The amount of money spent is not relevant. Marketing budgets are usually a percentage of expected revenue or overall development budget and will be spent on as many media as possible.

The problem is that the Marketeers successfully hyped up a sensation (thats their job) which unfortunatly was attached to a game that was not able to meet that expectation.

Not many games meet the the hype of the marketting but if you tell the world you are next-gen, you better have something to back it up, if only to buy you time.

I think they will play around with component sof the art style overall to make it a fresher experience than the original game but Blizzard, quite rightly, pride themselves on a game built for the largest cross section of PC set-ups to ensure mass appeal. Any significant graphics update may compromise that footprint and imbalance the games accesabiliity, especially between countries such as Europe/USA vs Russia / China where perhaps the disposable income to upgrade CPU and graphics cards is very different.

Its 30 days.

I am playing AoC till I get bored of it. I certainly would be buying and playing Lich king and that would apply whatever game comes out in between. When I get bored of that that, I will go switching again. Its the beauty of the subscription model.

Ah ,there we have it. the last resort of an OP that cant intellectually defend his own argument "You must all be fanbois".

I am a fanbois by default of any game I am playing at the time, why else would I pay money and invest so many hours in to it. Fanbois is not an insult but for a forum poster, in the way you use it, its a cop out.

I agree with all your points except being able to state that AoC has affected it to the extent you suggest - its too early.

WOW will steal a lot back with the Lich King pack and a WOW2 will do the same if ever it comes about.

There will always be a hardcore that stay forever ( applaud them) and a travelloing base that will bet bored and more on and/or want to try the shiny new penny.

WOW cant be on top forever, I dont believe anyone could believe so. But AoC, which has had a fantastic launch (hats off to Funcom) still needs some time to mature and to establish whatever its base is going to be.

The problem with this genre is both same and different to the film industry.

major budget films takeing many many millions to produce are strategically released to try to hit a point in the market where they can maximise their revenue. They typically get 3 shots to do it, cinema release, dvd release and license to TV. Thats why they have the summer blockbuster period and the pre-xmas release period.

However, films are usually a one time use for viewers whereas games have the same dilemma on when to release ( they cost similar millions to produce and its all about getting peak launch revenue) but they have to compete for a significantly loner sustained period. AoC is no where near 2 years ahead of its time in either, environment, graphics or mechanics but I do believe it suffered the same accelerated launch to hit the quiet period before WAR and WOW released and tprobably as the publishers / finance houses are worried about the "bubble" bursting in the fastest growing part of the gaming industry.

Sorry, cant agree with that.

LOTRO affected WOW, all major releases will do. But thats natural, especially in the first period of release.

WOW will stand the test of time and the lich king will affect all the other games ofr a time.

Define "fail"....

How has this game failed so far ?

I have many issues with it but there is no way I can say it has failes in anything other than the marketing expectations that built up around it.

So there are some bugs and text issues. Big deal. There are some that still exist in far more mature games.

AoC is getting a huge unfair press ihn my opinion. Its a competant game with excellent graphics but I think the marketing / Hype machine that just seems to get bigger and bigger with every big budget release has created a false expectation that this game will break the traditional mould and be something very different. Never was it going to meet those expectations and therefore a lot of people are unhappy.

The game does try some new ideas but it is true that it is another variant on a well worn fantasy theme.

Rather than attack the mechanics of a game, i think we have had a huge amount of variance in MMO's but they have failed to grab the imagination due to awful execution.

SWG - an excellent game premise that captures the interest of a massive fan base. Had a rocky launch but accelerated quickly. NGE came along and killed the passion and investment that so many had put inot the game up to that point. Where would it be if they had no done that?

Matrix Online - what a great new environment to play with. Almost a real world seeting ( somewhat a founder for SOE's "Agency" game thats forthcoming. Even if you take out the film connection, this game had huge potential but executions was dire. It failed to take off in earnest

Tabula Rasa - another new premise. A war based game that could have captured a counterstrike type fanbase. Again the mass marketing hype similar to AoC created an expectation that could only let people down.

I would love for a develop to create a new style of environment (drop the fantasy formula - no one will successfully differentiate themselves from  EQ2 and WOW for that style now) but be honest about what your game is and make it as accessbile and diverse as possible.

Once the initial peak of subscription is over, it would be new class types and races with new starting areas that would make me try again. More factions so its not just a good vs evil through 2 camps. Lets have more moral choices that may take whole quest ladders out of use depending on which way you develop your char. Lets have mounts that fight with us. Lets have gunslinger style chars like the FF games.

There are a ton of ways to still innovate in this genre, thank god, but developers are driven to instant mass market appeal. There is no such thing as a wow beater - its too large. Wow will slowly dilute over a long long period of time but that game is a generation changer. The next real big thing is a game that can stand aside WOW in a new space. Everything else becomes a niche game.

Exciting times I think.

The answer is " For a game that is a week old, yes, its perfectly fine"

Totally agree (except for the bikini stuff...ahem)

I have a huge comp set up and want games that test it  and beyond. If others cannot run a game because they are unable or unwilling to upgrade with technology...not my issue. True its harmful if the game cannot get enough mainstream support to fund its ongoing revenue model but thats their problem when they create their pitch.

I refuse to be held back just because I can afford and am willing to keep up with the tech and others cannot.

Let this now be known as the "bikini" thread...Muhahhaha

Apart from starting on a boat, gaining first levels through a starter zone, the whole fantasy setting, siliar classes such as guardians and the graphical style - I can see your point

Just playing AoC and its so like EQ2 that it has rekindled my passion to come back and play this one again. I played EQ2 in beta and for 2 years in retail and then tried some other games for diversity. AoC is very much the same formula, and it will be interesting to see what they do with it, but the lore / depth and "likability" is not on a par with EQ2.

I will thank it for tempting me back to Norrath though

Am playing it currently.

My guidance, and it is my own opinion only, to fellow wow players:

If EQ2, lotro or Vg was not for you, chances are that AoC will be the same. Its a good game and a very smooth launch but it does not stray from the generic formula that these other games have.

It is a different model to WOW in that it has a technical spec that can be quite demanding rather than the miid spec WOW has for accessability. the class types are fun and diverse but the game feels a little souless and bland so far. The game is hugely instanced which may be quite unerving to many but it does not offer anything innovative to grab and keep you.

Its early days but the graphics are good, the launch is smooth and it will be interesting to see how they are going to make this one stand out from the pack.

Excellent summary review and i agree with many of the observations with the exception of the graphics. They are great no doubt but I not EQ2 / Lotro quality for me on highest.

The Tortege experience was immersive and fun but I would have preferred different start experiences for different classes / races such as Lotro as it got a little boring by char 3.

The animations are great, the combat feels refreshing but the quests are very generic.

A good game, a great smooth launch, but there is nothing particularly new here ...yet.

AoC is a good game and the smooth launch is a credit to Funcom. However, and it is an unfair comparison, this game is nothing significantly new from other fantasy games such as Lotro and EQ2 and therefore, especially with the lich king expansion inevitably extending the popular vote for a time, WOW need not fear this game.

I think it will share / swap / balance populations against EQ2, LOTRO and other lesser established games like VG but i do not believe that it will become a market leader.

IMO, Eve remains the real example of innovation or "breaking the mould" from the norm in this genre but that game, on purpose, appeals to a different type of gamer and not so much to "casual" players.

There is definatly a place for AoC but time will tell what they do with this fairly generic base to make it stand apart.

accurate summary albeit I am not soo enamoured by the quests yet but the initial storyline is ok so far. Herald is a cool class.

Graphics are ok but I do  not think they are eq2 / lotro quality (not far off though)

Hotbar and Ui is awful and I am very pleased this is in the first patch updates they are planning - albeit the news they use XML and therefore UI downloads will be avaliable is good news.

It's not a world beater but its a robust game with an extremely smooth launch.

Good game and exceptionally smooth launch but its no where near a new experience or one that will dethrone others.

There is nothing really new here but it is a competant and well presented package for those who tire of existing games.

Its not a bad game by any stretch, but its not the next gen experience that my hype-believeing hopes had expected (maybe unfairly).

The graphics are good - but not above that of Lotro or EQ2 in my view.

The combat is fine but still button mashing at heart.

I dont get the feeling that I am earning skills as I do in other games and it feels like another good A title rather than a genre changing experience. I am not whining as I still intend on playing and experiencing as much as I can and then deciding on whether to extend after the 30 days and invest time here, but so far I do not feel the same first day "hook" that other games have provided.