I hope it does, I don't see any reason it would not, but who knows? What are your thoughts, do you think there is enough going for EQ and DBG to keep this game going till 2019, and hopefully beyond.
this is just my own opinion and im sure ill get flamed for it but i doubt it the last few expansions were introduced poorly and this new one is just bad its beta pushed live they dont have the resources for this game anymore and tho it saddens me im already preparing myself but who knows they could surprise me. my give o sht meter is at an all time low tho so would take something pretty big
Nah, there is nothing to flame you over. Thanks for responding, I do hope you are wrong of course, and you do as well.
It's a little too early to tell. What you are seeing with the latest expac is the new normal for DBG. How people react to this level of quality will determine the answer to your question. I think there is a "Sea Change" underway and the new normal may well be the final straw for many players.
Considering that we aren't that far from the 17 year mark, and small as it is, there is still a team working on new content, I would be surprised if we don't see 20.
I think 20 is very much possible. There are a LOT of EQ servers still live. Way more than I thought. I would expect them to start doing more server merges to keep pops up. The thing is, there really isn't another game like this. This is still a hard-mode MMORPG (yes, it is a LOT easier now, but still, if you have played others, you know what I'm talking about). For those of us that are not in the participation trophy generation, that still means something. By the way, I STILL play my old MUD from the 90s -) If MUDs can survive that long, EQ is a shoe-in. At the very least, you will have emulation servers still going. I'm having computer issues recently and while I'm down, I've been reading a lot on other MMORPGs. Most of them look and seem to play like console games (ala skyrim and stuff like that). While I like those kind of games (we call those beer and pretzel games in the turn-based grand strategy game world), they just don't seem to have the same kind of tactical depth. I would say if anything, the problems that EQ has are more game management related. For example, changing XP modifiers in zones that forces players into current content. This really limits the size and relevance of the EQ world. It would be nice if old world zones or earlier expac content still had relevance for people to go group and raid with in. But leveling somewhere like Icefall Glaciers instead of one of the HOT zones is just an exercise in frustration. The mudflation in EQ is so severe that you are literally propelled forward into current content.
YES. Look how long Alkabor's lasted with no updates, no dev support, etc. No reason to think EQ wouldn't have a number of years once devs are mostly gone as well. Question maybe more - will EQ be around for its 25th.
Deep down I hope EQ does make it to 20 or 25 years. What a wonderful achievement that would be. Sadly, I don't see how it can, with the current state of the game.
i think it will be around for 20 years in some fashion, whether or not they continue to develop new content for the next 4 years is another story.
It'll be around for much longer than that, people have been writing it off forever. Servers keep getting cheaper to buy/run and it doesn't really need much work, they already have no recognizable CS. It may be reduced to TLP servers in the distant future if people playing live posting here are to be believed tho.
seeing long time players quitting over the last week if the game does continue it will be diablo 2 dead (already there with hacking)
This game will be around as long as the security and maintenance update costs don't outstrip incoming revenue. 20 is probably doable.
Let's not forget the tipping point when writing off the loss becomes more profitable than maintenance costs.
Most capitalized software is deprecated over a 3-5 year period. I assume that is what you mean by writing it off. If you mean losses due to costs, then you generally cannot write off software costs that are not capitalized. I will freely admit that while I work in the IT industry, I don't work in the gaming industry and could be wrong how they are accounting for costs. Generally, though, software as old as EQ is being run under O&E. Thought Excercise: TLDR: Look at what the team composition is and how it changes if you want to "predict" the end of EQ -) ============================================================================= Just writing on the back of an envelope, EQ has what, 20 servers? I have no idea what the pops are, but lets just guess 10k total subscribers to EQ (500 per server). Once again, no idea how accurate that is with F2P, silver, and the ability to use kronos. Let say $13 per month (there are lower and higher options) for $130,000 per month in sub fees. Then you have year expac. Maybe 1/4 buy? $100,000. Then you have in-game purchases. Kronos, station cash, heroics, slots, transfers, etc. The numbers are off, but if you know the size of the team, you can get really close to what the numbers are. In my little place in the world, a good rule of thumb is $65 per hour for software cost. At 2080 hours per year, that is $135,000 per year per person. No idea where the EQ dev team is, but it probably isn't here, so the cost per hour is probably higher but not astronomically so. Depending on the profit margins you need, you will see how long it will continue based on what you think the core team is. You need at least 1-2 DEV, probably 1-2 QA people, a manager, 1-2 content people. Some CS support. It all depends on how the management and CS support are matrixed. But a small team of 4-5 people can probably be supported for a very long time. When the end gets near, you go down to basically 1-2 people devoted full or part time to a system till its end-of-life. The exercise in numbers is just there to guide you on changes in the EQ team makeup. If you see people leaving and not being replaced, that is clearly a bad sign -)
I agree. The changes have been dramatic and has a lot of people worried and speculating. There are a lot of returning players that are short lived due to the mass changes in support that really drove the game and the in game tweaks that are so dramatic and profound from patch to patch that consistent game play can not be maintained. I myself am a return player. Daybreak was not able to find my old account (unwilling to make the effort...lack of resources...regardless). Started over and lost 3 years of vet status. Willing, as I remember the game as it use to be. However the lack of support, the continued patches to Nerf individual game play, concentration on new franchises, and the feel from the staff during video feeds clearly shows the intent to maintain not build new players as long as possible without any real attempt to promote this portion of their franchise any longer. I would like to see the game make it 20 years but I believe it's going to be through the players and not Daybreak. As long as this is a word of mouth game and lacking proper support, the word of mouth will not be a positive factor for this game or the franchise as a whole.
depends on if a profit is seen. at this point EQ maybe only alive due to barging rights. the new owners don't care about games, just profits sadly. EQ maybe here a few more years but we may see it under new management again. i would imagine EA or the likes wanting to grab the EQ franchise. i would hope it would be to grow it, but more likely just to crush it. here's to 20 years! we can only hope.
Think you are way off on sub numbers, prolly 5-10k gold subs on each TLP alone. 500 per server? Maybe if you don't count the several thousand boxes on each server. I'd say 50k-75k - but again we are both using pure guess work.
