SOE Announces “Chains of Eternity” Without a Hint of Irony September 6, 2012
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, EverQuest II, Sony Online Entertainment.Tags: Chains of Eternity
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Really, could you come up with a clearer expression of an MMO business plan?
Make them stay forever!
EQ2 Wire, ever on top of things, spotted the premature release of the EQII Producer’s Letter onto the forums which announced the expansion.
And, as Brasse put it:
So EQII released their piece a bit early, but because what has been seen cannot be unseen, here it is: bit.ly/Rertvn—
(@Brasse) September 06, 2012
It seems to contain the usual stuff. More levels, more quests, more loot, more this, more that… more more more of the same old thing. Again, is it eternity, or does it just seems like it? I suppose I will have to wait for more details (more!) to see if there really is anything “new” amongst the “new.”
There is supposed to be some more big news from SOE today and tomorrow… Smed was actually pretty dramatic about that point last night.
Tomorrows announcement is a complete and fundamental shift for SOE that is going to change our industry.—
John Smedley (@j_smedley) September 06, 2012
But for now, we have word that there is an expansion coming for EQII… and a hint somewhere that Planetside will be going free at some point.
Well, retention is the business plan, and it’s nice to see some honesty… though it’s almost certainly unintentional.
I am fascinated to know what tomorrow’s announcement is. What would “change the industry” and be something that “a lot of others in our industry will follow.”?
I can’t come up with anything – payment models all been done, devices all been done, new subject matter could not meet those claims – what else is there?
I’m waiting to be underwhelmed.
Oh, and a tip for Holly… expressing astonishment that your MMO has its 9th expansion coming out when the EverQuest team up the hall has 18 expansions stacked up… well, it seems forced.
In view of the recent City of Heroes affair and the PSS1 debacle among others, one thing that would truly be industry-changing would be some move towards a form of legal ownership by players of their characters and/or their virtual property. It won’t be that, but it’s the only thing I can think of that has been mooted at times as something that might have to come one day and which could reasonably be described as revolutionary.
There comes a point where expansions are actually a disincentive for me to return to a game… not that I see any alternative moves a game can make. For whatever reason, I’ve found that I’m LESS likely to return to a game I’ve taken a break from if it gets a fundamental makeover while I’m away.
But that might just be me.