SE stop doing the "norm"

[fusional]

Oh, it's not about what he thinks exactly, it's about what the populous sees for 2.0.
Will it really seem like anything different from the base standard? Enough to keep people attached or even interested?

then the populous either never played WoW or are overreacting based on an in irrational internalized bias. i raided in WoW for years and nothing i've seen in the concept art, screenshots, videos, live letters or any other media has even begun to strike me as overly similar to a game i'm deeply familiar with. there are a few passing similarities, but nearly every MMO suffers from that- and it's not because they're copying WoW (as many of these elements existed before WoW), it's because they're borrowing from a set of ideas that have worked for multiple games.

most of the arguments against ARR "copying" WoW use logic like "well Borderlands uses guns and Halo uses guns therefore Borderlands is copying Halo", and it's patently ridiculous. it's just an exaggerated knee-jerk reaction based on the simple fact that WoW was referenced in the first place.

[Biggs]

And just where do you think you're going?


Oh, it's not about what he thinks exactly, it's about what the populous sees for 2.0.
Will it really seem like anything different from the base standard? Enough to keep people attached or even interested?

As much as I want to see this game become a fun success, when reading this statement, my first initial thought was "And Se's business model for 2.0 is to take things we liked from all the other FF's (and other MMO's) and add them to the game."
How completely unoriginal.

"Oh you like turkey sandwiches? And you like Spagetti with Meat Sauce? Well we are the FIRST to bring you turkey sandwiches with spagetti and meat sauce in them!! Whats not to like!? Also, keep an eye out for our expansion in 2014! Its rumored they are adding icecream!"

Thanks Gamul! Your truth telling has saddened me

[LlenCoram]

"Oh you like turkey sandwiches? And you like Spagetti with Meat Sauce? Well we are the FIRST to bring you turkey sandwiches with spagetti and meat sauce in them!! Whats not to like!? Also, keep an eye out for our expansion in 2014! Its rumored they are adding icecream!"

Actually... that sounds really good. I might have to try and make that one day.

[Teakwood]

Rokien, perhaps it is -you- who should stop doing nothing more than what the public expects of you!

[yoshikwalla]

Unlike a lot of other MMORPGs that are going towards the norm, this time it's a step up for this game, or at least some sort of base that can be built upon in the future. People need to realize that 2.0 isn't going to be some gigantic super-dooper-game - its a chance for the game to change its engine and become a solid MMO. Not making huge steps forward for the genre, just making the game work in a way that doesn't rhyme with blit. The goodness will come after that.

Ohwaitrokienthread.

...



*tapdances to the exit, stage right*

[Gramul]

Unlike a lot of other MMORPGs that are going towards the norm, this time it's a step up for this game, or at least some sort of base that can be built upon in the future. People need to realize that 2.0 isn't going to be some gigantic super-dooper-game - its a chance for the game to change its engine and become a solid MMO. Not making huge steps forward for the genre, just making the game work in a way that doesn't rhyme with blit. The goodness will come after that.

If the game can't grip people within the launch window, it won't grab them afterward. Least not without some bizarre hype bomb. The same is true of every game that has existed. MMO or not.

That's why I'm concerned that a lot of 2.0's planned content is coming out months after its release, and I'm getting the distinct feeling that they're rushing the game out again. Yes, they have a clear plan this time around, but I'm having difficulty seeing it holding outside attention throughout those months, especially when each patch thus far has been completed within a few days. But we'll see.

[TohruHonda]

Leveling is too easy in almost all games these days. I can't believe they are making it easier in 2.0. I remember playing old MMOs and taking 10+ months to hit the level caps. Or playing text based MUDs and dying so much that I would go into negative experience points. Leveling was the reason I stuck to playing these games for so long, it gave me long term goals to reach without even touching the endgame.

[pool842]

Leveling is too easy in almost all games these days. I can't believe they are making it easier in 2.0. I remember playing old MMOs and taking 10+ months to hit the level caps. Or playing text based MUDs and dying so much that I would go into negative experience points. Leveling was the reason I stuck to playing these games for so long, it gave me long term goals to reach without even touching the endgame.

Ya because that was fun are you kidding me... why is grinding fun why is 10 second spell casts fun wthh!!......

[bobbygunz]

And what's so ironic is that Yoshi was interviewed about SW:ToR and asked why it was considered to be a failure, to which Yoshi famously replied the questing system was at fault. And ... then... he... put the same thing in FFXIV: ARR!

I don't know what market research they did over at SE but if you read the message boards on websites like MMORPG.com or Massively or thisisgame or mmoculture.com or steparu.com, you really get a sense that players don't enjoy the status quo they've been fed for the past MMO generation. So you kind of have to question that decision, first of all.

On top of that, when was the last time SE announced an innovative feature? 2009?

Korean games with staffs of 50 people can create a whole engine from scratch and produce a MMO with more features in the same time SE can with a staff of 250. The first thing Yoshi should have done was fire the FFXIV team and hire some koreans.

On topic, the MMO genre (genre probably isn't even the right word, platform is probably more correct) has really been diluted in terms of how many typically "hardcore" features it has. And players are left with a vacuum in the market for which there are no contemporary offerings, so maybe capitalising on that would be a strategic decision, at least from a monetary standpoint.

Many players don't like typically hardcore features, but some do, and where's the game for those players?

[fusional]

I don't know what market research they did over at SE but if you read the message boards on websites like MMORPG.com or Massively or thisisgame or mmoculture.com or steparu.com, you really get a sense that players don't enjoy the status quo they've been fed for the past MMO generation

actually, the first thing any marketing researcher worth their salt learns is that the things any particular demographic CLAIM they want are not always the things they ACTUALLY want. ie: no matter how much people CLAIM they don't like the status quo, WoW dominates. and no matter how much people CLAIM they don't like the status quo, titles doing things differently (tera's combat, xi's open world NMs, etc) either flop outright or only appeal to a very tiny segment.

you can't just take what the layman says at face value, because they often don't actually know what they want. they only think they do... until they're presented with new/different choices.

in marketing, to get the answers and data you seek... you must first ask the right questions. and since all we have so far is a mountain of evidence contradicting everything people SAY they want... it's clear the right questions aren't being asked.

until that happens, companies just won't be able to provide the solutions/products people don't even realize they're looking for... and the cycle continues.

(and as a side note, i should mention most of those forums you listed are filled with the kind of gamer that CLAIMED guild wars 2 will be the savior of MMOs, a true revolutionary, and that every other MMO should follow in its footsteps and be f2p and the like........................... only to stop playing gw2 after a couple weeks. hard to take that terribly seriously as reliable data)