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Discussion on current trends and the movement of the MMO market... How can an MMO define itself. Whether it be through pricing structure, uniqueness or content. Posts will deal with MMO's of the past, present and future.

Posted today, an article on

Kotaku

Discusses a viable money maker for Sony..and no matter how "Evil" anyone thinks Sony is, this move was phenomenal.

The trading card genre has been a major avenue of funds for MtG, WoW, White Wolf...and now we have a Virtual TCG ready to play as long as you have a Station account name (don't even have to pay for initial access)

The game is visually appealing..uses a lot of sounds and actions from EQ, and playable with others...including trading cards or even selling for real cash...

If more MMO's could find ways to differentiate themselves, they could also have value. With a stale MMO market at this time, here is a way to wake up those old players and bring new one's in.

How do YOU feel about the TCG? Let me know...sound off in comments below.

Lord of the Rings Online has proven to be a popular title. Having left LOTRO myself at the end of August, due to many various issues, I think it needs a retrospective of what went wrong. I know a lot of people love this game...but it all boils down to it's license that is loved... as playability wise, this game suffers so many issues.

I feel if some of these issues were approached, then the game could be more than an "Ok" title...and could be a WoW killer....they have the license, so why is it not taking more people away from the Blizzard behemoth??

Let me start with something simple...the UI.

At first, I LOVED the UI..."Hey, there are the ring icon's...there is the glowing eye,,,cool..."...etc....etc..

So, then I had to use it every day.....it really showed it's true colors..

Lets look at some of the features...and issues...

Note the toolbar along the bottom...looks very close to the WoW toolbar..But, first issue...it is not resizable to the resolution...so, use a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 screen size, and "Dang I cant see those icons, or read the text". Also, a lot of icons for skills would be about the same color, so you had to make sure you "memorized" your skills or else forgot which number did what...

The next issue is the font...The chat window has a wonderful resizable font...yet, the Quest log, Bags, etc...text was not sized accordingly...and again...if you use a large resolution....your squinting and calling the eye doc the next day.

Finally, Turbine came up with a solution...resizable bars...but wait...all it does is increase the actual image used and then it becomes blurry and ugly...and still no font resize or changes to font used in the quest logs..

There is a UI community (lotrointerface.com), but they are limited by what is offered. Also, you do not have the capability to add a "mod" for example (say one to watch Auctions, etc..). So, compared to WoW or EQ2 which allow quite a bit leeway with their interfaces...Turbine needs to re-look at this and maybe make some adjustments...

Let the community fix this if they wish...let the Community handle low level integration (like font control, interface hooks, etc...), and have total control of the visual look...As right now...it is not enough to make the game worth playing to deal with the hassles of the UI.

Recently I started a post on the forums titled

Tabula Rasa - NCSofts perfect Xbox 360 port

It was then noted that NCSoft has made a deal with Sony in regards to porting a title to the PS3..

Richard Garriott explains Sony-NCSoft deal

Does this scream Tabula Rasa or what? And the fact it is Richard as the mouth piece says it all.

But...what is the future for an MMO on a console? Is this a viable solution to go further down the road as MMO's mature (At least I hope they start maturing...the Copycat feel of LOTRO, GnH being a MMO clone of every other MMO...the list goes on)...and could a new model of pricing and playability breathe new life into the MMO.

I see this market clearly...Guild Wars worked well with just a controller (used an Xbox controller to play this...but had the keyboard in my lap in case I needed it.)...it could be ported easily. Tabula Rasa was 100% playable with the Xbox 360 controller with no need for the keyboard....san chat of course...but, VOIP tech allows the keyboard to disappear. So playability is a key item for these titles..

Then pricing models. Micro transactions and special items purchases...why most Koren MMO's already do this. Imagine an interface to a purchasing kiosk to buy your XP enhancers or Pets...etc. Guild Wars again is a perfect model of no fee, extra's purchasing as needed...this game would work well here.

But, lets look at the few MMO's already on console..Phantasy Star, Everquest Adventures and FFXI..... How have these fared. Phantasy Star is not a true MMO, but still has online chats, housing, group questing..but, it is hard to find any scrip numbers...anyone point me to these? FFXI...well, the PC and PS2 versions have done acceptably, but how about the 360 version.and finally...EQOA is still going strong actually..

Then the future holds AoC so far on the 360, and a new Superhero MMOG being done by Cryptic Studios of all people..

So, we do see it is viable. And something needs to be done to innovate in this market...and a new platform may be the trick. To sit back on your couch in comfort and be able to play for hours in your favorite MMO...would it not be grand?

Let me know your opinions...

I have been following some current trends in the forums lately here on MMORPG.

Discussions have evolved over two up and coming titles. Tabula Rasa and Gods and Heroes. Basically are these games which are both in line to open soon..worth your money, and that monthly fee.

First up is Tabula Rasa, set for release in October. A fast paced and furious shooter with RPG as it's main focus. Combat is fast, uses a targeting system not unlike an FPS, but dice rolls work in the background to decide if you do damage or not..Skills based like most MMO's, it also allows some crafting, loot drops are nice, and character leveling is the order of the day.

The current talk is to charge for the box (49.99?) and then a $15 a month fee. But, what does the game offer to warrant your 15 bucks a month. Is the action enough to keep your interest?

As well...a recent post was made for Gods and Heroes on it's downsizing. Their reasoning is to make a leaner, meaner development machine....or is it really..

Is this title in trouble? And then if they continue developing, is there enough in this game to warrant your hard earned bucks. Their main focus is Questing and Fighting...and as an added bonus..Minion Collection...

Uh...thats it?

Crafting? Later...PvP...maybe more evolved....Later...Housing...unsure...heck ya can't even fish...

So...your paying 15 bucks a month to keep them afloat so you can do some killing...But, besides the setting...what more does GnH offer that makes it worth it...

Why not discuss...tell me your thoughts...How would you like to see these evolve, or are they enough now to take that money you earned..

I will try to flesh this out more as we go along...but, let me know what YOU think!

Just my first post. My plan is to study current trending within the MMO market..

Whether it be in visual quality, content or the unique aspects of the game...how do these MMO's work.

I will try and concentrate on either current big name MMO's or new titles which may have something, and other should also take a look.

Stop by...you won't be disappointed!