I didn't know Funcom hired Bill Roper. When did this happen?
Kidding aside, I firmly believe you have to prove yourself to expect that kind of investment from any sensible individual.
Either you have a track record of producing blockbuster games that don't shortly devolve into F2P "last ditch" efforts, or (better yet) you offer the lifetime sub some time *after* the game has launched, and has had ample time to get meticulously reviewed/scrutinized.
I haven't played WoW in years, so no "fanboyism" here, but as "cool" as it is to hate on Blizzard these days, they're one of the only companies I'd even consider a lifetime sub on pre-release. Love 'em or hate 'em, they've proven themselves without question.
Could it be that I might actually have interest in an SoE game? I loved most of the Battlefield series, and that video looks like it offers that kind of gameplay x10, with actual purpose and/or meaning from battle to battle.
Anyway, color me highly interested. Good on you, SoE, I didn't think it'd happen any time soon.
"For casual gameplay, which most players do most of the time, people don't usually use gold or expendables. "
This is a bold-faced lie. You don't make double-digit million profits monthly relying mostly on your competitive scene to spend money, which, like most online games, make up less than 5% of your user-base. It's simply not even remotely possible to achieve even a quarter of those profits from the competitive scene.
Tons of casuals spend money on this game, and every single battle has wallet-warriors. The game is "free-to-demo", after all. Any kind of meaningful progress *requires* payment, unless you thoroughly enjoy grinding for miniscule gains, since most of your non-premium "gains" go into repairs and restocking ammo.
To be fair, the majority of games released have had features/systems cut. We just rarely hear about it, because most developers aren't terribly open about their development process. I assure you Torchlight 2 will have cuts as well. Whether or not we hear about them is a different story.
"Of course if you want to win a tournament, if you're competitive, if you play clan wars, if you want to be at the top, we think it's appropriate to expect a little bit of money from you because you already spent hundreds of hours in our game and that's much more than the value of any $50 box."
"Of course" my ass... Ask Riot Games how they feel about that. Many top competitors have never spent a penny in League of Legends, and they're also ridiculously successful (more so than Wargaming.net, I'd wager). You don't need to be Pay-to-Win to make crazy money.
I'm always disappointed when I hear about P2W games doing well. I mean, I'm glad they're doing well as a company, but I'm disappointed because it becomes another case-in-point for the suits/investors to support more P2W games/models.
League of Legends is the *only* F2P done right in my opinion. I wish more companies would take note of their overwhelming success and follow suit. They have proven that you don't need a "scheme" to get people to spend money. They'll do so happily if they enjoy your product.
You're right man, he doesn't care... He's only commented at least 6 times in this article with weak rebuttals to the "trolls" (read: people who know better).
But nah, he doesn't care, he's obviously got much better things to do, am I right? Mr. Success-story is way too busy to bother feeding the trolls...
"only these people would never - ever - face him because they are cowards and hide behind anonymity"
Oh really, "YeOldeFool", is that what the cowards do? Hide behind anonymity? Straight from the horse's mouth (or ass, in this case), you heard it right here, folks. Cowards hide behind anonymity. Mr. Smart, oh, the irony...
(I sincerely hope you don't think you're fooling anyone with your posting under that handle, talking about yourself in the third person. Honestly, that's just pathetic, man. For someone with such a huge ego, you sure have sunk to an all-time low.)
The Secret World pre-order packages feature beta access, lifetime sub, and more
Apr 3rd 2012 10:31AM (Massively)Kidding aside, I firmly believe you have to prove yourself to expect that kind of investment from any sensible individual.
Either you have a track record of producing blockbuster games that don't shortly devolve into F2P "last ditch" efforts, or (better yet) you offer the lifetime sub some time *after* the game has launched, and has had ample time to get meticulously reviewed/scrutinized.
I haven't played WoW in years, so no "fanboyism" here, but as "cool" as it is to hate on Blizzard these days, they're one of the only companies I'd even consider a lifetime sub on pre-release. Love 'em or hate 'em, they've proven themselves without question.
SOE releases PlanetSide 2 alpha gameplay video
Mar 29th 2012 4:24PM (Massively)Anyway, color me highly interested. Good on you, SoE, I didn't think it'd happen any time soon.
*Checks outside for aerial swine*
Jumping out an airlock is a legitimate mode of travel in Line of Defense
Mar 28th 2012 6:37PM (Massively)His development studio is called Derek Smart? Wow, the ego knows no bounds... lol.
Jumping out an airlock is a legitimate mode of travel in Line of Defense
Mar 28th 2012 5:43PM (Massively)And they said they want it to be "about the game"... LOL!
The fact that "derek-smart" is even a tag makes it that much more hilarious.
World of Tanks has 20 million registered users, making double-digit million profits monthly
Mar 19th 2012 12:35PM (Massively)"For casual gameplay, which most players do most of the time, people don't usually use gold or expendables. "
This is a bold-faced lie. You don't make double-digit million profits monthly relying mostly on your competitive scene to spend money, which, like most online games, make up less than 5% of your user-base. It's simply not even remotely possible to achieve even a quarter of those profits from the competitive scene.
Tons of casuals spend money on this game, and every single battle has wallet-warriors. The game is "free-to-demo", after all. Any kind of meaningful progress *requires* payment, unless you thoroughly enjoy grinding for miniscule gains, since most of your non-premium "gains" go into repairs and restocking ammo.
Torchlight team remains strong in face of Diablo 3
Mar 19th 2012 11:27AM (Joystiq)To be fair, the majority of games released have had features/systems cut. We just rarely hear about it, because most developers aren't terribly open about their development process. I assure you Torchlight 2 will have cuts as well. Whether or not we hear about them is a different story.
Alas, out of sight, out of mind and all that...
World of Tanks has 20 million registered users, making double-digit million profits monthly
Mar 19th 2012 11:09AM (Massively)"Of course" my ass... Ask Riot Games how they feel about that. Many top competitors have never spent a penny in League of Legends, and they're also ridiculously successful (more so than Wargaming.net, I'd wager). You don't need to be Pay-to-Win to make crazy money.
I'm always disappointed when I hear about P2W games doing well. I mean, I'm glad they're doing well as a company, but I'm disappointed because it becomes another case-in-point for the suits/investors to support more P2W games/models.
League of Legends is the *only* F2P done right in my opinion. I wish more companies would take note of their overwhelming success and follow suit. They have proven that you don't need a "scheme" to get people to spend money. They'll do so happily if they enjoy your product.
Get your free TERA beta keys here!
Mar 15th 2012 4:29PM (Massively)Burn!
GDC 2012: Forty minutes with Derek Smart and Line of Defense
Mar 12th 2012 2:28PM (Massively)You're right man, he doesn't care... He's only commented at least 6 times in this article with weak rebuttals to the "trolls" (read: people who know better).
But nah, he doesn't care, he's obviously got much better things to do, am I right? Mr. Success-story is way too busy to bother feeding the trolls...
GDC 2012: Forty minutes with Derek Smart and Line of Defense
Mar 12th 2012 2:20PM (Massively)"only these people would never - ever - face him because they are cowards and hide behind anonymity"
Oh really, "YeOldeFool", is that what the cowards do? Hide behind anonymity? Straight from the horse's mouth (or ass, in this case), you heard it right here, folks. Cowards hide behind anonymity. Mr. Smart, oh, the irony...
(I sincerely hope you don't think you're fooling anyone with your posting under that handle, talking about yourself in the third person. Honestly, that's just pathetic, man. For someone with such a huge ego, you sure have sunk to an all-time low.)