Interesting quote from EA President about WoW

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:33 am

The company singled out three reasons for the the anticipated shortfall. Primarily, it said, it underestimated the effects of the Holiday 2004 video game hardware shortage. (Retailers were regularly out of stock of Xbox and PlayStation 2 machines, as Microsoft and Sony were unable to keep up with demand.)

Also, momentum the company saw in its third quarter software sales did not continue into the holiday period. Similarly, titles released in the fourth quarter did not live up to expectations. The company specifically cited lower than expected sales of its "Need for Speed" and "NFL Street" franchises.

EA president Larry Probst also acknowledged sales of competitive titles, including "Half-Life 2" and "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" have cut into sales. "World of Warcraft," a massively multiplayer game from powerhouse developer Blizzard, he said "has had an impact on everyone in the industry."

"Everybody in the industry has been surprised with 'World of Warcraft,'" he said. "I can tell you from firsthand observation that there are people who haven't played games in years who are now spending 15 to 20 hours a week playing 'World of Warcraft'."

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:18 pm

heh, warcraft has had the opposite effect on me~

It's a great game, but the longer I play it, the more I realize it's not really the game I was looking for

Captain Insano · Post by **Captain Insano** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:30 pm

What we need is for sony to create an entirely new graphics engine for EQ 1, redo all the models and graphics for the original game... Add a much updated combat engine with new talents/effects etc, and subclasses, then port the entire playerbase over... same game with but with a facelift.

Then maybe add some new races and classes and an expansion similar to RoK.

That would destroy all the other mmorgs out there.... maybe a battlegrounds like expansion would be cool too so people can grief the taiwanese off the nameless.

Post by **Lyion** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:54 pm

Tikker wrote:heh, warcraft has had the opposite effect on me~

It's a great game, but the longer I play it, the more I realize it's not really the game I was looking for

Ditto here. It's great fun, but it's MMO Lite.

If nothing else, it's causing a ripple effect in the MMO industry and other players are now listening more and appealing to their customer base.

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:38 pm

What I really want is kind of hard to describe

I want something:
that rewards skill, but not so much just twitch skill (like FPS)
where PvP is prevalent, but is still optional (i hate ganking)
where I can leave a lasting mark on the terrain (UO housing was close)
where I can have fun just hanging out chatting
where tradeskills are worth doing, and yet still somehow fun
where the economy is driven mostly by player created items, with the occasional rare dungeon treasure

I want magic, swords, guns, 'net type shiznat all in one game
I want to be able to fly in space, and adventure on different planets

I kind of want a combination of Mechwarrior1, Shadowrun, EQ1, and Civilizations/dynastywarriors/romance of the 3 kingdoms all in 1 game

that would kick ass

Donnel · Post by **Donnel** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:40 pm

You sir, are a genious.

:bowdown:

Post by **Lyion** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:53 pm

I like what you are saying, but my wants are a bit different.

I like the class based systems, but I think a combo of skills and classes are the way to go.

I want dynamicism where I can have an effect on the world. I want changing things, no monster respawns, real danger, and indepth lore.

I want WAR. PVP with a purpose, and with meaning. Large scale battles with things at risk.

I want perma death on characters. You fuck up and die, you pay the ultimate price. No more respawn, rinse, repeat, etc. That would make things meaningful.

WOW does a great job of fixing many EQ shortcomings and it makes MMOing easy. I kind of want the opposite. I want more challenges and less static stuff.

Harrison · Post by **Harrison** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:06 pm

Perma death is a very bad idea with internet based gaming. Too many factors beyond your control would serisously fuck your shit up.

Post by **Martrae** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:08 pm

Tikker,

That sounds like SWG.

Durothil Skyreaver · Post by **Durothil Skyreaver** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:01 pm

What he meant to say was, MAKE SHADOWRUN ALREADY!!!!!

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:53 pm

Martrae wrote:Tikker,

That sounds like SWG.

Kind of, but not really

SWG had a good idea, but just missed the mark

(imo)

Post by **Martrae** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:57 pm

Much has changed since you last played, I would bet.

Post by **Lyion** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:05 pm

Jump to lightspeed is reason enough to play SWG. It's amazing fun.

I'm not sure if it'll hold my attention more than a few months, but then again no MMO may ever do that again.

brinstar · Post by **brinstar** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:12 pm

Durothil Skyreaver wrote:What he meant to say was, MAKE SHADOWRUN ALREADY!!!!!

i would play this in MMO form

...as long as it was more like SNES shadowrun and less like genesis shadowrun

Antilus · Post by **Antilus** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:44 pm

pen n paper shadowrun.. . was my nerd game of choice instead of d&d crap

and mechwarrior1 was awsome.. still listen to the soundtrack sometimes.. great stuff

:bowdown:

Zormito · Post by **Zormito** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:12 pm

Antilus wrote:pen n paper shadowrun.. . was my nerd game of choice instead of d&d crap

Them be fighting words!

Antilus · Post by **Antilus** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:40 pm

i'd bring it.. but its already been brought it.. :owned:

Zanchief · Post by **Zanchief** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:01 am

brinstar wrote:
Durothil Skyreaver wrote:What he meant to say was, MAKE SHADOWRUN ALREADY!!!!!

i would play this in MMO form

...as long as it was more like SNES shadowrun and less like genesis shadowrun

Much love for you my SNES Shadowrun brother.

Reynaldo · Post by **Reynaldo** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:12 am

I'm holding out hope for D&D online

Menelvir · Post by **Menelvir** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:29 am

A game where I could manipulate and travel through Shadows would be fun.

Captain Insano · Post by **Captain Insano** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 5:00 pm

None of these games will prosper unless they make room for pirates.

The ultimate mmog would be: Pirates vs Ninjas with incursions against space zombies.

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:01 pm

Zanchief wrote:
brinstar wrote:
Durothil Skyreaver wrote:What he meant to say was, MAKE SHADOWRUN ALREADY!!!!!

i would play this in MMO form

...as long as it was more like SNES shadowrun and less like genesis shadowrun

Much love for you my SNES Shadowrun brother.

Man, the genesis version jabowned the SNES version

Harrison · Post by **Harrison** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:10 pm

The only thing I liked more in SNES was the setting and the music etc.

The hacking in Genesis version was infinitely more fun than the SNES version.

Perfection would be to combine the two games.

Antilus · Post by **Antilus** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 9:07 pm

i had a decker in SH.. i wonder if TSR or whatever company makes that pen n paper game should try and sue the Matrix for stealing that name/idea.. bastards ><

while its not really the same idea, there is still the plugging a jack into your head and entering a computer generated world...

i feel like i should be a trekky convention =\