If you visit the Aionsource forums, the players are very ticked off. They have an entire section for Reviews and Critiques and the entire section is negative. The one post there that was supposed to be positive on the 5 reasons Aion will dethrone WoW has also turned into a massive flame war and bicker fest. There are a few who do still enjoy it, however there is an overwhelming tone of negativity about the game in general.

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/reviews-critiques/

Most of the people I know who left WoW to play Aion have returned and can't stand the game (Aion). This is probably one of the better reviews they have there. It's one that is not designed to incite a riot, however it realistically lays out the issues with the game.

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/reviews-critiques/86313-my-long-awaited-sarcasam-review-if-youre-looking-buy-read.html

Aion had potential. It's release couldn't have been better timed since WoW has some pretty serious content issues going on. However, the game's long term success looks as though it's going to be non existent.

discuss...

Originally posted by spiritoso

If you visit the Aionsource forums, the players are very ticked off. They have an entire section for Reviews and Critiques and the entire section is negative. The one post there that was supposed to be positive on the 5 reasons Aion will dethrone WoW has also turned into a massive flame war and bicker fest. There are a few who do still enjoy it, however there is an overwhelming tone of negativity about the game in general.

 

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/reviews-critiques/

 

Most of the people I know who left WoW to play Aion have returned and can't stand the game (Aion). This is probably one of the better reviews they have there. It's one that is not designed to incite a riot, however it realistically lays out the issues with the game.

 

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/reviews-critiques/86313-my-long-awaited-sarcasam-review-if-youre-looking-buy-read.html

 

Aion had potential. It's release couldn't have been better timed since WoW has some pretty serious content issues going on. However, the game's long term success looks as though it's going to be non existent.

 

discuss...

Reading WoW's forums would give one the notion that WoW was doomed to die and everybody hated the game.

Unsurprisingly, this isn't the case. Those that are dissatisfied are often the most vocal.

The game is still thriving, new content and patches are coming down the line, and overall the game is doing very well.

Edit: You might also notice that multiple of the negative threads in that forum are from the same user.

Well they certainly do have good sales numbers, particularly when compared to the misery of last year, but then again few people did well in 2008.

It was interesting to note however that over 40% of their sales revenue came from Lineage 1 and 2, and I suspect a bulk of those customers are in the far east.

One big difference, in 2008 they published sub numbers for all their games, in 2009 that practice has come to a halt unfortunately.

The real test will be in retention.  No matter what the fans tell you, traffic has died down on the servers, especially new people joining the game.

Issues at the top (crashing during sieges)  are causing many people to quit (see Paragus's blog) so all is not happy in paradise.

Compared to the performance of L1/L2, Aion is a big hit in the West, but it ceertainly is no WOW.

Originally posted by Tykero

Originally posted by spiritoso

If you visit the Aionsource forums, the players are very ticked off. They have an entire section for Reviews and Critiques and the entire section is negative. The one post there that was supposed to be positive on the 5 reasons Aion will dethrone WoW has also turned into a massive flame war and bicker fest. There are a few who do still enjoy it, however there is an overwhelming tone of negativity about the game in general.

 

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/reviews-critiques/

 

Most of the people I know who left WoW to play Aion have returned and can't stand the game (Aion). This is probably one of the better reviews they have there. It's one that is not designed to incite a riot, however it realistically lays out the issues with the game.

 

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/reviews-critiques/86313-my-long-awaited-sarcasam-review-if-youre-looking-buy-read.html

 

Aion had potential. It's release couldn't have been better timed since WoW has some pretty serious content issues going on. However, the game's long term success looks as though it's going to be non existent.

 

discuss...

 

Reading WoW's forums would give one the notion that WoW was doomed to die and everybody hated the game.

 

Unsurprisingly, this isn't the case. Those that are dissatisfied are often the most vocal.

 

The game is still thriving, new content and patches are coming down the line, and overall the game is doing very well.

 

 

Edit: You might also notice that multiple of the negative threads in that forum are from the same user.

But if you read the WOW forums back at release, it wasn't a flame fest.  It was generally posititve when you weeded out the trolls..  

 Honestly, half the reason I bailed out of the game was because of the terrible community it adopted. 

Are you advertising your aionsource threads? After all you've just registered today and have a good knowledge about those negative threads.

Anyway, at these forums the negative outside is never negative enough...

Like they say, the broken tire always makes the most noise. Flame me if you like but i think Aion is going to be here for awhile and be a rather success.

make it short...  Aion is a money making game for NCSoft

But in the same way it not a playable game.. i think most gamers will see soon

they shutting down Dungeon Runners reason its free

Why aren't you happy that a company produced a successful  MMO?

Even if you don't particularly like Aion  - if you like the genre at all - you should want products in the genre to be successful otherwise whose going to make your favorite game?

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Originally posted by Tykero

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Originally posted by spiritoso

If you visit the Aionsource forums, the players are very ticked off. They have an entire section for Reviews and Critiques and the entire section is negative. The one post there that was supposed to be positive on the 5 reasons Aion will dethrone WoW has also turned into a massive flame war and bicker fest. There are a few who do still enjoy it, however there is an overwhelming tone of negativity about the game in general.
 
http://www.aionsource.com/forum/reviews-critiques/
 
Most of the people I know who left WoW to play Aion have returned and can't stand the game (Aion). This is probably one of the better reviews they have there. It's one that is not designed to incite a riot, however it realistically lays out the issues with the game.
 
http://www.aionsource.com/forum/reviews-critiques/86313-my-long-awaited-sarcasam-review-if-youre-looking-buy-read.html
 
Aion had potential. It's release couldn't have been better timed since WoW has some pretty serious content issues going on. However, the game's long term success looks as though it's going to be non existent.
 
discuss...

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Reading WoW's forums would give one the notion that WoW was doomed to die and everybody hated the game.
 
Unsurprisingly, this isn't the case. Those that are dissatisfied are often the most vocal.
 
The game is still thriving, new content and patches are coming down the line, and overall the game is doing very well.
 
 
Edit: You might also notice that multiple of the negative threads in that forum are from the same user.

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Flamebait, this is a lame attempt at AION bashing.

I think boxed sales is what matters the most to NCsoft. I'm sure they're very happy with the sales success they've had.

Originally posted by Caleveira

Flamebait, this is a lame attempt at AION bashing.

If nothing else, those that dislike Aion have an amazingly relentless determination for trashing the game. The passion they have for their crudade is rather impressive. 

Originally posted by LynxJSA

Originally posted by Caleveira

Flamebait, this is a lame attempt at AION bashing.

 

If nothing else, those that dislike Aion have an amazingly relentless determination for trashing the game. The passion they have for their crudade is rather impressive. 

Pfft the wow haters on these forums put anyone to shame.

Aion's major failing was their inability to create an engaging universe.  An MMO needs an immersive world that keeps you interested.  Sure, the images of angels and devils flying around in the Abyss were cool, but nothing about civilizations of the Elyos, Asmodians, or the Balaur are that fascinating.  The story is just lame.

Originally posted by Gabby-air

Originally posted by LynxJSA

Originally posted by Caleveira

Flamebait, this is a lame attempt at AION bashing.

 

If nothing else, those that dislike Aion have an amazingly relentless determination for trashing the game. The passion they have for their crudade is rather impressive. 

 

Pfft the wow haters on these forums put anyone to shame.

True :)

 Its all going to be about retention not initial sales. They are impressive. I generally loved L2 but Aion was so small compared to it that I couldnt get into it. I do hope it continues to do well though here in the west as I am in hopes they release L3 here at the same time as Korea if they think the market is receptive.

Problem is, NCSoft (like many other companies) built up the whole Aion thing to be a massive world full of wonderful story and personality. Its like when someone sets you up on a blind date, claiming the other person is this box full of wonderful, only to find out its the same boring person you went out with last week after another friend set you up with the same promises.

The whole point is to get initial sales. Thats all these companies really care about. If you can make back at least 60% of the money spent on development in the first few weeks of release, the rest will come over time through subscriptions, no matter how small the player base gets. Once the player base gets too small then they can close the game down and just write it off because they have already made back a bulk (if not more) of the cost of development. And usually by then they have a new game already prepped for launch.

These companies gauge sales as success. The players use subscription numbers. We players know that a game isnt worth playing if there is even a hint of it not lasting more than a year, so we keep looking for the game that has a bit more staying power. NCSoft knows that no matter how bad a game is or how poorly designed it is, people will always buy it, and thats what matters to them. If the players stick around for any length of time and pay subscriptions, well thats just a bonus to them.

so you created this account and your first post is to bash Aion as well as say how much returning people like WoW. geez and people wonder if WoW pays people to post negative things about other games.

Originally posted by glofish

Why aren't you happy that a company produced a successful  MMO?

 

Even if you don't particularly like Aion  - if you like the genre at all - you should want products in the genre to be successful otherwise whose going to make your favorite game?

 

 

 

 

No truer words have been spoken

AION will make money, but its certainly not a game that I feel has lived up to its hype. I got to level 28 or so to get a feel for the Abyss and promptly quit.  

Originally posted by grunt187

Originally posted by glofish

Why aren't you happy that a company produced a successful  MMO?

 

Even if you don't particularly like Aion  - if you like the genre at all - you should want products in the genre to be successful otherwise whose going to make your favorite game?

 

 

 

 

 

No truer words have been spoken

I couldnt disagree more.  The problem with games like Aion succeeding is that it reinforces a certain playstyle, graphic style, etc. and suggests to other developers that this is the model to copy and run with it.  The genre has been moving way too much to the eastern style of mmorpgs and this pushes the momentum even more.  I found nothing in Aion that I want to be repeated in any mmorpg, and you can damn well bet that we will see at least 3 major "clones" of Aion in next few years.  When games like this garner so much attention and talk, it ensures that no one will ever make my "favorite game."
 

Originally posted by Kronus1

make it short...  Aion is a money making game for NCSoft

But in the same way it not a playable game.. i think most gamers will see soon

they shutting down Dungeon Runners reason its free

 

Dungeon Runners was boring and simplistic however.  Aion is a much bigger project, one they will have to support if they want it to keep earning the money for them.

I play Aion and have since launch.  It's a good game and I'm enjoying it.

Some of the comments here are quite funny. It is almost as if some people are saying that companies plan for their games to fail and they are only making them to generate some quick money with the intial sales and then to farm the subscribers until they can release their next one.

Sorry but I have to disagree with that premise. I don't think companies want to fail I think they do want to succeed and that companies who make repeated tries are more likely to learn from their mistakes and improve. Now, without a doubt there are certain people and managers that never seem to learn and make the same mistakes over and over but I don't believe they do it just to spite me but that this happens when they care more about their job and less about their product and their customers.

The biggest issue I have is with people that change the goal posts of their criticisms. Oh Aion is going to fail at launch. Oh it won't sell. Ok it is selling well but they won't be able to keep the subscribers. This will continue on and on unless of course it does fail and then they will take full credit for having "predicted" the failure while quietly ignoring all their previous predictions. A bit like those psychics with their new years predictions or who claim to speak to the dead. Oooooo I see dead developers ooooooo......

One comment about the aionsource forums which are just like these  and it is that they are disproportional represented by a few players. Most players and I would only be guessing if I tried to state a percentage but certainly the majority of them never visit any of these sort of websites unless they do have a problem. This doesn't meant that they don't have serious issues or valid concerns it also doesn't mean that they are a crackpot with a peeve and no real interest other than causing problems and splinting their spleen.

Got love the almost edduated responses to derail the Op's opinion. The Stock market shows us all we need to know, it pretty much destroys any effort to roll out complete fluff about how the game is doing. If the game was a major success and the retention rate of subs was high, the stock wouildn't have dropped so hard on the Koream market. The fact that Tera is almost ready for beta phases is another dent in NcSofts armor.

Anyone who has been apart of an ncsoft product, knows the promotional patterns by now. NcSofts P.R. tatics are old and dated, and the op has valid aurguments.