Are Game Companies Announcing MMO Titles Too Early in the Development Cycle?

fat_taddler

Seems like MMO's get unveiled way too early these days.  We've even gotten to the point where MMO's are being announced before a single line of code is written.  Yes, I understand that some games are being announced due to funding efforts but that's another conversation entirely. 

You almost never see games from other genre's being announced 2-3 years before an expected launch date, yet this seems to be the new norm for MMO's. 

Blizzard seems to be the only company that doesn't let the cat out of the bag too early.  They typically don't announce products until they have something tangible to show customers and in most cases, you'll probably be able to get your hands on a particular Blizzard product within a matter of months from it's unveiling.

Looking at games like Camelot Unchained, it seems like a daunting task to keep potential players (customers) excited about the game for what could easily be five to seven years of development.  

I've been following the Repopulation for almost two years which seems like an eternity.  During this time, my tastes in games and overall perspective on the genre has changed significantly.  This has actually caused me to lose interest in the game over time.

That being said, I think game companies need to throttle back the marketing efforts until they're a little closer to actually being able to deliver a product. 

 

 

 

 

Teshrrar

Yes, they are.

MMOExposed

Hype the number 1 MMO seller 

ArChWind

Originally posted by MMOExposed
Hype the number 1 MMO seller 

 We have a winner!

Loktofeit

Originally posted by fat_taddler

Seems like MMO's get unveiled way too early these days.  We've even gotten to the point where MMO's are being announced before a single line of code is written.  Yes, I understand that some games are being announced due to funding efforts but that's another conversation entirely. 

You almost never see games from other genre's being announced 2-3 years before an expected launch date, yet this seems to be the new norm for MMO's. 

Blizzard seems to be the only company that doesn't let the cat out of the bag too early.  They typically don't announce products until they have something tangible to show customers and in most cases, you'll probably be able to get your hands on a particular Blizzard product within a matter of months from it's unveiling.

Looking at games like Camelot Unchained, it seems like a daunting task to keep potential players (customers) excited about the game for what could easily be five to seven years of development.  

I've been following the Repopulation for almost two years which seems like an eternity.  During this time, my tastes in games and overall perspective on the genre has changed significantly.  This has actually caused me to lose interest in the game over time.

That being said, I think game companies need to throttle back the marketing efforts until they're a little closer to actually being able to deliver a product. 

Most MMOs aren't announced until they are in at least an alpha state. As for Blizzard's cat...

http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/28/diablo-iii-officially-announced

 

Reizla

Originally posted by fat_taddler

Blizzard seems to be the only company that doesn't let the cat out of the bag too early.  They typically don't announce products until they have something tangible to show customers and in most cases, you'll probably be able to get your hands on a particular Blizzard product within a matter of months from it's unveiling.

NCSoft is an other who keeps their mouth shut about ongoing developments untill they're in a local (pre-alpha) testing phase, which is mostly about a year before (Korean) release. But in general are most MMORPGs announced way too soon. Sad though, because in the last few years we've seen a lot of announces (including some very promising titles) as well as a lot of them being pulled because of lack of funding (or whatever reason the develeoper needs to quit the project).

MMOExposed

Originally posted by Reizla

Originally posted by fat_taddler

Blizzard seems to be the only company that doesn't let the cat out of the bag too early.  They typically don't announce products until they have something tangible to show customers and in most cases, you'll probably be able to get your hands on a particular Blizzard product within a matter of months from it's unveiling.

NCSoft is an other who keeps their mouth shut about ongoing developments untill they're in a local (pre-alpha) testing phase, which is mostly about a year before (Korean) release. But in general are most MMORPGs announced way too soon. Sad though, because in the last few years we've seen a lot of announces (including some very promising titles) as well as a lot of them being pulled because of lack of funding (or whatever reason the develeoper needs to quit the project).

That's not true. We had info on GW2 long before alpha.

Shadanwolf

One of the first things I do is look at an estimated launch date.... 1 year, 2 years ,3.Then I stop reading anything about that game...period.A year or so later I might check on its status.I'm beyond tired of being teased.Beyond tired.

The mmog genre has proven to be consistently disappointing.... so i don't play any mmog atm.

Quizzical

Originally posted by MMOExposed

Originally posted by Reizla

Originally posted by fat_taddler

Blizzard seems to be the only company that doesn't let the cat out of the bag too early.  They typically don't announce products until they have something tangible to show customers and in most cases, you'll probably be able to get your hands on a particular Blizzard product within a matter of months from it's unveiling.

NCSoft is an other who keeps their mouth shut about ongoing developments untill they're in a local (pre-alpha) testing phase, which is mostly about a year before (Korean) release. But in general are most MMORPGs announced way too soon. Sad though, because in the last few years we've seen a lot of announces (including some very promising titles) as well as a lot of them being pulled because of lack of funding (or whatever reason the develeoper needs to quit the project).

That's not true. We had info on GW2 long before alpha.

The justification for that was basically that ArenaNet announced that the reason they were canceling Guild Wars Utopia is that they were working on Guild Wars 2 instead.

Quizzical

Originally posted by fat_taddler

Seems like MMO's get unveiled way too early these days.  We've even gotten to the point where MMO's are being announced before a single line of code is written.  Yes, I understand that some games are being announced due to funding efforts but that's another conversation entirely. 

You almost never see games from other genre's being announced 2-3 years before an expected launch date, yet this seems to be the new norm for MMO's. 

Blizzard seems to be the only company that doesn't let the cat out of the bag too early.  They typically don't announce products until they have something tangible to show customers and in most cases, you'll probably be able to get your hands on a particular Blizzard product within a matter of months from it's unveiling.

Looking at games like Camelot Unchained, it seems like a daunting task to keep potential players (customers) excited about the game for what could easily be five to seven years of development.  

I've been following the Repopulation for almost two years which seems like an eternity.  During this time, my tastes in games and overall perspective on the genre has changed significantly.  This has actually caused me to lose interest in the game over time.

That being said, I think game companies need to throttle back the marketing efforts until they're a little closer to actually being able to deliver a product. 

How does a company know how far away from launch a game is?  Unless they commit far in advance to launching on a particular date, regardless of the state of the game on that date, they don't.  If you don't launch a game until it is ready, then if you think your game is a year from launch when you announce it, it might actually be three years from launch.

ClaudeSuamOram

I personally feel they are. The potential player knows so much about the game before it ever releases...it tends (IMO) to kill a lot of the excitement, interest and adventurous feeling for said game(s)....as most is known before hitting "Play".

pongdun

I believe developers are and more than that, the endgame content is always vague and empty. So the fast guys get to max level and start complaining about that, this always happens!

sanshi44

Originally posted by ClaudeSuamOram
I personally feel they are. The potential player knows so much about the game before it ever releases...it tends (IMO) to kill a lot of the excitement, interest and adventurous feeling for said game(s)....as most is known before hitting "Play".

Yeah i feel the same, im hoping they dont give to much info away on EQNext during SoE live, they seem to be doing well keeping it under wraps for the time being though.

fascism

yes

Rossboss

Yes, they are. I can't say I've ever seen an announcement for a game before any code is written. They'd literally just be showing a logo and/or some concept art. I still think games should be announced when they are at the beginning of Closed Beta, just enough time for the beta testers to gain interest but not enough time for the masses to really start spamming for beta invites. I don't think it brings the right kind of users at any point before that.

laokoko

ya I mean the company need the hypes to get attention.

And Blizzard do try to hype their product too... "Oh we are working on this secreat MMO and we wont' tell you any info about it beside the name Titan etc etc"  It's the same thing.

Jemcrystal

Yes.  They're burning people out with the long wait.

Cleffy

Announcing it way to early secures funding.  Publishers often want affirmation that there is a community behind the game and that it can make a profit.  With an MMORPG that takes half a decade to develop and requires a huge price tag, it only makes sense that Publishers are not wasting their money.

Antiquated

Originally posted by fat_taddler

Seems like MMO's get unveiled way too early these days. 

Most of that apparent effect comes from kickstarter (we start begging for your cash before we even have a demo).

What we're yet to determine is if that kickstarter can possibly survive a year or two of failed promises.

Gamers who really hate hype surely are eager to get right to it.