Originally posted by Tidel

Anyone please?

 

Like for example, with Planetside 2. It's ran by SoE and I've heard things about them so might be scared somewhat to play it.

Unlikely they'll close it down.  More likely they won't do enough about the cheats, hacks, bugs, etc and the population will die down to a few  thousand(or less) and it'll limp along like that for as long as possible.

Which begs the question.  Does 'still around' also require a game to have a reasonable poopulation and if so what do you consider reasonable? 

Originally posted by Boardwalker

Originally posted by Isturi

Originally posted by Boardwalker

Originally posted by Isturi

Originally posted by Tidel
Hey all, with mmos closing down all the time it kind of leaves me considering to even play some. So, what are the MMOs out that are LEAST likely to close down?

...Gamers want despertly a new style of a MMO that does not follow WoW...

 

Maybe this applies only to the jaded gamers on this site. There are far more people who are just fine with other games following in the style of WoW. I think sometimes the people here all suffer from an acute myopic view of MMORPGs.

All MMO's have one thing or anouther thing in common with WoW even EVE after all you take on quest to lvl up to a point of were you have to join a CORP i.e. Guild in order to get anywere in the game that leads to endgame devolpment. Sounds fimilar eh?

 

Not sure if you're trolling here with this comment, or just making a point that MMORPGs have features in common, but you realize that EVE came out *before* WoW, along with a number of other titles like UO, AO, DAoC, EQ, etc., right?

 

WoW borrowed from them, and then games borrowed from WoW. In other words, WoW is far from being the "first MMO".

Well yes very true EVE did come out before so it seems that you want to use that as a point well OK np EVE came out in May of  '03 while WoW came out of Nov of '04 so it seems you want to use the point then what is commonly called the Vanilla era of a game. For that matter yes you are also right UO,AO,DAoC and prob the best example would be EQ as to wich all these titles lost thier player base to WoW over the years because WoW did indeed barrow from the best improved and now the formula a few years later is that ppl still play WoW and DEV's see this as a fact. Lets face it they dont make clone games of EQ,  UO, AODAoC or even EVE today because these games are not as successful as WoW.

Oh I never did say that WoW was the first MMO. Like I keep saing until the formula changes companies will ride WoW's coat tail for a few then die. Problem is that these fly by night companies dont care they made there million they are set they gave us a WoW rip off and we bought it. They go away. End of story.

You guys derailed the hell out of this thread.

gg.

Robokapp: your graph might be more convincing if the most recent entry wasn't over five years old.

Vendetta Online has been out for over 10 years, and has also experienced continual growth (fun with search trends; caveat lector).  Compare this to, say, a game like Ryzom or A Tale In The Desert.

edit: Vendetta is also made by a team of 4

edit2: nvm: I see you have to scroll right to get the rest of Rk's graph.  Nonetheless, the principle of caveat lector applies; graphs can be used to prove just about anything.

Im thoroughly enjoying Runescape since an American company fed them a ton of money... There have been some great quality updates recently, including the new Port/Sailing aspect of the game. You control ships and send them off with crews (can be customized for stats to better the chance of being sucsessful) for rewards.

To the OP:  You pay your money, you take your chances.  When MMO's die, they die for financial reasons.  As a consumer, there are a lot of things you can't know about a game's costs and revenues.

All you can do is look at a publisher's history.  NCSoft is really the only company I know of that will close a game just to improve its quarterly financial report.  EA likes to kill games in the womb, but once they launch they tend to keep it going even after it becomes clear that death would be a mercy.  I'd still avoid SWTOR -- I have a feeling that LucasArts/Disney will eventually pull the license, just like they did with SWG.  It's almost Activision's turn to screw up a Star Wars MMO.

Indies (e.g. Tiny Speck) are more vulnerable as well, since they don't have the kind of cash reserves that larger companies typically have.  Other than that, most MMOs tend to stick around a long time.  Even games that were disasters at launch (*cough* Anarchy Online *cough*) seem to hang on somehow. 

Originally posted by Greyface

To the OP:  You pay your money, you take your chances.  When MMO's die, they die for financial reasons.  As a consumer, there are a lot of things you can't know about a game's costs and revenues.

All you can do is look at a publisher's history.  NCSoft is really the only company I know of that will close a game just to improve its quarterly financial report.  EA likes to kill games in the womb, but once they launch they tend to keep it going even after it becomes clear that death would be a mercy.  I'd still avoid SWTOR -- I have a feeling that LucasArts/Disney will eventually pull the license, just like they did with SWG.  It's almost Activision's turn to screw up a Star Wars MMO.

Indies (e.g. Tiny Speck) are more vulnerable as well, since they don't have the kind of cash reserves that larger companies typically have.  Other than that, most MMOs tend to stick around a long time.  Even games that were disasters at launch (*cough* Anarchy Online *cough*) seem to hang on somehow. 

 

 

LucasArt did not pull the licence. SOE stopped to be interested in SWG and got a great excuse to shut the game

First off, here's what SOE had to say via GamePro.com:

"The decision to shut down SWG is first and foremost a business decision mutually agreed upon between SOE and LucasArts, and is not a decision that we approached lightly or without very serious thought and examination. The free-to-play scenario was included as part of our research into alternative business models for the game; however, it could not be implemented. We’ve grown with the players throughout the years and shutting down the game is certainly not an ideal situation for us, but necessary regardless.

We thank our loyal players for their dedication to SWG over the past eight years. They are an integral part of what has made this game such a success from both a gameplay and community perspective. An MMO game like SWG is truly made by its community and while we’re sad to see the game come to an end, we’re happy that it was supported and played by thousands of dedicated fans who each and every day made the in-game experience one of friendship, teamwork and exploration."


And here's the LucasArts statement, also from Gamepro.com:

"The decision to shut down the game has not been an easy one. SOE and LucasArts investigated every option to keep the game open, including taking it to a free to pay model. However, that model just isn't financially viable. Changing the business model for an experience like Star Wars Galaxies takes a major investment and overhauling of the existing infrastructure of the game. We're unfortunately at a point in our life cycle where a change of this magnitude is just not possible. The harsh reality is that we've reached a point where the game is no longer a sustainable business. None of us wanted to see this point, but we're extremely proud of the last eight years of the game and the community that has supported it.

We have a lot planned between now and December and we want to make sure that from now until then, we send off Star Wars Galaxies in a style befitting such a great game. We'll be right there in the game with everyone else, counting down until the end, making sure we connect with all the friends we've made over the past eight years. It may be bittersweet, it may feel like it's happening before it should, but we have approximately five months remaining where we can all enjoy the game together. We sincerely hope the community will join us."

http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/LucasArts_SOE_Issue_Galaxies_Statements_139532.asp

Originally posted by Sevenstar61

LucasArt did not pull the licence. SOE stopped to be interested in SWG and got a great excuse to shut the game

"She didn't dump me.  It was mutual."