Post by Morreion on Dec 29, 2014 20:32:31 GMT -5
Massively looks at 2014
Perfect Ten: Looking back at the biggest MMO news of 2014
1. Blizzard cancels Titan after years of development
After World of Warcraft blew up into a globe-spanning mega-hit 10 years ago, the logical question that was asked repeatedly was, "What will Blizzard make as a follow-up?" The answer came when we started hearing rumors in 2007 of Project Titan, a top-secret MMO that would be quite different and more contemporary than WoW's fantasy setting. Even an official restart on the project back in 2013 didn't do much to dampen hopes that lightning would strike twice for Blizzard.
However, we'll never know if Titan could have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with WoW because Blizzard canned the project this past fall, saying that it just wasn't very fun. Personally, I think the studio got cold feet and decided there were too many ways to lose trying to create a second MMO. Either way, while Titan was scrapped, its assets were repurposed into a superhero-themed team-based shooter game named Overwatch.
2. The grand ArcheAge saga
While there were a lot of big-name MMOs making a splash this year, ArcheAge gets my distinction for being both a roaring success and a flaming failure. The swell of excitement began when Trion announced that ArcheAge would finally be making its long-awaited Western debut this year, and that excitement did not die down one whit. In fact, it powered an overwhelmingly popular test cycle and propelled the title to two million registered players within weeks of the launch. It was clear that gamers were hungry for a feature-rich sandbox and were enthused about ArcheAge in particular.
Even as popular as it was -- or perhaps more so because of it -- ArcheAge suffered from a rocky launch, crippling queues, DDoS attacks, notorious exploits, horrible bugs, server outages, and waves of alleged botters. Fingers have been pointed at the exploiters, Trion Worlds, and XLGAMES for these issues, and truth be told, the blame is spread across all of them. The end result was that ArcheAge is leaving this year limping when it should rightfully be jogging majestically.
Ask Massively: Scoring last year's MMO predictions
Brendan: "I predict that Star Citizen's funding will start to dry up in 2014, and we'll find out whether its backers think the game was worth their cash when the various parts of the game start getting released."
SC's crowdfund is nearing $67 million as I write this; it even set a Guinness Record for crowdfunding in October. In fact, in 2014, SC has almost doubled its combined total from 2012 and 2013, even as modules trickle out. Sorry, bro; this one's a bust for now.
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Underrated MMO
Elite: Dangerous
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Improved MMO
Final Fantasy XIV
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Best MMO Studio
SOE
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Biggest MMO disappointment of the year
Tie: WildStar & ArcheAge
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Best Pseudo-MMO of the Year
Hearthstone
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Best MMO Trend of the Year
Sandbox & Social Gameplay
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Best Update or Expansion of the Year
Guild Wars 2's April Features Pack
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: MMO of the Year
Nothing- no game deserves this award.
Perfect Ten: Looking back at the biggest MMO news of 2014
1. Blizzard cancels Titan after years of development
After World of Warcraft blew up into a globe-spanning mega-hit 10 years ago, the logical question that was asked repeatedly was, "What will Blizzard make as a follow-up?" The answer came when we started hearing rumors in 2007 of Project Titan, a top-secret MMO that would be quite different and more contemporary than WoW's fantasy setting. Even an official restart on the project back in 2013 didn't do much to dampen hopes that lightning would strike twice for Blizzard.
However, we'll never know if Titan could have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with WoW because Blizzard canned the project this past fall, saying that it just wasn't very fun. Personally, I think the studio got cold feet and decided there were too many ways to lose trying to create a second MMO. Either way, while Titan was scrapped, its assets were repurposed into a superhero-themed team-based shooter game named Overwatch.
2. The grand ArcheAge saga
While there were a lot of big-name MMOs making a splash this year, ArcheAge gets my distinction for being both a roaring success and a flaming failure. The swell of excitement began when Trion announced that ArcheAge would finally be making its long-awaited Western debut this year, and that excitement did not die down one whit. In fact, it powered an overwhelmingly popular test cycle and propelled the title to two million registered players within weeks of the launch. It was clear that gamers were hungry for a feature-rich sandbox and were enthused about ArcheAge in particular.
Even as popular as it was -- or perhaps more so because of it -- ArcheAge suffered from a rocky launch, crippling queues, DDoS attacks, notorious exploits, horrible bugs, server outages, and waves of alleged botters. Fingers have been pointed at the exploiters, Trion Worlds, and XLGAMES for these issues, and truth be told, the blame is spread across all of them. The end result was that ArcheAge is leaving this year limping when it should rightfully be jogging majestically.
Ask Massively: Scoring last year's MMO predictions
Brendan: "I predict that Star Citizen's funding will start to dry up in 2014, and we'll find out whether its backers think the game was worth their cash when the various parts of the game start getting released."
SC's crowdfund is nearing $67 million as I write this; it even set a Guinness Record for crowdfunding in October. In fact, in 2014, SC has almost doubled its combined total from 2012 and 2013, even as modules trickle out. Sorry, bro; this one's a bust for now.
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Underrated MMO
Elite: Dangerous
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Improved MMO
Final Fantasy XIV
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Best MMO Studio
SOE
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Biggest MMO disappointment of the year
Tie: WildStar & ArcheAge
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Best Pseudo-MMO of the Year
Hearthstone
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Best MMO Trend of the Year
Sandbox & Social Gameplay
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Best Update or Expansion of the Year
Guild Wars 2's April Features Pack
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: MMO of the Year
Nothing- no game deserves this award.
