Since someone else bumped this thread already, I'd like to point out the one thing being missed in this whole discussion. This essay was NOT about chargebacks, it was about MMOs trying to "open big" and make alot of money off of initial sales. Mortal Online and chargebacks were given as an example, most likely because people demanding chargebacks are more vocal than people who just leave a game after a couple months, and because the author follows THIS forum.
The article could just as easily been about the push for lifetime subscription for STO and the disappointment some people had that sections of the game were underdeveloped / feel rushed (e.g. PVE gameplay for the Klingon faction) or the fact that LOTRO is shifting to micro-transactions now that the lifetime subscribers have gotten there money's worth.
Totally disagree. The article was about a revolution against "the idea that once players pre-ordered, they were at the mercy of the developer no matter how many times/years the game was delayed despite accepting orders, and how many features ended up not being in the game, or being broken, at launch. Customers are no longer sheep at the mercy of indefinate delays"
And as a result companies cannot count on pre-order box sales to fund development of their initial game... because people WILL use chargebacks as a valid tool to protect their rights as a consumer.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Mortal Online is part of a major turning point in the massively multiplayer online
My intention with this article wasn’t to bash any game in particular, but to focus on the broad-spectrum themes that lead up to Mortal Online becoming the scapegoat for a new trend. It has become all too common for developers to start talking far too specifically about a title long before those features are even finalized, or approved in some cases. Interviews about the content of the game now merely run down to throwing out whatever is in the concept stage to get the most ooh’s and aah’
this stands for a number of other MMOs, is the “here’s a list of features, but not all of them will be in after launch.” Before Warhammer Online launched, Mythic removed most of the capital cities, preferring to have two decent cities at launch rather than all of them in a poor state. The cities, along with the removed classes, would be launched at a later time once the game shipped. Mythic has caught up on classes, but there hasn’t been much as to when, if ever, the capital cities will see release.
Again.. the article was NOT "about MMOs trying to "open big" and make alot of money off of initial sales."
It was about customers having reached a watershed moment and deciding that they aren't going to accept indefinate delays, cut features and broken mechanics. As a result companies cannot count on inital pre-order sales to fund completion of their game. Chargeback was one way (a very MAJOR way) people are fighting back. I'm not actually sure if another way was even listed.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Again.. the article was NOT "about MMOs trying to "open big" and make alot of money off of initial sales."
It was about customers having reached a watershed moment and deciding that they aren't going to accept indefinate delays, cut features and broken mechanics. As a result companies cannot count on inital pre-order sales to fund completion of their game. Chargeback was one way (a very MAJOR way) people are fighting back. I'm not actually sure if another way was even listed.
Call me crazy, but it seems to me that an article titled "The Era of Riding Initial Sales is over" is most likely about trying to sell a large number of copies initially . Chargebacks are clearly the most dramatic way of "fighting back", but the much more common one is to just cancel your subscription. (the executives sit back and wonder why virtually every subscription MMO in existence has such a low retention rate following its first month.) As I noted the chargeback people tend to be more vocal (one of them in particular) than the people who just leave a game, so it's a lot easier to point them out.
After I gave my talk at GDC discussing EVE Online's metagame, I encountered a number of developers who were disheartened by the dominance of the blockbuster business model -- its incredible cost, its astonishing risk and rate of failure, and the linear content-based gameplay it has engendered.
MMO launches have often skimped on content at launch to their detriment. It isn't a shock that this happens because content (be it in the form of quests, raids, dungeons, or whatever) is extraordinarily expensive in both man-hours and creative spark.
Launching a MMO isn't an easy business. The vast majority of subscription-model MMOs fail, with the signature "death spike" of a surge of players at launch and reciprocal mass exodus once the first free month of playtime ends, followed by a humiliating and slowly declining subscriber plateau
All of those easily fit in with the theme of the essay in question, but have nothing to do with chargebacks (especially the second one)
Comments
Totally disagree. The article was about a revolution against "the idea that once players pre-ordered, they were at the mercy of the developer no matter how many times/years the game was delayed despite accepting orders, and how many features ended up not being in the game, or being broken, at launch. Customers are no longer sheep at the mercy of indefinate delays"
And as a result companies cannot count on pre-order box sales to fund development of their initial game... because people WILL use chargebacks as a valid tool to protect their rights as a consumer.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
The Era Of Riding Initial Sales Is Over
Mortal Online is part of a major turning point in the massively multiplayer online
My intention with this article wasn’t to bash any game in particular, but to focus on the broad-spectrum themes that lead up to Mortal Online becoming the scapegoat for a new trend. It has become all too common for developers to start talking far too specifically about a title long before those features are even finalized, or approved in some cases. Interviews about the content of the game now merely run down to throwing out whatever is in the concept stage to get the most ooh’s and aah’
this stands for a number of other MMOs, is the “here’s a list of features, but not all of them will be in after launch.” Before Warhammer Online launched, Mythic removed most of the capital cities, preferring to have two decent cities at launch rather than all of them in a poor state. The cities, along with the removed classes, would be launched at a later time once the game shipped. Mythic has caught up on classes, but there hasn’t been much as to when, if ever, the capital cities will see release.
Chargebacks are part of the subject
Again.. the article was NOT "about MMOs trying to "open big" and make alot of money off of initial sales."
It was about customers having reached a watershed moment and deciding that they aren't going to accept indefinate delays, cut features and broken mechanics. As a result companies cannot count on inital pre-order sales to fund completion of their game. Chargeback was one way (a very MAJOR way) people are fighting back. I'm not actually sure if another way was even listed.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Call me crazy, but it seems to me that an article titled "The Era of Riding Initial Sales is over" is most likely about trying to sell a large number of copies initially . Chargebacks are clearly the most dramatic way of "fighting back", but the much more common one is to just cancel your subscription. (the executives sit back and wonder why virtually every subscription MMO in existence has such a low retention rate following its first month.) As I noted the chargeback people tend to be more vocal (one of them in particular) than the people who just leave a game, so it's a lot easier to point them out.
Going back to another article that touched on the same issue, but with a different focus------http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4489/the_icelandic_model_of_mmo_.php
After I gave my talk at GDC discussing EVE Online's metagame, I encountered a number of developers who were disheartened by the dominance of the blockbuster business model -- its incredible cost, its astonishing risk and rate of failure, and the linear content-based gameplay it has engendered.
MMO launches have often skimped on content at launch to their detriment. It isn't a shock that this happens because content (be it in the form of quests, raids, dungeons, or whatever) is extraordinarily expensive in both man-hours and creative spark.
Launching a MMO isn't an easy business. The vast majority of subscription-model MMOs fail, with the signature "death spike" of a surge of players at launch and reciprocal mass exodus once the first free month of playtime ends, followed by a humiliating and slowly declining subscriber plateau
All of those easily fit in with the theme of the essay in question, but have nothing to do with chargebacks (especially the second one)