From my standpoint, I believe that the market-driven necessity of fresh meat to feed the fad machine does not necessarily eliminate the long term players in the space. I believe, rather fervently, that the market will continue to grow and that there will be room in it for a variety of different players.
A market, by it’s very nature, will attempt to fulfill every need that can sustain itself. There will be a need to provide the “new shiny� demand of something fresh and new in each market cycle. Players who tire of a given game, can and will find a new game coming out just about the time they become complacent or frustrated with their current game. This species of short term MMO will learn to flourish by its own definition of success and in time, will be accepted as the MMO equivalent of “popcorn fodder�.
But at the same time, there will be a market for longer term players with more dedicated audiences. These will build deeper, more immersing worlds that are regularly expanded and retain players for many years.
Some of the best advances and improvements in the long term games will come from innovations observed in the shorter term games. Short term games can afford to take greater risks and make bolder design choices as they have different expectations. Long term games will both avoid pitfalls and learn new tricks from these flash in the pan players.
What we are seeing is concurrent evolution. It is not necessary (as in the genetic sense) for long term MMOs to evolve themselves solely through trial and error and acceptance of themselves. They have the ability to learn from others and use that knowledge to advance themselves. Short term MMOs are the best tool for long term MMO makers and a vital part of their upcoming evolution.
There are, and will continue to be, enough fans of each type (often fans that enjoy both types) to support both short and long term MMOs.
When the time comes (and I’m confident that it will) that I can subscribe to several MMOs and be charged for usage days (if I logged in today, I get a 1 day fee, if I don’t log in for a week, it costs me nothing) wife and I will hop around and play what we feel like playing that day. Where today we do not spend $15 each to reactivate our subscription to MMO#1137 because we have a hankering to play it, one day they will wise up and learn that there’s a better way. If we have the urge to play an old favorite this weekend, we could do it without new financial commitments
By being able to jump over to the new game on the block each month, play it a few days without overburdening financial commitment (such as maintaining 5 MMOs subscriptions for 2 people –sigh- ) the publishers will find themselves less in conflict with each other and more able to work at filling niches in the overall landsdcape.
Not Mutually Exclusive
From my standpoint, I believe that the market-driven necessity of fresh meat to feed the fad machine does not necessarily eliminate the long term players in the space. I believe, rather fervently, that the market will continue to grow and that there will be room in it for a variety of different players.
A market, by it’s very nature, will attempt to fulfill every need that can sustain itself. There will be a need to provide the “new shiny� demand of something fresh and new in each market cycle. Players who tire of a given game, can and will find a new game coming out just about the time they become complacent or frustrated with their current game. This species of short term MMO will learn to flourish by its own definition of success and in time, will be accepted as the MMO equivalent of “popcorn fodder�.
But at the same time, there will be a market for longer term players with more dedicated audiences. These will build deeper, more immersing worlds that are regularly expanded and retain players for many years.
Some of the best advances and improvements in the long term games will come from innovations observed in the shorter term games. Short term games can afford to take greater risks and make bolder design choices as they have different expectations. Long term games will both avoid pitfalls and learn new tricks from these flash in the pan players.
What we are seeing is concurrent evolution. It is not necessary (as in the genetic sense) for long term MMOs to evolve themselves solely through trial and error and acceptance of themselves. They have the ability to learn from others and use that knowledge to advance themselves. Short term MMOs are the best tool for long term MMO makers and a vital part of their upcoming evolution.
There are, and will continue to be, enough fans of each type (often fans that enjoy both types) to support both short and long term MMOs.
When the time comes (and I’m confident that it will) that I can subscribe to several MMOs and be charged for usage days (if I logged in today, I get a 1 day fee, if I don’t log in for a week, it costs me nothing) wife and I will hop around and play what we feel like playing that day. Where today we do not spend $15 each to reactivate our subscription to MMO#1137 because we have a hankering to play it, one day they will wise up and learn that there’s a better way. If we have the urge to play an old favorite this weekend, we could do it without new financial commitments
By being able to jump over to the new game on the block each month, play it a few days without overburdening financial commitment (such as maintaining 5 MMOs subscriptions for 2 people –sigh- ) the publishers will find themselves less in conflict with each other and more able to work at filling niches in the overall landsdcape.