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Proof of sandbox popularity?
Lord.Bachus
Member RarePosts: 9,686
Is there any proof that sandboxes are popular at all?
The only proof of sandboxes being popular is that every new game gets some people on mmorpg.com begging for it to become a sandbox, and the same people scoffing any game thats not a sandbox...
But how popular are Sandboxes? just wondering if someone ever somewhere did a decent poll about this?
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
Comments
Without using the word WoW, name a themepark that has more subs.
There's no indication EVE is popular because it's a sandbox as much as its an MMO in space. It has little to no competition in that area which can easily account for that half a mill or however many active players there are
There's plenty of proof that sandboxes are popular but not enough proof that a MMORPG/MMO sandbox would be. Logic dictates there's a big possibility you could mix the two and have huge popularity as well. I don't see how "massive" would hold a sandbox back unless somebody defines sandbox as "with no limits", then yes. Building things all over the place to cause grief, would be a potential problem
GW2... oh wait... no sub required...more players though.
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― CD PROJEKT RED
There is lots of proof that sandboxy (notice I did not say sandbox) games are popular
Lots of spg, Minecraft
There is very little proof, if any, that sandbox MMO's are popular.
However there was little proof that themepark MMO's were popular before WoW (yes I do consider EQ to be themepark, just not as themepark as WoW). EQ showed that making an MMO more gamey was more popular, I imagine the devs of Wow hoped to have that continue, and then managed to tap into a group of gamers that hadn't played MMO's before and/or didn't like MMO's before.
Eventually a sandboxy MMO will come out that manages to attract the sandboxy spg players, in turn there will zillions of "clones" and we will finally be able to answer, "Is there proof of sandbox popularity?"
Oh and
/inb4 this turns into another "define sandbox" discussion
it's not as simple as that as EVE is one of the few decent space trading games/sandboxes being developed as well as that is up to date ( that's available at present). We'll see what happens with EVE when Elite dangerous and Star Citizen hit the market ( if they make it to release). not to mention more sandbox choices like EQnext.
Themeparks on the other hand are a dime a dozen today. Meaning those who enjoy them are spread out through many different games.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
But isn't popular bad? For years people saying wow was popular would be chided with mcdonalds popular slams. So if sandbox is popular will it somehow be immune to this?
Sandbox could be good, but I have had more fun so far in themeparks.
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Your saying GW2 which sold what 3-4 million boxes. and no count of active players, has more players than WoW which currently sits at about 10 million active accounts/players.
Just keep in mind that the only 'proof' here will be:
what active posters on mmorpg prefer (and only if they came across this thread).
This isn't a random enough sample or comprehensive enough with tight enough controls to definitively 'prove' anything.
Read it again. Slowly this time.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
This site has a much higher pecentage of people who understand (loosely) what a sandbox is, and prefer them. Your poll is only going to reflect this.
I'm one of them.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
If sandbox games become popular you can always just tell people that you play them ... ironically.
bah sorry, braindead I guess. Missed the eve comparison.
edit - @Refminor - WoW would we ignore WoW (the highest themepark) and count Eve (the highest sandbox).
I know you'll say WoW is an anomaly which I agree with, however there is just as much evidence saying Eve is an anomaly for sandbox games.
People have different definitions of "Sandbox".
A lot of people think of extremely hardcore and unforgiving games like Mortal Online, Darkfall, and Eve as "Sandbox".
I consider myself a Sandbox fan. However, I don't want some blank of empty world. I want loads of content and loads of player-driven social features, e.g., player cities, open worlds, world pvp, world housing, cantinas / taverns with incentives to hangout, gambling games, dancing, player shops, extremely deep crafting etc....
I want it all...
These days, gaming is so one-sided. If it's 100% Theme Park, it's boring. If it's 100% Sandbox, it's boring.
Most polls aren't that accurate, at least its somewhat accurate.
Looking at: The Repopulation
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Dude! He asked what themepark, other tha WOW, has more subs than EVE.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
allready edited
You really think mmo's start and end on mmorpg.com? Age Of Wushu has over 15 million players.
I grew up with console RPGs where you had a somewhat linear story with some side quests you could partake in, so I think Theme Parks are built more towards what I want in an MMORPG. I've tried playing games such as Elder Scrolls and couldn't get into them because they're TOO open.
To answer the housing poll, it's not a deal breaker for me, but it's a really nice function to have. I think it's going to start becoming a standard feature for all MMOs before long.
And Eve grew to be... only a little more than the average themepark. And Darkfall, which just released will grow to be... a little less than the average themepark.
Developer choice - make game A sell 1-2 million on release and then drop to 50-500k players and sustain that.
or Game B - sell 40-100k and raise to 50-500k and sustain that.