Happy Valentine’s Day to those that ‘celebrate’ such nonsense. It’s just another day with absolutely no importance to me whatsoever (especially given that no one can decide on what the origins of the day are). Personally, I think it’s just one of those ‘special’ days that corporations invented so they can sell more useless crap to people and get rich off making people fat.
Anyway, I just read an article by Jon Wood at MMORPG.com where he looks at the possibility of MMO game developers catering to a younger demographic. As a result, the older generation(s) are missing out on the type of game[play] they enjoy. I use the term ‘older’ loosely as he (and many of the posters that replied to the article) aren’t even in their 30s [yet].
While I understand where the article is coming from, I don’t necessarily agree with it. I agree with the statement that, as with all games, MMO games are made to make money (obviously) but every MMO game out there all have their roots in the same thing – pen and paper, dice rolling, table top games circa 1979+. The only difference between then and now is that there are a lot more concepts that can be made into an online game than there were when the first MMO games were created. The term ‘franchise’ didn’t just crop up out of nothing, after all. Going back to the whole ‘making money’ thing, there were a variety of ways to capitalize from a given idea. Comic books turned into movies (and sometimes vice versa), then contracts with toy companies were hammered out to make figurines and other toys, followed by specialized gimmick things (such as a deck of playing cards with the favourite characters printed on the back) came out. These things made money for a lot of companies. MMO games are nothing more than another way to capitalize on an idea. Look at Star Wars as an example. Wildly popular for the last 33 years to the point that Lucas Arts is still capitalizing on it (or do I need to mention the two MMO games based on the franchise?).
How do I explain World of Warcraft then? Easy. WOW came out at exactly the right time – just as the mainstream MMO games at the time were losing favour with the “masses.” When I was still playing EverQuest and disgruntled at how things were changing and not in a good way, almost everyone I ran into couldn’t wait until World of Warcraft was released. What happened to the population of the old games when it was? People flocked to WOW in droves. They, in turn, spread the news to their friends, co-workers, etc., about this great game that you can play online with everyone you know. Of course, to a limited degree, that was already occurring with the older games but like a friend of mine said, ‘I don’t want to just start out playing a game that’s been established for years already.’
The fact that World of Warcraft came out and millions flocked to it was hardly a surprise. The surprise came when tens of millions did. Everything about the game, though, was straight-forward and easy. There was no guesswork involved at all. Naturally that would appeal to the masses as they could jump into the game and start playing based on a learning curve that resembled a wheelchair ramp.
Since that time, many companies and developers have been trying to recreate what Blizzard did with World of Warcraft and can’t figure out why it’s not working. The result has been devastating to the MMO gaming community – over-saturation of the market (come on, there’s a Hello Kitty MMO game for crying out loud! If nothing else, that should’ve told you something.). There are so many MMO games out there now that the novelty of the idea has long since lost its polish.
Dungeons and Dragons was popular when it came out. By the time second edition was released, it was hugely popular. At its height, Magic: The Gathering came out and slowly started to supplant D&D simply through sheer addiction and its inherent competitiveness. As that was waning, MMO games were being discovered. While those predecessors still exist, they’re hardly mentioned now.
Having said all of that, the lifespan of an MMO game can be told by how populated its starting areas are. Based on things I’ve heard, World of Warcraft is dying. Without new players, the only thing that keeps a MMO game going are hooks to maintain the status quo. New expansions, new gear, new areas to discover, etc. Even that wears thin after awhile, however. Unlike the dying days of EverQuest, however, there isn’t one great game just waiting to be released to entice the masses of World of Warcraft players to it. Chances are, the greater population of WOW gamers have already tried other MMO games on the market and their collective reaction was ‘meh’. What’s the old adage about ‘too much of a good thing?’
Look at Star Trek as a good example. The original series wasn’t well received when it was first aired, but still became a cult classic. Then, in the early 80s, Star Trek: The Next Generation came out and it became wildly popular. Again, wanting to capitalize on the idea, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was conceived and released roughly around TNG’s fourth season? fifth? I don’t remember and am too lazy to be bothered looking it up. Then, roughly within the same number of seasons into DS9, Star Trek: Voyager came out soon to be followed by Enterprise. Now look at that mess. Series after series after series each of which overlapping the previous. It wasn’t a huge surprise that Enterprise was cancelled. By that time, people were so sick of Star Trek that when it came on, they’d go off and watch something else.
MMO games are currently the same way. New MMO games aren’t doing that great for the very reason I just pointed out with the Star Trek-based television shows. And now, with the new Star Trek Online MMO game released, I have to wonder how long that will last (you know, after it’s been picked apart by trekkies/trekkers for its inconsistencies with canon lore and other relatively meaningless details).
