It's unfortunate that a story like this even has to be posted. Like, we're so entrenched in MMOs and also video games in general all being 'Triple A' that this is the wages of that. You want these premium experiences, but when they don't continue to generate the amount of money that is required to pay for them, you get a bunch of peoples lives touched in a negative way like this. I really wish our games were still niche sometimes, it allowed us to try more things and be innovative without relying on stockholders and this and that. Was our good memories with the previously top notch World of Warcraft years ago worth it being overtaken by corporate whims? I'm not sure one way or another.
I see several comments about how this is fallout from Fortnite... and there is some truth to this, but what is not generally public is that the industry as a whole is on a decline. This is not the result of a single issue, but rather the culmination of many issues, over many years. The industry is due for a change, and that change is going to be painful for many.
Having said that, I see this as an opportunity for the industry to make changes, and improve. There will be a period of adjustment, until companies accept that they HAVE to change, and after they take few steps back, we will start to see progress again. In this time period there will be some opportunities for companies willing to take some risks (which is why we are moving back into the publishing market).
Off topic, what in the flying f#$% is up with the [edit] button?
MMORPG.COM plan on adding it as a subscription feature or something?
If you actually go to the forum link for the article and to your post, there is a full WYSIWYG editor. I can see it as I'm writing this. To edit, there should be a cog wheel in the upper right of your post that allows you to do so.
The cog wheel that has been on the upper right corner of your own posts in like forever on this forum suddenly disappeared a couple of days ago for all of us so we can't edit a post after you post it.
I tried it on Chrome, Brave, and FireFox, and it's not there. I could take a screenshot of the place where it was.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Off topic, what in the flying f#$% is up with the [edit] button?
MMORPG.COM plan on adding it as a subscription feature or something?
If you actually go to the forum link for the article and to your post, there is a full WYSIWYG editor. I can see it as I'm writing this. To edit, there should be a cog wheel in the upper right of your post that allows you to do so.
The cog wheel that has been on the upper right corner of your own posts in like forever on this forum suddenly disappeared a couple of days ago for all of us so we can't edit a post after you post it.
I tried it on Chrome, Brave, and FireFox, and it's not there. I could take a screenshot of the place where it was.
I messaged MikeB and he's looking into it.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Off topic, what in the flying f#$% is up with the [edit] button?
MMORPG.COM plan on adding it as a subscription feature or something?
If you actually go to the forum link for the article and to your post, there is a full WYSIWYG editor. I can see it as I'm writing this. To edit, there should be a cog wheel in the upper right of your post that allows you to do so.
The cog wheel that has been on the upper right corner of your own posts in like forever on this forum suddenly disappeared a couple of days ago for all of us so we can't edit a post after you post it.
I tried it on Chrome, Brave, and FireFox, and it's not there. I could take a screenshot of the place where it was.
I messaged MikeB and he's looking into it.
And the cog is back.
Edited just because I can.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Shit like this is why I have a hatred of people with MBAs which borders on the pathological. Every time one or more of those idiots get involved, people's lives get destroyed.
"You're a hard worker with a family to support? Fuck you, bottom line, you're fired."
Then they have the nerve to tell you your attitude sucks when you follow their lead and think about your own 'bottom line'.
"You want me to work all these extra hours for free? Fuck you, pay me."
Bobby Kotick made roughly 27 MILLION last year, not including bonuses. The decisions made by him and all the other bellends at the top are the reason ActiBlizz is foundering, yet it's the little guys who pay the price for their ineptitude.
As shitty as Japanese companies can be to work for, at least their executives take responsibility when they screw up. If their company does badly, they're the ones who take a pay cut. They don't throw good people out into the street then buy themselves another gold plated Bentley Continental GT or Nissan GTR Nismo with the bonus they got for doing a shit job.
I'll take capitalism over any other economic model on any given day, but god damn does it piss me off sometimes.
AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!
We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD.
Things won't change until they fail. Unless of course if there's a bailout. Lets hope this doesn't happen here and what needs to happen actually happens. It's unfortunate that people need to lose their jobs, and probably the wrong people in my opinion, but it happens when you allow big business to take over creative works.
People, this is ACTIVISION Blizzard. If there are layoffs and financial failure, it's both companies, not just one. After all, losing Bungie hurt Activision as did the relative failure of Destiny 2.
Yes it's a big hit but there will always be someone to take your spot. Both companies..owned by Activision.
Blizzards future, isn't mobile, thats just a fast track to the bottom. The only way they can begin to save themselves now is probably WoW Classic, but thats only a stopgap at best, they either need to fix WoW itself, or create something that players actually want, on PC. Way things are going, then it will only mean more layoffs are inevitable.
People, this is ACTIVISION Blizzard. If there are layoffs and financial failure, it's both companies, not just one. After all, losing Bungie hurt Activision as did the relative failure of Destiny 2.
Yes it's a big hit but there will always be someone to take your spot. Both companies..owned by Activision.
I agree about the sentiment that someone else will always come along.
Small detail: the company is Activision Blizzard; primary divisions being Activision, Blizzard and King. Initially created when Vivendi, which already owned Blizzard, bought Activision and combined all there game stuff into a new entity they called Activision Blizzard.
Quite telling that players are looking more forward to a 13 year old version of a game than the current one. Y’all got cell phones, right?
Because it hasn't launched yet.
After launch - 6 weeks in - how many will stick around? A fraction - because the 2nd time around things wear off 100x faster.
Every relaunch is the same - it's very short lived, because everyone realizes - been there done this before and boredom sets in.
This happens on a regular basis on all the private servers: they launch, people flock to experience the pvp and the race to clear the raids; fast-forward 6 months and almost everyone is looking forward to the next "new" vanilla server. Even they die-hard fans of vanilla who have been playing it for years on private servers don't want to stick around on the same server for more than 12 months simply because the way the game is designed, with the tiered releases of content, makes it stale after not too long.
Classic is a good option to have if "retail" wow is the main selling point — they should have done it a few years ago, when some genius came up with the meme "you think you do but you don't" instead — it gives players something else to do in-between content droughts, but to expect that alone will have any meaningful impact on the subscriptions count is delusional.
Quite telling that players are looking more forward to a 13 year old version of a game than the current one. Y’all got cell phones, right?
Because it hasn't launched yet.
After launch - 6 weeks in - how many will stick around? A fraction - because the 2nd time around things wear off 100x faster.
Every relaunch is the same - it's very short lived, because everyone realizes - been there done this before and boredom sets in.
This! My wife is a long term LOTRO player. She was quite excited about the relaunch of the original game. After spending some time on the classic server she no longer plays it but has gone back to the current one. Very much a "been there done that" thing.
This is what happens when the marketing team start's running your business and not the creative people behind the business in the first place. Saw this coming a mile away.
This is what happens when the marketing team start's running your business and not the creative people behind the business in the first place. Saw this coming a mile away.
No. You need both. Along with good management and a finance team as well.
I think what makes me the saddest in all this is that they offered the new CFO up to $15 MILLION in bonuses. Couldn't that have better been spent to keep the folks in the trenches employed instead of lining already rich people's pockets?
Oh wait....that's big business, isn't it?
This is becoming all too frequent. Bonuses should be tied to performance. Performance in this case isn't meeting investor expectations. I'm fine with him getting this ultimately if he knocks it out of the park. $3.75 MM was a signing bonus. He'll get the rest if the company performs. You could argue the $3.75 MM bonus could have been better spent elsewhere. In my mind on Creative. I think this is a company that lacks direction.
FFXI knew when it was time to be done to bring about a new MMORPG. Blizzard keeps adding to the same outdated game and it's not boosting sales or bringing in more people. I think many of us who left over a decade ago were hoping for a WoW2. I'm no expert but I think Blizz separating from Activision and starting anew with a new WoW project would be great for them. Just my opinion.
It's surprising and not surprising at the same time. All game companies are struggling and ATVI's missteps at the end of the year are indicative of this happening, long predicted by @DMKano.
The Irish customer service workers who took the year's pay and voluntarily left a few months ago are darned lucky.
I'm so sorry for those who'll lose their jobs. Let's see what Tuesday brings.
Yes you're right this is sad thing to report on and all of us gamer's need to think about this because we are some what to blame. I say that because some many that play games today DO NOT want to pay anything AT ALL for the game; they just want it all for free.
Well this is what wanting it all for free gets us. Companies that post low earnings because people are pissed off at them because they have a cash shop and or sell loot boxes. Yes P2W is bad but if someone wants to spend $20 on an outfit let them,,, in fact if you don't buy stuff from the cash shop you should thank the people who buy because they are helping to fund the game for you and everyone.
Now I know that a lot of you are going to say "Oh they have the money" or "F big business they're all crooks"..... Please business is in business to make money just like you go to work to make money. if you think ATVI or EA is in business to make games for free you are mistaken!
So please support the games you play, but stuff from the cash shop when you can, After all look at what you pay for a beer that you only piss away 30 min later! 4 beers later you could have got that cool outfit that you could see every time you log...
Hummm lets see here look cool in game or have to pee like a race horse?
It's surprising and not surprising at the same time. All game companies are struggling and ATVI's missteps at the end of the year are indicative of this happening, long predicted by @DMKano.
The Irish customer service workers who took the year's pay and voluntarily left a few months ago are darned lucky.
I'm so sorry for those who'll lose their jobs. Let's see what Tuesday brings.
Yes you're right this is sad thing to report on and all of us gamer's need to think about this because we are some what to blame. I say that because some many that play games today DO NOT want to pay anything AT ALL for the game; they just want it all for free.
Well this is what wanting it all for free gets us. Companies that post low earnings because people are pissed off at them because they have a cash shop and or sell loot boxes. Yes P2W is bad but if someone wants to spend $20 on an outfit let them,,, in fact if you don't buy stuff from the cash shop you should thank the people who buy because they are helping to fund the game for you and everyone.
Now I know that a lot of you are going to say "Oh they have the money" or "F big business they're all crooks"..... Please business is in business to make money just like you go to work to make money. if you think ATVI or EA is in business to make games for free you are mistaken!
So please support the games you play, but stuff from the cash shop when you can, After all look at what you pay for a beer that you only piss away 30 min later! 4 beers later you could have got that cool outfit that you could see every time you log...
Hummm lets see here look cool in game or have to pee like a race horse?
Hmm let me see ... how to put this politely ... nope fuck that ... why this is total bullshit. Gamers didn't expect shit for free until companies started the predatory practice of luring players into a game by not charging an entry or monthly fee, but instead finding away to get some people to pay exorbitant prices for the same, or in some cases, even less game features then they had before. Not because it was good for consumers but because these foolish companies had flooded the market with too many similar games and could not get a stable customer base the old fashioned way. And thus the idea of the whale player was born. That is all on the industry not the consumer.
And lets not forget all this time companies like Blizzard have still been charging box fees for most games and a subscription to Wow this entire time, with cash shops in all their games. So in their case it has nothing to do with the "players don't want to spend money" bullshit idea you are pushing. The fact of the matter is a bigger fish in the form of Fortnight came along and suddenly made this juggernaut company's yearly earnings look like small potatoes. And the financial backers are annoyed that Blizzard isn't performing this well. So now they are going to gut their own company to try to maximize what profits they can. Which to me sounds about as bright as selling off a kidney to pay your debts. Which again is completely the business's fault, not the consumer. Unless Blizzard has the creativity to create a product that can equally compete with Fortnite, they will continue to lose market share and customers. That's just the way the market works.
Its not that gamers don't want to spend money, its just many more of them want to spend it on Fortnite and not anything Blizzard, or much of the rest of the gaming market, is selling.
I think both you and Dr_Binks are right. You need to buy stuff for the game to survive but when companies make their entire focus selling stuff like Blizzard has lately it puts people off so they screw themselves. I honestly feel like WoW should've either gone BTP or sub only a couple expacs ago seeing as they ALSO have a cash shop but I guess that green cash money is too tempting to pass up.
The problem with many PC games I play though is that there aren't enough ways to give them money. I want to give them money as a donation or support but many don't provide a way to do so. I've suggested it on forums like Project Gorgon, LoA, and Albion but it's almost like they don't like money or don't want to piss a certain part of their playerbase off who get rabid when money other than BTP fee is mentioned even if it's $5.00. In the case of those three games people even get angry about the BTP fee. The FTP era really screwed up the ecosystem cause people too young to remember a time before FTP think everything should be FTP just like some younger people believe cell phones always existed and have never heard of land lines.
MMORPG gamers are a tough crowd though and come down hard on developers so unless that changes I think we won't see any great monetization reform and they'll just stay in the current archaic 'comfort zone' which unfortunately is also the path to extinction.
Gamers didn't expect shit for free until companies started the predatory practice of luring players into a game by not charging an entry or monthly fee, but instead finding away to get some people to pay exorbitant prices for the same, or in some cases, even less game features then they had before. Not because it was good for consumers but because these foolish companies had flooded the market with too many similar games and could not get a stable customer base the old fashioned way. And thus the idea of the whale player was born. That is all on the industry not the consumer.
Exactly.
I get tired of hearing all these apologists inventing a narrative to try to dump blame on the players. They, the companies, created this F2P thing.
I ain't buying those cliched argument about entitled gamers wanting it all for free. That is utter horseshit and has nothing to do with the mess the AAA behemoths are finding themselves in.
It's quite simple really: infinite growth does not exist no matter how they contrive to try to make it so.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Comments
Having said that, I see this as an opportunity for the industry to make changes, and improve. There will be a period of adjustment, until companies accept that they HAVE to change, and after they take few steps back, we will start to see progress again. In this time period there will be some opportunities for companies willing to take some risks (which is why we are moving back into the publishing market).
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Edited just because I can.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
"You're a hard worker with a family to support? Fuck you, bottom line, you're fired."
Then they have the nerve to tell you your attitude sucks when you follow their lead and think about your own 'bottom line'.
"You want me to work all these extra hours for free? Fuck you, pay me."
Bobby Kotick made roughly 27 MILLION last year, not including bonuses. The decisions made by him and all the other bellends at the top are the reason ActiBlizz is foundering, yet it's the little guys who pay the price for their ineptitude.
As shitty as Japanese companies can be to work for, at least their executives take responsibility when they screw up. If their company does badly, they're the ones who take a pay cut. They don't throw good people out into the street then buy themselves another gold plated Bentley Continental GT or Nissan GTR Nismo with the bonus they got for doing a shit job.
I'll take capitalism over any other economic model on any given day, but god damn does it piss me off sometimes.
AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!
We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD.
#IStandWithVic
Q1 - 3 WoW Coloring Books
Q2 - Diablo anime book
Q3 - Overwatch hard cover with OW fan art
Q4 - Hearthstone crossword puzzle
They know that we're gamers and luv games but what we REALLY want are books, books, BOOKS!
Yes it's a big hit but there will always be someone to take your spot. Both companies..owned by Activision.
The only way they can begin to save themselves now is probably WoW Classic, but thats only a stopgap at best, they either need to fix WoW itself, or create something that players actually want, on PC.
Way things are going, then it will only mean more layoffs are inevitable.
Small detail: the company is Activision Blizzard; primary divisions being Activision, Blizzard and King. Initially created when Vivendi, which already owned Blizzard, bought Activision and combined all there game stuff into a new entity they called Activision Blizzard.
This is becoming all too frequent. Bonuses should be tied to performance. Performance in this case isn't meeting investor expectations. I'm fine with him getting this ultimately if he knocks it out of the park. $3.75 MM was a signing bonus. He'll get the rest if the company performs. You could argue the $3.75 MM bonus could have been better spent elsewhere. In my mind on Creative. I think this is a company that lacks direction.
Seaspite
Playing ESO on my X-Box
Getting too old for this $&17!
Yes you're right this is sad thing to report on and all of us gamer's need to think about this because we are some what to blame. I say that because some many that play games today DO NOT want to pay anything AT ALL for the game; they just want it all for free.
Well this is what wanting it all for free gets us. Companies that post low earnings because people are pissed off at them because they have a cash shop and or sell loot boxes. Yes P2W is bad but if someone wants to spend $20 on an outfit let them,,, in fact if you don't buy stuff from the cash shop you should thank the people who buy because they are helping to fund the game for you and everyone.
Now I know that a lot of you are going to say "Oh they have the money" or "F big business they're all crooks"..... Please business is in business to make money just like you go to work to make money. if you think ATVI or EA is in business to make games for free you are mistaken!
So please support the games you play, but stuff from the cash shop when you can, After all look at what you pay for a beer that you only piss away 30 min later! 4 beers later you could have got that cool outfit that you could see every time you log...
Hummm lets see here look cool in game or have to pee like a race horse?
I get tired of hearing all these apologists inventing a narrative to try to dump blame on the players. They, the companies, created this F2P thing.
I ain't buying those cliched argument about entitled gamers wanting it all for free. That is utter horseshit and has nothing to do with the mess the AAA behemoths are finding themselves in.
It's quite simple really: infinite growth does not exist no matter how they contrive to try to make it so.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED