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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Avoiding a sinking game]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/25/avoiding-a-sinking-game/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/25/avoiding-a-sinking-game/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/25/avoiding-a-sinking-game/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-matrix-online/" rel="tag">The Matrix Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/tabula-rasa/" rel="tag">Tabula Rasa</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/vanguard/" rel="tag">Vanguard</a></p><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Titanic"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="top" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/12/blogs-titanic-epl-1223.jpg"  alt="" /></a><br />
With the holiday season usually comes a healthy dose of gift money, and what comes with extra money for many people reading the site is new games.  It's not as if the past year has been exactly spare on game releases, although the success of several is a bit up in the air.  But be forewarned -- if you needed the reminder, 2009 could very well be the year we learned that no title is immune to being shut down, with <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/01/dismissed-the-final-moments-of-tabula-rasa/"></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Tabula-Rasa/"><em>Tabula Rasa</em></a> and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/01/wake-up-the-final-day-of-the-matrix-online/"></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/The-Matrix-Online/"><em>The Matrix Online</em></a> being among the highest-profile games to <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/01/dismissed-the-final-moments-of-tabula-rasa/">finally be</a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/01/wake-up-the-final-day-of-the-matrix-online/">shut down</a> for good due to sales figures.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://biobreak.wordpress.com/">Bio Break</a> has an excellent post on what is termed "<a href="http://biobreak.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/avoiding-the-titanic/">avoiding the Titanic</a>" -- in short, making sure that you're not signing up for a game that's going to just leave you high and dry.  The <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/22/vanguard-paints-a-rocky-road-to-come-in-the-year-ahead/">recent announcement</a> from <a href="http://vgplayers.station.sony.com/"><em>Vanguard</em></a> is among the examples cited, although some fans would be quick to point out it's not a death knell for the game.  But it doesn't sound like the game is going to advance far beyond its current state, and for many games, that means a slow bleeding-out.  Of course, avoiding titles that are perceived as hopeless can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it's worth keeping in mind that perhaps that money might be better spent if you question a game's near future.<br /><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/25/avoiding-a-sinking-game/">Avoiding a sinking game</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://biobreak.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/avoiding-the-titanic/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/25/avoiding-a-sinking-game/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19293041/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/25/avoiding-a-sinking-game/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bio-break</category><category>games-cancelled</category><category>games-shut-down</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>shutdown</category><category>sinking-ships</category><category>soe</category><category>sony-online-entertainment</category><category>tabula-rasa</category><category>the-matrix-online</category><category>titanic</category><category>tmo</category><category>tr</category><category>vanguard</category><category>vanguard-saga-of-heroes</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliot Lefebvre]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
