Massively multiplayer or massive tool?

Well, I know it isn’t MM, but the game I am looking forward to for online play is Battlefield 1942. I expect it to be the game I wanted WW2OL to be. I won’t try that one again. I don’t think I can enjoy it now, no matter what they have done. But Battlefield looks VERY promising and allows 64 players at once. If the battlegrounds are appropriately sized, that could feel pretty intense.

I guess I’m one of the rare Americans who found the Sims boring but… do you really think many Sims players will pay $10 or more a month to play?

do you really think many Sims players will pay $10 or more a month to play?

I would have to say, ‘Yes’.

 -Tom

And when they opened the PvP servers? They filled up immediately, and stay capped continuously. Either people are getting bored with the PvE game, or there is a huge market for unfettered PvP – I suspect it’s a mixture of both. But this kind of stuff makes me think that Shadowbane still has potential even if it looks dated, because of the PvP focus. PvP is a real draw for hardcore gamers, it seems.

Really?

Well, my wife won’t be one of them. She loves (loved, perhaps…She’s getting a bit burned out by now) the Sims, but adamantly objects to paying by the month for a game.

And I’d expect her to be more willing than most, so…I’m skeptical, Tom. I’d say it’ll be a very small percentage of Sims players who will pay a monthly fee.

Not to say that it won’t be enough to make money, because there are literally millions of Sims players out there, but just the same, I’d say <10%.

Why? What makes you think that, of all the millions of Sims players, that they are less likely to pay for Sims Online than your wife?

I’d expect – maybe I’m wrong – most of the Sims players to be very casual gamers. My wife doesn’t really fall into that group. She’s pretty hardcore. For a girl, that is. I’d expect her to be more willing to pay a monthly fee than casual gamers. Or, maybe she’s just more aware of other things out there, and thus less likely. Okay, maybe I’m wrong. :)

Ten percent of 5 million sims players worlwide (guesstimate) is still a half million subscribers. And I would bet that Sims Online wont have as much overhead as the ‘hardcore’ mmrpgs, thus make lots of cash for the bastards at EA.

I will try Sims online for at least a trial month just for the novelty factor alone, and I think there are alot of people who will do the same. If the game proves to be good… I’m pretty sure it will be succesful. BUT if the game sucks and is buggy as crap… well then, it’ll just be somewhat succesful. Either way, Sims Online will make a profit.

And DAoC having 200k subscribers? I did not know that. Thats a lot of cash for Mythic.

I’m still most intrigued by Dragon Empires… I still cant get enough of those screenshots with the vast landscape. I hope it comes out okay, I have a feeling it won’t though.

etc

Murph,

Someone is buying all of EA’s Sims expansions. I’m confident those are the same people who will pony up for Sims Online. It’s a phenomenally successful brand, which will probably be the case whether it’s a $20 expansion pack or a $10 monthly fee.

 -Tom

Maybe you’re right, Tom. But we have all the expansions thus far (fortunately, my wife got the last one for review…I doubt we’ll buy any more), and there’s still no way that my wife will be willing to pay a monthly fee.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I suspect a lot of casual gamers will put off by that idea.

Still, like mtkafka said – even at 10%, that’s a lot of dough.

Speaking of Sims expansions…Another one?? Sure, pets are cool…Players have wanted them since the beginning…Yadda, yadda…But, what’s this – 5? 6? I’ve lost count!! It’s mind-boggling.

I wish Maxis would do something else. I’m gonna start calling them “Westwood Jr.”

Paying a subscription is less of a monetary concern for people, in my estimation, than it is just a paradigm shift of how to buy and play games. This is why I think the Sims Online is really good for the MMO industry. It will drive at least a percentage of the huge Sims crowd past that paradigm shift.

They are doing something else. All right, so it’s another SimCity game. But damn, it looks good. This is the first SimCity I’ve been fired up to play in nearly ten years.

Who are all of these people playing the Sims? I bought it and it was fun for a little while, but at some point it begins to be a 21st century Dress-Me-Up Barbie game. Every few months they release new pointy plastic shoes and Miss America Gowns and they are snatched up because the have “The Sims” stamped on them.

All I can assume is that the majority of purchasers are casual gamers who I never run into and who would not be buying many games otherwise. I would like to think that these people would not prolong the madness. Many will certainly be hesitant and/or intimidated by the whole MM thing. To me, there is a monumental difference between playing and interacting with computer AI and then going on-line to the great unknown whether it be an RTS or MMORPG. Getting called a homo and being told to fuck off within the first hour of Sims Online play may put juuuuuust a couple of these casual gamers off.

I am sure I will be wrong. As I stated above, I can see how the Sims is fun to lots of folks, but I still do not get the long-lasting appeal. And as Tom said, there are a ton of people snatching it up left and right. So there will surely be a bunch to give it a shot. Now, if those people can stick with a MMDUCR (Massively Multiplayer Dress Up Chat Room), that is another story. One I have absolutely no ending for.

Do you have any idea how lucrative Barbie products are? You aren’t wrong, but I think you answered your own question.

Nahh… this Pony is going to be ridden into the Ground.

The greatest Cash Cow the industry has ever seen… yeah, they’re going to “do something else”… keep dreaming.

About WWIIOL from a current player–

I recently dug up my original box, and yes, they now have nearly everything on it. The big thing still missing is a blue-water navy, and that was always supposed to be a future expansion.

They even have nearly everything in the manual, except the machine guns.

To really appreciate WWIIOL, you have to be either into detailed sims or, as mentioned above, in a squad (read: clan) with voice communication, or ideally both.

In some ways, its a good MMOG for someone who hates MMOG, because you don’t have to put in an insane amount of time to become an elite player before most of the game is available to you.

It does have gameplay mechanics that pose a challenge for the casual player. It’s easy to not know what to do, and to spend a lot of time in game without seeing any action at all. There also doing some experimentation with the capture rules to concentrate fighting and improve balance, so you have to be comfortable with the rules of the game changing on a regular basis.

No, I certainly do. I have a 6 year old niece. It is like crack for kiddies. There is an endless supply and you can never own everything. I swear my sister buys my niece something Barbie with every single trip to Target. I will not even get started on all those damned Disney videos with the miserable sequels churned out by poor 12 year olds overseas getting paid $15.00 a month. Was there not a time when a Disney flick was a sacred treasure? I digress.

I guess my point is (I really do have one, I think) that, after figuring out the basic gameplay after The Sims initial release, the endless expansions make it less of a game and more of a “What Shall I Wear” exercise. My sister actually had a board game with this title along with “Dream Date”.

Apparently, for millions of people, this is more than enough. Like the Barbie franchise, I am sure the Sims franchise can go on for - ever. I cannot consider it a game at this point and do not see how the Online version can be as succesful. It seems to just be, as stated in many game mags and sites, a glorified chatroom where you can pretty much create any avatar you can dream up.

Now that I reflect on it even more, I guess the millions that are happy with the expansions can be just as happy sitting around, having a cup of Starbucks, and showing off their new leather outfit they just downloaded from SimsMart,

If people enjoy that, then, more power to them. :D

It’ll have bigger bandwidth costs through sending down so much customizable environment, even though the 2d nature makes basic movement cheaper. The fact that each neighborhood is limited in size may also save bandwidth.

It’ll have significantly larger customer service calls because of the more casual market it is hitting, plus the free form environment making for greater odds of grief. Gordon Walton over at Maxis will be as hard-assed as he can be on this, of course, both during development and after, but it’ll still be a significant obstacle.

As far as size… It’s gonna be huge, I can’t wait. :)

-Raph

Hey Ralph or -Raph (whichever the case may be),

As an obvious devotee, what is it that you still get out of the Sims and what are you looking forward to in the Online iteration?

I am actually seriously curious. :)

“And DAoC having 200k subscribers? I did not know that. Thats a lot of cash for Mythic.”

Like a previous posters said it could be allot of the people that tried EQ and maybe AO and left after some period of time. EQ has 400K+ current but I think they’ve sold well over 1 million copies so many have tried it and left.

Games like EQ, UO ans DAOC show there is a definate market for the ‘harcore’, put in 30-40 hours a week crowd. The question is how well it expands beyond that market with games like The Sims Online.