Quote:
Originally Posted by Juraiya
On a more related note, this is actually a good thing. The main reason WoW ended up as bad as it was (sorry to play the 'ole WoW card btw, but hey you should know how this goes by now :P) was because the Devs were getting involved and influenced too much by all the casuals and QQers spending hours upon hours a day whining their hearts out on the messageboards.
Personally i got sick of having the game updated every 3 weeks changing values and abilities etc etc. to suit the needs of those who played alot less than i did.
I might be wrong here (so feel free to call me out if i am) but on the whole, the eastern MMO market is made up of a higher percentage of non-casual (i won't say hardcore because that might be a little too far on the other side of the scale) gamers compared to the western market. Therefore any feedback they give shouldnt be leading to "cheap thrill" updates that only serve to make the game more whimsical in the long run, but should instead provide constructive and usefull feedback, leading to better updates that benefit the more dedicated players, by which i'd imagine i'm refering to the majority of the population of this messageboard because hey, why would you join and post regularly on a website for a game that hasn't yet been released unless you're taking a vested interest in it.
Boom.  |
Thoughtful statements. Like'em lots.
I kind of disagree with the line that Blizz caved into QQ'rs and Casuals. Thats a easy thing to deduce by the environment from a players perspective. But one of the things I have been looking at lately is the info from research groups into the marketing metrics of MMO games.
Blizzard imho let the boardroom rule the creative aspect of the game. The research predicted that the largest growing market share was "casuals" by demographic. As they charted the expansion and then decline of their game its more profitable to embrace this large income source and extend the life of business over a longer time arc. Blizzard does have investors and their first commitment is to the company and investors - not the players. The result is a environment where they look to cater to casual whims - but the truth is they make well thought out researched market decisions that leverage the time and royalties of the game. It just happened the casuals could produce a longer lasting profit arc over time. This has extended the life and maintained the sub size of WoW. When that decision was made then yes, I agree they make a lot of micro-adjustments to give the casuals what they need.
Now Asian markets being more hardcore? Maybe. Hardcore players often move on the next harder challenge. Cultural differences there. At the same time they play a lot of F2P games that seem trivial in scope and difficulty compared to other cultures. They tend to bounce between games quite fast, if the marketing research there is accurate. (Pearl, Niko and the earnings reports of producers like NCSoft.) One of Aions Korean challengers is a F2P game (C9) and many think it may create a rubberband effect to NCSofts surge. I dont think so. But we will see. (little effect on West) Lots of good titles coming out in the next year in Korea.
Enuff nerdy wonkiness.