Where the whales live - monetization in PS2

Are you being obtuse on purpose? Do I have to read the fragment out loud where I denied your disingenuous misinterpretation and send it as an mp3 for you to acknowledge that you're arguing against a strawman?

The scenario you describe becomes valid if and only if SOE plans to put in just the absolute minimum required effort into getting as much money as quickly as possible. If that's the case, there is no happy ending no matter how you cut the cake.

How can you know what he means? He's using a word that differs from the point.

You guys gotta get your terms right before you step up the game.

Why not try addressing the point of the thread rather than indulging in pedantry to no great purpose?

Unfortunately, pedantry is required. In order to properly communicate one's wishes, one must have clear terms and an understanding of what one can and can't control.

Pedantry not withstanding, my point:

Metagame is not something that is supplied by game developers. Metagame is something that is created by players. Stop asking for what is under your control already.

Consider this from the OP:

Want a meta game? To this list must be added:

Re-playability

How do you think re-playability is fostered by game devs? What are factors that could destroy re-playability?

Why is PS2 held to a higher standard?

Because of the hype and the hope I guess. It was supposed to be something that the other FPS's weren't. In the end, all it is is a bigger map yet still compartmentalized into the same small map, small team ethic found elsewhere.

People who played PS1 thought that the game would be an evolution of that concept. PS1 wasn't perfect to be sure, but people loved that game and had high hopes for PS2.

Instead, what we got was the Forgelight engine with something of a game attached to it.

As if it was designed to showcase the engine and little else.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the complexities of making a game, but the veneer on this one is very thin.

Embarrassingly so.

Three words of advice for SOE.

1. Marketing. It's amazing how many people still have no clue this game exists. Not just people, dedicated gamers. It's remarkable.

2. Optimization. A large number of gamers can't/won't play the game because of low fps. Raising the min specs instead of improving performance ain't gonna cut it.

3. Accessibility. Of the several dozen people I introduced this game to in the past 2 years, only 1 still plays. Most quit in the first few days because the tutorial and new player experiences kinda sucks.

Depth is what you make it.

A "deeper" story line is what was meant. He used the term Raison d'être, not lore and to me that encompasses depth of story.