This could just be an interesting coincidence, but I also think it answers a number of questions about Cryptic’s MMO development strategy. In July 2009, G4TV asked Cryptic’s Chief Creative Officer (and fan favourite punching bag) Jack Emmert how many players Champions Online needed for success: G4: Speaking of it being successful, when you’re launching … Continue reading
Looking Back At Advice on a Star Trek MMO
Way back in the dark mists of January 2008 Eric Heimburg, who was Perpetual’s Lead Systems Designer on Star Trek Online back before that company folded, wrote a few points out to Cryptic / whoever might get the Star Trek MMO. With Cryptic’s STO launching just a few short months away in February 2010, I … Continue reading
How Many Players Bought Champions Online At Launch?
Massively.com recently asked the question about how important subscription numbers are to consumers. On an immediate level they probably aren’t vital, but longer-term they point to a game’s survival and potential to be a success. This is especially true for MMOs launched since 2008 – their typical active player numbers have seen sharp declines since … Continue reading
Game Devs Don’t Understand Players – Aion and Medals
Recently announced in Aion is a new reward system. A player distributed reward system. Taken off the announcement: “3) The most recent patch notes for 1.5.1 show that defending legions can now gain medals for successfully holding a fortress but many people feel this will not be enough incentive for fortress defense. Can you clarify … Continue reading
“2012” – Roland Emmerich Destroys America
Saw a preview screening last night. Excellent destruction porn – should be called “Roland Emmerich Destroys America”. Has a quite a few disaster movie cliches and ultimately you want to see the Russian twins die just because, but it keeps going at a fair enough clip that you generally get over it. Well acted too … Continue reading
The First One Million Customers
I’ve noticed a trend worth commenting on in Western MMOs. It is only based on limited data points, but it’s worth codifying. The trend is: If you launch a AAA MMO in Western markets, you are going to attract about 1 million players at launch. My evidence: Age of Conan shipped 1.2 million boxes at … Continue reading
The Economy Is So Bad, Even The Dead Are Hard To Find
A shortage of suitable cadavers is hampering medical education and training. Fortunately (?), private enterprise is coming to the rescue. Let’s hope they don’t get too proactive.
EA To Slash Staff; Starts By Cutting WAR Down
As part of its third quarter financial announcements, EA has posted a significant loss and has indicated that up to 1500 jobs are going to be cut. The full cuts won’t be made until April 2010, but some studios were hit quicker than others, including Mythic, developer behind Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (WAR). There are … Continue reading
NCsoft Responds To My Article: “Alarmist” and “Sensationalist”
Massively got a response from NCsoft about my article on the future of CoH/V. The terms “alarmist” and “sensationalist” are used, as are how “excited” NCsoft is about the future of CoH/V. All fair enough and par for the course. This blog is my opinion and NCsoft is completely free to challenge that opinion. If … Continue reading
Why NCsoft Doesn’t Sell Off Its Failures
Adam Martin picked up on my previous entry and expanded it in a fantastic way based on his time there – basically, NCsoft Korea has too much money to bother with small projects, so only big projects are worth considering. I am a complete outsider here – not worked for NCsoft Korea or any other … Continue reading
World Class Villains 