There definitely is a mis-conception that an IP that has a large fan base can enter an entirely different market.   If you turn a video game (single player) into an MMO... it doesn't have that much of a leap because the built in fan base is already playing the same type of game.   Unless they don't have internet where the majority of "fans" live.

When you take a very successful IP that is mostly books/movies/tv ... I'm not sure why someone thinks it will make the same leap just as easy.

That is before you even take into consideration the quality of the product created.

MMO's on their own fail all the time simply because of bad design.   Taking an IP and adding in bad design will not suddenly equal success.

I don't really see why any development company would ever want to use a 3rd party IP regardless.   Lack of control and extra cost through license fee is a bad starting point in my opinion.

Then you have the interpretation crowd as well for a negative.   You know when you make a movie that's based on a book... ya sometimes people think the movie was better but usually its the other way around.  

Thanks for the article.. was fun to read.

"I mean, our game was finally here! A digital world where computer geeks could rule with an iron, yet ergonomically supported fist! We thought that we would be the new Gods of a kick-ass Kung Fu simulator chockfull of programmable hot chicks that had to do anything we commanded. We would become one with the virtual world, and even as our real bodies withered and rotted away, we wouldn't care because we were IN THE MATRIX!

Then I played the game, and I died a little bit inside."

Coyote, I think you died more than a little that day ;)

Firefly.  Sigh.  You could be right.  Getting sent on a perpetual stream of petty fetch and carry quests does not make for feeling like big damn heroes.

Coyote, you are by far the best writer we got on these boards.  But you cuss like a drunken sailor which is equitable to a 12 year old boy from New York.

Anywho, thanks for the read.  I somehow avoided Star Trek, only to drop headfirst into Star Wars when it came out.  But if only we had an MMO in the Firefly -verse, all my dreams would be sure to come true!

-Gamer who learned nothing from your post.

If only we could mind-meld some Trek concepts into the Star Wars game.  Transporters, Vulcans, Q, tribbles, and Captain Kirk--we would have the perfect game where no mmorpg has gone before.

I Refer you to some previous column writer -forget name- 

"What about a vampire mmo"

Originally posted by Actus

Originally posted by Mr.Coyote

Originally posted by Actus

Another great one.  Pointless yet enlightening all at once... haha.  Do you seriously have 6 unopened copies of Matrix online?  Lol... and is that really how you got them?

 

:(

>.< Ouch!  They could've just kicked your dog or something... but this...

 

Some of us are even saving copies as reprisal for future insults and offenses.

Legos should have been more like Minecraft. Mindless build and destroy...with a story somewhere if you really, really wanted it.

I'm not sure what could have been done to fix Star Trek. Maybe don't make everyone the captain of their own ship most likely.

** edit **
I didn't even know there was a Matrix Online until just near the end of the game's life.

** edit edit **
I want to say something about wishing for a Fallout Online, but I'm not sure what. I'm sure it's somehow relevant to the article though.

Speaks volumes about the problem MMORPG gamers face- devs/pubs releasing sh!t products hyped to the moon and back as a simple cash grab with no intention of putting out a quality product. It's all about advertising, buying good reviews, and then reaping the benefits from box/DL client sales.

This article just reinforces my stance on buying MMOs:

1. Don't buy the hype- it's fine to want to be informed about a possible purchase but once you start getting emotional over a game that's not even out yet it's time to take a step back because you're not even thinking anymore.

2. Never, ever pre-order. Ever. The changes some of these games see even between the betas you loved and the released product can be astounding.

3. Don't buy a game until you've had a chance to play the live version. Either wait until they have a free trial or you have a friend that will let you watch them play or let you play on their account (yes, violating TOS about using someone else's account is less of a sin in my book than letting the publishers rape my wallet).

It doesn't matter if you can afford to throw money away on a POS game that was all advertising and no substance- not only are you wasting money on that game but it sets the precedent that all publishers need to do is trick enough people into buying a box with a half-assed game in it to make a profit. That's far worse than the stagnant theme-park rut the genre is currently in.

*edit: didn't want to imply it was only physical sales of the client

Originally posted by ForumTroll

Damn man, every article you do has some kind of sick and twisted high school story about how you were abused and picked on. Not every gamer was a nerd in high school. Shit, I was the one giving wedgies and dunking heads in toilets. Not because the people were geeks though, because they were preppy a-hole's who deserved it. Whats better than giving your high school teams quarterback a sore asscrack for sundays game? Lets be honest the little whiney "I'm gonna cry to my mommy everytime we lose a game" turd in the punch bowl definitly deserved it. Its his offensive line you have to watch out for....

Although when your the one supplying the alcohol at the weekend parties you get a free pass. I miss high school. I wish i were a nerd back in the day, maybe I would be rich and extremely succesful now had I been.

 

Look up the word "satire", dude.  {mod edit}  He was making a funny.

I soiled my skintight leather pants in bullet-time baby.

This image will stay with me, in my mind, for many years to come. You are horrible, horrible person.

As usual a nice laugh thanks:)

And more to the point, IP's or ideas do not a good game make.

That takes talent, loads of it.  And like porn, you know it when you see it:)

Originally posted by pierth

Speaks volumes about the problem MMORPG gamers face- devs/pubs releasing sh!t products hyped to the moon and back as a simple cash grab with no intention of putting out a quality product. It's all about advertising, buying good reviews, and then reaping the benefits from box/DL client sales.

 

This article just reinforces my stance on buying MMOs:

1. Don't buy the hype- it's fine to want to be informed about a possible purchase but once you start getting emotional over a game that's not even out yet it's time to take a step back because you're not even thinking anymore.

2. Never, ever pre-order. Ever. The changes some of these games see even between the betas you loved and the released product can be astounding.

3. Don't buy a game until you've had a chance to play the live version. Either wait until they have a free trial or you have a friend that will let you watch them play or let you play on their account (yes, violating TOS about using someone else's account is less of a sin in my book than letting the publishers rape my wallet).

 

It doesn't matter if you can afford to throw money away on a POS game that was all advertising and no substance- not only are you wasting money on that game but it sets the precedent that all publishers need to do is trick enough people into buying a box with a half-assed game in it to make a profit. That's far worse than the stagnant theme-park rut the genre is currently in.

 

*edit: didn't want to imply it was only physical sales of the client

Don't get me wrong... this is a very good and reasonable guideline for making purchases... probably even game purchases.  Textbook stuff.  But... imho...

It's hard to treat the purchase of a game like that of my next dishwasher.  Sometimes I can do it... sometimes I can't.  Some titles just grab the imagination... and we just go on a limb.  Besides... heart-breaking, mind-numbing, senseless anger and dissapointment is all a part of life.  ;)

Thankfully there's enough idiots out there like me to share the pain.  Not that I'm empathetic... I'm just glad to know the next chump down the line is crying in his Fruit Loops too.

Originally posted by toddze

I think Avatar could work really well if done right of course. And we all know we all have our opinions on what "right" is, and could argue that if anything is done right it would work.

So for me Avatar would be a PvE Sandbox game. And humans would not be a playable race. Humans would be the enemies (..snippedy..)

 

Well... it sort of exists. Existed before the movie, even.

At release of the movie almost all of its inhabitants, Atysians, to be more precise, agreed that that movie must have been inspired a whole lot by their world. If not more...

You want to be a blue, mystic, nature-loving, magic-inspired, tall being? Take a look at Zoraï, take a look at Ryzom (F2P even).

;-)

Originally posted by XoloX

Originally posted by toddze

I think Avatar could work really well if done right of course. And we all know we all have our opinions on what "right" is, and could argue that if anything is done right it would work.

So for me Avatar would be a PvE Sandbox game. And humans would not be a playable race. Humans would be the enemies (..snippedy..)

 

Well... it sort of exists. Existed before the movie, even.

At release of the movie almost all of its inhabitants, Atysians, to be more precise, agreed that that movie must have been inspired a whole lot by their world. If not more...

You want to be a blue, mystic, nature-loving, magic-inspired, tall being? Take a look at Zoraï, take a look at Ryzom (F2P even).

;-)

 

Ryzom? huh. Good game and all but I think there is pretty good evidence that Avatar was based on Pocahontas

:

Originally posted by astoria

 

Ryzom? huh. Good game and all but I think there is pretty good evidence that Avatar was based on Pocahontas

 

:

hahaha nice!!

Originally posted by astoria

Ryzom? huh. Good game and all but I think there is pretty good evidence that Avatar was based on Pocahontas

 

:

WOW holy crap, i know the story of Pocahontas (and not the disney version the native version) and until now i never really made the connection between that and avatar! OMG

actually this lifer is no longer disappointed sure i'm waiting on the new dungeons and questlines for the dominion but i like what they've done with the rest of the game thus far, waiting on the F2P was a pain because nothing else i was playing was updated and the games i've been waiting for were either delayed (thanks blizzard for being stupid and trying D3 on consoles RIGHT BEFORE IT WAS LAUNCHED) and or in closed beta (Everytime i think about GW2 not being out i cry a little inside because i can't even see new fresh videos of it on youtube) so here i am fooling around with games i've already played waiting for the dominion to attack at any moment.

I knew, just KNEW, STO would be a EPIC FAIL as soon as I heard Cryptic (aka Jack Emmert Massive Ego Inc) was developing it.

I hoped beyond hope that I would be wrong.

I pre-ordered and played Beta and Release 

At least I wasnt stoopid enough to buy a LTS

/lol @ Coyote

Originally posted by Actus

Originally posted by pierth

Speaks volumes about the problem MMORPG gamers face- devs/pubs releasing sh!t products hyped to the moon and back as a simple cash grab with no intention of putting out a quality product. It's all about advertising, buying good reviews, and then reaping the benefits from box/DL client sales.

 

This article just reinforces my stance on buying MMOs:

1. Don't buy the hype- it's fine to want to be informed about a possible purchase but once you start getting emotional over a game that's not even out yet it's time to take a step back because you're not even thinking anymore.

2. Never, ever pre-order. Ever. The changes some of these games see even between the betas you loved and the released product can be astounding.

3. Don't buy a game until you've had a chance to play the live version. Either wait until they have a free trial or you have a friend that will let you watch them play or let you play on their account (yes, violating TOS about using someone else's account is less of a sin in my book than letting the publishers rape my wallet).

 

It doesn't matter if you can afford to throw money away on a POS game that was all advertising and no substance- not only are you wasting money on that game but it sets the precedent that all publishers need to do is trick enough people into buying a box with a half-assed game in it to make a profit. That's far worse than the stagnant theme-park rut the genre is currently in.

 

*edit: didn't want to imply it was only physical sales of the client

Don't get me wrong... this is a very good and reasonable guideline for making purchases... probably even game purchases.  Textbook stuff.  But... imho...

It's hard to treat the purchase of a game like that of my next dishwasher.  Sometimes I can do it... sometimes I can't.  Some titles just grab the imagination... and we just go on a limb.  Besides... heart-breaking, mind-numbing, senseless anger and dissapointment is all a part of life.  ;)

Thankfully there's enough idiots out there like me to share the pain.  Not that I'm empathetic... I'm just glad to know the next chump down the line is crying in his Fruit Loops too.

I guess when you've been burned enough times it's easier to stick with it. TBH Champions Online and Rift were the straws that broke the camel's back for me.