The List: My Top Ten Games with Potential
MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood returns this week with a new list, this time counting down the top ten games that he feels have the potential to be something great.
Column By Jon Wood on July 28, 2009
Potential is a funny word, and compiling a list of ten games that I feel currently have the most potential was a more difficult task than I first anticipated. First, I tried to come up with a list of games that simply have the most potential in a general sense. The problem is, you can't do that. Potential, and how much a game has, is a subjective thing so I chose to present the ten games that I personally feel have the most potential. That's why you'll undoubtedly notice that I've left something off that you feel should be on there certainly before at least one of the games that I chose. I mean, just off the top of my head, I know that there are arguments to be made for: Jumpgate Evolution, Mortal Online, Champions Online and others. If you feel passionately that one of these, or another game should have been on my list, feel free to take some time not just to tell me that I'm an idiot, but to tell me why.
Remember, potential isn't a measure of what a game is, it's a measure of what a game could be.
10- Stargate Worlds
I'm going to start this entry by saying that I am a big fan of the Stargate franchise. Those characters in that universe entertained me for over ten years, and the idea of being able to go virtually into that same universe and have my own adventures made my socks roll up and down.
;)
I have not, however, been living under a rock. I am well aware of the trouble that the game is in. I fully realize that there is a rather severe deadline looming and that the game will, in all likelihood, die before we have a chance to know it. I don't know if this fate was accidental, circumstantial, or the result of an incompetent foul-up or twenty and in the end, it doesn't really matter. It still cheeses me off.
It wasn't just the Stargate franchise that filled this game with potential, there were also some neat features I would have liked to see: The game's combat that made proper use of tactics and cover, the mini-game system that gave non-combatants something interesting to do, the advanced AI that was clearly at work, The Archaeologist role... There was lots to look forward to here.
So, in the event that any potential investors are reading, or that anyone might be reading from MGM, I will say this: Players are ready for a Stargate MMO. There were a lot of good ideas here and while certain factors conspired against it this time, this project, in some form or another, is worth continuing and I strongly urge you to find a way to make that happen.
9 - APB
The folks at Realtime Worlds, the company that put out the sandbox style single player Crackdown, are taking their kick at the MMORPG can with All Points Bulletin, more commonly referred to as APB.
;)
I have to be honest, when I first heard about this game, I really didn't see the appeal. It looked to me like it was going to be just another GTA-looking game with a slightly more advanced multiplayer mode. As the game has moved through development, I'm happy to report that it looks like more than that.
I am a big fan of the proposed cops and robbers style of RvR (but we can't call it that because SOMEONE thought it would be fun to copyright the term... jerks), where bad guys commit crimes, and they are matched up with good guys whose job it is to track them down. This, in my opinion, is the next logical evolution of the GTA / Crackdown / Saint's Row style of games. Give people what they really want: the ability to put the hurt on other players with the full support of design and story not just something knocked off at the last minute that tries hard to use single player design and tools in a multiplayer world.
Also, from what I've heard about the game's character customization, this should appeal to even the clothes horses among us.
8 - The Secret World
Funcom's follow-up to Age of Conan is coming in the form of the shadow-world-behind-our-own-world, Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Call of Cthulhu game known as The Secret World.
;)
Now, I know right from the get-go that there is a contingent of people out there who are going to say "I'm not going to touch this game as long as Funcom is attached." It's the same group of people that made those clever Failcom logos and t-shirts after the Age of Conan launch. To you folks I say, ok, cool. You're welcome to your opinion and I support voting with your dollars. Fight the good fight. To the rest of us, I think we're looking at a game that might turn some heads.
As of right now, there isn't a lot of detail available, but what I do know, I like. I like, for example, the fact that this game is being made without the restriction of classes or levels. It's a risky proposition, but the setting is right for it. Classes make logical sense in high fantasy, but not so much on the streets of Manhattan.
I think, for me at least, it's the setting itself that I see potential in. The world and basic premise have been a long time in begging for an MMO incarnation and if (and it's a big if) this is handled correctly, Funcom could be looking at a game that could hold player attention (and subscriptions) over the long term.
7 - EVE Online
I know that right now some of you are sitting at home saying, "Jon, you silly man, EVE Online isn't an upcoming game. Some guys from Iceland launched it like six years ago." To those of you out there I say first, watch your language, and second, just because a game is older doesn't mean it can't have potential.
;)
Yes, this is going to be the only launched game that makes my list. It isn't that other launched games don't have potential. That's the beauty of MMOs, there's potential everywhere. The thing is that EVE Online simply drips the stuff. If EVE Online were a sponge that wiped up potential, you'd have to ring it out a few times before you used it again... Or maybe even replace it with some kind of Sham-Wow of potential. Let me explain why:
Three words spring immediately to mind: Walking in Stations. For years now CCP's developers have been teasing us with this little tidbit that, when launched, will change the face of a game that until now has kept its players inside of their ships. If done correctly, it's going to be a little bit like adding another whole game over top of the one that currently exists.
"Sure," you'd say to me next, "that's a bit of potential, but dripping? That might be a bit of hyperbole." I would of course answer first by complimenting you on your vocabulary use and second by telling you that the devs have hinted at other exciting aspects that could be added to the game including, but not limited to, the idea of planetary exploration. See? Potential... loads of it.
6 - World of Darkness
I honestly tossed around the idea of whether or not this game should make the list. After all, not only is there very little known about the upcoming World of Darkness MMO, but I'm not even sure what the timetable for it might be. Then I thought about the fact that it's an MMO based on what is arguably the second most famous pen and paper RPG franchise of all time.
;)
When CCP and White Wolf merged back in November of 2006, the MMO world got excited about the fact that White Wolf's universe would be moving into the online commuity. There's lots to like about a franchise that deals with some of the most classic ideas of the horror genre and it's no wonder that people got excited. It isn't, however, the setting or the IP that raises the game's potential in my eyes. In my opinion, it's the company behind it and the circumstances that surround that game that fill it with potential.
CCP is well known for taking the idea of sandbox MMOs very seriously given the nature of its only other MMO release, EVE Online. One has to assume that if they are going to invest time and resources into a second MMO that they wouldn't deviate too significantly from the formula that made them a success and the idea of a new sandbox game steeped in the lore of the World of Darkness should be enough to get anyone excited.
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The moment I saw the title of this article, my first thought was "duck and cover, fire in the hole".
Then I quickly read through the ranking and the explaination of why each game is ranked in you opinion, which I do agree with most of it, but once it hit the top 3, all I can say is, I hope you are wearing something that does not burn easy.
I understand people's view are all different and potential does not always reflect popularity or game's current quality, but some might not, and yeah, I am going to go hide somewhere now before I get burned to a crisp too.
Best of luck to you, and it was a nice article.
The potential thing depends a lot on what you enjoyed in your previous games and your approach in them. Maybe stating so beforehand would help this article to be flame-safe.
While I will quibble with some of the specific choices in a moment, my bigger comment is simply "how sad". None of that top 10 list are really all that exciting. It's like ranking the "best" value meal at McDonalds...even the number 1 is nothing but flash fried garbage.
Okay, so Aion is probably going to be "big"...but its generic asian fantasy MMO#24 and hardly worth major buzz to me, I don't see how a slightly new version of the same old same old has any potential at all.. The two "big names"; Stargate and Star Trek; both have serious issues. Stargate is going to require a miracle to actually launch and Star Trek is being ground out by Cryptic...who are more interested in flopping out another game fast than delivering any kind of quality.
Secret World and World of Darkness are both still so far out, that even I can't be bothered to start bashing FunCom over it yet. EVE? Ambulation, please...it's been "in the works" for what nearly 2 years now and still isn't even close? These three are still more talking points and good presentations than "potential" yet.
APB, Global Agenda and SW:TOR I suppose I can agree have potential; potential to take the genre in a directions I don't really like. I don't agree that the FPS model is promising or desirable...nor am I a fan of single player storyline/solo centric play.
Which leaves Fallen Earth as the only one that really interest me...sadly.
The more MMOs I play, the more I feel that they're all the same. I really thing I should finally try EVE Online since I hear it's the only one that's different. E.g. you fight for something worthwhile rather than better gear to PvP better like in most other MMOs, there's a full player economy, etc. The only thing keeping me away from EVE is that it's sci-fi, and while I have nothing against that, I prefer fantasy. Magic just is my thing.
Now if they made a fantasy MMORPG similar to EVE - with fighting and capturing territories, player housing, PvP with full or partial loot, rich crafting and great economy where everything is made by players, I'd signup in an instant ;)
Aion... It looks great and I will try it out, but it feels like "cookie cutter" MMO with some nice addons. Nothing really innovative or anything.
The Secret World looks promising, BUT it's made by Funcom (not that there's anything wrong with that) and they're using the same engine that they use for AoC and Anarchy Online (Dreamworld was it?). I really dislike it and it automatically adds certain limitations (zoned world instead of seamless, pretty poor performance ,etc).
Bioware's MMORPG looks interesting. I have a lot of respect for Bioware and I think their games are amazing (NWN, Mass Effect, etc). I wonder however how will their focus on the storyline will work out. Storyline might be important for some people (like me) but for MMORPGs you also need good gameplay mechanics, class balance, economy, worthwhile PvP, etc.
No interest in Final Fantasy? the successful franchise probably wont climb to WoW levels, but don't count this game out
The Agency? Admist the fantasy laden MMO games, a different genre is a nice change.
I'm finding MMORPG too be doing alot ' top ten ' ' why not ' or ' under belly ' stuff and focusing on the top ten mmo's. What ever happen too the other mmo's like Roma Victor / DAoC / Ashrons Call/SWG or any other old mmo. I just found out that shadowbane got taken off line. I came here too mmorpg to find some news about it and there was none.
Its disapponting that the focus is only given too main stream mmo's and not too the old mmos that are still going.
I'll be following WoD MMO for sure and that's a surprise when there have been no informations revealed about it all... basically, I'm interested in the IP itself and the fact that there probably isn't a better company to try something like this than CCP given their history with EvE Online.
I find that the use of the word potential is somewhat subjective.
Sci-Fi games generally will have more potential because you are not limited by any one setting, skill, technology, planet, etc.
For the list I cannot see putting W. of Darkness on there because it is so far out. Plus when it comes to an existing IP I believe that somewhat limits your potential. You're restricted by the rules, lore, and owners of the license on what you can and cannot do.
Global Agenda is going to be good for the arena style MMO's with player progression and SWTOR will be good for providing the voiceovers and a story based game. While they might have potential to be very good at what they do, I also feel that they are going further down the rabbit hole of SPRPG style of play. If SWTOR can capture UO elements, it will have potential. If every player is limited to following their story, despite different choices and outcomes within the story, then I think it lacks potential.
Really a more specfic definition of potential is needed. Potential to be good? Potential to impat the MMO genre? Potential for later expansions and content? Potential for capturing people of multiple playstyles?
The qualities that originally pulled me into mmorpgs ~10 years ago are lost. There will never be another series of games like EQ / UO /DAOC.
Some dismiss this as "first kiss" syndrome. I suggest that modern mmos and their successors have lost the online worlds feel and feel more like games than ever before. It has to do with a whole generation of students going to "video game design school" and learning about mass appeal.
This genre is dead to me.
No Earthrise? I think that is the game with the most potential, by far. I think TOR had potential, before the details actually came out.
World of Warcraft?
www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/16/feature/2942/Game-Closing-Permanently.html
Eh, the problem with this list is something he already said, 'all MMO's have potential'. The ones that launched have a lot of wasted potential, and Eve Online has been baiting the carrot of 'avatar movement' for some time now. A lot of games have had wasted potential that never lived up to its name and fell by the wayside. This list really didn't accomplish much for me and really seems to be just a way to try and seem hip. The thing about potential is that the majority of people don't play a game for the potential that it can deliver, but for what it delivers right now. Vanguard is an excellent example as it has come a /very/ long way from what was launched to what it is now, yet the majority of people have already quit and moved on. A lot of games could be great, but they generally fail to live up to the hype surrounding them or what seemed really cool becomes monotonous.
Anyway, the reason I replied to this list in the first place was simply for correctional purposes. Eke is the word that should have been used, as it means 'to put effort into', ie. eke out a living from the barren job prospects. Eek is the sound Mr. Wood, or a little girl, would make when they get surprised. As it was done several times, it leads me to believe that it was an error vs. a misspelling.
"No one right now outside of Bioware actually knows what the answers to those questions are. It is possible that, now stay with me, a company that has the experience and reputation of Bioware might actually have thought of these questions as well and found ways to address them. There is so much potential in the idea that a company may have found a way to actually present an MMO where individual decisions matter and a story, not a constant desire to level drives players through the game that there really wasn’t much choice but to say that Star Wars: The Old Republic has the most potential right now of any game currently in development."
Amen.
I would like to play WoD but why OP did not put Guild Wars 2 in his list? yeah,yeah some will say that it hasn't been announced yet and so is WoD.And yet Guild Wars has like 5 millions players.
I was suprised to see starg gate worlds listed. The game that had millions of dollars thrown at it, and still nothing and SOE is going to buy it and and either hsut it down or trash it.
The rest i could see with the exception of the secret word, there too antoher game that should have been that never will be.
OR, maybe it's intended to be Flame-worthy..................
Agreed. Nothing new (or even "old") is coming anytime soon. Wow clones 4 life.
World of Warcraft?
Apologies in advance, since this is largely off topic:
First off, as much as I didn't really like WoW (only playing when dragged in by some friends and left after 6 months or so): It was more than a slightly new version of EQ. WoW took elements that were popular from every MMO in existance at the time, refined and polished them and combined them into a totally new package. They redefined the genre in many ways by making "the grind" faster, easier and simpler...they made a quantum leap in lowering death penalties. This was combined with an already existant IP that had a ready-made massive player base from their single player games plus a mega marketing blitz. They did all this while managing to stay low on the hardware side and released at almost the exact moment that the internet market had properly "matured".
The "Rise" of WoW was in many ways a "perfect storm" that developers simply need to get over, because it is unlikely to *ever* be duplicated.
Aion has effectively NONE of that going for it. It's the same as game out there now with some shiny graphics and a generic Asian fantasy retread world.
WUT ABOUT DARKFAL?
Nice article, though I was a little put off that Mortal Online wasn't on it, shows some real potential =]
Really theres only one game there that has any chance of being good and thats swtor.
Agreed for the most part.
I don't see much "potential" for the games on this list other than WoD online and The Secret World (and I'm no Funcom fan by any stretch). I currently subscribe to EvE but I don't see it evolving very far from what it is right now. I plan on giving Star Trek Online a try, mainly because I'm a Trek fan and a few of my friends will be playing. Outside of that, the rest of that list:
1) SGO - Will probably not launch, at least not with the current company. Even if it does, it looks to be standard fair "design school" made game.
2) APB - Again, sorry, I'm not "gansta" or a "thug". I suppose the idea of going after the GTA crowd is good on paper, but I wouldn't think that crowd would sit down long enough to play an MMO. Either way, the subject matter isn't appealing to me.
3) Fallen Earth - I hope this one makes it. Alot of people keep saying that it needs more development time, which makes one wonder if they are going to continue the pattern of launching before ready.
4) Global Agenda - It's an MMOFPS. Not my bottle of beer. I like my MMOs and FPS separate.
5) Aion - Looks like the Eastern variation on the "WoW Forumla" to me. I'm not saying that it won't be a fun game for some (so no crying at me), but it doesn't promise anything that gets me excited about it.
6) TOR - I've played through Bioware's story heavy single player games and enjoyed them. Playing through one class for a story and then re-rolling to play through another class for its story is not my idea of an MMORPG.
Everything about this topic is highly subjective and speculative, of course, but it's an interesting read just the same. Some predictable choices made the list and some slightly quirky ones as well — I like that!
Personally, I would bump Stargate off the list (I never understood the appeal), move APB into the top five somewhere (if this particular game doesn't do it, some other MMO/GTA clone will become very successful sooner or later), and move WoD to number two (regardless of its only-quasi-announced status it's the game I'm most excited about). I'd probably throw in The Agency to replace Stargate. I doubt it will appeal much to the current MMORPG crowd, but it has verve and may develop it's own unique fanbase, especially if it adopts something similar to FreeRealms' business model.
I think you are spot on with most of the games in your list. Especially Star Wars: The Old Republic, once I first heard about the game back last October. I was reading somebodies live blog, the day of the big announcement. I knew this game would be a new hope (Pun intended.) for the MMO industry.
With all that has been revealed since then. then game just gets better and better. Stuff like story, character, the full-voice over, and the Smuggler cover system. Has really caught my eye about this game. Its the only game I really want to by next. Although my eye is also on Star Trek Online, DC Universe Online (You should of had this on your list, but it is your list and your opinions.) , APB and Global Agenda as well.
I've said it before in general discussion and in the SWTOR forums, but I'll say it again. When SWTOR comes out. It will be the game to beat, but first it will be the game to copy.
Correction, they have experience making games not MMO's. Now they may make a very good game that doesn't mean that the mmo and world feel to the population will be well presented or entertaining. For all we know the game could feel exactly like an SRPG with a chat feature.
That being said, Bioware does have a very good reputation and the clips of their games SWTOR and even Dragon age look highly entertaining.
Aion will be big right up to the point that the botters hit the scene, the cheats and exploits run rampant and people see NCSoft as not caring one bit. Wait a minute I have seen this before. Lineage II anyone?
The three big well known ip's are also going to fail if they follow the trend Turbine and Mythic gave to everyone in how you go about ruining a game by lack of anything relating to your customers.
Fallen Earth will do well if it gets cleaned up a bit. Maybe more of a niche game because of some elements of it.
APB should have been out a long time ago.
Anything by Funcom is a disaster waiting to happen. They have as much business being game developers as the people who created and are still bringing down Warhammer.
Global Agenda is about the only interesting game on that list that may hold some promise. Plantside had the chance and failed and if some serious steps are not taken to cure what killed it then this game wont last any longer.
I agree with most choices, but global agenda? seriously?
Edited.
I see potential for half of the games on the list the rest aren't even coaster worthy.
I agree,he puts Global Agenda which is an instanced linear mmorpg above Earthrise which is a FallOut 3 type of mmrpg ,which is sandbox and non instanced? some of the write ups on this site really are way off the mark.
www.play-earthrise.com/images/trailer/video/720.wmv
www.play-earthrise.com/
I agree with your summary and list. Good article. Thanks!
Yup he left out Earthrise and FF14...how could he do that lol
I liked your article Jon. I would have liked to have seen FFXIV on there but I can understand why it's not. It is a bit far from release and it's too early to decide how big of an impact it will have on the MMO community. I can say that Square Enix won't try to produce something hastily and push it out the door to make a quick buck. I eagerly await more development news!!!
Once again, good read and keep up the good work!
Correction to your correction. They now "own" Mythic, which has MMO experience such as WAR. This means that
1: the single player storylines of SWTOR will be amazing (from Bioware)
2: the multiplayer will be made up of really awesome ideas that no one will take to because they require much higher server populations and a complete rethinking of how MMOs work, the former of which will not be possible and the latter of which will be too much to ask of the people who play SWTOR (from Mythic)
Good article, people will jump on you because they don't understand the subjectivity of the world "potential" and how it can mean something that never reached live servers.
Ignoring Aion is like ignoring WoW's popularity, don't worry as you may hear a lot of it as we come closer and closer to release, how big it maintains itself after release is something I have my doubts and the reason it is still just a "potential" in the West, NCSoft isn't very good at doing it when it is the game developer. NCWest is somewhat new so there might be chances, the game however has a lot of potential to be destroyed by RMT companies and bots.
GW is a succesful "big numberz" NCSoft game, but it is developed by ANet, NCSoft merely publishing it, and the really game I wish I had seen in this list was GW2, for any of the over 6 millions that played GW will know how big the potential is at the moment they said GW2 will be mostly non-instanced and a true MMO.
Actually EA 'owns" mythic. The lead of bioware is the executive officer of both Bioware and Mythic but they are still two different houses per say. A very similar relationsip to the KFC / A&W Franchises.
Regardless of that relationship I purposely left off Mythic because they have proven over the last 6 years that getting them anywhere near an MMO or IP is disastrous, doing more harm than good, and I think that would be unfair to lump in Bioware with Mythic's level of incompetence.
I feel there should have been a bit more definition as what kind of potential the list was for, you went to trouble of letting us know that the list would be personal to each reader but why? Are they most likely to actual come into being and go gold or are they the most successful financially or subscription wise or best game play or most original, intuitive.
The problem is I read the list and all I really got was you should have named the article "These are the games in development I most want to play", so why not call it that and make it easier.
I'm not bashing and read all your articles and have enjoyed pretty much all of them (especially the flame bait ones
) but we see this kind of thread all the time in the general forum, usually from people whose real motive is to slag off other games.
I guess that there are always vastly differing opinions as of what upcoming game has most potential, but I have to say that I sadly don't see it on the number ones candidates. There is still too much to be revealed from SW:TOR for anyone to judge it. Certainly, fully voiced quests are nice and dandy but it doesn't make a good MMO. For Aion there hasn't (actually) been too much discussion from the Abyss which supposedly will be the make-it-or-break-it factor for the entire game. For Star Trek the elements are somewhat scattered for one to see the potential (or atleast I can't see it).
I think that for the genre re-shaping one ought to look for games that are entering into beta stages as they are somewhat more tangible and therefore easier to judge their potential. I personally am somewhat looking forward the ideas of games like e.g. Dawntide that combine two genres I personally like a lot. Also, if the obscure future is not an issue I'd like to state that the future non-named, non-themed Blizzard title is certainly one high on the potential charts if popularity is the measuring stick...
If people jump on the article it is because he states that he is using his personal view of potential but never clearly defines what that view is. The reader is left to assume what potential means to him.
This also clouds any further analysis of the games because the word potential in any single given context will not apply to all of the games he listed.
If you couple that with past articles he's written that do not accurately portray the truth behind a situation people will doubt or naysay his articles more heavily. For example, in the solo vs. group debate, he states that group mechanics were a part of the disgruntled playerbase's gripes about the game. This was very inaccurate. Warhammer had made soloing very viable, in some case more beneficial than groups, and the ability to join or leave groups in pve and rvr was a solo friendly as you can make it shoud you decide that you wanted to.
Peple will always point out the flaws in any argument whether it is a newpaper, interview, or webpost. If he article is sound, the opportunities to nitpick it are lessened, and people can actually discuss key points of the article instead of the flaws of the article more constructively.
Mourning had "potential".
Dark and Light had "potential".
Darkfall had "potential".
Gods and Heroes had "potential".
WISH had "potential".
Age of Conan had "potential".
FUCK POTENTIAL!
First, when there's only a handful of major titles that are far in development and working quickly towards release, a top ten list is kind of an easy way out: just pick most of them.
Second, the titles on this list really didn't interest me and I don't think most of them have the potential that is being given. Yes Aion will pull in some numbers with it's hype, but I suspect once people play it for a while they will see not much is different and that having wings gets boring fast.
APB sounds like a fun game to me and I'm sure I'll play it. However the style of the game and it's instancing means it probably won't be huge.
Global Agenda, same as above but without me playing it. I always thought tribes would of been a great game if it wasn't for the jetpacks.
Yes I am also one of those guys who won't play another Funcom game as long as I live, and yes it was a nice little jab at people like me. But I think there are enough people who see what that company produces that it will keep the numbers down. Kind of the same result I'd expect when Mythic releases something after the disastor that was WAR.
SWtoR is such pure hype. It has one major thing going for it - Star Wars. Do anything with the words Star Wars in it and it will make money, there are just so many die hard Star Wars fans out there that they will buy anything with those words (I saw a $500 millenium falcon at the Lego store, you can't even do anything with it once you build it). But the game will fall short for a lot of people, including those hyping it to all hell.
Really what this list shows is there isn't many interesting titles with release dates that are before the end of the year, and probably for next year as well. It's a boring time in new MMOs. I'm glad there's a bunch of people making post apocalyptic MMOs because it would be nice to play one of those (AO is considered by many to be that type of game but not to me, and it was a fairly terrible game) But it went from very few of those title to everyone making one at the same time, I'm sure everyone rushing to be the first one to get it out there will result in all of them missing many fun elements.
No FFXIV?? NO talk of the upcoming venture between the comic guy and the baseball player??
Pretty much every game in the list is PVP based?
EVE?? ya i would agree this game would have potential if it was started all over from scratch and developed by a bigger firm that has more money and better tech.Under CCP[i thin that is the guys,can't fully remember] i am not a big fan of Eve,but it has no chance under it's current game engine and lack of developer.
Most of the games in the list have some sort of idea that some gamers will like,but i really don't see much of anything coming from these games,other than AION.I do not think Aion is much of an effort really,not when you consider the size of NCSOFT,it is a very weak effort.However i know the Korean market and Asian market in general ,jump all over this stuff,pretty much ANY game out of Korea has huge numbers,so not so sure if it means anything at all.
I found it interesting the author mentions CCP and EVE then also mentions another CCP game i have NEVER heard of,so i think the author is a little biased towards CCP and EVE ,in general.
The secret world is another iffy one to mention,since Funcom has received a ton of negative publicity,since AOC was released.I do not agree with so much negative feedback about AOC,but it is there,so they will struggle to gain back fans.
I think the top two on the list should have been FFXIV and the Schilling/Macfarlane/38 studios game.It is funny how my top two are not even on this list,so it shows a lot of bias towards selections,and just how different MMO players are.I tend to lean towards friendlier top notch games ,where the OP leans towards PVP/drama based games.
Most of them on the list hasnt been seen...at least Earthrise has a trailer out lol
I agree with most of the list as well. I would remove Stargate worlds and Eve Online and replace them with FFXIV and Jumpgate Evolution.
Also Blizzard is making a 'secret' mmo and of course as soon as its announced it will jump into the top 5.
2 points:
Eve:online has had the walking on stations or planet idea for a loooooong time, i remember some ideas of the sort on the eve forums during beta.
I didn't see a mention of Earthrise, which is odd since you mention Fallen Earth. While I am not going to get into a debate about which is better it is something to consider.
Great Article.
It´s nice to bring up that kind of discussion regarding upcomming or even lauched MMOs. I gotta admit that Aion is really left off. Although NCs is trying it´s best to say "We are better than WoW", they lack to see where Mythic got for that with WAR, and if you look at it, WAR does have great potential together with all the MMOs in the list, but I think developers should look a little bit more on the name of the genre. it says ** Multiplayer **.
I get really sad, even though I like WoW, it caused the other companies to follow up on their formula, and it´s a Single Player model, and THAT is what the genre needs to change. I my humble opinion, people need to get their hands on a Persistent, Open World that Belongs to the players. I mean, you can´t event spend points on your stats anymore. All you have is this big place you level up and brag to everyone you played for 400000 hours to get to level gazilion.
I still can´t say anything about the games in the list because they didn´t release real details about mechanics and personally, I think MMOs like Aion, wich are real close to release and have only to say "you can fly", and "create nice looking characters" have no potential at all. I would like to see more MMOs with real player economies, player zone control, RvR (yes...bastards) and to see a game that a player could actually make a difference in the world, more and more we seem to be going from MMOs to MSO (Massively Single Player).
HOW THE HELL COULD HE POSSIBLY NOT INCLUDE FINAL FANTASY XIV, with its predecessor holding 500k subscribers since it came out? THIS damn site is so biased. Sure, SWTOR looks like it could be something interesting, but completely not including Final Fantasy, when the company creating it is one of the most successful gaming companies in the world?!?!
Also, Fallen Earth is a joke. That shouldn't even be on the list.
I agree, Aion to me never set itself as anything vastly different from a bunch of MMOs before it, potential for it seems to be low (alhtough hype is quite high). there are numerous games coming in the next 6months with player economies, new ideas, different combat methods, and many other things, and yet only a couple are mentioned.
And while I am a fan of Stargate, the MMO was sought for by me, but after a very short time I lost interest because I saw very little potential for it as a game.
The enormous question mark hanging over Star Trek Online is the issue of microtransactions.
I thought Cryptic had lost their mind when they announced a subscription + microtransaction model for CO, but when I read they were considering doing the same for STO, I knew they had.
Star Trek's Federation doesn't even have money. There's no greed, everyone shares, hugs trees, is kind to small animals etc. etc. Fans of the franchise tend to yearn for that egalitarian utopia.
So naturally Cryptic thought that adding a shopping mall to the game - so real-world money has an influence on the gameworld - is a good idea...
Poor old Gene is probably turning in his grave.
I agree, Aion to me never set itself as anything vastly different from a bunch of MMOs before it, potential for it seems to be low (alhtough hype is quite high). there are numerous games coming in the next 6months with player economies, new ideas, different combat methods, and many other things, and yet only a couple are mentioned.
And while I am a fan of Stargate, the MMO was sought for by me, but after a very short time I lost interest because I saw very little potential for it as a game.
New doesn't necessarily mean better.
Just about every car on the market follows the same small-metal-box-on-four-wheels design..... because it works.
Aion has taken the best of what has worked in other mmos and added some polish. WOW was an unabashed EQ-clone, and it far exceeded even Blizzard's expectations of success. So to argue that "it isn't new therefore has little potential" is a bit silly.
Just think of Cryptic as the Ferengi. It'll make more sense. They want your pressed latinum.
It wasn't a jab, it was a recognition. I recognize that this is how ome people feel. it's not how I feel, but i do absolutely respect the consumer's ability to vote with their wallets... Which is what I said. No jab in there.
New doesn't necessarily mean better.
Just about every car on the market follows the same small-metal-box-on-four-wheels design..... because it works.
Aion has taken the best of what has worked in other mmos and added some polish. WOW was an unabashed EQ-clone, and it far exceeded even Blizzard's expectations of success. So to argue that "it isn't new therefore has little potential" is a bit silly.
What I was referring to is exactly the small-metal-box-on-four-wheels design. I my opinion it´s nice to play and even fun if it´s done right, like WoW did, but I said I would really like to see someone bringing something actually pretty old, but that is quite hard to do, that is player control.
Back in the days, MMOs were hard because they required skill and thinking and planning, but if you worked hard you could get something from it. WoW made the formula simpler, they said: "don´t worry, we´ll take care of everything, just have fun". But they ended up making a game that you don´t have any control of your character. I agree with you, good things are to be considered and WoW is good, but it´s time we used the technology we have to go where we wanted to go. I mean, UO still more MMOish than WoW. Still I have to agree that this doesn´t mean we need something new, like a new game, like mentioned in the article with EVE, even WoW could bring up player control.
If you couple that with past articles he's written that do not accurately portray the truth behind a situation people will doubt or naysay his articles more heavily. For example, in the solo vs. group debate, he states that group mechanics were a part of the disgruntled playerbase's gripes about the game. This was very inaccurate. Warhammer had made soloing very viable, in some case more beneficial than groups, and the ability to join or leave groups in pve and rvr was a solo friendly as you can make it shoud you decide that you wanted to.
You misunderstood that article. I'm sorry if it was unclear.
What I was saying was that many of the gripes about the way the game was balanced came from the fact that the group dynamic took precedence over the solo dynamic in terms of how the careers operate. I never said the game wasn't soloable. In fact, I played and enjoyed the game solo. What I WAS saying was that there was a general misconception that all careers should have been balanced to fight all other careers equally. This was not the case because the game was balanced for group combat and not individual.
FF14 is far more developed the World of Darkness..... so yah. We know its coming out in 2010, no such info for world of darkness.
I thought it was an interesting article. It was good that there weren't as many fantasy games and there were more sci-fi games listed. Sci-fi has a problem in that most of the recognizable terms are someone's IP. Everyone knows about elves, goblins, dragons, etc. You can pick up a fantasy game and get an idea of the setting quickly. It takes longer to do that in sci-fi and you can't have Klingons, Wookies, or Cylons without incuring the wrath of a horde of lawyers. Worse, all the good archtypes have already been taken. If you have an alien race focused on financial profit people are going to say "Ferengi-rip-off". If you have an ancient order of quasi-mystical guardians, Lucas will drag you into court. The only unused ideas in sci-fi are so far out there that most players can't use them.
I know I won't play every game released. Out of this list I'll probably only play Star Trek (if Cryptic avoids micropayments). Stargate Worlds seems as doomed as Stargate Infinity, otherwise I'd play that. The MMO world needs to open itself up to the non-fantasy crowd.
Fallen Earth does look like a great concept. Check out comments made by beta testers and potential is not the word they would use now. Its really too bad because it could have HAD potential but might be too late now. I really hope the comments I have read about the game are wrong because it was something I was very interested in. Who knows? Anyone here want to say how great it is? Thanks much.
Can we prove we're human and capable of a logical thought process? Please? It would mean so much to me.
Like for example, can we not assume we're that somehow a new MMO is going to break the convention of every other MMO before it and release without breaking massive amounts of promises and hype? Not even that hard to do, let me give you some general tips on how you can accomplish this.
#1) Don't be an idiot.
#2) Don't rate a game on WHAT THE GAME DEVELOPER SAYS IT WILL BE
#3) See #1.
Seriously, it is one thing to say you would like to see something, or you think a game would be cool because its based on a concept you like, but to discuss an unreleased game on its value as a game experience is just ignorant.
Discuss the merits of a game because its set in a universe you appreciate, or because it seems to have a graphic style you like, or whatever tangible fact exists about it.
WTF, where is Mortal Online?
Mortal Online will be the best game, far better than this shit.
~Brif, MOFFL (Mortal Online Fanboi For Life)
Regardless of specifics on what you meant by the class balance issues, you still pointed to that as what was hurting Warhammer, when in fact it was:
the game being released unfinished, morales not working, abilities not working
city sieges not working, city siege being pve and not pvp , 4 cities not in game that were promised, 4 classes that were not in game that were promised, a crappy crafting system, casting lag (see mythic re-defines a second) , keeps being an afterthought (because of beta-tester revolt), itemization being completely borked ( explain why my tank needs int? ) Loot was not going to be an endgame hunt for PvE but you in fact needed to PvE to get the loot to do the city raid that was once again: PVE.
Mythic lied about the product they were going to give us and giving us the exact opposite in return that was broken from the ground up.
People complaining about class balance have been complaining about the OP'd nature /nukes of Bright Wizards,, Witch Elves taking down tanks, White Lion pets doing insane damage. They aren't complaining about balance or design of solo vs. group mechanics,, they're complaining about Mythic creating problems by making OP'd classes, then nerfing some into the ground (see witch elf) , then changing class abilities across the board when it's just one or two classes that needed it. (see AOE). Fixing over powered or underpowered classes has nothing to do with group or solo mechanics, it's all about DPS issues.
Mythic's complete ineptitude is what killed war, not solo vs. group mechanics.
So I stand by what I said, your implication in that article was false and misleading. Your article wouldn't have lost it's credibility if you had decided more wisely to leave that implication out. It came across as very poorly researched.
Though It's just echoing what's already been said, I personally find my self questioning the credibility of this article if you don't even touch on a looming juggernaut like FFXIV. I understand we all have biases but that's like leaving SWtOR off of the list. That is to say, not mentioning FFXIV just shows incompetence. I mean seriously It's a guaranteed hit regardless of it being even half good, with the emblem it bears.
And this is without even considering the game in the context of FFXI, which has been a consistent top 10 subscription MMO for 8 years and running.
Granted I'm admittedly biased towards FFXI, which I enjoyed tremendously, in part becuase it was my first MMO, so take my words as a grain of salt. It's just I can see FFXIV harboring this potentional of being a lot of people's first MMO, really opening up the market up to a new segment of curious newcomers. Where as, a game like Aion, which looks really bad ass and I'll probably subscribe to, won't have the same marketing allure to those who aren't already part of the MMO community.
I wouldn't call it incompetence. I'd call it not making my personal list. As I said at the very top of the article, that was MY list, potential is subjective and obviously FFXIV is on your personal list. Our opinions should be able to differ without resorting to insults, no?
Regardless of specifics on what you meant by the class balance issues, you still pointed to that as what was hurting Warhammer, when in fact it was:
the game being released unfinished, morales not working, abilities not working
city sieges not working, city siege being pve and not pvp , 4 cities not in game that were promised, 4 classes that were not in game that were promised, a crappy crafting system, casting lag (see mythic re-defines a second) , keeps being an afterthought (because of beta-tester revolt), itemization being completely borked ( explain why my tank needs int? ) Loot was not going to be an endgame hunt for PvE but you in fact needed to PvE to get the loot to do the city raid that was once again: PVE.
Mythic lied about the product they were going to give us and giving us the exact opposite in return that was broken from the ground up.
People complaining about class balance have been complaining about the OP'd nature /nukes of Bright Wizards,, Witch Elves taking down tanks, White Lion pets doing insane damage. They aren't complaining about balance or design of solo vs. group mechanics,, they're complaining about Mythic creating problems by making OP'd classes, then nerfing some into the ground (see witch elf) , then changing class abilities across the board when it's just one or two classes that needed it. (see AOE). Fixing over powered or underpowered classes has nothing to do with group or solo mechanics, it's all about DPS issues.
Mythic's complete ineptitude is what killed war, not solo vs. group mechanics.
So I stand by what I said, your implication in that article was false and misleading. Your article wouldn't have lost it's credibility if you had decided more wisely to leave that implication out. It came across as very poorly researched.
Sure man, you're entitled to your opinion. We should probably drop this now as it's not really the point of this thread.
I understand that it was your personal list and regardless of where you ranked them is really of no consequence of me. Even leaving off Earthrise which is the game I"m waiting for more than any other doesn't affect me.
The only thing I wish you had done was stated exactly what you mean by potential on your personal analysis. Was is freedom to expand the universe? Freedom to create new content, classes, or economic design? Is your view of potential subscriptions? A more clear definition of what potential was to you would have helped tremendously to see a different viewpoint or game feature about any upcoming MMO's.
It is a great concept, and in a year or so, may be one of the best sandbox games on the market if it survives launch. If it can find a core audience willing to support it, grow along with it, and accept the fact that its releasing too early (likely because they've run out of money, not because they want to stiff customers), they'll be ok.
If they get a bunch of QQ'ing 'this game is fail' fucktards that expect it to have WoW-like levels of polish upon release, they won't make it.
It is a great concept, and in a year or so, may be one of the best sandbox games on the market if it survives launch. If it can find a core audience willing to support it, grow along with it, and accept the fact that its releasing too early (likely because they've run out of money, not because they want to stiff customers), they'll be ok.
If they get a bunch of QQ'ing 'this game is fail' fucktards that expect it to have WoW-like levels of polish upon release, they won't make it.
Hail to that ! People sometimes forget even WoW wasn´t fully polished when it released, but we have to be careful, WAR would be a GREAT game if it was at least close to finished....
FFXIV will be as big or bogger than SWTOR. Square Enix has deep pockets and an incredible talent pool. You couple that with the unwavering solidarity of SE's track record of releasing quality finished titles and you have a gold title.
Jumpgate Evolution should be on the list. you seem to be a big EvE/FPS fan so this one should hit home. The arcade style of this game promises to be an awesome treat for anyone who was a fan of x-wing, Wing commander.
Black Prophesy. OMG where to start. This game will fill a serious itch I have had ever since I finished Independence War 2, Terminus, and WC Privateer. This game could be absolutely awesome if the developers don't cut corners. and the art direction is breathtaking, See the latest trailer for yourself.
These 3 I feel should Absolutely be on your list
Now on to 3 I feel never should have been considered.
You got STO in the # 2 spot? are you a nuts?......Look at who is making the game for christ sake.
Cryptic is using a slightly modified heavilly outdated engine so they can pump out a quick game for $$$$. People said they wanted ship interiors.....nogo. People said they wanted sandbox.....nogo. People said they wanted many factions at release....guess...that's right nogo. Their graphics engine is more suited for a tactical space game, not a MMO. there have been too many bad decisions for this game to ever be anything more than a bump in the road.
FYI STO is being made on a modified City of heroes engine.....GL
Eve online, What to say. It has been out for a while. and it will never be a big success as long as they have that stupid timed experience.
Stargate Worlds: It sucked from day 1 of the closed beta, I played it for months and saw that no resources were being spent on it. it was a half baked con job from the beginning.
Ya but look at the potential they could have been.....that wasn't the title or the premise of the article, you need to take in more facts to make a determination on the potential of a game. STO already burned their fanbase and used a crap engine for development. Eve has problems that ensures there will always be a barrier to many people starting out. and SGW while a very good concept is already dead, deadder than a doornail.
I understand it is your personal list, these are my personal gripes with your list ^^
It wasn't a jab, it was a recognition. I recognize that this is how ome people feel. it's not how I feel, but i do absolutely respect the consumer's ability to vote with their wallets... Which is what I said. No jab in there.
Don't you mean CUSTOMER rather then consumer. A customer is a person who is valued and heard and a consumer is a person thats a #### statistic such as the ##### ability to vote with their wallet. Gaming companies look at people and subscriptions and a statistic rather then considering them customers. Thats why theres tons of complaints with customer service and failing mmo like Tabula Rasa....someone should clean the ##### slate.
Im not a fan of MT's in MMO's, in fact I loathe the idea, but from what Ive read the MT's in STO wont be game altering/unbalancing (as in bigger better guns/engines for your ship) and that anything that can be obtained from MT's can also be obtained through in-game means.
Though I suppose we will have to wait and see how this pans out.
I just hope Cryptic doesnt F it up. STO is the #1 game on my watch list and Im really hoping it will be great.
I've seen some sites doing re-reviews of the older MMOGs. I think Ten Ton Hammer had something about EQ2 and maybe Vanguard a little while ago. So there are still sites looking back at the older MMOGs. Its a good idea, IMO, because many of those MMOs came a long way since launch and are really different games now. EQ2 is a really good example of that. I logged in after being away for over a year and the game had changed sooo much I had to really start all over to understand it all.
But this article was about MMOGs with potential, so it makes sense that's what peple would be discussing here, right? ;)
First five choices yes, last five no.
Last five choices are poorly designed and/or instanced and linear task driven tripe.
Established games that have potential but need a fresh server start and marketing help should include :
Ryzom www.ryzom.com/en/
Istaria aka Horizons. www.istaria.com/
Upcoming releases with great potential would include :
Mortal Online www.mortalonline.com/
Heroes of Telara www.heroesoftelara.com/
Immortal Destiny www.immortaldestiny.com/index.php
Black Prophecy blackprophecy-game.com/index.php
Im leery of anything that NetDevil does after the Epic Fail that was Auto Assault, but we shall see if they can rectify that.
I agree with you on just why Black Prophecy wasnt on the list. It my #2 game that Im watching and so far looks amazing. However, much like NetDevil, I am leery of Reakktor. Neocron had alot of potential IMO, but just fell flat on its face. I mean the game is still running, but unless you already have an existing account you cant even play it because the Account Managment/Payment system is totally borked.
I dont entirely agree with you about STO. Yes its being build on the CoH/V Engine, but I wouldnt really call it "outdated" (its only been 5 years). Also the CoH/V Engine is very clean and flexible and since it was created by Cryptic it should be very easy for them to update it and modify it to work well with a 2010 game.
Though I do agree with you that the fact that because it is not a sandbox game with only 2 factions and no ship interiors there is the strong possibility that it could be a very linear and boring game (much like CoH/V is). Im still holding out hope that Cryptic will realize that with a game that is based on Star Trek "linear" is not the way to go. Unless of course the way they want to go is straight to Failville
Though as always, it is a "wait and see game" when it comes to MMOs these days
World of Warcraft?
Actually, I'd agree with that. Blizzard can at least 'get things done'. They have done more with PvP since Warhammer Online released than Mythic has.
I have a lot of issues with the game's overall philosophy, but in the MMORPG world competence counts for a lot.
Star Trek? Not at all true to the shows. The IP is all about a team of crew members of various skills working together. This game is about a bunch of captains tooling around in their own ships and getting together for field trips.
SWTOR? A Massively Single-player game. Story-driven (which means isolated from the actions of others). Huge amount of voice acting. In place of what? Spending resources on that rather than real content. Very mis-guided. Crafting appears will be very limited. I loved NWN, but BioWare has no MMO experience and Mythic has the stink of failure all over them now.
As someone else mentioned, it's surprising that FF XIV isn't on the list.
Thanks for the write-up. I found it to be concise without being overly detailed.
I do find it strange that a lot of people seem to feel the need to question your credibility, when it is clearly an opinion piece.
Some even resorting to telling you what should be on YOUR list! What?!?
One thing I would like to point out, is the common denominator between all these games seems to be "if done correctly".
Unfortunately, that aspect can't be known until said game releases and goes through the litmus test.
Personally, Earthrise would make MY list.
I really like what I read as far as crafting goes with Earthrise. Unless I totally miscomprehended what was written, it would seem that the crafting experience in Earthrise will be some akin to early SWG.
Just for clarification, I quit playing soon after the "update" to SWG. But I can say that from release up until that point, in my opinion SWG had/has the best crafting/merchant system to date.
Again, thanks for YOUR list.
Says who??? I don't even like PVP and neither does millions of others,so how do you figure it is better?or The BEST?
It may be a game concept you like,no problem,we all have our game types we like,but remember this ,it is an Asian game.They are notorious for putting out meaningless games,you do nothing but login and PVP or wander around leveling up levels or skills.
Do i think MO is at least worthy of taking notice or has potential?? yes i do,but it is not leaps and bounds a better concept or shown any real potential far above the other games,cept maybe for that CCP game i never even heard of .I also do not think it will come within a whiskers thickness to being "The Best".
The reason so many people have a problem with the list is the parameters in which his opinion was formed were never clearly stated. Had he said: "This (X) is what I define potential as and based on (that rule) how I plan to rank the games." you would probably see a lot less angst, disagreement, and confusion about the article.
I wouldn't call it incompetence. I'd call it not making my personal list. As I said at the very top of the article, that was MY list, potential is subjective and obviously FFXIV is on your personal list. Our opinions should be able to differ without resorting to insults, no?
Rereading what I wrote, it indeed sounds like I'm ovulating. That wasn't my intention. And I do agree with a good portion of your list. Being able to demonstrate empathy and understand the reasons for someone else's argument is indeed important in any civil forum, and I made the mistake of de-humaninizing your viewpoint since you're an editor.
Though also as an editor, I come to expect a certain degree of journalistic unbias, that would over-ride personal opinion. So upon reading a personal opinion peice I surely underplayed the personal part of your article. Which was a mistake, after all, you're not reporting the news, you're reporting on a subjective medium, games.
At any rate, what I ment to convey is that a large portion of the community is very excited about FFXIV and SWtoR, and I'm very interested in why you see eye to eye with them in the case of SWtOR, which is being developed by a company who makes masterful videogames, but don't share the same sentiment in regards to a game like FFXIV, which is also being produced by a beloved company. On paper they both appear to be great contendors.
Especially when the reasoning behind your excitement in SWtOR lies in it's focus on storyline. I think it's a great decision and it will manifest itself for Bioware, but that's been the same gameplan Square-Enix has had for FFXIV since day one. That's the same gameplan they had for FFXI, and every RPG they've ever created. That's what sells Square games.
Says who??? I don't even like PVP and neither does millions of others,so how do you figure it is better?or The BEST?
It may be a game concept you like,no problem,we all have our game types we like,but remember this ,it is an Asian game.They are notorious for putting out meaningless games,you do nothing but login and PVP or wander around leveling up levels or skills.
Do i think MO is at least worthy of taking notice or has potential?? yes i do,but it is not leaps and bounds a better concept or shown any real potential far above the other games,cept maybe for that CCP game i never even heard of .I also do not think it will come within a whiskers thickness to being "The Best".
Misinformed you are.
MO is being produced by a Swedish company.
Since Jon is a bit more reserved than I am, I'll post what he most likely would like to say now.
To all those of questionable intellect who keep saying "WTF?!?! Where's game X?", it's HIS personal opinion of what games HE likes and is looking forward to and that HE sees potential in.
He didn't say "These are the best games out there.".
He didn't say "This is MMORPG.COM's top ten list".
It's HIS personal list based on HIS personal opinion.
He even states in the article it's HIS personal list.
Now, if anyone still does not understand this, let me know. Because I'd personally like to have a list of my own.
And to you, I'd point out that the list was obviously posted to elicit comments of all expected types. Including criticism for baffling omissions.
/facepalm
I am so looking forward to the return of enb
And to you, I'd point out that the list was obviously posted to elicit comments of all expected types. Including criticism for baffling omissions.
And how, pray tell, is the fact he likes different games than others leading to "baffling ommissions"? Again, if it was an "official" ratings or top ten list, then yes. Perhaps the list would be baffling in ommitting certain games. But to me, there is nothing baffling about a guy posting his personal preferences.
I didn't see Vanguard, or Age of Conan, in that list.
Kinda cool but I think it would have been more interesting if the parameters of the article were a little more specific. For instance if you would have further defined it as "Top Ten MMOs with Potential to innovate the genre" I would have been much more interested in what you had to say. As it is it's merely your top ten anticipated games (with the exception of EVE), which is cool, but I could have made a thread on the general forum about the same thing (actually there's probably a number of threads already like that). Not bashing, just my opinion about the article. Keep 'em coming!
Because it's just like any opinion column for a newspaper or news website. Even sports websites live off of opinion columns. The author wil give an opinion. They will not really expand on the criteria for his opinion and generally will add in or take off something that probably should have been listed or will garner debate in order to create traffic on the website.
Do you think all those powerpolls for the NFL during the season are serious business?
Because it's just like any opinion column for a newspaper or news website. Even sports websites live off of opinion columns. The author wil give an opinion. They will not really expand on the criteria for his opinion and generally will add in or take off something that probably should have been listed or will garner debate in order to create traffic on the website.
Do you think all those powerpolls for the NFL during the season are serious business?
Saying "My list would be different from yours because" is adding an opinion on the article.
Telling the editor he "doesn't know his job because he's supposed to be impartial" or "how stupid is it that you didn't include game X in that list since it's more well known?" and other such uninformed idiocy due to failed reading comprehension ( i.e. they don't have the braincells to differentiate between an opinion piece and a statement of fact ) is another matter. Those are the people my comments apply to.
Nice hype list. Where is the 10 games with most potential? All the ones you listed are closed systems, except for EVE Online. Cant expand much with a closed system.
Well yea I can agree with you on that, I was just pointing out that articles such as this prey on that mentality. That's why opinion articles will always possess some snippit of flawed logic, incorrect information, or data that should be provided/included.
Nice list. But I have the rather predictable comments :)
1. Secret World - Doesnt' have a chance in hell of being anything significant. There are very few developers with a worse reputation then Funcom. People aren't going to fall for pre-launch hype again from them.
2. Eve - I think you understate how many times and for how long ambulation has been talked about for this game. Giving it 'potential' for something that has been talked about for 3 years is a bit optimistic. Don't get me wrong, EVE is, in my opinion, the second best MMORPG on the market (wow is first), I just don't think ambulation is coming any time soon, or it will be anything but a social addition to the game.
3. SWTOR - I agree wholehardedly with you on this one. Just like WOW revolutionized 'casual progression'. SWTOR has the chance to revolutionize 'story progression' as a basis for a MMORPG. Whether or not it works has yet ot be seen. I give it a 75% chance of suceeding 100% because of Bioware, -25% because of EAs influence.
Good list overall. Would have been better without The Secret World, which I feel will end up much like Darkfall... there will be a ton of attention and activity on the forums, but most of it will be negative and the game will have very few subscribers.
Well yea I can agree with you on that, I was just pointing out that articles such as this prey on that mentality. That's why opinion articles will always possess some snippit of flawed logic, incorrect information, or data that should be provided/included.
Even if Jon had of included his definition of "potential" as some have pointed out it wouldn't have mattered. Most of the people that are quick to fly into name calling and"WTFing" don't read the first paragraph anyway. They read the title and skip to "#10" and when they see something they don't agree with or find that their "baby" wasn't included, they go into attack mode. Which brings up another point in that they wouldn't know how to disagree and debate in a civil, educated manner if their life depended on it. If they did, they would have done so initially.
Yea, I can't disagree with you either Kal :)
Almost all those games on that list are possible greats....
But several are possible epic fails IF they ever come out.
I have been tracking Stagate Online since its inception, and Star Trek online.... long before its current developer. I have bad feelings about STO in its current form.... starting to look to much like Eve with a star trek skin. Which isnt all bad, but not really what I am looking for.... and I really doubt many of the hardcore trekkies are looking for either.
Meanwhile SGO is a great concept, but if it concentrates too much on the FPS side of the game it will end up being planet side with a Stargate look. And that could be bad....
Now WOD online, that could be GREAT..... I think they have a winner there. The only thing that will pull that game down will be the players... but thats easily avoidable if they have a RP/hardcore server. (on a side note, I HATE GLAMPIRES!)
I really like the concept of APB and Earthfall..... both are newish ideas. Earthfall only big worry is that Bethsesda grinds hard and pulls out a Fallout MMO before the end of 2010. That will KILL Earthfall. But APB on the otherhand has very little to worry about, but will end up being a nitch target market, and also places a HUGE target on its chest for all these parents and religious advocacy groups that think Video games affect kids.
Unbelievable.
Why the hell isn't Mortal Online on that list? A sandbox that has the potential to open up sandbox MMO's for a lot of unknowing gamers(unknowing about the GOOD MMO's.)
Only a bunch of frickin' theme park loaded with dope. Holy heck, poor content, good writing.
Fallen Earth - FUCKING EPIC (That's all I'm allowed to say on the topic, more than I'm allowed to in fact), maybe not that good, but its definitely fun, takes quite a while to get anywhere though in my opinion.
STO - Meh
Eve - LOVE IT, going back to it once they get the biggest update in
Star Wars - I wet myself..
The more in brainstorming phase they are, the more potential they have, don't they.
For example, I'm pretty sure SW:TOR would lose a considerable amount of its "potential", if we knew exactly what this game was all about. Including the payment method.
Nice round up and I am hopeful of some on the list for the same reasons. But this is essentially a preview article, in fact a pre-preview article. Good for putting some MMO’s on your radar but thats all.
Only Aion (not yet in the west) and Eve are launched, I think a separate article on launched MMO’s which are at least a year old that show potential is a must, and much more useful.
6 out of 10 are all game's I'm excited about. It would be 7 out of 10 but Fallen Earth's development team is leaning far too much towards WoW instead of Eve...which is a colossal failure of an idea w/ a Sandbox.
Just shows how much people's opinions vary.
"Jerks" ...HAHA
This was a good read and a good list of games to boot.
Using your rules, I will wholeheartedly agree that Eve has potential, but I would have placed it at #1 on my list. Walking in stations is huge, if it was in-game now, the size of Eve would triple and continue to grow, as long as it was done correctly. I hear it all the time how people don't play Eve for mainly the only reason being is their character is a ship, that seems to turn off a lot of people. That will all change once players are allowed to walk around and be their "character."
I would probably leave SW:TOR off my list though, to say it has potential at this point is obvious, but not for what we know, but for what we don't know. Going by this logic, our list would be huge because of the multitude of games being developed at the moment that we know even less then we know about TOR....Twilight anyone?
I loved the way that you wrote this article. Very amusing and entertaining stuff.
We're all jaded and tired of the same thing, it's obvious.
I see the potential for success in many of these titles. I just don't see the potential for long term interest with people that have played games for many years. With the latter, there is no cure. We know it all and have played it all. It's going to take time before a group can pull something special back into this genre and make something worth playing.
Really surprised Darkfall aint on that list. Its not on its prime, but it does have alot that can make it a really, really potential mmo.
With Tasos and Aventurine at the helm, "potential" is the last thing Darkfall has.
The list makes me rather sad. I had great hopes for KOTR. Aside from Star Trek and Stargate which seem troubled, none of the others appeal to me.
I'm pinning my hopes on FFXIV or KOTR bringing something new and interesting to the MMO table. Killing 12 boar is so boring.
Yes, I personally enjoyed Warhammer. That said, I also saw and wrote about flaws with the game... Maybe going back to check out some of the things I wrtre aboutt he game might give you more perspective on what it was i actually thought?
Maybe no one is reading CCPs pathetic excuse for updates on their Eve-Onlines site, but they (within the last month and a half) stated there will be no and HAVE no intentions of there being any walking within the stations. There by leaving a huge block of us pissed that they cannot hold to promises - and of course a huge percentqge of us will be heading to STO....so, im curious as to why you didnt know that before making this list? You mention that as a large reason why its got potential however thats a pipe-dream thats NOT happening.
Anyone who's been playing EVE should know CCP has NO plans to make walking in stations a reality.....
Haha, potential my friend, not what is being made to be, but rather potential, nothing more, nothing less. Whether they make station walking or not, he's talking about the potential it could have
I have been a huge fan of the Star Wars universe ever since I saw the original movie in a rinky-dink theater back in 1977. So you can guess how thrilled I was when Lucas Arts announced the intention to lease the licence to make an MMO. But when SWG was finally launched in 2003 the game was a huge disappointment. Primarily since nothing worked. Crafting was broken, most quests were broken, and the classes went through numerous "re-balancing.' And of course, the thousands of brats logging in and spamming "HOW DO I BE A JEDI? I WANT TO BE A JEDI! WHY CANT I BE A JEDI?" There was not even a jedi class available at the beginning, but the throng of Picachu hell-spawn wouldnt get it through their heads. Eventually, patches were released and improvements made and the Force came to balance. Then came the dreaded NGE and the galaxy erupted into chaos once again. The evil empire of SOE deleted classes and player structures without so much as an 'excuse me.'
I am praying that Bioware will learn from the past and NOT release the game until it is truly ready (what a concept for game devs, eh?) Let the game remain in Beta phase for years if need be. But please get it right.
That was a well thought out list, although Global Agenda is NOT a mmo. Global Agenda, with 10 vs 10 fights make it more a Diablo clone in space than a MMO.
I think a lot of players won't even consider APB to even try it. While some may like it, I think it will be strictly a niche game.
Another one post wonder spouting complete nonsense. Walking in Station is an ongoing project at CCP, it just has no announced starting point. Most development studios do that with things that are in development. I'd rather they do it right than throw out a half completed version of it.
Why isn't Mortal Online on the list? It is a game that has huge potential and could very well be what defines future sandbox MMORPGs or it could just as much be a disaster like Darkfall. But still, it has some huge potential.
You forgot to mention why it has huge potential. Jon Wood did mention MO in his opening statements and he also said if you wanted it mentioned, go for it and say why you think so
Federation is like that, yes, but not the Klingons and most of the other races in Star Trek. However microtransactions in game rarely has anything to do with roleplaying, it is there for the company to make money.
That being said, I really hope Star Trek Online does not have microtransactions for anything more than visual stuff.
You forgot to mention why it has huge potential. Jon Wood did mention MO in his opening statements and he also said if you wanted it mentioned, go for it and say why you think so
Oh, I thought it is obvious but sure:
Mix these elements together and you got the potential of a MMORPG true to the roots of the genre.
EvE Online had potential but without a total revamp and server wipe, which won't happen, it has none.
The real world time based skill learning system is anti - virtual world. How can you have such an obvious link between the two?
At a minimum there needs to be a way for players to skill up faster if active in-game. Having a passive system only is lame.
And as long as CCP sanctions RMT by selling time cards and facilitates trading of them in-game for in-game money aka isk, then EvE Online fails. There is no true risk vs reward since players can easily replace any lost ships and items by buying isk via trading time cards.
That's a pretty hard hitting list john. I agree with 90% of it except for Fallen Earth, can't say why but just it is what it is. I also couldn't help noticing the lack of Champions Online, DCUO and Marvel Universe Online. Could the superhero genre not cutting the mustard in mmo country?
Yes, I personally enjoyed Warhammer. That said, I also saw and wrote about flaws with the game... Maybe going back to check out some of the things I wrtre aboutt he game might give you more perspective on what it was i actually thought?
The problem with WAR is WoW does everything better and WAR doesn't feel like Warhammer. I wanted a Dark and gritty game like Warhammer should be with lots of gore and instead we got a generic version of WoW. The combat system is horrible, the classes are boring to play and the animations are terrible. The world is laid out really poorly so it doesn't feel like a world and 4 races don't even have capital cities making their areas empty. Scenarios take everyone out of the world making it empty.
The problems just keep mounting up and i wanted to try Land of the dead cause the trailer looked good but I can't be bothered to level a character in the easct same process I've done in a hundred other mmorpgs before.
I desagree with most of them.
but i real question is why mortal online is not listen? This guy is a carebear or what? Maybe MO are a sell out company. Maybe its because MO was not at E3 so they are not snob enough for them. The communoty at mmorpg.com like mortal online so what the fuck? Comme on guys. Its like they want to try to back down mortal online. They dont want it to be a success, but they want eve to stay even if the game is arleady out.
My biggest question is why eve online and not mortal online. EVE is already fucking out. So go on and put mortal online. This article was not suppose to be about history. While we at it, you should had put ultima online or arsheron call you moron.
I use to like his article, but this time, he failed.
1. Stargate worlds had a beta and can't say anything about it but you can guess.
2. APB isn't an mmo only 100 people zones..... lame.
3. Don't know anything The Secret World but the screens don't interest me.
4. EVE Online I hate the real time training and want Arena PVP like the Alliance Tournament but built in game for fair fights. I love going in WoW and doing 2 v 2 with my friend and getting it down to an art form and owning everyone.
5. World of Darkness we don't know anything about but I'm not into Vampires anyways.
6. Fallen Earth like the first one.
7. Global Agenda like APB not massive.
8. Aion I don't like generic emo Asian graphics.
9. Star Trek Online doesn't even have ship interiors so it fails at being a Star Trek game.
10. swtor is the only one with any promise but I don't like the character models.
One thing I notice about all these games is they arn't online worlds like SWG Pre CU or WoW and thats what I'm looking for. I don't like zoning and being cut off from people, I want to be able to be int he same space as everyone else.
I like the list except how do you not put Champions Online in there and put Eve on the list ? That is really head scratching. Ok so we know you guys have a love for Eve but that game has been out several years now and the potential it had was lost years ago. Ok so you guys may not be big superhero fanatactics but the fact is Champions Online is going to be the best mmo this year. It is going to be super polished at launch,that character customization is very outstanding and gameplay looks great. Good article but that is my only flaw I see.
Well it seems you do not like the system in EVE and it is perfectly fine. I can understand your points, but do not support them. I like EVE as it is. It offers unique gaming experience to any other MMO in the market today. Skill training is actually very small part of EVE and the difference of having skill at level 4 or at level 5 is relatively small. The real benefit to old timers is that they have more specializations, you might still be as good with specific tasks as they are. Like say, PvP.
About the last point, the beauty of the system is that it does not increase in-game ISK, it just redistributes it. The risk is still there. And I would say that it is a lot more risker to spend your real money on ships than virtual money since making ISK in EVE is pretty easy once you get past the beginning. It is a great boost for newbies, but does very little to help old timers, except to keep them playing.
Yes, I personally enjoyed Warhammer. That said, I also saw and wrote about flaws with the game... Maybe going back to check out some of the things I wrtre aboutt he game might give you more perspective on what it was i actually thought?
Not to pile on, but I decided to take your advice on this one. These are a few comments under editorials from you:
I’m also going to say that if you absolutely, 100% can’t stand the idea of PvP, you probably shouldn’t spend your money on Warhammer Online. It’s an RvR game at its core, and while it does offer PvE elements
The City sieges are the key aspect of the game. Tier control, Locking zones are all about being able to get to the city. The Cities are PVE instances. The core of the game is PvE marketed around RvR.
The scenarios, battlefield objectives and other RvR elements don’t really bash you over the head with the “my e-peen is bigger than yours, my uber-lewt will ends you”
Without doing PvE to get the gear necessary (wards) to capture the city which is a PvE instance you will not be able to survive the city raid.
Are there still bugs in the game?
I think this would almost be a silly question if it hadn’t been such an issue in the past. Are there bugs? Yeah, I’ve noticed one or two little things. Last night, my map went blank for a minute or two and I had I think one instance of a bullet animation getting hung up, but that’s it and for all I know these won’t even exist tomorrow (little things like that crop up from time to time, but seem easy for devs to squish). Did I see any game breaking bugs? No. In fact, not a single thing that impeded my gameplay in the slightest.
One or two bugs? Sure you qualify this assessment by "your" gameplay provided, but as a journalist you should have gathered information from other players, forums, and beta-testers before sold people on the idea that bugs were not an issue. Morale abilities not firing properly, pick lock not working, and the white lion pet/pathing controls were issues known about for ages, that's just off the top of my head.
Maybe,before you tell someone to go back and research your analysis of something you might want to check the accuracy of them?
The reasons given for including EVE in the list are weak at best, and probably better described as downright bizarre. Any current released MMO has "great potential" if the developers implement even a fraction of the ideas they throw out.
Oooh.... walking on stations - so game changing. That will be such an underused feature it isn't even funny. Planetary exploration could be a game changer if done right - but will more likely be an alternative resource gathering minigame.
In the end I'll take this list for what it is: a listing of games that have the author hot & bothered.
I agree,putting Global Agenda which is an instanced linear game on the list without including a true sandbox mmorpg like Earthrise is a joke. Earthrise is as close as Fallout 3 as you can get.i mean Fallout mmorpg has not even been seen yet,..lol some people really don't know what they are talking about.
www.play-earthrise.com/images/trailer/video/720.wmv
www.play-earthrise.com/index.php
No Earthrise, FFXIV or Mortal Online, but SGW and STO are?
Do you even look at your own homepage?
I really liked this article a lot. Jon highlighted a lot of games that I am also excited about as well.....games that are (mostly) looking to be very different to what we have been seeing for quite a while. I particularly like the emphasis on pvp that many of the upcoming mmos are having......and about time too! It will be interesting if these games do really well because then finally all the pvp haters with their "pvpers are only 10% of the market" and "pvp doesnt belong in the mmo genre" comments can finally eat their words and keep quiet......not that they will of course.
These are online games and yet for years we have been seeing games that are really just single player games in co-op mode where we can only effectively play against the computer. Player conflict has been added to these games but only as a side option......a kind of after thought, and as a result pvp has received a bad reputation because it generally never worked out very well. Yet now it seems that games companies are learning from their past mistakes and are designing their games with player conflict in mind from the beginning. It looks like a lot of mmos are heading towards being proper online worlds which players can perhaps change and influence through player conflict and interaction......which is the way it should be being online games and all that. I also didnt know there was a World of Darkness game being made by CCP. Happy thoughts.
Equally though there are some good story driven games coming out too that dont have their emphasis on player conflict. So......a large number of (hopefully) decent mmos focused on player conflict on their way to fill the void in the currently unbalanced pve focused market, and a smaller number of story focused mmos (there are already plenty of them) to keep the players happy who dont enjoy player conflict and competition. It seems to me like everyone has a reason to feel optimistic about the future of mmo gaming.
I think we have a problem here, some people aren't quite sure what the word potential and niche means....
Potential
1: existing in possibility : capable of development into actuality <potential benefits>
2: expressing possibility ; specifically : of, relating to, or constituting a verb phrase expressing possibility, liberty, or power by the use of an auxiliary with the infinitive of the verb (as in “it may rain”)
Niche
1 a: a recess in a wall especially for a statue b: something that resembles a niche
2 a: a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted <finally found her niche> b: a habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species c: the ecological role of an organism in a community especially in regard to food consumption d: a specialized market
Taken from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
And the writer of this list didn't say... "My Top Ten MMORPG Games with Potential." He said "My Top Ten Games with Potential."
The operative words in that statement are, MY, and Games.
He could have wrote about single player console games, or even java based flash games played on his I-phone. And lastly this is the writers oppinion, not the oppinion of the site or meant to be the definative final answer on MMO games. Some of you are really reading WAY to much into this article.
When I first read this, I was like were is FFXIV? Then I thought about it. We don't know too much about the game to know if it is going to have potential or not. Only time will tell. So, I agrree with everything that the OP said. Great list.
Still when it comes to potential : Potential
1: existing in possibility : capable of development into actuality <potential benefits>
2: expressing possibility ; specifically : of, relating to, or constituting a verb phrase expressing possibility, liberty, or power by the use of an auxiliary with the infinitive of the verb (as in “it may rain”)
He does not define potential for: What? To be innovative in combat , to add new PVe experiences, to expand on it's current theme elements or content, to provide an immersive community, to add in new features of questing, crafting, or economy?
The phrase Potential is what a game could be, is still very vague.
As an example imagine this conversation:
Pete : Man Sue you have so much potential
Sue: What do you mean?
Pete; I mean you could be so much more
Sue: So much more HOW ?
Pete: Just that you have so many possibilities to reach your full potential
Even when making an analysis based on potential, if your intentions are to be clear and not just stir up debate and discussion, you still need to be specific on what potential is for the purpose of that analysis.
i have very big doubt on your list aion will do good for a new game as will do rom
but the fact is wow will get most of the rest
why new content will be good enough for most
eve wont break any record
first person shooter wil do good ,check xfire the second place is always a shooter
so for the rest ,mm unless they are more impressive then wow in term of quality (good luck on that front)
not a lot of game will steal spotlight from wow
1 small exemple compare aion ways to move and wow
in wow you can moove so fluidly in pvp ,like jumpe do a 180 while doing all kind of weird stuff
try doing that in aion lol you get automaticly faced to your opponent lol
thats just one exemple ,yes wow had 5 year to polish
but it was like that from almost the start you cant polish feature that arent there in any game
the fact is not a lot of game have the bugdet power blizzard has
and if blizzard ever felt they would loose they would probably had a tournament with money
wow doesnt have lot of competition yes some game might and i state this again might do good in september
and its not for the lack of trying AOC,WAR,LOTR,DDO all fairly similar game rpg all of those game together gets what 10% of wow player
hell rom does better then all those game put together,and its been what 4 months since release.
Potential to be a good game. It wasn't an "official analysis," it was a list written to be fun and to get people talking about the idea of potential within the indusry, however you define it. I don't know why you're so stuck on this point, other than to simply nitpick. In each description, I discussed where I felt the particular game's potential was coming from. Seriously man, let it go. Either let go of the semantics and enjoy it for what it is, or don't and stop worrying about it.
Mortal online should've been there & also Warhammer 40k online. There should always be room for scif-fi lumbering orcs
This is a travesty of a list. To include Stargate and Eve but not Jumpgate is a pure strike out, IMO. Where's Champions Online, DC Universe Online, or even Earthrise?
That's 4 highly anticipated games that were excluded for the likes of Stargate (with some of the worst gameplay videos I've ever seen for an MMO) and an MMO that's been out for 6 years now. Swing and a miss.
Jon wood, you and I, have the same taste.
You use the word "carebear" as if it's a big insult, when in fact it means "person using this term is a pre-pubescent who uses PvP games to hide his real life shamefull ass kickings" and then call Jon a moron? Your post was laughable, but entertaining. I give you 1 star out of 10 for effort.
Jon, I think you're going to have to add a giant disclaimer of "THIS IS MY OWN PERSONAL LIST AND NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF ANYONE BUT ME" at the top, or the kids on the shortbus are never going to figure it out. Even then, they'll probably miss it.
Did you read the article? If you had, you would understand why I chose the games that I did. you would also see that I specifically stated that there were going to be games that people disagreed with me on, including the ones you mention ion this rant. If you're going to trash me, trash me, that's cool but it's more effective if you can show that you've read the article you're trashing.
You use the word "carebear" as if it's a big insult, when in fact it means "person using this term is a pre-pubescent who uses PvP games to hide his real life shamefull ass kickings" and then call Jon a moron? Your post was laughable, but entertaining. I give you 1 star out of 10 for effort.
Jon, I think you're going to have to add a giant disclaimer of "THIS IS MY OWN PERSONAL LIST AND NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF ANYONE BUT ME" at the top, or the kids on the shortbus are never going to figure it out. Even then, they'll probably miss it.
*shrug* It's in the text of the article. If people want to take something out of context without reading the text, that's their perogative. If I wasn't used to getting slammed mercilessly, I wouldn't still be doing this job ;) Thanks for the support though Zorvan.
Game with the most potential ever!
The one that hasn't been announced yet...yep that's right, it can be whatever *you* always wanted...just imagine it...
Overall I thought the article was pretty good in presenting the potential of some of the mmo's. Some ideas I agreed with some I didn't. I thought that Fallen Earth should be a little higher on the list and that the final three were basically a "give me". I really enjoyed reading about some of the the other more obscure games that have potential, according to the writer.
For me I think one of the mmo's that has the most potential is Force of Arms. I have been following the game for a while and really like the open ended aspect of the game play and creativitiy in the storyline that has been put into the game so far.
Right because you're line Remember, potential isn't a measure of what a game is, it's a measure of what a game could be
clarified that your measuring stick was potential to be a good game. Sorry, but if you're going to be listed as a managing editor for a site that advertises, reports, makes money from, and critiques games that are competing for my dollar the I expect you not to write like some amateur on a blog. Is that too much to ask?
You can still write fun articles and be clear in your presentation of them.
We know FF XIV has more potential than a game which is dying in utero (SGW).
I wanted Stargate to be great, but face it - it's dead. Zero potential.
Hmm, really? Which games have you leveled exclusively in PvP from L1?
For many of us, that is Warhammer's greatest feature. Last year, I hit the 50-character limit on my WoW account. Now, though, I can't stand to level alts by repeating the same stinking quests I have done dozens of times before.
PvP-leveling is aces, man. Period. That is also a major reason I am not exicited about Aion. Never again will I play an MMO where I have to earn the privelege of PvPing. Never again.
That's obvious - Champions Online has cut itself off at the knees by having a subscription AND a microtransaction shopping mall.
Right because you're line Remember, potential isn't a measure of what a game is, it's a measure of what a game could be
clarified that your measuring stick was potential to be a good game. Sorry, but if you're going to be listed as a managing editor for a site that advertises, reports, makes money from, and critiques games that are competing for my dollar the I expect you not to write like some amateur on a blog. Is that too much to ask?
You can still write fun articles and be clear in your presentation of them.
Look man, you don't like my editorial style, that's entirely your call. There are lots of writers out there that I don't enjoy. You're just the only person that has a problem with this and can't seem to let it go. I'm going to go back to my original advice :Either accept it for what it is, or move on. Clearly this article wasn't for you.
We know FF XIV has more potential than a game which is dying in utero (SGW).
I wanted Stargate to be great, but face it - it's dead. Zero potential.
I doubt it.
MGM seem fairly intent on having an mmo in the market. My bet is that the game will get bought and finished by someone else.
I doubt it.
MGM seem fairly intent on having an mmo in the market. My bet is that the game will get bought and finished by someone else.
The ONLY (and I do mean O N L Y [With big flamingletters an inch from your eyeball]) way SGW will be completed is if another company with signifigant finantial backing picks it up and starts everything from scratch on a very nice engine such as the Hero engine, or something similarly advanced.
Any company that picks this up will do an evaluationa and scrap the whole thing lock stock and barrel. and start anew.
And yes I am in the beta since day 1 of closed, so I have a bit of knowledge to back it up. If the game was still being actively developed I would hold my tounge but as it stands now it needs a new developer....and nuts, bolts, screws, planks, cement, Kitchen sink.
I think I would have put WoD in the first spot. TOR to me has way way to many if's whereas WoD is being made by a company with a MMO you can at least gauge what it may or may not be.
*shrug* It's in the text of the article. If people want to take something out of context without reading the text, that's their perogative. If I wasn't used to getting slammed mercilessly, I wouldn't still be doing this job ;) Thanks for the support though Zorvan.
It's like I said above that even if that giant disclaimer was added it wouldn't matter. You're still going to have those that read the title and skip any and all writing down to where the #10 pick starts. Sadly the bulk of the people that do that don't know how to post (agree and disagree) in a civil manner and can't accept that even an "official" from a site can post an opinion piece (much less know what an opinion piece is). If they see that blue background around a name on the left then they automatically believe that what is posted is some gospel of the MMO genre. Heaven forbid it be a list because that automatically makes it a list of facts.
It does have one positive outcome in my estimation. It allows you to see who is capable of "Thinking with your dipstick, Jimmy" and thus worthy of taking their posts as something other than random spewing off at the mouth.
As long as you keep prefacing such articles with "this is my personal opinion" Jon, keep cranking them out. No need to defend yourself against people who are incapable of getting it. There are still many of us who understand you are a person and have your own tastes and that's it's ok to share those even if you are the editor (not sure where being an editor prohibits one from writing an opinion piece).
On the first point: That's cool. If you choose not to look tot he future and only look at a game post-launch, that's your right. Me? I'll keep thinking about possibilities.
On the second point: How exactly have I not seen the faults of WAR or AoC? I've written about both and in critical writings, they've come up. What i don't do is harp on them every single time I mention the games.
Third: Did you read the section where I talk about EVE and the reason I chose it? It's pretty much self-explanatory. I was referencing the fact that there is a spoken of feature that will fundamentally change the way the game is played... which you'd know if you'd read the article.
Fourth: This list had nothing to do with money, or the amount of money a game brings in. While I recognize all that WoW has done in the past for this genre. I, personally, don't see what great potential for something new and exciting at this point.
And just to clear things up, the analogy you're looking for is lead balloon, which the saying goes, won't fly. By comparing the games to hot air balloons, you're implying they are going to fly to great heights. Just if you're going to insult someone and their career, it might be wise to get you analogies straight. I'd also suggest thoroughly reading the article you're trashing, but that's entirely optional.
World of Darkness is the game I'm waiting on.
Our cruisers can't repel douchebaggery of that magnitude!
Seriously though, if you're going to bitch about every little detail like a little girl who just watched her pony be eaten alive by vultures...what are you still doing here? God knows I don't agree with EVERYTHING John says but if I were to disagree on every single tiny indiscrimate little point I probably wouldn't want to subject myself to this site.
lots of aion hate at the start of the thread, even though I'm ready to admit much of it is generic (can't really say hyped, because just reading this thread and people saying it is over-hyped just proves that it isn't over-hyped... because lets face it, WAR was over-hyped because it was an actual bad game hence it didn't match the hype... but most MMORPG fans aren't getting into/hating aion and it has already been out for months in other areas of the world), "lol wow clone" seems bit too much of a judgment considering all the reports im hearing of its 'end-game' are calling it more in line with DAOC... it just seems to me that any players that do comment on a game like this have never really looked into it themselves. does it have a wow-style to it? of course, it isn't eve or darkfall... calling it a wow-clone where currently its endgame and many of its systems is completely different is moronic
you'd think people judging a game they have never played would actually have some reasons on them... instead they just spam invalid opinions about how this is the generic asian mmo (yes because asians can NEVER make good games, racist much?) no. #24
either way, ill agree, why no FF14? SWTOR is the least im excited about, using star wars in mmorpgs (or games in general) just seems unoriginal to me... do gaming companies just want to try EVERY method in which to use a lightsaber?
I think the game they were originally planning to make of Fallen Earth would have deserved a spot on this list.
But in my opinion, they made that classic mistake of tailoring the game to the very specific desires of their hard-core fans, who represent the tiniest sliver of their potential customer base.
It still looks like a quality product, but it may draw only a small audience.
I think Earthrise has more potential by virtue of accommodating a broader range of tastes.
I think you're absolutely right.
Champions Online throwing in microtransactions on top of a subscription at the last minute was the final straw for me.
And the descent probably started with the travesty that was Dark and Light - which promised.... well basically to do everything short of my taxes and delivered.... no I doubt there's language that would do it justice that wouldn't also see me permanently banned from these forums.
Wish and Dragon Empires looked like they were going to rock my world. Neither made it to release.
Vanguard.... Vanguard was to be the real-deal where Dark and Light failed, except it was released too early and didn't even come close to keeping even half of its promises.
Tabula Rasa.... There were some great ideas in this game. It was even a little bit fun to play at launch, but so unfinished. And though I watched it for a long time after release, it never showed signs of actually being a complete game.
Darkfall.... Despite all the negativity I gave it a go on the recommendation of some friends. And there are some very good elements to the game, but some of those elements interact very poorly with each other to produce a generally unpleasant experience.
The mmo industry is, on the whole, a HUGE disappointment - with a few exceptions like Blizzard who had the benefit of years of experience in the gaming industry before trying their hand at an mmo. Morale is low. We've all become cynical - or dare I say realistically pessimistic. That's probably exactly why this article was written.
But I have to agree with Zorn. With such a spectacular history of disappointing, "potential" really is fairly meaningless. I don't pre-order mmos now unless they've eg. already been released overseas and are receiving both critical and player acclaim. Yes, I bit the bullet and pre-ordered Aion. There's very little new or revolutionary there, but the game is actually finished and enjoyable. It's a totally vanilla mmo, but it's French vanilla, squeezed from the bean between the butt-cheeks of doe-eyed virgins.
On the first point: That's cool. If you choose not to look tot he future and only look at a game post-launch, that's your right. Me? I'll keep thinking about possibilities.
On the second point: How exactly have I not seen the faults of WAR or AoC? I've written about both and in critical writings, they've come up. What i don't do is harp on them every single time I mention the games.
Third: Did you read the section where I talk about EVE and the reason I chose it? It's pretty much self-explanatory. I was referencing the fact that there is a spoken of feature that will fundamentally change the way the game is played... which you'd know if you'd read the article.
Fourth: This list had nothing to do with money, or the amount of money a game brings in. While I recognize all that WoW has done in the past for this genre. I, personally, don't see what great potential for something new and exciting at this point.
And just to clear things up, the analogy you're looking for is lead balloon, which the saying goes, won't fly. By comparing the games to hot air balloons, you're implying they are going to fly to great heights. Just if you're going to insult someone and their career, it might be wise to get you analogies straight. I'd also suggest thoroughly reading the article you're trashing, but that's entirely optional.
Zorndorf continually harps on the best being the thing making the most money. Also you might notice that he starts by attempting to dismiss "potential" as a useful term, then uses it to explain why WoW is the best and has the most potential. It's like Moebius reasoning.
Agreed with some choices, like SW: TOR and even AION because I recognize that it will be a big force in the global market, but I have to agree with some others who question some of the potential games. Jumpgate should be in the place of SG at LEAST, although I'd probably place it at #5. For everyone else saying FFXIV, we all know that it's going to be a solid game with great potential, but honestly what did you expect?
Only till recently when SE announced their 500k subscriber base and the arrival of a whole new FFXIV, did this site even start to get some good articles on FFXI. For the countless crap we had to read about how amazing these games were that would eventually fail, we maybe got treated to 1 or 2 articles on anything FFXI. Now that FFXIV is coming out and people are actually getting hyped on it, we're getting articles referring to these nifty things in XI like Maat's cap, which should have probably been compiled about 3 years ago =P
Nice article, good to see all of the upcoming games after this half-decade drought.
I originally intended to disagree with Eve as a contender, but actually, it does have a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it's never going to realize that potential as long as it tries to retain its current player base. Someone else mentioned "tailoring their game to their hard-core fans, which is the smallest niche of their potential audience".
QFT. Eve Online's main barrier to real success is designing for the hardcore players who will cash out for multiple accounts, thereby boosting their revenues to multiples of what it would be as a single-account game. When I played, I estimated that fully half of Eve's players had two accounts, and a significant number had three.
The conditions hardcore players will endure (mainly for the sake of feeling like they're tough in my observation) is way past what any reasonable player will tolerate paying for. The extreme travel time, the ridiculous complexity, price and sheer time sink of the training system, the gatecamping, the abuse of war declarations that make formerly "safe" space into a random gank zone, and the extremely low character of many players (as seen in the vileness filling chat even in safe zones) combine to make Eve a very bad game to play for anyone but their current audience.
But changing those factors would require not only turning against their current players, but their own developer's goals. The game is the way it is because CCP likes it that way, and they freely admit it. So they are not inclined to make a space game that everyone can play, and even if they change their minds, they are still facing the need to subscribe 2 to 3 new players for every hardcore player they lose due to game changes.
I'd argue that they are experiencing "real success". EvE is their only up and running game and it's making them enough money to pay their staff, pay the bills (and considering what happened to Iceland's economy a few months back and the turmoil that ensued, that's saying something) and begin work on a brand new MMO (World of Darkness Online).
If that isn't real success, then not a single MMO company has experienced "real success". People can nit pick CCP and EvE all they want, but at the end of the day, they are turning a profit and venturing on. *shrug* Which does prove, by the way, that a competent company can make a "niche game" (they're all niche games in my book, even the 800lb gorilla) or, more appropriately, a highly specialized game tailored to a audience and still do well.
I would say that top 3 from your list (and not only those 3 but let's stick with those for now) are going to letdowns as same as Matrix Online or AoC.
You are right about EVE, the game is bursting with potential. Despite CCPs stupid moves this game is the future of online gaming.
Just about STO:
The former idea of a ST MMOG had HUGE potential - the way Cryptic is doing it has very little.
No ship interiors?? That's all about tech, and tons of fans are turned on by the tech aspect from ST.
No crews made of players? Tons of fans would love to be THE Sciences Officer, THE Chief Engineer, THE Doctor, let alone THE Captain. Not to mention how many people, not just fans, would love to start as cadets, really work their way up on the chain of command (working hard, like in a sandbox game), studying in the Academy, then going to a Space Station, and then, if they WANTED, achieving a place at a starship, then becoming one of the bridge officers.
But no, we'll just have a watered down ST experience, modelled after WoW - and by this I also mean "raiding to get better items", when the Items will be your ...crew?
Just where, where is Final Fantasy 14? Le sigh!
Ironically potential is about ALL that Darkfail had going for it. It didnt even make the list, how appropriate. I had myself a good belly laugh.
I really think a game like Darkfall should have been on the list. Sure the game has it's rough edges at the moment but in time just imagine what could be done with such a game. I have never played an MMO that brought me the fear factor Darkfall brings. It's a hard game. If Darkfall didn't make it I'm very surprised Mortal Online wasn't there.
I can live with all your choices other than #2. To me as a trek fan the game they are making is a joke and a sad excuse at an attempt for a star-trek MMO. I love trek, and for that reason will not play that game.
In the end I would suggest focusing on games that are changing the MMO experience, not re-using the same ideas and features over again with maybe a better finish. Support the MMO's that are taking a chance at being different.
All those games listed, except EvE, are still games with potential, as we have yet to see how the implementation is, and how the market receives them. EvE has proven that it can weather the hard rocks and launch to the sea.
Darkfall has been launched and potentials as it may be percieved to have, are not realised at all. The real problem facing Darkfall is debt, $12m plus interest. It is unlikely that it can recover from there, unless, somewhat like a bankrupcy act, it went down and got sold cheap to someone else, who can then ditch the old debts and move on. That is last hope, to be sold as scrap and hopefully someone good and rich will take it up and rebuild from scratch. SoE might have the charity and room to take it, but seeing it ditched Matrix Online, they might not need another dead weight. Who else would want to risk? Oh and first and foremost, fire Tasos upon purchase, or the new owner will regret.
EVEr cripled
EVE will allways be crippled as long as it has ruthless free for all PVP that is anti-casual player
as a mater of fact many players now waiting for star trek online are EVE refugees tired of the PVP jerks that like to destroy unarmed haulers and miners just to ruin other players enjoyment of the game
STO will offer what EVE seems unable to and will surpass EVEs population probably the first day.
I would really like to know EVEs population before and after STOs release see how far it drops.
lol no love for Champions Online?
why is Fallen Earth on that list? the game is terrible
It won't matter. Most of these people just skim the posts looking for key phrases that piss them off and then go in for the kill...
Please, you don't "eek out" anything, you eke out an existence.
That one is early as bad as the utterly mad "here, here".
Like your article but I think you missed an opportunity. Potential of what exactly? And I would only put my 2 cents in on Stargate that game has about as much a chance as releasing as I do in ever making an MMO :P
As to others it is an opinion piece everyone has one deal.
If only shattered galaxy was on this list. I used to love that game, but KRU absolutely killed it. With a little work and a company who actually updates (nothing signficant in probably 3 years) that would be one of the most unique and greatest games today. It's really sad that a company can mess up a game so much and just watch it die.
Great article! I'm saving this list for my archive. Jon and I actually agreed on something :-)
Ken
Well, if you remeber correctly Blizzard didn't have any experience in the MMO feild either, they just stole from other games. In fact, they were a RTS company (ok diablo was an RPG, but their IP was a revolutionary RTS) until then. Bioware is the best RPG company of the past decade-you can throw Bethesda in there too-like Blizzard was with RTSs. Futhermore, Bioware has delivered the best story driven RPG's ever, the games that the story truely mattered and engrossed me. Bioware also has many MMO vets on their dev team, so saying they don't know what an MMO is underwhelms their experience. That being said, the game still has a lot of work to do and hasn't released 75% of the real information on the game. It has a lot of potential to be a hit, but as of now it could also fall into the gutter.
As for the list:
10 SGW: I don't see it coming out really. Should be replaced with a plethora of games.
9 APB: it has an interesting concept, thing is most MMORPGers may not touch it, making the primary audience GTA players. Those people are probably not going to submit to an MMO because they think it is uncool. Still concept sounds kind of cool.
8 Secret World: The trailer looks cool, could be a fresh of breath air. Still, not much information at all.
7 Ev e: I agree with what 90% of the people here are saying.
6 WoD: I don't know anything about the franchise, which seems to be the main potential.
5 Fallen Earth: Could be a great niche game, and a good sandbox game at large. My main problem would be the perceived lack of content, mainly due to the fact this isn't a huge budget company.
4 Global Agenda: Pretty much the same as above. Looks refreshing, just the thing that I love in MMO's is the huge amount of content. After 3 weeks I don't want to be at the end end-game content (PvP i guess for this game)
3 Aion: The first 5 minutes greatly disappointed me. It seems like another asian grinder with good graphics. Still, even though I won't be playing it, it could make a splash if it has a smooth launch (due to the fact you mentioned-it has been out in Asia for sometime)
2 Star Trek: Has potential, NPC crews and such look cool. I just don't see it being a deep game, and the ground combat looks boring.
1 SW:TOR: Again, being cautiosly opptimistic, I think this game has the greatest potential. If they clean up the animations/character models and make ranged classes more fun, this game could be great. Bioware is a world class developer, despite their lack of experience in the MMO realm as a company (the team has lots of MMO experience), and I think they know that story alone will not make a great MMO by any stretch of the imagination. If they deliver on the core tenants of MMO: community, PvP, customization, end-game progression, and crafting this game could be great. There is also a possibilty we could see space combat and cantina games (gambling, cards, swoop racing, etc.) Point in case: Huge budget+Bioware+Star Wars set in the Old Republic=huge potential to succeed or fail.