This was another release with tremendous potential that unfortunately remained not only unattained but pretty much unapproached. As I discussed last month, this was clear well before NetDevil's game entered live service in 2010 for what would turn out to be a very brief run of about 15 months. However, its rapid demise doesn't change my feeling that LEGO Universe was exceptionally disappointing.
Microsoft's recent purchase of Mojang for a reported $2.5 billion speaks volumes as to what a virtual building block title can achieve. With this in mind, consider that LEGO Universe was killed so quickly despite starting with a pretty significant advantage, the strength of its renowned IP, one that was already firmly established within the game industry.
When it announced that the game would be shut down, the LEGO Group stated it wasn't financially viable. Nothing more specific was revealed, but this suggests it was running at a loss, with no realistic prospects of a turnaround. If this was indeed so, it's difficult to assign causality, particularly to a single reason. While not great, LEGO Universe wasn't nearly the worst MMOG ever made. It was, however, one of my biggest disappointments.
I couldn't possibly justify calling DCUO a failure. However, neither do I deem it a landmark. As I said earlier, I no longer have the kind of instant enthusiasm for newly announced projects that I did a decade and more ago. However, some still grab me considerably more at that stage than others. This was one such title, in part because I've felt for a very long time that a truly excellent superhero offering could be huge, not only for its own sake but also for future of the entire MMOG category.
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Unfortunately, no matter how much I wished it were, DCUO wasn't up to such a task. It's a decent enough game that has racked up millions of registrations and built a solid sizable core community. However, considering how popular superheroes have been for the past several years plus the strength of the DC IP, it isn't difficult to make a reasonable case that the the title has under-achieved.
There was a time, however fleeting it may have been, when I thought DCUO just might have the chance to become a massive force in the MMOG space, strong enough to help drive the category's rate of growth. In retrospect, this was rather optimistic, perhaps beyond what was realistic even if every aspect of the project went decently. Still, although my thinking may have been unreasonably wishful, I couldn't help being very disappointed when SOE's game didn't live up to the shining peak of hope I briefly had for it.
