A Large-Scale Fundamental Change to EQ2 - Page 39

Edwin Ahe · 01-25-2008, 05:45 PM

Quote:

10,000,000 > 400,000.

McDonald's > all small restaurants

Britney Spears > all other musicians

Should I continue?

aduros · 01-25-2008, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illuminator

No, you can't say things like this without numbers. If the population is proven to increase by any amount, a lot of this stuff goes out the window.

400k indicates a major turnaround. Nothing that can be lampooned quite the way you're trying.

Hence the reason I was "being generous". Stop trying to avoid the issue by arguing this theoretical scenario. Gameplay will always be a greater factor in a game's success, it's been shown time and time again.

Go ahead and play your EQ3 with graphics that require computers 2 years after release to run smoothly, and ridden with bugs. I will enjoy my WoW 2 with gameplay and polish that is unrivaled in the MMO industry.

aduros · 01-25-2008, 05:49 PM

~~Double Post~~

aduros · 01-25-2008, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwin Ahe

McDonald's > all small restaurants

Britney Spears > all other musicians

Except you've completely missed the point. It's the gameplay and quality that relates to the 10,000,000. Britney spears...not so much. Try to read a post thoroughly before you reply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwin Ahe

Should I continue?

No, I'm pretty sure you've done enough.

Illuminator · 01-25-2008, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aduros

Hence the reason I was "being generous". Stop trying to avoid the issue by arguing this theoretical scenario. Gameplay will always be a greater factor in a game's success, it's been shown time and time again.

The original point is that more can be achieved by fixes than by blue-sky shit like when people say we should dump fantasy for sci-fi, blah blah blah.

Caswydian · 01-25-2008, 06:04 PM

Also remember that over 50% of WoW's numbers come from China, where the game is published by The9, and plated mostly via game cards in internet cafes. This is far more the result of aggressive marketing than any function of game design.

WoW's North American numbers are substantially less than 10,000,000, and have been fairly stagnant.

Lesdat · 01-25-2008, 06:15 PM

2.5million roughly out of North America.

*edit*
I type-o'd

aduros · 01-25-2008, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caswydian

Also remember that over 50% of WoW's numbers come from China, where the game is published by The9, and plated mostly via game cards in internet cafes. This is far more the result of aggressive marketing than any function of game design.

WoW's North American numbers are substantially less than 10,000,000, and have been fairly stagnant.

How does that hold any bearing to what's been said? EQ2 tried to penetrate the asian market (SOGA models anyone?) and failed miserably. China has roughly triple the US population, so more than 50% of subscribers makes sense. The western numbers are 2.5 mil U.S and 2 mil European. Still magnitudes higher than anything else out there.

On the US pc sales charts it ranked in at #2 #4, and #5 on the list. 3 different versions of the same game, all in the top 5 for the first week of January.

Don't forget in a subscription based game marketing means nothing if your gameplay is garbage. People will quit and your numbers will plummet. Just take EQ2 and it's eventual server merges for example. WoW's success is very much a function of it's gameplay.

Xavion · 01-26-2008, 01:57 AM

OK, a few things here...

First off, I slightly agree with what some of Aduros is saying about the numbers, sort of. Hell, today there MANY MMO's declining in numbers, but NOT because they are flocking to WoW. They are declining because new MMO's are coming out all the time now, and everyone dabs a little in this, and a little in that, until they pick one and stay, so numbers are going to be very deceiving. My guild just got many new people recently who came over from being sick or bored of Wow, and tired of waiting for Vanguard to get all fixed up.

I don't know about the asian market or any of that, but I do know that it seems to be agreed by a majority of people I know who play both EQ2 and WoW that there are far fewer younger children who play EQ2 than Wow, because WoW appeals to them more (and is much easier for them to comprehend gameplay-wise). Think about how many damned kids are in each country with a computer, and you do the math.

Just because WoW has all the numbers, it doesn't help anyone's case really and truly for which game is a better MMO or whatever rhetorical crap you want to spin. The only fact here is people play what they enjoy, and what they like is their OPINION, so let's try to remember that. Hell, I have acknowledged that by ceasing my WoW-bashing for some time now.

Oh, and all you people who are standing on the sidewalk claiming the end of EQ2 is here, get real. If EQ1 is still getting weekly updates, what makes you think SOE will drop EQ2? No, not implying the games can be compared, my point is financial. They have more than enough money to support keeping EQ2, which is still making them a profit. Hell, to expand on that point, VANGUARD is still out there, and people thought that would be scrapped a long time ago. SOE = money-grubbers...if it makes them money, it stays. EQ2 itself is doing about as well as the ton of other MMO's that have come out in the past couple years. Like I implied before, it's variety at work here as well people, not necessarily decline.

Oh, and to Ravanos, with the idea about dropping VG and EQ2 for work on a new game, and HolyMoly, who wants them to do EQ3... are you for real? You two aren't happy with the developers of these games and their work thus far, but you want the same ones to start on a new game??? Chance of that making either of you happy with your current perspective.... 10% The problem, once again, is that nobody understands.....

No game will exist that satisfies everyone's perfect expectations people!!! Let it sink in or you'll never find happiness in MMO's!!!

Wormy · 01-27-2008, 11:42 PM

It's sometimes fun to bat around ideas for the next MMO, but this isn't the thread for that. So, what large-scale change(s) could realistically be made to EQII without killing the playerbase? I can think of one hundred minor things, but I'm not sure where to go when it comes to major changes. Unless you consider fixing the damn chat tab auto-joining, which has been broke since release to be major...