Anjin Unleashed

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

I normally wouldn't take the time to write about something like this, but I am constantly amused by the hype cycle of video games. This is a prime example. From my email today:

That's right, Trion is announcing that there will be an announcement of the new Mage soul for their upcoming expansion. The probability of three more announcements and announcements of said announcements is very high.

Thanks for the invite, Trion. But how about you just launch the expansion? That's all anyone cares about anyway.

From Massively, we receive notice that the free-to-play rollout for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes has slipped out a week early. So if you were planning to check out the game once those pesky subscription fees went away, now it your chance.

I tried out Vanguard a couple of years back during a free trial, but it didn't really hook me at the time. I was never, ever, going to pay money just to give it a second chance. The move to free-to-play is exactly what I've been waiting for, ever since John Smedley teased it a couple of years back.

Are you going to try out Vanguard? Because really, what else are you going to do until Guild Wars 2 comes out?

MMO Gamer Chick had an interesting post up Wednesday that struck a nerve with me. In it, she reveals that she likely won't continue to play Star Wars: The Old Republic for much longer now that it is going free to play. I also prefer the subscription model, and I think for a similar reason.

The pressure of a monthly subscription forces me to get the best use out of my gaming time. If I pay for a month and then fritter it away, I've wasted $15 dollars for no good reason. There is freedom in knowing that I have access to the entire game for my fifteen dollars, even if it is only for a month.

But as soon as the game goes free-to-play, that pressure goes away. There is no incentive to use my time wisely if I'm not spending money, so I don't play at all. Oddly enough, I discovered something similar with my lifetime subscription to Champions Online. Once I got the value out the purchase, I drifted right away from the game.

I don't really need to bring out my old prejudices again the Free To Play model. Especially when Wilhelm is already doing such a great job throwing up the caution flag. But that's always going to be in the back of my mind as well.

I'll have more thoughts about the WoW Annual Pass in a couple months, so stay tuned. But until then, I'll stick with my subscriptions, thank you very much.

While I could milk these for several posts, I thought I'd try something different today.

EA Sues Zynga For Copying Its Paper During The Test - As Lum, er, Scott Jennings says, everyone knows that Zynga loves to appropriate ideas for their games by copying them directly from other games. They barely even try to hide the fact. But since they usually go after indie, no one has tried to fight back. Until they went at an EA game. Does this mean that we have to go back to liking EA again? I'm so confused. Also, eff Zynga.

Developers Vs. Journalists: Fight! - Jason Schreier, who has the unfortunate burden of aspiring to real journalism while writing for a site as poorly regarded as Kotaku, wrote an editorial asked developers and publisher to be less tight lipped about their games. Because talking to the press is good for you. Except when they are misquoting you to get more hits. Jerry Holkins weighed into the frey in his usual manner. And Schreier followed up with various (other) responses that he received. I don't blame Schreier for wanting more open communication, it's not going to happen just by saying "Trust us." That has to be earned.

WoW Sheds SWTOR's Entire Subscriber Base, Refuses To Blink - In the most recent earnings call, Activision announced that Blizzard lost 1.1 million subscribers in the last quarter. That is an entire MMO, folks. I'm not ready to worry yet, but don't think we're going to see Blizzard announcing record breaking subscription numbers again.

About a week back, I cancelled my subscription for Rift. I think it has a few days left, but I'm not sure I have anything to accomplish in that time. I resubbed two months ago when Trion's first expansion, Storm Legion was ~~launched~~ announced. (Edit: Thanks, Anon.)

I didn't want to move any of my characters off of their current server, so I rolled a new cleric on a new server. I quickly played through the tutorial, marveled about the changes, charged into the first zone, and did a little fishing. Unfortunately, after a while, I just stopped. And now I need to stop paying for it if I'm not going to play.

Upon reflection, I want to like Rift more than I actually do. I think it has a lot going for it. I love that the game continues to receive substantial updates. I have a lot of respect for what Scott Hartsman and the team at Trion have done and continue to do for the game. It's just not for me.