Posts tagged debate 
EVE Evolved: The benefits of a subscription
In last week's EVE Evolved opinion piece, I tackled the question of whether it would be possible to make EVE Online free-to-play and then devised a viable hybrid freemium business model based on other apparently successful free-to-play conversions. While this was largely a thought experiment ...
EVE Evolved: Downtime deployment debate
Earlier this week, an explosive argument broke out in the EVE Online community. Following an extended server downtime, it became known that Reddit-based alliance Test Alliance Please Ignore had used the server downtime to protect the deployment of 14 territorial claim units. Ordinarily, these claim ...
EVE Evolved: EVE players debate microtransactions
Sometimes it seems as though the entire MMO industry is moving toward microtransaction-based pricing schemes. With the success of free-to-play titles like Runes of Magic and Free Realms, it's clear that microtransactions are becoming a popular alternative to the standard subscription model. ...
The pros and cons of free to play Dungeons and Dragons Online pt. 2
The cons of the whole switchover Item malls that offer players the ability to purchase items or item upgrades degrade the gaming experience. We've been over this before -- letting Mr. Moneybags deck out his character at level 1 so he's 10x more awesome than everybody else is a major downer to ...
The pros and cons of free to play Dungeons and Dragons Online
Dungeons and Dragons Online going free to play is undoubtedly an awesome announcement. But exactly how awesome of an announcement is it? Yesterday we were all over the announcement, covering the basics of what can be expected with this changeover from subscription based to free to play. But now, ...
The WoW vs. WAR debate makes Top 10 list of video game rage
Alec Meer of Rock, Paper, Shotgun recently put a new twist on the 'top 10' lists that are cropping up at year's end -- a sort of top ten of gaming rage as expressed on the intertubes. Much of this list is focused on single-player titles and the industry itself, but Meer's 'Orc vs Orc' (#8 on the ...
Raph Koster on whether torture in videogames is evil
Debate over what is considered 'right' and 'wrong' in terms of behavior in a videogame has become commonplace in recent years. Virtually any mass media commentary on the myriad evils of Grand Theft Auto or the 'Debbie Does Dallas in Space' view of Mass Effect drives this point home -- everyone has ...
Rock, Paper, Shotgun discovers that WoW is a "dirty word"
Today we return to a debate that simply will not die. Gaming blog Rock, Paper, Shotgun -- a very smart blog that is a combination of progressive and traditionalist, if that makes any sense at all -- felt the need to defend itself after it previewed Warhammer Online and made numerous comparisons to ...
Making/Money: My value chains are broken
There's a person out there who claims that all they need to know about business can be learned from World of Warcraft. A fine sentiment, to be sure, but I take issue with its accuracy. Today we are discussing the first of their eleven business topics: value chains – and why they don't work. In ...
Mark Jacobs rails against official forums
The issue of whether major MMO releases should be accompanied by official forums is a hot topic in the industry these days. While some recent games like Tabula Rasa have opted to without official forums, to mixed results, others like Lord of the Rings Online have shown that they can still be a ...
