Post by Morreion on Mar 19, 2010 9:12:18 GMT -5
Where virtual worlds once ruled, FarmVille dominates (Cnet)
Are Virtual Worlds OVer? (Raph Koster)
GDC: VCs Talk Devs 'In Denial', Industry's Social Future (Gamasutra)
Scott Jennings: Farmville Killed Gaming, V-Worlds, And Your Dog (MMORPG.com)
The money is definitely flowing to social gaming now. Think of all the AAA MMO titles that haven't really worked out well- and think of the free-to-play trend that is very similar to the Facebook / social gaming scene. I think MMORPGs are going to be less and less recognizable in the future. Small independent companies might be the only future for MMORPG traditionalists in the end.
The cost of building 3D worlds and "the return on investment is simply not there," Sherman said. "It's cheaper to build a Flash game or cheaper to build an iPhone app...If you have an existing audience that you can tap into and know you can pour a lot of eyeballs [into] quickly, then it makes sense to build a [low-fi] virtual world" like Webkinz.
And low-fi experiences are definitely where the money is going. While the old-style 3D virtual worlds touted complex economies and substantial marketplaces of virtual goods like castles, sophisticated vehicles, technologically advanced digital toys, and more, they have been left in the dust by companies that are building huge businesses around much simpler kinds of goods.
And low-fi experiences are definitely where the money is going. While the old-style 3D virtual worlds touted complex economies and substantial marketplaces of virtual goods like castles, sophisticated vehicles, technologically advanced digital toys, and more, they have been left in the dust by companies that are building huge businesses around much simpler kinds of goods.
The rub of it, for folks like me, is that kids and tweens don't need 3D environments to get their social needs met. Rather, they need a platform that makes it simple and easy to get together with their friends, play simple games, and have fun. And the same seems to be true of the mainstream adult audience.
A game like FarmVille "does a lot of fun things," said Meiners. "It enables people to have a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, fun, and to share that with others...the experience, but also gifts and such. And it's all very easy to tap in to. It doesn't demand much.
A game like FarmVille "does a lot of fun things," said Meiners. "It enables people to have a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, fun, and to share that with others...the experience, but also gifts and such. And it's all very easy to tap in to. It doesn't demand much.
Are Virtual Worlds OVer? (Raph Koster)
In the meantime, I would be betting against all the “native client” worlds — AAA game worlds included. Against anything that involves too much of a fantasy identity. Against anything that relies on people playing together in real time. It’s just not where the action is for the next several years. Virtual places as they exist now cannot be a mass medium any more than a single restaurant can.
For those of us who dream of a place we can’t possibly be, doing things we couldn’t do, as someone else, with friends… well, we’re a little bit out of luck. We’ll always have our Avalons and our Lost Worlds. They’re just not the future anymore.
For those of us who dream of a place we can’t possibly be, doing things we couldn’t do, as someone else, with friends… well, we’re a little bit out of luck. We’ll always have our Avalons and our Lost Worlds. They’re just not the future anymore.
GDC: VCs Talk Devs 'In Denial', Industry's Social Future (Gamasutra)
"The industry is in huge disarray," agrees Pacific Crest's Wilson, who believes console game developers are "in denial." The evolving blend between gaming and media is "scary," he admits.
"It was easier ten years ago... when you'd just ship a great product and the users pay you up front," Wilson says. "Those days are over."
From there, he raises a controversial question: "How important is game development when you have poor quality free social games generating these kinds of numbers?"
Media companies only care about daily average uniques, Wilson continues. "The industry has been moving in that direction rapidly and it's accelerating and it's scary," he adds. "It is a big, big issue when some of the leading social gaming companies can get over 20 million players on a game in nine days," he adds -- even the best AAA titles can't pull those numbers.
"It was easier ten years ago... when you'd just ship a great product and the users pay you up front," Wilson says. "Those days are over."
From there, he raises a controversial question: "How important is game development when you have poor quality free social games generating these kinds of numbers?"
Media companies only care about daily average uniques, Wilson continues. "The industry has been moving in that direction rapidly and it's accelerating and it's scary," he adds. "It is a big, big issue when some of the leading social gaming companies can get over 20 million players on a game in nine days," he adds -- even the best AAA titles can't pull those numbers.
Scott Jennings: Farmville Killed Gaming, V-Worlds, And Your Dog (MMORPG.com)
Just as those millions of World of Warcraft players did not mean that every other MMO developer suddenly shut down and said “Well, I guess we’re done”, a successful competitor in a new market – or even in a similar market – does not mean that “gaming is dead” or “consoles are dead” or “virtual worlds are dead”. It may make them a harder sell (note that all “world-y MMOs” – the genre Koster pioneered - in the Ultima Online/Star Wars Galaxies vein are now niche, hardcore, PvP heavy and rather inaccessible titles such as Eve, Darkfall and Mortal Online) but it does not mean the market has just disappeared.
The money is definitely flowing to social gaming now. Think of all the AAA MMO titles that haven't really worked out well- and think of the free-to-play trend that is very similar to the Facebook / social gaming scene. I think MMORPGs are going to be less and less recognizable in the future. Small independent companies might be the only future for MMORPG traditionalists in the end.
