General Discussion

Yeah, I know SOE fucked up SWG (even more than it already was).  You could argue that they did the same with PS.

I'm just curious as to whether they've ever actually outright shut down a game.  EQ, EQ2, PS, MxO, and Vanguard are all still going.  MxO was basically dead at launch.  The least launch sales of any MMO released by a major studio in a long, long time, and the numbers have only gone downhill since then.  Yet still they've kept it alive.  Both NCSoft and EA have shown a willingness to kill weak games.

SOE has one difference tho - it has the Station Pass that can provide life support for any of their games

wish other mmo companies would offer something similar, score 1 for SOE

Not any game worth crying about that I know of, if any at all

SoE takes care of their games, even if they do make colossal mistakes at times.

Station pass is great for business, bad for the consumer.

It basically enables SoE to fetch a premium price for games that are old or downright awful.

Just because SoE gives you a bucket full of shit when someone else would only give you a meager handful of shit for the same price, it does not mean you are getting a deal...  Unless you're in the fertilizer business.

SoE's All Access Pass allows games undeserving of life to survive, it encourages a lack of quality and production value in MMORPGs, it lowers standards of the genre when they're already low enough.

Originally posted by Kurush

Yeah, I know SOE fucked up SWG (even more than it already was).  You could argue that they did the same with PS.

I'm just curious as to whether they've ever actually outright shut down a game.  EQ, EQ2, PS, MxO, and Vanguard are all still going.  MxO was basically dead at launch.  The least launch sales of any MMO released by a major studio in a long, long time, and the numbers have only gone downhill since then.  Yet still they've kept it alive.  Both NCSoft and EA have shown a willingness to kill weak games.

patience. its coming.

i like station pass.  +1 again for SOE.

station pass is a great thing and they games they offer are very good as well! Vanguard, EQ2, SWG and POTBS are all quality games....

Originally posted by xDarc

Station pass is great for business, bad for the consumer.

It basically enables SoE to fetch a premium price for games that are old or downright awful.

Just because SoE gives you a bucket full of shit when someone else would only give you a meager handful of shit for the same price, it does not mean you are getting a deal...  Unless you're in the fertilizer business.

SoE's All Access Pass allows games undeserving of life to survive, it encourages a lack of quality and production value in MMORPGs, it lowers standards of the genre when they're already low enough.

Eh, if some poor saps like it, why shut it down?  Take MxO as an example.

The lesson of MxO has already been learned.  Monolith stated almost immediately that they were getting out of the MMORPG business.  WB dumped the title as fast as they could when they saw the meager sales it generated.  Everybody knows it was a failure, and everybody knows why.  It sucked.

So if some people still play it and enjoy it, even if it's only a few thousand people, why should we wish for it to be shut down?  Let them have what they want.  I only say this because I really enjoyed Earth and Beyond, and EA shut that game down.  Yeah, E&B had flaws, but overall, I thought it was quite good.

There is a potential goodside to half-decent games surviving, though.  Yes, some companies release buggy messes which barely survive, polish them up, then do the exact same thing with their next title, not learning from their mistakes.  Funcom is a good example.  Others, though, release games which need a lot of work, but they learn from their mistakes.  Look at Turbine.  AC2 was a disaster in many ways, but LotRO is a good title and quite polished.  DDO may not have a huge following, but its a very solid title at this point, with a fanbase that likes it.

Originally posted by Kurush

Originally posted by xDarc

Station pass is great for business, bad for the consumer.

Eh, if some poor saps like it, why shut it down? 

Well I'm not quite sure how to explain it to folks in great detail.  I know it's nice for the few fans some of these misift mmo's have to see them go on, but basically it violates the natural order of things... in a business sense.

SoE is kinda like the equivalent of a government bail out for failed businesses.  If you fail because you delivered an inferior product, poor service, lack of quality, bad design, whatever- out you go.  Someone else takes your place, and does better.

Bailing out bad businesses, bad MMORPGs, is bad for the consumer because it lowers standards and the need to compete.

Some people hate SoE for what they did to SWG.  I hate them for there business model that shows the rest of the industry that lack luster products are still a way to make money.

You can pat SoE on the back, but in doing so you are kicking your own ass.

Originally posted by xDarc

Station pass is great for business, bad for the consumer.

 how this is bad for the consumer?

NCSoft has

Lineage

Lineage2

City of Heros/Villians

Tabula Rasa

Dungeon Runners (free game but has perks if you sub)

and at least 3 forthcoming MMOs

yet there is no bundle package to pay monthly fees for more than 1 game (beyond game cards)

monthly access to all games is what the Station Pass offers

- dont like it?   dont pay for it

but Station Pass helps  people t