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2012 in Review

December 28, 2012 by

Another year has come and gone.  As I reflect on a year of blogging, gaming, and industry events, I’m full of mixed emotions.  Let’s take a walk down memory lane.

Keen and Graev’s Gaming Blog in 2012

We had more traffic this year than ever before!  We started blogging in February 2007 meaning we’re almost six years old.  I’m extremely proud that last year we grew our daily readership by 53%.  That’s insane!  I can’t believe so many more people now visit us daily compared to the start of 2011.  We didn’t hype any major MMO releases, come up with any new phrases adopted by the industry, or receive any magical exclusives to drive traffic.   I think the biggest increases came from two blog posts that were done simply to help people:

Each of the above brought in hundreds of thousands of people.  Maybe this means we should go into tech support instead of musing about games all day?

I’m always fascinated by how I wrote during the year.  Some years I’m hyped up, others I’m negative.  Some years I feel full of ideas and inspired to share my thoughts on how games should be made, and others I just analyze what’s happening.  This year was really ‘matter of fact’.  I commented a lot on the state of things.  Although this isn’t my favorite style (I prefer sharing ideas I have for how games can be made) it was needed, and fit the events of 2012.

‘Sandbox vs. Themepark’ and ‘Old school vs. A New Trope’ were extremely hot topics that came up in some form every month.  I didn’t debate F2P as much as I did in 2011 because that topic took a back seat to analyzing why games are 3 monthers, or why MMOs die.   I think we really dug into what MMOs are doing to deserve their classification, and discovered together what makes them fail and succeed.  I’ve had a wonderful time learning from what you have to say in the comments.  Keep it up!

Check out more of my 2012 in review including my year-end thoughts on specific MMO’s after the break. Continue reading “2012 in Review” »

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Keen’s Predictions for 2013

December 27, 2012 by

Every year around this time I like to toss my prophetic predictions into the mix of what the coming year will hold for the gaming industry.  Last year’s predictions kicked my butt.  I think almost all of them were completely wrong, and some were so bad I had to make sure Graev didn’t go in and edit them to make me look silly.

I thought SWTOR would have a great year and players would love Bioware’s support for the game.  In reality, SWTOR was a financial disaster, went free to play, caused both of the Bioware Doctors to turn tail, and disappointed just about everyone I know.

A couple of them still remain to be seen.  My prediction that GW2 would be a 3-monther might be true since it turned out to be a ‘play to beat’ game, but the game is still going strong enough for me to want to return very soon.  Predicting that the subscription model would survive is technically true, and F2P has seen a decline in the MMO space, but that’s because B2P (buy to play) is now on the rise.  I also thought indie gaming wouldn’t do so hot… sheesh was I wrong.  Indie games rocked 2012.

Time for next year’s predictions!

1.  Kickstarting (crowdfunding) MMO’s will grow in popularity to the point of causing obvious panic for publishers. More MMO’s will start Kickstarter campaigns and actually be successful.

2.  ‘Old school’ will make a come back in a big way. Developers will realize it’s time to try what actually worked and abandon the modern tropes.  In other words, themeparks won’t be the focus on 2013 and mechanics that remind us of the old days will return.

3.  Emulators like SWGEmu and Project 1999 will continue to grow in popularity.  The right people will finally take notice, and officially supported classic servers will finally be a reality because they can actually make money!

4.  More older games will be re-released like Asheron’s Call 2 was this month and they will all do so well that some teams dedicate themselves entirely to re-releasing the past.

5.  We will finally see the start of something new.  That is to say, this whole debate about sandbox vs. themepark, WoW clones, etc., old ways vs. new ways, and stagnant development will be irrelevant because we will all be looking anxiously forward to an entirely new style of MMORPG.   I’m thinking SOE’s EverQuest Next might do it.

6.  F2P will be entirely gone because people will finally realize competing on price ruins the product, there’s no such thing as ‘free’, and short-term doesn’t matter when more money can be made longterm when you design a game to last.

(Now for some oddball ones)

7.  Darkfall Unholy Wars won’t launch.  Aventurine actually took the money and ran.

8.  The Elder Scrolls Online will actually be a ton of fun and shock the world.

9.  PC gaming will rule the world because console gamers realize they’re just playing on standardized PC’s.

10.  Legislation will be passed banning the development of MOBA’s because of cyberbullying.

11.  Blizzard will reveal project Titan, announce the last expansion for WoW, and announce WarCraft 4.

I think I finally have it right this year.  I’d love to hear yours!

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What justifies a subscription?

December 12, 2012 by

Shut up and take my moneyBuy to play is becoming more popular in the MMO space.  The Secret World adapted their business model today to be more in-line with something like Guild Wars, requiring expansion content to be purchased.  They’ve also kept their cash shop, and even allowed people to opt-into a sub to receive cash shop benefits — but not the content.

Guild Wars 2 uses a buy to play option, and will likely sell content like they did with the original; However, ArenaNet is still providing event content for the holidays free of charge and may continue to provide content updates for free.

World of Warcraft remains a subscription game, having no trouble at all topping the industry, along with several other titles still holding on to their ability to keep players paying for access.

Despite the proven and irrefutable success of the subscription model, the MMO landscape is changing and along with it expectations.  This leads into what I want to discuss today.

Ahm' Keepin' Me MoneyWhat justifies a subscription for you?  When are you willing to pay $15 a month for access to a game?  Do you require regular, free content updates?  Must the game meet a certain caliber of quality?  Personally, I look at it as a total package deal.  If what is being offered  is unavailable anywhere else, then I’ll gladly pay to get in.  If what I find when I get in is fun, well worth my time, and something I want to continue to do then I’ll continue to pay. I see subs as a way to reward a company for creating a game that keeps me wanting to play, and a way to show developers when they’re not.

I’m curious to hear what you would require from an MMO to justify paying a subscription.  I’m not asking which is better or wanting to debate their merits — I’m asking what is it about a MMO that keeps you paying a subscription or what would entice you to pay for one if you’re not.  I hope we can uncover some interesting points, shed some light on what is lacking in today’s games, and figure out what we want enough to pay money for in future MMO’s to come.

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Price is NOT the Issue

November 1, 2012 by

I find it pathetic that price has become the scapegoat of failure in the gaming industry.  I’m positive that any executives, developers, or anyone making a statement about price being an issue is being deceptive;  I find it impossible to believe they’re all that stupid.  Anyone with an ounce of training in marketing, economics, business management, or even common sense, knows the principles of delivering value.

If your game sucks and isn’t worth $15 a month, that’s not a price issue!  That’s a quality issue!  Peter Moore says that price was always the issue, and people stopped playing SWTOR because they felt locked in at $15 a month.  Wrong, sir!  Wrong!  People stopped playing your game because it wasn’t worth $15 a month, not because they didn’t want to spend that money.  Those same people would happily pay that, or more, for a game worth the money.

This argument that price is to blame is like saying there is never an excuse for a poor quality product.  But Peter Moore and other people spinning the issue of price don’t want you to look at their product.  They want you to look at their competition still charging a price tag, get you to believe the market is changing, or see anything but the true reason why their game failed.  Not all of us are falling for your attempts at misdirection, you clever little magicians.

What happens when every game is free and you can no longer blame price?   There’s a reason why competing on price is a failed strategy.

Stop selling us on free to play and start selling us on your product.  Go all the way back to your first sales class where they taught you that people buy benefits.  They don’t buy advantages, features, or in this case excuses.  What’s your point of difference?  Where is your game’s value?  Blizzard still charges $15 a month for WoW because they are not competing on price. $60 boxes still release every Tuesday, and some sell multiple millions.  Be unique, develop a reputation, improve, or find some way to differentiate.  There’s a reason why people line up every year to buy the next overpriced Apple product.

Ten years ago, when my money was worth far more, I paid a monthly fee.  Since then I have never once questioned paying a monthly fee for a product worth that money.  The only time I ever question paying $15 is when a game is no longer delivering a value worth that money.     Give people a reason to spend their money, and they’ll happily spend it.

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