Launched on 1 May, Sunday was the last day those who purchased the game at launch would get to play before playing a subscription fee. Apparently players who had already made their decision to not renew also stopped playing. The biggest beneficiary of this trend appears to be the free-to-play Korean import Aion.
| Rank | Prev Week | Game | Score | Hours Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | 52.9 | 44,900 |
| 2 | 2 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | 9.7 | 8,214 |
| 3 | 4 | Aion | 7.8 | 6,611 |
| 4 | 5 | Eve Online | 5.6 | 4,756 |
| 5 | 3 | Tera | 5.3 | 4,500 |
| 6 | 7 | Metin 2 | 3.7 | 3,152 |
| 7 | 8 | APB: Reloaded | 3.5 | 3,009 |
| 8 | 6 | Lord of the Rings Online | 3.4 | 2,855 |
| 9 | 9 | Guild Wars | 2.5 | 2,123 |
| 10 | 10 | Need For Speed World | 2.0 | 1,709 |
| 11 | 12 | Maple Story | 1.9 | 1,573 |
| 12 | 11 | Star Trek Online | 1.7 | 1,479 |
Overall,
the Xfire gaming community spent 5.9% fewer hours playing MMORPGs than
it did the week before. The week's big gainers in terms of hours played
were Eve Online (+19.6%) and Aion (+15.3%). The week's big losers were
Tera (-33.9%), Star Trek Online (-23.4%) and Star Wars: The Old
Republic (-18.3%).
Setting The Universe On Fire: CCP's Eve Online led the Digital Dozen with a 19.6% gain in the number of hours played based on the strength of the launch of Inferno, the game's 17th free expansion. While CCP faces player discontent over the new unified inventory feature, players still showed an interest in the game, with the actual server numbers from Eve Offline
showing an average concurrent user increase of 3.6% over the previous
Sunday. Will Eve suffer from a post-expansion drop-off next week or
will the end of Hulkageddon V yesterday combined with damage control efforts on the unified inventory keep the numbers high?
The Free Month Is Over, Part 1: The game that saw the largest drop in interest on Sunday was Blue Hole Studio's Tera. Launched on 1 May, Sunday was the last day those who purchased the game at launch would get to play before playing a subscription fee. Apparently players who had already made their decision to not renew also stopped playing. The biggest beneficiary of this trend appears to be the free-to-play Korean import Aion.
The Free Month Is Over, Part 2: The failure cascade for Star Wars: The Old Republic continues after a week that saw layoffs at Bioware's Austin studio,
the home for SW:TOR's development and customer relations staff. For
the first time, the Xfire community failed to play SW:TOR for at least
10,000 hours on a Sunday and the game recorded its first Digital Dozen
score of under 10.0. The near-term future looks grim as this was the
first Sunday after the expiration of the free 30 days of game time
that was granted to all accounts containing either a level 50 character
or having a legacy level of 6. I believe that the granting of the free
game time was an effort to make the subscription numbers look good for the end of year conference call and that players will stop playing in greater numbers over the course of June.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The Digital Dozen: 22 May 2012
The rankings of the top twelve MMORPGs as determined by the players of the Xfire community from play on Sunday, 20 May 2012. For more details about the methodology, click here. Historical data can be found here.
Total MMORPG hours played Sunday:127,605
| Rank | Prev Week | Game | Score | Hours Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | 52.5 | 48,235 |
| 2 | 2 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | 10.9 | 10,051 |
| 3 | 3 | Tera | 7.4 | 6,813 |
| 4 | 4 | Aion | 6.2 | 5,735 |
| 5 | 5 | Eve Online | 4.3 | 3,977 |
| 6 | 8 | Lord of the Rings Online | 3.6 | 3,302 |
| 7 | 6 | Metin 2 | 3.2 | 2,976 |
| 8 | 7 | APB:Reloaded | 3.0 | 2,799 |
| 9 | 9 | Guild Wars | 2.6 | 2,433 |
| 10 | 10 | Need For Speed World | 2.1 | 1,934 |
| 11 | 12 | Star Trek Online | 2.1 | 1,930 |
| 12 | 11 | Maple Story | 1.9 | 1,705 |
Diablo 3: To say that Diablo 3 had an impact on the gaming world last week is an understatement. Not only did the number of hours the Xfire community played MMORPGs drop 16.8%, but the Xfire community played Diablo 3 over 40,000 hours more than it did all MMORPGs combined. The big losers were Aion (-28%), World of Warcraft (-21.2%) and Star Wars: The Old Republic (-21.1%).
One Ring To Rule Them All: Only one game in The Digital Dozen managed to buck the trend and actually see playtime rise. Lord of the Rings Online, on the strength of the release of Update 7: Shades of the Past, last Monday, managed to pull of a 3.6% gain over the previous Sunday. That gives hope for games like Eve Online, with Inferno launching today, and SW:TOR with patch 1.3 due out in June/July, that Diablo 3 will not bury all games for months to come.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
EA's Fuzzy Math
Looking at the performance of Star Wars: The Old Republic, EA should feel pretty good. The MMORPG with the second highest subscriber numbers (after World of Warcraft) in the west. 1.3 million subscribers after four months, which makes it the most successful launch in MMO history. But put into context, the numbers aren't so good. Looking at the coverage from the business press indicates that SW:TOR is dragging down the price of EA stock, which fell 5% in after hours trading Monday.
Reuters (via CNBC) - EA loses Star Wars users, shares tumble:
Reuters (via CNBC) - EA loses Star Wars users, shares tumble:
Electronic Arts lost 400,000 subscribers of "Star Wars: The Old Republic" in the fourth quarter, dealing a blow to its efforts to rely on the new game for growth and sending the game maker's shares down as much as 10 percent.
Ian Sherr, WSJ's MarketBeat - Electronic Arts Shares Pounded on Weak Outlook:EA has poured more money and firepower into "Star Wars: The Old Republic" than it has any game in its 30-year history. Wall Street is closely watching to see if the game can succeed, since it could bring EA riches for years to come. If it struggles, EA's earnings will be hurt in future quarters.
As if the outlook on its own wasn’t bad enough, the sixth bullet point on the front page of the results included another bad nugget: subscribers to the company’s “Star Wars: The Old Republic” were below expectations.Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch - EA sales beat targets; ‘Star Wars’ takes hit:
The game, released in December, had 1.7 million subscribers at the end of the holidays; now, it has 1.3 million, meaning it’s a slow and likely hard slog to compete with Activision’s “World of Warcraft” and its massive base of 10 million subscribers.
The stock had already slumped more than 26% since the first of the year — mostly on worries about growth of the new franchise that is one of the company’s biggest bets in trying to expand its digital business. The shares closed the regular session up fractionally at $15.13.
“In terms of the quarter, they met expectations,” said Colin Sebastian of Robert W. Baird, adding “but I don’t think anyone was expecting a 400,000 decline in ‘Star Wars’ subscribers.” ...
“The trend is clearly downward, and for an MMO like this, you don’t want to see a decline this early on,” Sebastian said.Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said the numbers for “Star Wars” during the quarter suggest the game might “level off” at the 1-million-subscriber mark, compared to some earlier estimates of 1.5 million subscribers, “so the franchise is far less valuable.”He added, though, that the current valuation of EA’s stock is “ridiculously cheap.”Analysts were expecting EA to end the recent quarter with about 1.6 million active subscribers — defined as those paying for subscriptions along with players who are still in the free month of trials after buying the game.
Given the expectations of investors, EA leadership's reluctance to disclose the subscription numbers is understandable. But did they feed into unrealistic expectations? On the EA Q3 2012 earnings call on 1 Februrary, EA announced that it had sold 2 million copies of SW:TOR and had 1.7 million subscribers. This was right at the end of the first free month those who pre-ordered the game received.
The good news continued as EA CEO John Riccitiello announced at the 2012 Wedbush Conference on 9 March that at the end of February that SW:TOR still retained almost 1.7 million active subscribers, although MMOData was less optimistic and put the number closer to 1.5 million. But one attendee, Cowen & Company analyst Doug Creutz, actually forcast 2 million subscribers for SW:TOR by the end of June 2012.
As March turned to April and player discontent about low population levels on many of the SW:TOR surfaced, the outlook began to dim. The same Doug Creutz who predicted 2 million subscriptions by June 2012 lowered his long-term outlook and caused a ruckus by predicting a subscription base of 1.25 million by March 2013. He also stated that the 1.7 million subscriptions announced on 1 February would be the high-water mark for the game. EA fought back to dispel the rumors of a falloff of subscriptions. SW:TOR's lead writer, Daniel Erickson, told PC Gamer in an interview published 23 April that SW:TOR was not experiencing a drop in subscriptions but just a falloff in players logging in during peak hours. That was the official explanation for the light server loads and the reason that Bioware was considering server mergers. So two weeks before the Q4 2012 earnings call the official line was that SW:TOR still had around 1.7 million subscribers.
EA/Bioware did a lot of things to increase subscription numbers, but perhaps the most ethically questionable move was the granting of 30 days free game time to all accounts with a level 50 character as part of the launch of patch 1.2. The incentive wasn't questionable because Bioware made a public relations blunder by stating that players with a level 50 character were its "most valued players". The reason is that the move artificially inflated the subscription numbers reported on Monday's earnings call.
Why do I say that? Because by giving the 30 free days, players who were about to let their subscriptions expire then counted as active subscriptions. I believe a large percentage of players who preordered the game chose the 3-month subscription model. Those subscriptions were originally due to run out on 18 April, although that was extended a couple of days due to server/patching issues. By handing out the free time, EA locked in those players to be subscribed past the earnings call, thus inflating the numbers. How much was added? I don't know, but Daniel Erickson's comments indicate that a lot of players had just stopped playing even though they were still subbed.
I have read many argue, especially on the SW:TOR forums, that the above logic is incorrect because EA would be reporting the numbers as of 31 March, the actual end of the financial quarter. That is simply incorrect. EA's interim CFO Ken Barker stated on the call Monday:
The good news continued as EA CEO John Riccitiello announced at the 2012 Wedbush Conference on 9 March that at the end of February that SW:TOR still retained almost 1.7 million active subscribers, although MMOData was less optimistic and put the number closer to 1.5 million. But one attendee, Cowen & Company analyst Doug Creutz, actually forcast 2 million subscribers for SW:TOR by the end of June 2012.
As March turned to April and player discontent about low population levels on many of the SW:TOR surfaced, the outlook began to dim. The same Doug Creutz who predicted 2 million subscriptions by June 2012 lowered his long-term outlook and caused a ruckus by predicting a subscription base of 1.25 million by March 2013. He also stated that the 1.7 million subscriptions announced on 1 February would be the high-water mark for the game. EA fought back to dispel the rumors of a falloff of subscriptions. SW:TOR's lead writer, Daniel Erickson, told PC Gamer in an interview published 23 April that SW:TOR was not experiencing a drop in subscriptions but just a falloff in players logging in during peak hours. That was the official explanation for the light server loads and the reason that Bioware was considering server mergers. So two weeks before the Q4 2012 earnings call the official line was that SW:TOR still had around 1.7 million subscribers.
EA/Bioware did a lot of things to increase subscription numbers, but perhaps the most ethically questionable move was the granting of 30 days free game time to all accounts with a level 50 character as part of the launch of patch 1.2. The incentive wasn't questionable because Bioware made a public relations blunder by stating that players with a level 50 character were its "most valued players". The reason is that the move artificially inflated the subscription numbers reported on Monday's earnings call.
Why do I say that? Because by giving the 30 free days, players who were about to let their subscriptions expire then counted as active subscriptions. I believe a large percentage of players who preordered the game chose the 3-month subscription model. Those subscriptions were originally due to run out on 18 April, although that was extended a couple of days due to server/patching issues. By handing out the free time, EA locked in those players to be subscribed past the earnings call, thus inflating the numbers. How much was added? I don't know, but Daniel Erickson's comments indicate that a lot of players had just stopped playing even though they were still subbed.
I have read many argue, especially on the SW:TOR forums, that the above logic is incorrect because EA would be reporting the numbers as of 31 March, the actual end of the financial quarter. That is simply incorrect. EA's interim CFO Ken Barker stated on the call Monday:
"Let me provide you with an update on Star Wars. Through the end of the quarter approximately 2.4 million units have sold through. In our last call we indicated that we had 1.7 million active subscribers, and as of the end of April, we now have 1.3 million, with a substantial portion of the decrease due to casual and trial players cycling out of the subscriber base, driving up people who are all percentage of paying subscribers. We have already launched a number of initiatives designed to growth subscriptions. Initial responses have been positive and we are encouraged by the gaming community's reaction." [emphasis mine]Based on other statements on the call, the future numbers for SW:TOR can't be good as EA is minimizing the importance of the game on the company's bottom line. I thought this statement from EA CEO John Riccitiello was telling:
"First off, Star Wars' performance right now is very much in line with our original assumptions and the assumptions in where we are guiding folks to over the last couple of years. Where that puts it in our portfolio is, in terms of profitability from a franchise, it's in our top 10 but it is not in our top 5. So as a business contributor, while important, it is not as important as Medal of Honor or Battlefield or FIFA or Madden or the Sims or SimCity but it is more important than Tiger Woods PGA Golf."If EA leadership thought that SW:TOR was going to have a big boost in subscriptions I know they would tout that number. A figure of 2 million subs probably means a sustained income of approximately $25 million a month. Instead, analysts are predicting half that amount. I would not be surprised if that number falls to 800,000 by the end of the year. For a normal MMORPG, a subscription base of 800,000 would translate into a very successful game. But for the estimated $200 million in development costs EA/Bioware sank into Star Wars: The Old Republic? Even 1 million spells disappointment, at least to investors.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The Digital Dozen: 8 May 2012
The rankings of the top twelve MMORPGs as determined by the players of the Xfire community from play on Sunday, 6 May 2012. For more details about the methodology, click here. Historical data can be found here.
Total MMORPG hours played Sunday:160,298
| Rank | Prev Week | Game | Score | Hours Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | 52.6 | 63,959 |
| 2 | 2 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | 12.8 | 15,519 |
| 3 | 9 | Tera | 7.4 | 9,039 |
| 4 | 3 | Aion | 6.9 | 8,367 |
| 5 | 5 | Eve Online | 3.9 | 4,728 |
| 6 | 10 | Guild Wars | 3.4 | 4,172 |
| 7 | 6 | Lord Of The Rings Online | 2.9 | 3,539 |
| 8 | 7 | Metin 2 | 2.8 | 3,418 |
| 9 | 8 | APB: Reloaded | 2.6 | 3,197 |
| 10 | 11 | Need For Speed World | 2.0 | 2,379 |
| 11 | 12 | Star Trek Online | 1.4 | 1,729 |
| 12 | NR | Vindictus | 1.3 | 1,612 |
MMOPRGs saw a decrease of 10.4% in the number of hours played by the Xfire community over the previous week.
Tera Launches: Tera's full launch was 1 May and the game quickly rose to the #3 spot on The Digital Dozen. The biggest losers seem to be World of Warcraft as WoW tourists visited a new game and RIFT, which dropped off the list two weeks ago and will struggle to regain a spot.
EA announces new SW:TOR subscription number: On the EA Q4 2012 earnings call yesterday the game publisher announced that subscriptions for Star Wars: The Old Republic had fallen to 1.3 million at the end of April from 1.7 million at the end of January.
 |
| SW:TOR lost 23% of its subscribers during this time |
While the number of subscriptions declined by approximately 23%, the hours played by Xfire members declined by 61% over the same period. As I speculated 3 weeks ago, I think part of the discrepancy between the two figures is that EA was doing things like giving out 30 days of free game time to people likely to unsubscribe at the end of April in order to keep the subscription numbers as high as possible.
For last week, SW:TOR saw the number of hours play decline another 10.7% over the previous week.
The Hulkageddon Effect: This week is the first week I have both the Xfire data and Eve Offline data for the Eve Online player-run event Hulkageddon V. During this event players try to destroy as many mining ships as possible. Of course, the players who fly those mining ships don't like that. One theory is that miners will sit out the event and not even log into the game. In that case we should see a big decrease in both the number of hours played by Xfire members and the actual average number of players logged into Eve as posted on Eve Offline. I now have numbers for 29 April, the first day of Hulkageddon V. Now begins the test. How well does Xfire reflect concurrency trends in Eve Online?
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| Xfire vs Reality |
The graph shows the available data from 1 April to 6 May. At the beginning of April the Xfire numbers to not track well with the actual average number of players online because of the technical glitch that added 1 hour to every player on 8 April. But by the end of the month the Xfire numbers started tracking closer to reality. In fact, for the first day of Hulkageddon V, the numbers tracked a lot closer than I thought they would. Comparing 22 April to 29 April, the number of hours played by Xfire members declined 3.9% while the average number of players actually logged into Eve declined by 3.3%. If the trend continues, the average number of players online on Sunday should have stayed steady or increased slightly as the Xfire numbers increase by almost 1% this past week.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Digital Dozen: 24 April 2012
The rankings of the top twelve MMORPGs as determined by the players of the Xfire community from play on Sunday, 22 April 2012. For more details about the methodology, click here. Historical data can be found here.
Total MMORPG hours played Sunday:175,127
| Rank | Prev Week | Game | Score | Hours Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | 55.9 | 74,254 |
| 2 | 2 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | 16.2 | 21,595 |
| 3 | 3 | Aion | 7.4 | 9,812 |
| 4 | 4 | Eve Online | 3.7 | 4,876 |
| 5 | 8 | APB:Reloaded | 3.0 | 4,044 |
| 6 | 5 | Lord Of The Rings Online | 2.8 | 3,692 |
| 7 | 7 | Metin 2 | 2.5 | 3,258 |
| 8 | 6 | Guild Wars | 2.2 | 2,898 |
| 9 | 11 | Need For Speed World | 1.9 | 2,463 |
| 10 | 10 | Rift | 1.7 | 2,263 |
| 11 | 9 | Star Trek Online | 1.4 | 1,903 |
| 12 | 12 | Maple Story | 1.4 | 1,864 |
Time to drive: In a week that saw a drop of 8% in overall MMORPG hours played by Xfire members, two games in the Digital Dozen saw double-digit gains. APB:Reloaded saw a 40.4% jump based on the release of version 1.7 plus the give-a-way of a 3-day premium code to make up for the server issues upon launch. Need For Speed World saw an 11.4% increase in time played following the release of the 2010 BMW M6 Coupé plus a 30% off sale in the cash shop.
Luster fades quickly: Two games that experienced gains on the 15th, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Aion, saw those gains evaporate Sunday. Despite players trying to get that free month of play and another free weekend for new players, the Bioware offering saw almost all its gains from patch 1.2 disappear as its hours dropped 13.7%. Aion did see the gains from the Ascension launch disappear plus more as the game saw a drop of 15.1% in hours played.
Beta Madness: With all the games that will come out this spring and summer, open betas are all around. This weekend saw two open beta weekends of significance, Tera and Diablo III. Tera managed to pull 1,585 hours on Sunday, indicating that it may debut on the Digital Dozen on the first Sunday of May. The other beta, Diablo III, attracted 38,581 hours and probably contributed to the 9.5% decline in the hours played in World of Warcraft Sunday.
Beta Madness: With all the games that will come out this spring and summer, open betas are all around. This weekend saw two open beta weekends of significance, Tera and Diablo III. Tera managed to pull 1,585 hours on Sunday, indicating that it may debut on the Digital Dozen on the first Sunday of May. The other beta, Diablo III, attracted 38,581 hours and probably contributed to the 9.5% decline in the hours played in World of Warcraft Sunday.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The Digital Dozen: 17 April 2012
The rankings of the top twelve MMORPGs as determined by the players of the Xfire community from play on Sunday, 15 April 2012. For more details about the methodology, click here. Historical data can be found here.
Total MMORPG hours played Sunday:190,301
The weird thing is that I actually thought based on the Xfire numbers that SW:TOR had finally reached a plateau and was stabilizing around 15,000 - 17,000 hours played on weeknights and people were just less excited about playing on the weekend. SW:TOR had since the beginning seen a higher number of hours played per person than the average game. I just saw the hours on the weekends finally getting down to MMORPG norms. I planned to write an analysis similar to this last week but then Xfire had the issue where it added one hour to everyone's playtime and I decided to wait one more week to see better numbers. Or, in other words, I chickened out.
| Rank | Prev Week | Game | Score | Hours Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | 55.9 | 82,020 |
| 2 | 2 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | 17.1 | 25,028 |
| 3 | 3 | Aion | 7.9 | 11,551 |
| 4 | 4 | Eve Online | 3.4 | 5,035 |
| 5 | 5 | Lord of the Rings Online | 2.8 | 4,104 |
| 6 | 6 | Guild Wars | 2.5 | 3,682 |
| 7 | 7 | Metin 2 | 2.3 | 3,358 |
| 8 | 8 | APB:Reloaded | 2.0 | 2,881 |
| 9 | 10 | Star Trek Online | 1.6 | 2,358 |
| 10 | 12 | Rift | 1.6 | 2,342 |
| 11 | 9 | Need For Speed World | 1.5 | 2,211 |
| 12 | 11 | Maple Story | 1.4 | 2,122 |
As expected, the technical glitch I saw with the Xfire numbers was fixed and the total hours played in MMORPGs declined by 21.5%, or close to my estimate of 20%. As such I'll be doing any comparisons to 1 April instead of to last week's numbers.
Expansions Rule - If you want to see the number of hours played jump, just publish an expansion for your MMO. The two games with major gains in the Xfire charts, Star Wars: The Old Republic (16.6%) and Aion (10.5%) both launched expansions this week. Aion: Ascension brings along with free-to-play a level cap increase from 55 to 60, siege warfare that occurs 3 times a day, player housing and mounts. SW:TOR Update 1.2: Legacy brings a new planet, a new PvP war zone, UI updates and a pet. Bioware also did something controversial in awarding 30 days free playtime to those with a level 50 character on their accounts.
The reason for the controversy is that called those with max level characters its "most valued players". Yipes! Bioware eventually had to revise its offer from just those who had level 50 characters on 12 April to having either a level 50 character or have a legacy level 6 account by 22 April. With a month's free game time on the line, the average Xfire member who logged into SW:TOR on Sunday averaged 5.7 hours in the game.
Follow The Money - Why did Bioware decide to give out 30 days of playtime to those with level 50s on their accounts? If only 10% of the 1.7 million accounts reported on the Electronic Arts Q3 FY 2012 Earnings Call met the qualification, that is over $2.5 million in game time. With rumors swirling of impending layoffs and a loss of nearly 40% of its stock price since November, why give up millions of dollars in revenues?
The first is that ranked war zones are not included in the patch. This disappointed a lot of players who were eager to see this feature implemented. The offer is designed to help mitigate the disappointment and keep players from leaving the game. The second is to make the subscription numbers look as good as possible before the upcoming conference call discussing EA's Q4 2012 results. Although EA's fiscal year ended on 31 March, the call is not just about the past quarter but what the game company expects to happen in the coming quarter and year as well. If the Xfire numbers are reflective at all about the number of players who left SW:TOR, one of Bioware's major products, then the numbers may come as a shock to investors.
One way to lessen the shock could be to make update 1.2 appear more successful than it really is. If all the accounts are given 30 days of playtime, that means those accounts will still count toward the subscription numbers when the earnings call occurs. If EA can say that the decline in subscriptions is normal for MMORPGs but that Legacy is bringing in new players and that Bioware's planned content update schedule will help ensure a rising player base, then perhaps the stock price won't take too big of a hit. If I didn't know about the funny business with the free time giveaway, I would think that a perfectly reasonable analysis.
The reason for the controversy is that called those with max level characters its "most valued players". Yipes! Bioware eventually had to revise its offer from just those who had level 50 characters on 12 April to having either a level 50 character or have a legacy level 6 account by 22 April. With a month's free game time on the line, the average Xfire member who logged into SW:TOR on Sunday averaged 5.7 hours in the game.
Follow The Money - Why did Bioware decide to give out 30 days of playtime to those with level 50s on their accounts? If only 10% of the 1.7 million accounts reported on the Electronic Arts Q3 FY 2012 Earnings Call met the qualification, that is over $2.5 million in game time. With rumors swirling of impending layoffs and a loss of nearly 40% of its stock price since November, why give up millions of dollars in revenues?
The first is that ranked war zones are not included in the patch. This disappointed a lot of players who were eager to see this feature implemented. The offer is designed to help mitigate the disappointment and keep players from leaving the game. The second is to make the subscription numbers look as good as possible before the upcoming conference call discussing EA's Q4 2012 results. Although EA's fiscal year ended on 31 March, the call is not just about the past quarter but what the game company expects to happen in the coming quarter and year as well. If the Xfire numbers are reflective at all about the number of players who left SW:TOR, one of Bioware's major products, then the numbers may come as a shock to investors.
One way to lessen the shock could be to make update 1.2 appear more successful than it really is. If all the accounts are given 30 days of playtime, that means those accounts will still count toward the subscription numbers when the earnings call occurs. If EA can say that the decline in subscriptions is normal for MMORPGs but that Legacy is bringing in new players and that Bioware's planned content update schedule will help ensure a rising player base, then perhaps the stock price won't take too big of a hit. If I didn't know about the funny business with the free time giveaway, I would think that a perfectly reasonable analysis.
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| Daily Hours Played - Xfire |
Friday, April 13, 2012
EA's Compliant Media
Some within the Eve Online community believe that the mainstream gaming media has a bias for and against certain types of games. One of those types of games that supposedly receive favorable treatment are triple-A themepark MMOs. That view is being put to the test with the news surrounding yesterday's deployment of Star Wars: The Old Republic's patch 1.2.
Even though I still have 10 days on my SW:TOR subscription, I am more concerned with the programs designed to attract and retain players than with the game updates. The biggest news in this area is that EA/Bioware is giving all players with accounts containing a level 50 character 30 days of free game time. The unanswered question is: why?
I have two reasons. The first is that ranked war zones are not included in the patch. This disappointed a lot of players who were eager to see this feature implemented. The offer is designed to help mitigate the disappointment and keep players from leaving the game. The second is to make the subscription numbers look as good as possible before the upcoming conference call discussing EA's Q4 2011 results. The move to give all of those accounts with a level 50 on them ensures that they will not unsubscribe before the year-end results are announced. In February EA issued a financial forecast for the fourth quarter that came in lower than Wall Street estimates. Having stated that SW:TOR had 1.7 million subscribers on the February conference call EA needs to present the best numbers possible.
The success or failure of SW:TOR is probably the biggest MMORPG story of 2012. At this point indicators from a threadnaught on the official forums calling for server mergers to the number of hours played on Xfire declining by 71.7% from 1 January to 1 April indicate the game is facing problems. The efforts to keep the subscription numbers high for the upcoming investor conference call seem to be another indicator that the numbers are declining.
Will we see any major gaming web site cover the story? I looked at Google News and couldn't find any stories about a decline in SW:TOR's subscription numbers. In fact, the stories were about how SW:TOR is taking subscribers away from World of Warcraft. An article published on Massively.com Monday stated that SW:TOR has 2 million subscribers. That Massively article is the only place I can find a number higher than the initial report from EA. But everything I see states the numbers have really declined. Of course, I can say that because I don't have to worry about EA and Bioware shutting off access to their people for interviews. The MGM seem to tip-toe softly around the giants to avoid offending them. Or perhaps those Eve players who claim there is a bias are right after all.
Even though I still have 10 days on my SW:TOR subscription, I am more concerned with the programs designed to attract and retain players than with the game updates. The biggest news in this area is that EA/Bioware is giving all players with accounts containing a level 50 character 30 days of free game time. The unanswered question is: why?
I have two reasons. The first is that ranked war zones are not included in the patch. This disappointed a lot of players who were eager to see this feature implemented. The offer is designed to help mitigate the disappointment and keep players from leaving the game. The second is to make the subscription numbers look as good as possible before the upcoming conference call discussing EA's Q4 2011 results. The move to give all of those accounts with a level 50 on them ensures that they will not unsubscribe before the year-end results are announced. In February EA issued a financial forecast for the fourth quarter that came in lower than Wall Street estimates. Having stated that SW:TOR had 1.7 million subscribers on the February conference call EA needs to present the best numbers possible.
The success or failure of SW:TOR is probably the biggest MMORPG story of 2012. At this point indicators from a threadnaught on the official forums calling for server mergers to the number of hours played on Xfire declining by 71.7% from 1 January to 1 April indicate the game is facing problems. The efforts to keep the subscription numbers high for the upcoming investor conference call seem to be another indicator that the numbers are declining.
Will we see any major gaming web site cover the story? I looked at Google News and couldn't find any stories about a decline in SW:TOR's subscription numbers. In fact, the stories were about how SW:TOR is taking subscribers away from World of Warcraft. An article published on Massively.com Monday stated that SW:TOR has 2 million subscribers. That Massively article is the only place I can find a number higher than the initial report from EA. But everything I see states the numbers have really declined. Of course, I can say that because I don't have to worry about EA and Bioware shutting off access to their people for interviews. The MGM seem to tip-toe softly around the giants to avoid offending them. Or perhaps those Eve players who claim there is a bias are right after all.
Monday, April 9, 2012
EA: The Worst Company In America - 2012
For those who are worried about the mainstream media picking up on the Alliance Panel fiasco at Fanfest this year because of the poor reporting of the gaming media, don't be. The MSM will soon have another gaming company in their sights: Electronic Arts.
EA won the 2012 Golden Poo award from Consumerist.com as the worst company in America. EA managed to beat out Bank of America and AT&T for the title. The Consumerist had this to say about EA:
But the shine of the MSM is about to hit EA again over plans to introduce same sex romance in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The controversy is nothing new to gamers as Massively covered the Family Research Council's statement back in January. But as Forbes' Dave Thier reporting on not only the latest on the SW:TOR controversy but Bioware's damage control efforts on Mass Effect 3, I would not be surprised if other news outlets pick up the stories. Can Bill O'Reilly be far behind?
EA won the 2012 Golden Poo award from Consumerist.com as the worst company in America. EA managed to beat out Bank of America and AT&T for the title. The Consumerist had this to say about EA:
"After more than 250,000 votes, Consumerist readers ultimately decided that the type of greed exhibited by EA, which is supposed to be making the world a more fun place, is worse than Bank of America's avarice, which some would argue is the entire point of operating a bank.Speculation in the comments is that gamers upset with EA organized themselves and crashed the contest. Unfortunately for EA, the mainstream media have picked up the story. Forbes, to no great surprise, picked up the story as it definitely has the potential to affect the business community and stock prices. And this after news sources like The Guardian picked up the controversy over the ending for Mass Effect 3.
"To those who might sneer at something as 'non-essential' as a video game company winning the Worst Company In America vote: It's that exact kind of attitude that allows people to ignore the complaints as companies like EA to nickel and dime consumers to death.
"For years, while movies and music became more affordable and publishers piled on bonus content — or multiple modes of delivery — as added value to entice customers to buy, video games have continued to be priced like premium goods.
"There have even been numerous accusations that EA and its ilk deliberately hold back game content with the sole intent of charging a fee for it at a later date. It's one thing to support a game with new content that is worth the price. It's another to put out an inferior — and occasionally broken — product with the mindset of 'ah, we'll fix it later and make some money for doing so.'"
But the shine of the MSM is about to hit EA again over plans to introduce same sex romance in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The controversy is nothing new to gamers as Massively covered the Family Research Council's statement back in January. But as Forbes' Dave Thier reporting on not only the latest on the SW:TOR controversy but Bioware's damage control efforts on Mass Effect 3, I would not be surprised if other news outlets pick up the stories. Can Bill O'Reilly be far behind?
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
The Digital Dozen: 3 April 2012
The rankings of the top twelve MMORPGs as determined by the players of the Xfire community from play on Sunday, 1 April 2012. For more details about the methodology, click here.
Total MMORPG hours played Sunday: 199,903
| Rank | Prev Week | Game | Score | Hours Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | 58.4 | 86,777 |
| 2 | 2 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | 14.4 | 21,467 |
| 3 | 3 | Aion | 7.0 | 10,452 |
| 4 | 4 | Eve Online | 3.6 | 5,301 |
| 5 | 7 | Guild Wars | 2.7 | 3,963 |
| 6 | 5 | Lord of the Rings Online | 2.7 | 3,943 |
| 7 | 6 | Metin 2 | 2.3 | 3,378 |
| 8 | 8 | APB:Reloaded | 2.1 | 3,063 |
| 9 | 11 | Need For Speed World | 1.9 | 2,859 |
| 10 | 9 | Star Trek Online | 1.9 | 2,855 |
| 11 | 10 | Rift | 1.7 | 2,485 |
| 12 | 12 | Maple Story | 1.5 | 2,103 |
Supreme Destiny explained - I have refused to put Supreme Destiny on the list because I could not believe that people actually spent 15 hours a day playing the game. I have found the reason for the numbers: a rewards program!
Event Period: 2012.Needless to say Supreme Destiny will not appear on my list this year.
Rewards:(Account Single Lifetime Based)
1. 100 Hours playing SD: D Grade Weapon 63 DMG/28 Map +9 (None Ancient).
2. 300 Hours playing SD: God Weapon Ancient +9 Stateless.
3. 600 Hours playing SD: God Armor Perfect Stats +0 (4 Parts).
Special Reward:(Monthly Based):
1.The Player that achieves highest amount of hours: +12 Upgrade.
2.The Player that post the best voted screenshot will win: +1 Mount Upgrade(Max level 120).
3.The Player that post the best voted Video will win: Spirit Stone with option
Note:
1. All the Above rewards can be all achieved, it is like accumulation system, with 100% surely win.
2. The rewards can be claimed once in the account lifetime, so avoid multiple claiming requests so you do not be blocked permanent.
3. Event Rewards will be updates every month with higher amounts of hours so that the players who had won the first rewards can still continue win more and more rewards.
4. It is account restricted event, only 1 account on Supreme Destiny and Xfire can win the event.
Example:
1. If a player played 700 Hours and sends to us a QnA with the required proofs, he/she will get the first 3 rewards and if he/she was the highest one to play SD, will get the +12 upgrade.
2. If player played 300 Hours:
Once he/she reaches100 Hours playing SD, you can claim your: D Grade Weapon 63 DMG/28 Map +9 (None Ancient)
And once he/she reaches 300 Hours playing SD, you can claim your: God Weapon Ancient +9 Stateless.
The Fanfest Bounce - Last weekend was the first weekend after CCP's Fanfest and the event certainly seems to have generated enthusiasm amongst the Eve Online player base if the Xfire numbers are any judge. In a week that saw the overall time spent playing MMORPGs increase by 4.5% over the previous week, Eve's numbers jumped 9.8%. Apparently SuicideGate and the accompanying media firestorm failed to dampen enthusiasm for the internet spaceship game.
Dog Bites Man - The biggest MMO story this year continues to be how well or poorly Star Wars: The Old Republic is doing. As normal, the Bioware game saw declining playtime by the Xfire community, bucking the positive trend in MMORPGs overall. Despite the 4.5% increase in playtime, SWTOR actually saw an 8% decline in hours played. Since 1 January SWTOR has seen a 71.7% decrease in hours played.
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