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Lord of the Rings Online: Best MMO Studio of 2008: Winner
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com is pleased to announce the winner of the 2008 Reader's Choice Award for Best MMO Studio of 2008.
In the voting for Favorite MMO Studio of 2008, 4334 votes were cast. The editorial nominees were: Blizzard, CCP, Mythic Entertainment, Ncsoft, Turbine, Funcom.
With a stunning 46% of the vote, the winner of the Favorite MMO Studio of 2008 was Turbine.
)
Read the Best MMO Studio of 2008: Winner
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Congrats Turbine. A landslide indeed, and well deserved.
They really deserve it. Well won.
Can't say I really agree with it. Imho, Lotro has never really justified it's existance. It's always been a WoW clone with very little improvements that doesn't really set itself apart. It's a "good, just not as good as..." game.
While I share your opinion of the game itself, Turbine launched the game relatively smooth. My main issue with Turbine as a company is how they ruined Asheron's Call with a horrid sequel. They should give AC1 some love, maybe make it free to play, promote it more, or give it some sort of graphical overhaul.
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Another MILESTONE of bad taste and a tribute to what mmorpg.com readers stand for.
In 2008 Turbine introduced .... FISHING ! Yep you read it here first. Wow.
First they ruined AC. Everyone agrees on that.
Then they ruined the beautiful playing Lore I grew up with: Dungeons and Dragons
Then they ruined the best original Fantasy Lore ever: Middle Earth with a pure and utterly dead (faction wise) Wow clone. The books were epic, the film legendary, the game clownesk and as dead as the puppets you control (I always found the hunter shooting at zero range a disgrace for Legolas).
The only thing it has is a copyright carton figure giving you quests with a ring above his head.
If it weren't for the bought out lore, this game would have less players than Ultima Online.
And hail to their animations: every avatar in Turbine products are stuck with a stick in their ass.
Cheers. It demonstrated what MMORPG.COM is becoming. A place of old moaning grognards who don't have a clue.
While I share your opinion of the game itself, Turbine launched the game relatively smooth. My main issue with Turbine as a company is how they ruined Asheron's Call with a horrid sequel. They should give AC1 some love, maybe make it free to play, promote it more, or give it some sort of graphical overhaul.
While Lotro did indeed have a smooth launch, that was in 2007, not 2008.
They haven't done anything really special in 2008 besides releasing a good expansion pack which is,sorry to repeat myself, "good,just not as good as..."
Also, I can't really say that Dungeons & Dragons Online received anything truly noteworthy.
I agree with you on AC1. AC1 is just sort of sitting there. It doesn't really have a lot of subscribers, it would be nice if Turbine was a bit more creative with the game. Make it free, perhaps an item mall, advertise it a little bit on banners and the game might just be revived again.
Good God. Here we go again... WoW clone.
The category isn't best MMO, it's best MMO Studio. Turbine won because of their Devs' constant presense and availablity to the customers through the forums and even in-game, great customer service, smooth launches, and the constant free content updates.
~ Adder ~
Quick, Silent, Deadly
Landslide victory for Turbine. Good job. Not that I play LOTRO tho. Hate the animations and the moral system...
Best thing about Turbine ... They let the game do the talking 99% of the time. The two newcomers this year didn't do that. Funcom lied their arse off and more and more issues are coming up with WAR now. Many of them so serious that the entire agenda for the game is compremised.
But the surprise in this vote... Blizzard.... Company that has ALWAYS been considered to put the player in first place... Is not even close to Turbine...
Maybe its time for Blizzard to realise their custimors are no longer their priority .... And maybe its time for the custimors to realise that Money is now the main focus of BLizzard (after Activision took over).
I love this result...It was about time BLizzard was shown in the right light. Population is just a small spectrum of the real game....
Good God. Here we go again... WoW clone.
The category isn't best MMO, it's best MMO Studio. Turbine won because of their Devs' constant presense and availablity to the customers through the forums and even in-game, great customer service, smooth launches, and the constant free content updates.
I think it's only fair to judge a studio by the quality of the games they produce, no?
Turbine developers can spend as much time on the forums they like, that doesn't make a game good. In fact, I'd say it really doesn't matter if a developer visits the forum, or if Community managers pass on the issues players have with the game to the developers.
While I share your opinion of the game itself, Turbine launched the game relatively smooth. My main issue with Turbine as a company is how they ruined Asheron's Call with a horrid sequel. They should give AC1 some love, maybe make it free to play, promote it more, or give it some sort of graphical overhaul.
While Lotro did indeed have a smooth launch, that was in 2007, not 2008.
They haven't done anything really special in 2008 besides releasing a good expansion pack which is,sorry to repeat myself, "good,just not as good as..."
Also, I can't really say that Dungeons & Dragons Online received anything truly noteworthy.
I agree with you on AC1. AC1 is just sort of sitting there. It doesn't really have a lot of subscribers, it would be nice if Turbine was a bit more creative with the game. Make it free, perhaps an item mall, advertise it a little bit on banners and the game might just be revived again.
Well thats your personal opinion that LotrO is "good,just not as good as..."
There is people who dont agree and think that LotrO offers something unique in the MMO market and Turbine are doing a great job with it. 46% of the voters thinks that Turbine is best of thoose companies so it seem Im not alone.
And grats Turbine
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
While I share your opinion of the game itself, Turbine launched the game relatively smooth. My main issue with Turbine as a company is how they ruined Asheron's Call with a horrid sequel. They should give AC1 some love, maybe make it free to play, promote it more, or give it some sort of graphical overhaul.
While Lotro did indeed have a smooth launch, that was in 2007, not 2008.
They haven't done anything really special in 2008 besides releasing a good expansion pack which is,sorry to repeat myself, "good,just not as good as..."
Also, I can't really say that Dungeons & Dragons Online received anything truly noteworthy.
I agree with you on AC1. AC1 is just sort of sitting there. It doesn't really have a lot of subscribers, it would be nice if Turbine was a bit more creative with the game. Make it free, perhaps an item mall, advertise it a little bit on banners and the game might just be revived again.
Well thats your personal opinion that LotrO is "good,just not as good as..."
There is people who dont agree and think that LotrO offers something unique in the MMO market and Turbine are doing a great job with it. 46% of the voters thinks that Turbine is best of thoose companies so it seem Im not alone.
And grats Turbine
It's not just my personal opinion, it's the opinion of many professional critics as well who are, unlike many voters on this website, not biased.
How was that saying going again? A professional critic is a failed writer/designer/artist. Lacking the capability to work they earn living by dissecting the work of others.
And of course voters are biased, if they are not biased in favour of one party they wouldn't bother to vote.
Overall it is a well earned title for Turbine as a studio.
Personally I think PVE content is the real winner in this reward. It is now proven time and time and time again that PVP is NOT playerfriendly - is NOT easy to control in terms of balance and ALWAYS causes 100 if not 1000s of unhappy players .... Why ?... Because 50% of the players are LOOSING in pvp..... And the GMs are the ones that have to answer for that...
While I share your opinion of the game itself, Turbine launched the game relatively smooth. My main issue with Turbine as a company is how they ruined Asheron's Call with a horrid sequel. They should give AC1 some love, maybe make it free to play, promote it more, or give it some sort of graphical overhaul.
While Lotro did indeed have a smooth launch, that was in 2007, not 2008.
They haven't done anything really special in 2008 besides releasing a good expansion pack which is,sorry to repeat myself, "good,just not as good as..."
Also, I can't really say that Dungeons & Dragons Online received anything truly noteworthy.
I agree with you on AC1. AC1 is just sort of sitting there. It doesn't really have a lot of subscribers, it would be nice if Turbine was a bit more creative with the game. Make it free, perhaps an item mall, advertise it a little bit on banners and the game might just be revived again.
Well thats your personal opinion that LotrO is "good,just not as good as..."
There is people who dont agree and think that LotrO offers something unique in the MMO market and Turbine are doing a great job with it. 46% of the voters thinks that Turbine is best of thoose companies so it seem Im not alone.
And grats Turbine
It's not just my personal opinion, it's the opinion of many professional critics as well who are, unlike many voters on this website, not biased.
You meen like theese reviewers?
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/middleearthonline?q=lord%20of%20the%20rings%20online
or theese for MoM?
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/lordoftheringsonlineminesofmoria?q=lord%20of%20the%20rings%20online
I understand that some people think that LotrO is just a lesser WoW clone.. because WoW is the better than LotrO at being WoW... thankfully LotrO is better in other aspects and follows a different design philosophy. So if you are looking for more WoW in LotrO then you are going to be dissapointed.
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
It's not just my personal opinion, it's the opinion of many professional critics as well who are, unlike many voters on this website, not biased.
Pls, you show me a critic with something bad to say about Mines of Moria, and i'll show you two critics with something good to say.
Face it, your a hater and a troll. Man up, realize that Turbine has put out a good product and has pushed the limits of their engine what always updating and progressing their engine.
LOTRO will be around for many many years. The game will continue to grow, and your bashing/trolling doesn't change that.
Regardless of what you personally may think about tubine, the facts are, Tubine revamped D&D, they continue to add free content updates (including a new class) to AC1 and have grown LOTRO's content by 40% in the the year of 2008.
Thats more then any other Studio can boast.
Its okay to be one of the 14.7% fanboi's but its also okay to be one of the 40%+ that got love for turbine.
CONGRATZ TURBINE! YOU REALLY DESERVE IT!
first off when LOTRO was released It was a unbelieveably solid and complete game. most mmos in the past have the reputation for going live anywhere from 40% to 80% ready and the developers "fixing" probem in the first few months of release. for turbine there was little trace if any of the game being "incomplete" upon release
if i only knew this fact alone it would have been worthy.
but turbine goes farther! they have been nearly obsessively punctual about ingame expansions on mainly a 2 month scedual only going to 4 month with a major zone installment. and to top it off these additions to the game have for the most part IMPROVED the game or at least headed in the same direction I was hoping they would go. (the only exception to this was fishing which to me was insulting)
turbine is definatly on the right track are they perfect? no but they have the right idea
some things I would like to see in 2009
BOATS they have some weard aversion to them and it ruins the game immersion
more in game diversions such as public works projects and "amusement areas/attractions(skating,sking areas,, sailing, water slides in moria, ore cart rollercoasters,, log rolls,ect. this is rather brief but you can imagine that im thinking of)"
things like slippery ice and interactive terrain and (zones are dead once the quests are completed need a reason for players to want to go back to them )
more choices in charactor appearance (faces)
the next improvement to the housing area having only 20 ridgid item hooks in a house is far too restrictive my house is just a storage area
for me a much more complex fishing than click wait click
Im allready level 60 and i dont see the point in raiding or pvp so that leaves me fustrated and looking for something to do in game.
VOICE OVERS!! they really need to add voice overs to the major quests its just not the same reading what a nazgul is saying instead of actually hearing that raspy,creepy voice.
crafting has become a useless id like to see them make some improvement to the usefullness and customization of the crafts (id like to see many more usefull and unique ground spawns.
some other attractions in LOTRO
costume clothing sets! greatly increased the customization of how your charactor looks!! i have a set of "work" clothes and a set of "cold weather" clothes
music system! besides there being some prety catchy in game tunes they have a prety darn good player music system and you can hear some prety innovative tunes being played in towns and camps
make a world, not a game, we dont want another game.
While I share your opinion of the game itself, Turbine launched the game relatively smooth. My main issue with Turbine as a company is how they ruined Asheron's Call with a horrid sequel. They should give AC1 some love, maybe make it free to play, promote it more, or give it some sort of graphical overhaul.
While Lotro did indeed have a smooth launch, that was in 2007, not 2008.
They haven't done anything really special in 2008 besides releasing a good expansion pack which is,sorry to repeat myself, "good,just not as good as..."
Also, I can't really say that Dungeons & Dragons Online received anything truly noteworthy.
I agree with you on AC1. AC1 is just sort of sitting there. It doesn't really have a lot of subscribers, it would be nice if Turbine was a bit more creative with the game. Make it free, perhaps an item mall, advertise it a little bit on banners and the game might just be revived again.
Well thats your personal opinion that LotrO is "good,just not as good as..."
There is people who dont agree and think that LotrO offers something unique in the MMO market and Turbine are doing a great job with it. 46% of the voters thinks that Turbine is best of thoose companies so it seem Im not alone.
And grats Turbine
It's not just my personal opinion, it's the opinion of many professional critics as well who are, unlike many voters on this website, not biased.
You meen like theese reviewers?
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/middleearthonline?q=lord%20of%20the%20rings%20online
or theese for MoM?
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/lordoftheringsonlineminesofmoria?q=lord%20of%20the%20rings%20online
I understand that some people think that LotrO is just a lesser WoW clone.. because WoW is the better than LotrO at being WoW... thankfully LotrO is better in other aspects and follows a different design philosophy. So if you are looking for more WoW in LotrO then you are going to be dissapointed.
Exact, I'm talking about those reviewers who rate both Lotro and Mines of Mornia below World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King.
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcraft
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcrafttheburningcrusade
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcraftwrathofthelichking
Lotro doesn't follow a different design philosphy, it follows the exact same one as WoW. Make it approachable, lead the players through quests from area to area to keep rewarding the player, and toss in an instance every now and then. Sure, Lotro adds a few more storyline cutscenes, but it's core gameplay mechanics are the same.
Lotro is good, just not as good as and that's why World of Warcraft is rated higher and has 11 million subscribers while Lotro has only a few hundred thousand.
I was interested in trying AC and I would seriously consider it but for its being so outdated its very difficult spending a full subscription price on an "old game" with obsolete graphics and engine
if there gonna leave AC the same they really need a different pricing scheme
if they want to keep p2p than they need a major update
they could also package them with other turbine accounts.
make a world, not a game, we dont want another game.
You meen like theese reviewers?
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/middleearthonline?q=lord%20of%20the%20rings%20online
or theese for MoM?
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/lordoftheringsonlineminesofmoria?q=lord%20of%20the%20rings%20online
I understand that some people think that LotrO is just a lesser WoW clone.. because WoW is the better than LotrO at being WoW... thankfully LotrO is better in other aspects and follows a different design philosophy. So if you are looking for more WoW in LotrO then you are going to be dissapointed.
Exact, I'm talking about those reviewers who rate both Lotro and Mines of Mornia below World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King.
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcraft
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcrafttheburningcrusade
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcraftwrathofthelichking
Lotro doesn't follow a different design philosphy, it follows the exact same one as WoW. Make it approachable, lead the players through quests from area to area to keep rewarding the player, and toss in an instance every now and then. Sure, Lotro adds a few more storyline cutscenes, but it's core gameplay mechanics are the same.
Lotro is good, just not as good as and that's why World of Warcraft is rated higher and has 11 million subscribers while Lotro has only a few hundred thousand.
So you are saying that a MMO needs to get better reviews than WoW and have more subs to not be called a WoW clone but just not as good? Great logic! Its all your opinions... And what does it have to do with best studio of 2008?
Its ironical that I just read a thread where you were defending Aion against thoose who are saying its just an Asian grinder or WoW clone
"it's core gameplay mechanics are the same."
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
You meen like theese reviewers?
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/middleearthonline?q=lord%20of%20the%20rings%20online
or theese for MoM?
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/lordoftheringsonlineminesofmoria?q=lord%20of%20the%20rings%20online
I understand that some people think that LotrO is just a lesser WoW clone.. because WoW is the better than LotrO at being WoW... thankfully LotrO is better in other aspects and follows a different design philosophy. So if you are looking for more WoW in LotrO then you are going to be dissapointed.
Exact, I'm talking about those reviewers who rate both Lotro and Mines of Mornia below World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King.
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcraft
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcrafttheburningcrusade
www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/worldofwarcraftwrathofthelichking
Lotro doesn't follow a different design philosphy, it follows the exact same one as WoW. Make it approachable, lead the players through quests from area to area to keep rewarding the player, and toss in an instance every now and then. Sure, Lotro adds a few more storyline cutscenes, but it's core gameplay mechanics are the same.
Lotro is good, just not as good as and that's why World of Warcraft is rated higher and has 11 million subscribers while Lotro has only a few hundred thousand.
So you are saying that a MMO needs to get better reviews than WoW and have more subs to not be called a WoW clone but just not as good? Great logic! Its all your opinions... And what does it have to do with best studio of 2008?
Its ironical that I just read a thread where you were defending Aion against thoose who are saying its just an Asian grinder or WoW clone
"it's core gameplay mechanics are the same."
No, Thats not what I'm saying. If you're clearly designing your game after WoW's gameplay mechanics, then ofcourse your game is going to be called a WoW clone. Reviews have nothing to do with a game being a clone or not, reviews merely reflect the quality. I already explained what this has to do with best studio of 2008, I suggest you read my posts more carefully.
Also, how is it ironic? Aion's gameplay mechanics differ from WoW's.
I dont even know what best "studio" means....Best game? best employee lounge? best pad to crash at after the game?? I agree with you...The game is nothing special, it gets old very quick......WHen I played it felt like it was WOW wrapped up in LoTRO lore......After level 35 the game got excrutiatingly boring and the quests were very poor.....The book quests were good I'll give them that but its a very dull, mundane game after 35.....I didnt try MoM so maybe that put new life into the game....I left when WAR came out and there was little life on my server......The game is great for about a month then its time to move on......
Well deserved!
Good God. Here we go again... WoW clone.
The category isn't best MMO, it's best MMO Studio. Turbine won because of their Devs' constant presense and availablity to the customers through the forums and even in-game, great customer service, smooth launches, and the constant free content updates.
I think it's only fair to judge a studio by the quality of the games they produce, no?
Turbine developers can spend as much time on the forums they like, that doesn't make a game good. In fact, I'd say it really doesn't matter if a developer visits the forum, or if Community managers pass on the issues players have with the game to the developers.
Well in that case, in the world of DIKU based games, LOTRO is fucking top notch they excel at technical excellence and engine performance VS. Graphical quality (no one touches them) not to mention everything this vote was really about, as mentioned in the article. They are extremely good to their subscribers, with 4 whole full zones added in the last year alone, including at lest 4 new features to the game to go with them.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I do agree that turbine is top dog but you also have to look at the entire scale to me turbine rates a "C"
they tend to be average and acceptable and relativly stable but LOTRO is rather plain even mines of moria for me was a huge letdown it wasnt much more than the same old thing just another zone with a rock sky nothing orrigional or creative about the game play and it took most people less than a month to SLAM head first into the level cap and any quests you do now is a waste of an exp resource for leveling later on.
the best description is "acceptable"
so players do one of several things
1 go on raiding or pvp or completing the quests or workig reputation
2 start a new charactor and do the quests all over again
3 place their charactor in cold storage and play something else until something new comes along
4 cancel and find a new game
make a world, not a game, we dont want another game.