Well your list clearly shows that mmo sequals are a bad idea.

There is also no need to make a sequal of an mmo, you can keep improviing and adding to an mmo, that is the whole point.

So far I have not seen any successfull sequal to an existing mmo, that did not split up the playerbase and where the sum of the parts became bigger than the original.

If you make a sequal to an mmo, you are basically admitting failure with your original.

Clearly one of the few examples of how it should be done is EVE Online, with free expansions, a future vision ( even tho I don't always agree with where they are going ) and keep improving graphics, sound ( uhm yah nm that ) and gameplay.

Perhaps Guild Wars 2 may be different, but the 1st part can hardly be called an mmo anyway. And Jumpgate Evoluion will be very different from Jumpgate ( which has such low sub number it will be hard to do worse ).

So back to my point, mmo sequals are a bad idea and admitting you failed on your 1st attempt and did not try to fix it.

Originally posted by dkzero

I wish there was an Anarchy Online 2 :(

Without the horror show that was AO's launch...<shudder>.  I swear to this very day, when someone uses the phrase worst launch, AO's comes to mind automatically.  I'm always amazed that they managed  recover to the extent that they did from that.

[quote]Originally posted by CyberWiz
[b]Well your list clearly shows that mmo sequals are a bad idea.
There is also no need to make a sequal of an mmo, you can keep improviing and adding to an mmo, that is the whole point.[/quote]

Well I was mentioning Wakfu and Dofus earlier... they prove this point. Wakfu is at the moment a seni-failure. It's still in beta (after a year) so there's still hope... But the open beta, after almost two years of hyping it, has deceived a lot of people, because most announced features were not there. (Yes, the fact that is was a Beta has been made countless times... but nowadays, open betas are supposed to be complete games and only to track the last few bugs, not just a sneak peek of a game.) That gives credit to this column and this one too, I guess.

On the other hand Dofus 2.) is launching in December. Now it has been in development as long as Wakfu, but only a screenshot here and there has been released. It's "only" graphics and performance enhancement, not a full new game, but it does resolves the problem of aging graphics.

And "soon" there will be Roma Victor 2. 

Which will actually be the game everyone wanted 3 years ago.

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by Lex_Taliones

If you follow that path of thinking, then Vanguard : Saga of Heroes is the "spiritual successor" to Everquest.  It also was developed by people who worked on the original Everquest, and Impliments ideas the original Everquest didn't/couldn't use.  In fact, I think I even remember reading an interview where the term "spiritual succesor to Everquest" was used.  Why wasn't that on the list?  I still maintain it has to do with limited entries in the superhero genre for MMOs.

It's not "because there are limited options in the genre." The reasons I laid out in the article pretty much speak for themselves. As for Vanguard. I suppose, sure, that's true. Though with EQII already well out the door by the time Vanguard was made, the expectations that were put on the game weren't that of a sequel. Claiming to be a spiritual successor to sell a few boxes isn't the same as being one.

Champions, on the other hand, has been held up by media and players as a follow-up to City of Heroes since it was first announced.  Either way, you're free to have your opinion.

It was? Sorry, my bad.

Originally posted by dkzero

I wish there was an Anarchy Online 2 :(

Having played AO several times and I do like it. Just not the interface (wish they would modernize it). I was wondering if Fallen Earth is anything like it. I'm going to get FA in the next few days to check it out I think.

Originally posted by TheMaelstrom

I'm actually hoping for another Everquest. I'm sure I'm not the only one. I just hope they go "back to their roots" more with a more group-oriented game-play experience.

Yes, this. If they were to take the spirit of EQ1 add modern day visuals and features, they would have a big winner.

Originally posted by Hodo

And "soon" there will be Roma Victor 2. 

 

Which will actually be the game everyone wanted 3 years ago.

And this would be a good thing.

Sequels only work if they build on what has come before and not change everything that make the original good.

I just wonder when Blizzard will make Wow 2?

Only EA loves making sequls more than Blizzard. Diablo 2 & 3, Warcraft 2 & 3, Battlechess 2, Starcraft 2... 

It would surprise me a lot if Blizzard wont make a Wow2, even though it wont be anything we see in the next few years, no need to compete with themselves.

well the key thing IF they want to make a sequel is to not alienate your current player base.  if nothing else you will sustain current subscribers with a good familiar design, so if current players are tired of the old game will find the new one a nice change of pace.

Plus if they add a few new elements and make the game have more re-play value as well as fun activities within the game that give it more addictive playability the better.  

That way they may gain new subscribers as well as appease your already fanbase.  Consistency, value, quality and overall fun seem to be some key factors to paying close attention also when doing a sequel.  And reading reviews about your own game can help a good bit, plus in-game questionaires of the original.  that way they can really get a feel for what worked and what didn't and carry over all the favorite things of the original.  Then add some more possibly innovative elements.  

But hey, i'm just sayin...

Im shocked that you did not include Ultima Online and its endless expansions (or sequels by definition), for anyone who started out on UO i have found that most are still looking for a game that includes so many facets as this pioneer of the mmo era.  But still a very good article.

I'm looking forward to FF 14! Should be an interesting game. Too bad DaOC didn't have a sequel. Great game! And of course UO-it just never updated itself with graphics.

Originally posted by AlienShirt

Turbine really needs to do a REAL sequel to Asheron's Call. AC2 was not worthy of the Asheron's Call name. I still feel it was just a tech demo for Turbine that helped them procure rights to DnD and LOTR.

Blame Microsoft.

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

Originally posted by AlienShirt

Turbine really needs to do a REAL sequel to Asheron's Call. AC2 was not worthy of the Asheron's Call name. I still feel it was just a tech demo for Turbine that helped them procure rights to DnD and LOTR.

 

Blame Microsoft.

 Thats usually a good place to start... But I was there for most of that sorry mess. There is much more than enough blame to go around for both of them. Not to mention that Mickysoft was long out of the picture, when Turbine sold us an expansion and then closed the game down not that long afterwards.

EVE Online is on its 3rd iteration and soon to be fourth in 2010.

Yours in Eve Plasma,

Star*Dagger

Final Fantasy XIV is not a PS3 Exclusive, S-E has even said so themselves. They are working with Microsoft and would like to bring FFXIV to the 360.

Originally posted by SyaoranLi

Final Fantasy XIV is not a PS3 Exclusive, S-E has even said so themselves. They are working with Microsoft and would like to bring FFXIV to the 360.

Does anyone care about Console mmos?  Is that even possible without a proper PC?

OK maybe possible, but why?

Yours in PC Gamer Plasma,

Star*Dagger

Originally posted by StarDagger

Originally posted by SyaoranLi

Final Fantasy XIV is not a PS3 Exclusive, S-E has even said so themselves. They are working with Microsoft and would like to bring FFXIV to the 360.

 

Does anyone care about Console mmos?  Is that even possible without a proper PC?

OK maybe possible, but why?

 

Yours in PC Gamer Plasma,

Star*Dagger

CCP seems to care about consoles, as DUST 514 will be first released on them.  Current generation consoles have some advantages over PC's in terms of coding for them(standard hardware and SDK's). They also tap in to a different(but in some cases overlapping) demographic. The downside is they aren't nearly as effective when dealing with FPS style games. No standard interface so far has beaten the mouse, keyboard for smooth game play, and ease of access to many functions.  A non FPS MMO on the other hand might be possible, if its controls are well thought out and implimented.  But I suspect it would still suffer from the inherent limitations of the controller.  Not to mention that the physical skills involved in PC's do not transfer over to console controllers.

Originally posted by Wraithone

Originally posted by StarDagger

Originally posted by SyaoranLi

Final Fantasy XIV is not a PS3 Exclusive, S-E has even said so themselves. They are working with Microsoft and would like to bring FFXIV to the 360.

 

Does anyone care about Console mmos?  Is that even possible without a proper PC?

OK maybe possible, but why?

 

Yours in PC Gamer Plasma,

Star*Dagger

 

CCP seems to care about consoles, as DUST 514 will be first released on them.  Current generation consoles have some advantages over PC's in terms of coding for them(standard hardware and SDK's). They also tap in to a different(but in some cases overlapping) demographic. The downside is they aren't nearly as effective when dealing with FPS style games. No standard interface so far has beaten the mouse, keyboard for smooth game play, and ease of access to many functions.  A non FPS MMO on the other hand might be possible, if its controls are well thought out and implimented.  But I suspect it would still suffer from the inherent limitations of the controller.  Not to mention that the physical skills involved in PC's do not transfer over to console controllers.

CCP is making Dust 514 to LINK INTO the EVE universe, making the console masses minions of the capsule-pilots playing EVE on the PC (and 2 or so on the Mac, lol)

Good point about CCP "caring", only CCP could, in a single stroke, both make money off of, insult and entertain console users. 

Yours in PC Gaming Mastery Plasma,

Star*Dagger

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Originally posted by nate1980
I'm a huge fan of sequels and prequels, because it adds to the original story. I'm the type that has read every Star Wars adult novels ranging from the Old Republic times to the New Republic times. The type that reads entire series of books.
I'd be thrilled if more MMO's, the good ones, made sequels. The problem is that most MMO's don't have a central story, so making a sequel is essentially just creating a different time period. If all you're doing is advancing the time line, you could do that with an expansion. In fact, you can even advance the story with expansions, so a sequel isn't really necessary. But still, sequels would benefit the genre by allowing an older game to bow out gracefully, and allowing developers to create a similar game with updated features. For example, fans of DAoC have been clamoring for a sequel for years. DAoC is still a decent looking game, but the gameplay, animations, and movement is archaic compared to modern day MMO's. So Mythic could really do the game justice by creating a sequel that captures the essence of DAoC, and implementing all the things they wished they could do with DAoC in DAoC 2. So you'd have a sequel that looks a lot better, plays a lot smoother, and contains modern day features that gamers have come to expect, yet are still able to get the same experience they got in the old DAoC.
Where sequels fail is when they do too much different. The core audience of sequels are the players who played the first game. So it's bad to alienate them by introducing a sequel that doesn't play or really remind them of the original game at all. So I think Sequels could work for this genre, but they need to really be successors of the original game, not a totally different game than the original, where the only thing the two games share is lore, the name, and maybe a few features.

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I long for the day they make DAoC2. It doesn't look like they have any interest in it with EA in charge.... WAR was ok, but no DAoC, they got some good idea, but man I miss all the classes they had in DAoC. Since Mark Jacob left Mythic, all hope is gone. I think Mythic still owns all rights to DAoC, so even if Mark wanted to make DAoC2, he couldn't..