The last years, MMOs aren't going well...What is happening?

I believe that, most people and especially the old gamers had enough with the same concepts, types of gameplay, the lack of real communication and social gameplay!

For me, the final hope lies with the Sandbox MMOs. 

What do you think?

No innovation, almost every BIG MMO wants to copy WOW for the cash money.

Originally posted by Lazzaro

No innovation, almost every BIG MMO wants to copy WOW for the cash money.

True Unfortunatelly...

Bieng optimistic, a freak tidal wave might crush the venue of whichever the next big gaming event is, decimating the current breed of mmo designers and clearing the way for open-minded independant ventures making clever, niche games and concepts, based on the opinions of gamers. 

Otherwise, the future is bleak indeed. mmo's will continue to be pitched to the lowest common denominator to max revenue, which will mean lower and lower standards. WoW, GW2, Tera, etc...are all designed to attract players to mmos, who shouldnt really be playing mmos. So, as a basic rule the only changes made to mmo structure will be to make playing it simpler and easier. Goodbye charator development and open worlders, because choice and exploration is 'bad'. Hello god mode and auto-matched instances.  

Any ideas that make a game more complex or challenging will be junked. Developing the sandbox element would be great, but this clearly falls under 'making a game more complex'. Wizardry will struggle because permadeath is mentally shattering to maintream audiences. DFUW will struggle, just as DF did, because pvp looting (well, pvp of anykind really) is too scary. And so on, and so forth. 

I hate to say it, but GW2 is the future of MMOs. 

One of todays MMO´s seems to be the notion of one-fits-all. But the future of MMO´s i believe lies in games targeting a certain playstyle rather than trying to please all and every players preferences.

I think we see more PvP-only, PvE-only etc.

Today, all games try cater to all playstyles, which really is impossible.

Any ideas that make a game more complex or challenging will be junked. Developing the sandbox element would be great, but this clearly falls under 'making a game more complex'. Wizardry will struggle because permadeath is mentally shattering to maintream audiences. DFUW will struggle, just as DF did, because pvp looting (well, pvp of anykind really) is too scary. And so on, and so forth. 

 

I hate to say it, but GW2 is the future of MMOs. 

i hope this will not happen. I really wish DF:UW will succeed, it maybe not attract a huge audience, because its not for all the people out there but still i bet , if those people would try it they would had the best memories or at least the strongest memories of a game can give.

I really hope for a Sandbox future.

Originally posted by JWTuna

Bieng optimistic, a freak tidal wave might crush the venue of whichever the next big gaming event is, decimating the current breed of mmo designers and clearing the way for open-minded independant ventures making clever, niche games and concepts, based on the opinions of gamers. 

 

Otherwise, the future is bleak indeed. mmo's will continue to be pitched to the lowest common denominator to max revenue, which will mean lower and lower standards. WoW, GW2, Tera, etc...are all designed to attract players to mmos, who shouldnt really be playing mmos. So, as a basic rule the only changes made to mmo structure will be to make playing it simpler and easier. Goodbye charator development and open worlders, because choice and exploration is 'bad'. Hello god mode and auto-matched instances.  

 

Any ideas that make a game more complex or challenging will be junked. Developing the sandbox element would be great, but this clearly falls under 'making a game more complex'. Wizardry will struggle because permadeath is mentally shattering to maintream audiences. DFUW will struggle, just as DF did, because pvp looting (well, pvp of anykind really) is too scary. And so on, and so forth. 

 

I hate to say it, but GW2 is the future of MMOs. 

Those independant developers already exist.  Why aren't they receiving your money -now- when it matters?  What makes you above the 'lowest' common denominator?  Who 'should' be playing an MMO?  What game can I play 'god mode' in?  Your opening statements are chock-full of insinuations, misrepresentations, and outright insulting of your fellow players.  Not exactly a good start to developing a more challenging 'social' experience, I'd wager, but wholly consistent with my not-so-ancient memories of the TERA forums.

As to your sandbox comments...I'm somewhat more inclined to agree to an extent.  Permadeath -is- a major rejection to a lot of people; that happened in the tabletop genre also.  Full loot pvp is a non-starter in terms of large appeal because it's nothing more than a haven for griefers.  Once you remove those two chunks of silliness though, then you have room to start working on something that will appeal to multiple playstyles.  And make no mistake...sandboxes, more than any other MMO, require multiple playstyles.  To be otherwise would be to create a world where everyone is similar, and I don't think that's the experience -any- of us are looking for.

Originally posted by Lissyl

Originally posted by JWTuna
 

Those independant developers already exist.  Why aren't they receiving your money -now- when it matters?  What makes you above the 'lowest' common denominator?  Who 'should' be playing an MMO?  What game can I play 'god mode' in?  Your opening statements are chock-full of insinuations, misrepresentations, and outright insulting of your fellow players.  Not exactly a good start to developing a more challenging 'social' experience, I'd wager, but wholly consistent with my not-so-ancient memories of the TERA forums.

It is because they can rarely contain or hide their bitterness and disdain past few posts. They've absolutely demonized the games and developers they don't like to a point they've started to believe their blown-out-of-proportion and bipolar BS themselves. They are no longer in touch with reality. Apparently sulking is better than viewing things objectively or logically.

im gonna wait archeage the future of siege warfare is right there.

and i dont care what ppl say about it so dont bother to reply

Originally posted by ShenjShimpo

im gonna wait archeage the future of siege warfare is right there.

and i dont care what ppl say about it so dont bother to reply

Archeage is really promising, not sure if it will be the future of sieging though......

I'm hoping "The Repopulation" will be good. Also, I know this might sound bad, but I like they're American Indie devs.

Originally posted by Robokapp
sooner or later mmo evs will realise their market is no longer viable...and MMOs will stop having a future altogether.

Actually the market is perfectly viable, once you accept that it isn't the WoW market, but a particular sub-group of gamers. There are I'd hazard to guess 5 million people in NA who could be called MMO gamers, but no one game is ever going get all 5 million. Most games should be shooting for 500K to 700K sustained customers (be that via subs or cash shops). That's a large enough number for a viable profit if you are realistic in your costs. 

Take SWTOR for instance, if they hadn't had full voice acting, I imagine they'd be recouping a pretty decent profit right now, even with subs down and under-performance from where they should have been. 

Originally posted by Presbytier
And yet another thread dedicated to the ever illusive mystical sandbox MMO. Look lots of people enjoy many of the games allready out there, some people want to see something new, but this idea that sandbox is the end all be all of MMOs is just getting ludicrous.

Especially given sandbox track records. I say this as someone who likes many a sandbox element, but there hasn't bee a solid sandbox hit that sustained its success. If the market was actually there for sandboxes to take the world by storm someone would make one. 

Add to this fact that a number of dev companies have sadly used MMO production to fleece investors (what happened with 38 studios?) Investors are gun shy. Maybe when Blizzard announces their next game project we'll see some investing money hit other studios as well, but currently no one is going to invest in a sub-genre with no track record of success of a genre that is over saturated. 

Originally posted by Lazzaro

No innovation, almost every BIG MMO wants to copy WOW for the cash money.

this is false actually.

compare Today's MMO to EQ. very different. Cant call these games non innovating since WoW is based on EQ model, yet these new aged MMO are far different from EQ.

Originally posted by Presbytier
And yet another thread dedicated to the ever illusive mystical sandbox MMO. Look lots of people enjoy many of the games allready out there, some people want to see something new, but this idea that sandbox is the end all be all of MMOs is just getting ludicrous.

What was your first MMO that you played for years straight with no breaks?

Let me tell you something. People that would like a modern AAA sandbox are NOT under the false illusion that such a game will have millions of players. Nobody is stating that at all. Nor do they want the unwashed masses in such a game bringing their dumbed-down ideas to whine about.

You have absolutely nothing to fear or lose if such a game came along. Because after all, we are just a tiny percent and there are many games out there just for people like you. Millions of people, just like you, I will add.

What the hell is it to you if 300K - 400K people played a game they preferred? Some of us refuse to play your themeparks, so you are losing nothing anyways.

Nobody is threatening your monthly themepark-hopping by asking for a well-made and supported sandbox.

Originally posted by MMOExposed

Originally posted by Lazzaro

No innovation, almost every BIG MMO wants to copy WOW for the cash money.

this is false actually.

 

compare Today's MMO to EQ. very different. Cant call these games non innovating since WoW is based on EQ model, yet these new aged MMO are far different from EQ.

Actually, all these games are based on D&D. Please compare WoW and EQ for me. Spare the 3D models and played on a PC from the list.

I'm not being an ass. I really want to know.

Originally posted by NorseGod

Originally posted by Presbytier
And yet another thread dedicated to the ever illusive mystical sandbox MMO. Look lots of people enjoy many of the games allready out there, some people want to see something new, but this idea that sandbox is the end all be all of MMOs is just getting ludicrous.

What was your first MMO that you played for years straight with no breaks?

Let me tell you something. People that would like a modern AAA sandbox are NOT under the false illusion that such a game will have millions of players. Nobody is stating that at all. Nor do they want the unwashed masses in such a game bringing their dumbed-down ideas to whine about.

You have absolutely nothing to fear or lose if such a game came along. Because after all, we are just a tiny percent and there are many games out there just for people like you. Millions of people, just like you, I will add.

What the hell is it to you if 300K - 400K people played a game they preferred? Some of us refuse to play your themeparks, so you are losing nothing anyways.

Nobody is threatening your monthly themepark-hopping by asking for a well-made and supported sandbox.

I have nothing against sandbox games, and in fact welcome them. My problem is the attitude that anything other than a sandbox is an inferior product and only sandbox can bring MMOs to their true potentiol. I like a mix of themempark and sandbox; that is why I am really looking forward to FFXIV: A Realm Reborn.