I keep seeing some sad words come from the mouths of many developer houses, and it's along the lines of Subscription Fees for Games. While I do enjoy an MMO, the dual-attempts to make a monthly profit, and thwart Used Games is sickening. My rant is inspired by some words from R* posted on Destructoid
I can promise you, that if I see some of my favorite games turn to MMO and/or subscription fees, that I will never touch them. I play Final Fantasy XI, and that is enough MMO for me, along with the Monthly Fee.
I just wanted to establish that this Hollywood-ification of the gaming industry will push it right back into the underground. Smart Game Dev Houses, you need to do more then MMO your IP's to protect them, because at the end of the day, an MMO is the same across the board, with the exception of Graphics, and moderate variations in the Quest and Item structures.
Another Huge feature of Single Player, is Pause. I'm talking instant Pause, not asking to afk for 2 min to WC, and breaking a skillchain. I know my Wife appreciates Pause, so when I'm playing a game and she comes home, that I can actually Greet her, and not be glued to my chair because we are getting insane XP.
Another unseen fact, is that I enjoy Single Player games, more then the whole Online thing, as I feel Online play should be a feature, not the front-line offering of a game. If I want to grind a dungeon or whatever solo, I should be able to do this. If I want a buddy to hop into that Dungeon with me and kick some ass, it would be awesome, but the single player experience needs to be there first.
Yet another point, especially on consoles, is the disregard for LOCAL Multiplayer. I don't want to need 2 consoles and 2 games to play, I want the option for split-screen so Kat and I can Co-Op some games, Even when the internet is down.
Let's not forget that every MMO I have seen, adds unnecessary time sinks to keep people playing and paying that monthly fee. I don't want to play a game for 400 hours, when it could have been completed in 40-60, just because I had to collect 10,000 of a rare drop or equally goofy shit. Imagine how insane this would be if 5 of your favorite games employed this tactic. It'd Suck Complete Ass.
Companies that base their games on Online only, and especially Pay-2-play topologies are setting up for failure, in the long run. It blows my mind how the vision of big $$$ completely blinds these people to the long-term effects. I am also aware that this type of thinking is so Companies can fight 'piracy' but guess what? If you take care of your consumer and give them the type of game they want, they will probably buy your game, even if they already downloaded it.
Respect: You gotta give it out to get it back. Game Developers take this advise to home, and think about more then $$$ when you are making games. I want Bunker games, titles I can play without the Internet. If I want an online game, I'll pick it up, but I'd say over 96% of the games we own, are Single Player driven, some with multi-player online options. |
Happy New Years 2008! 
You guys got any stories of Holiday related insanity, or plans for the Holidays? I'm glad we are not going to PA, as I hear most of the NY to PA Thruway is closed. 
We have a ton of network drops @ the house, and I also have an 8-port with Desk upstairs now too, so we could certainly fire up like 4 consoles and a few more PCs if people BYO-LCD or CRT. I have 1 spare CRT, and Kat has a semi-working 17" LCD we could hijack for guests. 