Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
General: The Real Top 10 MMOs of 2012
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
It's hard to accurately predict what will be popular in the MMO-space these days. Last week, we took a look at a 2009 piece predicting the success of certain MMOs in 2012 that...ain't gonna make it. In The List today, MMORPG.com Managing Editor dons the swami's hat and prognosticates about 2012 and what he believes will be the real success stories of the year. Read on!
Last week we checked out a List Jon Wood wrote in 2009 all about his projected top ten MMOs of 2012. Jon’s crystal ball was a little foggy though, and things didn’t quite turn out like he had hoped. I’m going to take a stab at the prognostications this week, and admittedly I have a better chance than Jon based simply on the fact that well… it’s almost 2012 now. Still, this gives us a good chance to take a look at the current landscape of the MMO and think realistically about which games are “doing the best”, at least from my point of view.
Read more of Bill Murphy's The List: The Real Top 10 MMOs of 2012.
)
Comments
I agree, on the whole with the list. But I don't know if your criteria matches mine.
I think the list ranks the MMOs accurately based on the score and acclaim they will receive, however I believe based on number of players, you're still going to have WoW at 1, SWTOR at 2 and GW2 at 3, which maybe EVE at 4 and everything else being pathetically low in comparison.
And at the end of the day, for MMOs, number of players seems to matter the most to everyone.
If we see in terms of sheer popularity i would still keep WOW on top. It will always be the most talked about and most popular MMO.
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/542/Warhammer-40K-Dark-Millennium-Online.html
Apparantly, it's 2013.
This will only remain true if no other company spends the prime time advertising dollars that Blizzard spent and spends. Now....that is possible, since they spent multiple fortunes on advertising, BUT.....as soon as another GOOD game spends that kind of advertising money.....it will be talked about just as much as WoW is now, if not as much as it used to be.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
Most of the list looks decent, but I wouldn't put Aion in the top 10 at all, and I'd move Lotro up to at least 6th place.
Lotro
Expansion next month, that will add monster play for freemium players
Hobbit movie part 1
Announcement of next expansion
Aion
Not sure why there would be any impression that Aion had continued to Westernize. Last I heard they sacked the only CM who actually communicated with the player base.
Still no idea how to resolve faction imbalance or ganking of newbs by twinks afraid to face anyone within 15 levels of themselves.
Still no western dev team, and the eastern team has western players on the bottom of their list. Painfully slow translations of patches and infrequent attempts to translate events for the western servers.
Terrible support/CM team
Aion could be a great game. I think with a western dev team it could have reached the top 4 and stayed there until Swtor + GW2. The fundamentals are there, just not the support or interest from the home base. Western subs are just a little icing on the cake and not the real source of income.
In place of Aion I would include Neverwinter. Sounds like the new owners have the money and desire to make a big impression on the western market.
This list does look like a good possbility, with the only things being switched up being that suprise mmo not talked about taking one of the spots. One of the succssful MMOs that suprised me was Rift. I hadn't heard of the game until it was about a month from release. Though after seeing the launch and how stable it was, as well as them constantly adding content, I was hoping the game would be a success, even if I don't play it anymore.
I think SWToR and GW2 can be hit or miss. SWToR might be the next Warhammer at worst, with lots of expectations, and falling flat on its face, but I'm thinking that won't be the case this time. GW2 could be the next EQ2, where it had a successful predecessor, and a medicore sequal. Again though, it looks like it good be a pretty big deal as well.
That is a big 'IF' that is why i said that in terms of sheer popularity WOW will always be number one.
Basing the top 10 list on current hype... not good imo. For all the talk and hype, I don't believe GW2 or SWTOR will come even close to the hype they have generated. GW2 is doing a great job at teasing people, specially since this would be the main way for it to make money... after all, just buy it once and you own and play it forever right? Just make people curious enough and they will buy anything. Less than 6 months after release, and you can quote me on this, it will have lost well over half its population.
SWTOR... nothing can really make the world people have in their heads come to life, and this will be the fall of this IP: Too much expectations from the player base.
My order for the list would be more like this: 1) WoW, 2) GW2 (Just because of initial sales), SWTOR, 4) Rift, 5) EvE and the rest. Not hating, just being a realist (in as much as assumptions can be called realist.)
List looks about right. WoW is losing subs now without any real competition except Rift. Nothing lasts forever.
Mike B give this guy a raise. This list is actually reasonable and makes since and looks at reality. I mean holy crap whoever put FF14 in the top 10 COME ON MANNNN!!
I am not sure the sub numbers will line up in that order. I mean even if WoW loses 3 million people that is still 8 MILLION lol..I think it will go WoW...GW2....SWToR...Rift wil maintain 4th
FF14? what is that lol. I hardly doubt FF14 will even make a blip on popularity radar in 2012.
I will bet you right now that Archeage and Planetside 2 (if you consider than an MMO) will be well in that top 10 of 2012, with AoC (great game) and Aion losing their spots.
I like the list and I have to link WoW may fall further, all my friends who were hard core raiders like myself cancelled their subs this year, and haven't looked back. We are waiting on the GW2 and STOR... until then ... WoW (More of the same) just does not seem appealing anymore, doing dungeons endlessly, raids and then getting all your gear nerfed, rince and repeat has gotten really really old.... need something new and exciting !! I don't think another expansion will save wow, I mean I don't see it going away, but just see it as a top dog when really anticipated MMO's come out in 2012.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Nice list, very accurate imo, keep it on.
Not a bad list I think. Only points I would add my 2 cents on are.
Rift is not really that "dynamic" been playing since launch and when "dynamic" events happen like say a rift opens and invasion comes out and takes over a spot... 10-15 min later the enemies disappear and everything is back to normal.. that just doesn't feel dynamic to me. And the game world is TINY! (I still think Rift has been successful though)
In GW2 if enemies take over a spot, it will remain taken over for months if players don't take it back... THAT is dynamic.
My prediction is it will be GW2 + meaning since GW2 charges no subscription to play many people will be doing GW2 + another mmo they pay for. I think that is a good combination.
My wife and I plan on doing GW2 + TSW
- I have played Everquest, DAOC, Shadowbane, WoW, Aion, Rift, SW Galaxies, Planetside and Guild Wars (all expacs)
The market is flooded with press 1,2,3 > solo to max games like Rift....it really is a disgrace to the genre.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Well I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that TERA is going to be a short lived success at best. They have already had a major contraction of the servers in the eastern version, mainly because of lack of content.
I do like their combat design, but will have to wait and see if that is enough to keep this game interesting.
Guild Wars 2 is going to be "action" enough combat to completely kill anything Tera has going for it.
Considering the combat is the only thing Tera has going for it, unless it releases in the west before GW2, it will never catch on - and even if it does the GW2 release will kill it in the west.
if it doesn't release before GW2 no one will pay any attention to it.
Just reading about the issues they have had/are having with it in the East, no chance that game will be top 10 in 2012.
I'm sorry, but did you just said that GW2 is all talk and hype, atlhough hundreds (or more) have already tried all the demos showed at conventions, proved all the things to be true and better than most released games have been for years? Did you just said that the game will probably lose half of it's population after 6 months even though the game will be free forever after it got bought and it will probably have some-sort -of-expansions 6 months after release?
About SWTOR, your predictions are the same as most people so I agree with you there too.
About the List, I agree with most of the choices (IMO, Aion shouldn't be in there). And I do agree that WoW is dying really fast. Most of my friends (both irl and online ones) that were completelly adicted to the game are now inactive (not completelly inactive, because they still pay the subs and go there like 3 times a week, if lucky), and it's not because of their real life situation (work, family, whatever), they just got sick and tired of it and are now playing other games (League Of Legends for most of them). So, WoW in 3rd is a close reality!
This list is a testament to the utter destruction of a once great genre.
well not onl the expectations they have for SWTOR but also the massive amounts of whining that already started on the forums when the game isn't even released yet! SWTOR will be a miss due to whining!