Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Bad Openedge - We don't need your stinkin' MMO

Let me say this upfront. All MMO's seem to live by the "Give it a few weeks or months before playing" mantra.

Why should this be?

With the recent release of Final Fantasy XIV, I just have to ask..."Why?" Was your previous MMO already dying for customers? If so, was it your intent to make a game they could easily go to and continue their life? If NOT, then why not look at what the market has shown and improve upon this?

Or is this a "name only" money grab?

We all know for a fact, this industry is looked upon more harshly now than in the past. Any MMO player worth his salt is saying "I want a change". Graphics are one thing, but gameplay should be foremost. Make your game obtuse and far away from the norm, you alienate a core audience. Make your game different, but not well fleshed out in terms of content or playability, you will roast on the flames of the haters.

When your main player, an Eastern audience and players of your previous MMO, are saying things have gone awry...then be prepared to be left behind. When you formally ask reviewers to "wait" 3-4 weeks to have their say...prepare to be skewered.

I pity Square Enix's decisions. I do not doubt that down the road after all of the bugs and issues have been rectified, the PS3 version will most likely sell very well. But, as a current or next gen MMO, FFXIV leaves a lot to be desired.

Sure, I could wait a few months and come back. This excuse is getting old though. And should I be accepting of content that is there to get players through solo style? Should I accept menus that pull me out of my world to make decisions? Should I have to speak to a rock to get quests to do, that are available for set amounts of time?

I say, if you don't want to put in any effort to make a good game that could turn the industry around, then I don't need your stinkin' MMO.

2 comments:

Pocketbomb said...

It's really sad, I was very much looking forward to dig into a brand new AAA MMO, that had beautiful graphics instead of this growing trend ofr "art style" so people that refuse to evolve thier computers can play, but man... FFXIV is not it. They market as being super casual friendly-- there is nothing casual friendly about that game, whatsoever. It's a goddamn mini-game just to open your inventory and change out your item set. It's a real shame. It takes so long just to get the most basic tasks done. It's disappointing to say the least.

--Mobs

www.nerdvirgin.com

Scarybooster said...

I never really saw the point of any of the Final fantasy MMOs. They seem to try to be so different, they piss people off. Difficult to play doesn't make it better or revolutionary. Stupid roman numerals