Gold Rush
05-15-2010, 09:54 PM
Top 10 games of 2010, according to cnbc.com (http://www.cnbc.com/id/36038661?__source=yahoogames&par=yahoogames)
Actually, being that we are still in the first half of 2010, this list is a bit of a fail...
But, it more than makes up for it by pointing out games that have not even come out yet. I also think it leaves some games off its list. Still, it has a modicum of info.
1. World of Warcraft : Supposedly has 11.5 million subscribers. While it acknowledges this is not anywhere near the highest subscriber-based MMO, it more than makes up for that with its revenue stream.
2. Farmvile : 70 million? Well, I can believe it, but again, how active is it? If one has Facebook, I can imagine one can subscribe to it, try it once, and not ever try it again. Still, this has been in the news recently many times: stories of "average people" (IE: Non-gamers) getting hooked and spending $100 US or more a month. It appears to be fairly casual, but does have that "hook" I know people fall for of MT items.
3. Mafia Wars : 25+ million. Another game one can easily sign onto and forget about it. (I know I did personally!). Same company who put out Farmville (Zynga). Is created with making a social gaming model (recruit friends, make money with MTs...). Maybe not the one who created the model, but the most popular that expanded it.
4. Lineage II : 19 million (est.). While I have really never touched this game, this is an example of what I am talking about (on another post); it is steeped in European Medieval tradition, but there is something "off" that makes it not quite European; an analogy would be "Engrish". It does have an Asian bent to it which most Asian players recognize and like. This game is big in South Korea, but only moderately so in the States and Europe.
5. Free Realms : 9 million. I am not surprised. Actually, thought it'd be higher numbers. In fact, Wizard 101 may be giving it a run" be a good competitor for subs. While I don't play this game every month, I do sometimes return to it for a day or so. Lots of things to do and more added in daily. This is what a big studio can do with a F2P model. It is more polished than similar Asian F2P MMOs.One could sense the "shift" when this game and similar ones came out in the "sub vs. MT" model paradigm. Now, if we could get this kind of quality to other asian MMOs...you may just have a mega-hit for most of the world...although I haven't considered India and their tastes.
6. Club Penguin : 8 million. Disney runs this. You can buy toys with it. You can get codes to use online with these toys. It is this type of thing I would do if I ever ran an MMO. Admittedly, other games have tried it; it is hard to gain the right balance of being popular and having people buy your merchandise, but this game has done it (One can blame media manipulating kids, but some adults play this game, too). Never have tried it. The graphics look...bleh to me (and I love penguins). I will have to try it one day. It may just be a simple game geared for kids that is not too stressful/grindy.
7. Guild Wars : 6 million + copies sold. No subs here. I STILL have yet to try it out. I will note that I spy many subtle asian influences in the game world and monsters here. Not too heavy. A good solid game that people can return to. Actually, I admit buying expansions like this is my preferred/favorite model for me as a consumer. No "evil MT" that I can be sucked into...no month-to-month sub. Just old fashioned, Blizz-net like gaming where they host the servers, you buy the game, load it up and you are in without a credit card. I miss this type of old-fashioned model...but maybe I am old-fashioned! :p
8. Star Wars : The Old Republic : Okay, not the games being mentioned are set for future release, but EVERYONE from game industry insiders to players has their eye on this game. Having Bioware making it does not hurt. Personally, to be "diplomatic", the future has yet to be written how this game will be popular a few months to a year after it is released. I think it will be a big initial hit and it may keep people occupied with the stories for long while, especially those that want to explore all the different side stories with every class ("I have a "good" Republic commando and a "bad" one that makes evil decisions!"). IMO, this still doesn't state exactly how "Multiplayer" this will be in practice. No PVP or end-game for hard-core people have not been announced or detailed. On one hand, it's exciting. On the other hand, if your team leader makes a different decision than the one you wanted, would you be happy with it? And don't forget, you have your own NPC party/squad (ala Star Trek Online) and there is no space combat. Still, I know I will be one of the many playing this game and seeing if I like it.
9. Call of Duty : Another "to-be-released" game. I know very little about it personally. Will it be more RPG-like (build up your character stats via XP)? Straight-shooter? Abilities to upgrade weapons? I actually don't think this game should be on this list; it could be good...but it could be "standard-typical", too. Blizzard, interestingly enough, is supposed to be doing this...but it could also be a "throwaway" for Blizzard where they let Activision have a say (in otherwords, a "smokescreen" so Activision leaves Blizzard alone to work on what they truly want to work on). This game could work out...but will gaming masses want to protray "modern-day" soldiers without and sci-fi or fantastical elements? Video games are about escapism. While I can see some "A-Team" fantasies being lived here, I don't see this sort of thing appealing to many players over a long stretch of time.
10. Blizzard's unannounced title : Release date : Unknown.
What can one say about this? Maybe people have speculated a Starcraft game, but it says here :
"Blizzard keeps upcoming projects under tight wraps, so no details are available about its follow-up to “WoW,” but the company has acknowledged a new massively multiplayer online game is coming – and it will be the beginning of a new franchise, not an offshoot of an existing one."
So again, we are left in the dark as to what this will be. Not Starcraft. Not Diablo-based. (Makes sense, these games are coming out so I can see how people would have their information crossed and state the new MMO is this...because games based on these titles are coming out...but not the MMO. :P ).
Blizzard did spent an awful bunch of says/years before Warcraft came out initially, if memory serves me right. Seeing that they are busy with other projects, they could be slowly working on it. When Starcraft 2 and Diablo 4 are finally released, then some work resources could be freed up (of course, let's not forget the "Call of Duty" thing mentioned...which may not even be ultimately coming out).
What is intriguing is, will this be a new unexplored genre? A new take on an existing genre? Something totally unexpected?
Actually, being that we are still in the first half of 2010, this list is a bit of a fail...
But, it more than makes up for it by pointing out games that have not even come out yet. I also think it leaves some games off its list. Still, it has a modicum of info.
1. World of Warcraft : Supposedly has 11.5 million subscribers. While it acknowledges this is not anywhere near the highest subscriber-based MMO, it more than makes up for that with its revenue stream.
2. Farmvile : 70 million? Well, I can believe it, but again, how active is it? If one has Facebook, I can imagine one can subscribe to it, try it once, and not ever try it again. Still, this has been in the news recently many times: stories of "average people" (IE: Non-gamers) getting hooked and spending $100 US or more a month. It appears to be fairly casual, but does have that "hook" I know people fall for of MT items.
3. Mafia Wars : 25+ million. Another game one can easily sign onto and forget about it. (I know I did personally!). Same company who put out Farmville (Zynga). Is created with making a social gaming model (recruit friends, make money with MTs...). Maybe not the one who created the model, but the most popular that expanded it.
4. Lineage II : 19 million (est.). While I have really never touched this game, this is an example of what I am talking about (on another post); it is steeped in European Medieval tradition, but there is something "off" that makes it not quite European; an analogy would be "Engrish". It does have an Asian bent to it which most Asian players recognize and like. This game is big in South Korea, but only moderately so in the States and Europe.
5. Free Realms : 9 million. I am not surprised. Actually, thought it'd be higher numbers. In fact, Wizard 101 may be giving it a run" be a good competitor for subs. While I don't play this game every month, I do sometimes return to it for a day or so. Lots of things to do and more added in daily. This is what a big studio can do with a F2P model. It is more polished than similar Asian F2P MMOs.One could sense the "shift" when this game and similar ones came out in the "sub vs. MT" model paradigm. Now, if we could get this kind of quality to other asian MMOs...you may just have a mega-hit for most of the world...although I haven't considered India and their tastes.
6. Club Penguin : 8 million. Disney runs this. You can buy toys with it. You can get codes to use online with these toys. It is this type of thing I would do if I ever ran an MMO. Admittedly, other games have tried it; it is hard to gain the right balance of being popular and having people buy your merchandise, but this game has done it (One can blame media manipulating kids, but some adults play this game, too). Never have tried it. The graphics look...bleh to me (and I love penguins). I will have to try it one day. It may just be a simple game geared for kids that is not too stressful/grindy.
7. Guild Wars : 6 million + copies sold. No subs here. I STILL have yet to try it out. I will note that I spy many subtle asian influences in the game world and monsters here. Not too heavy. A good solid game that people can return to. Actually, I admit buying expansions like this is my preferred/favorite model for me as a consumer. No "evil MT" that I can be sucked into...no month-to-month sub. Just old fashioned, Blizz-net like gaming where they host the servers, you buy the game, load it up and you are in without a credit card. I miss this type of old-fashioned model...but maybe I am old-fashioned! :p
8. Star Wars : The Old Republic : Okay, not the games being mentioned are set for future release, but EVERYONE from game industry insiders to players has their eye on this game. Having Bioware making it does not hurt. Personally, to be "diplomatic", the future has yet to be written how this game will be popular a few months to a year after it is released. I think it will be a big initial hit and it may keep people occupied with the stories for long while, especially those that want to explore all the different side stories with every class ("I have a "good" Republic commando and a "bad" one that makes evil decisions!"). IMO, this still doesn't state exactly how "Multiplayer" this will be in practice. No PVP or end-game for hard-core people have not been announced or detailed. On one hand, it's exciting. On the other hand, if your team leader makes a different decision than the one you wanted, would you be happy with it? And don't forget, you have your own NPC party/squad (ala Star Trek Online) and there is no space combat. Still, I know I will be one of the many playing this game and seeing if I like it.
9. Call of Duty : Another "to-be-released" game. I know very little about it personally. Will it be more RPG-like (build up your character stats via XP)? Straight-shooter? Abilities to upgrade weapons? I actually don't think this game should be on this list; it could be good...but it could be "standard-typical", too. Blizzard, interestingly enough, is supposed to be doing this...but it could also be a "throwaway" for Blizzard where they let Activision have a say (in otherwords, a "smokescreen" so Activision leaves Blizzard alone to work on what they truly want to work on). This game could work out...but will gaming masses want to protray "modern-day" soldiers without and sci-fi or fantastical elements? Video games are about escapism. While I can see some "A-Team" fantasies being lived here, I don't see this sort of thing appealing to many players over a long stretch of time.
10. Blizzard's unannounced title : Release date : Unknown.
What can one say about this? Maybe people have speculated a Starcraft game, but it says here :
"Blizzard keeps upcoming projects under tight wraps, so no details are available about its follow-up to “WoW,” but the company has acknowledged a new massively multiplayer online game is coming – and it will be the beginning of a new franchise, not an offshoot of an existing one."
So again, we are left in the dark as to what this will be. Not Starcraft. Not Diablo-based. (Makes sense, these games are coming out so I can see how people would have their information crossed and state the new MMO is this...because games based on these titles are coming out...but not the MMO. :P ).
Blizzard did spent an awful bunch of says/years before Warcraft came out initially, if memory serves me right. Seeing that they are busy with other projects, they could be slowly working on it. When Starcraft 2 and Diablo 4 are finally released, then some work resources could be freed up (of course, let's not forget the "Call of Duty" thing mentioned...which may not even be ultimately coming out).
What is intriguing is, will this be a new unexplored genre? A new take on an existing genre? Something totally unexpected?