Episode I (of III)

Posted on March 24th, 2008 by virdealtopgold.
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At stake isn’t just a handful of gamers, though: MMOGs mean money — big money if you happen to hit it just right. Based on NPD figures as of February 2004, maplestory Galaxies has sold more than 300,000 boxed copies at retail for a total initial revenue of over $18 million dollars. That’s not bad for a PC title. Star Wars Galaxies The most conservative estimates of Galaxies’ stable player base estimates approximately 100,000 active players, each paying $14.95 a month over and above the initial cost of the software. maplestory

“Star Wars Galaxies has much more than double the number of subscribers quoted on GameSpy. For the record, the title is doing very, very well and is the second largest MMO in the North American market.”) hellgate london

This is a story about Jedi.

Regarded as one of the most ambitious MMOGs ever launched and greeted with hype spawned from decades of movies, no other game has had a more difficult road than Galaxies. hellgate london palladium On top of a combat system that included player-vs.-player, the game featured more than 30 professions, top gold 10 full planets to fill with content, an in-game civil war, hellgate london palladium buildable structures, and an economy completely run by the players. And beyond trying to manage and balance all of that, the game’s creators announced that months after release, certain players would be able to earn Jedi powers. These rare individuals would be the kind of über-characters depicted in the movies, tales of pirates gold with immense power — yet somehow they’d fit right into the game without destroying the fun for everyone else. Or themselves. A tall order. tales of pirates

That sounds like a lot of money — and it is. hellgate london palladium But it has to be balanced against the millions of dollars spent on development, publishing, and marketing as well as the ongoing costs of maintaining the game: server costs, bandwidth, Star Wars Galaxies credits the salaries of the customer service professionals, maplestory and most importantly, a “live content” team that’s bigger than the development crew of most single-player games. Obviously, a well-run and popular MMOG can bring in a lot of money for a publisher. maplestory The risk, however, is just as great as the reward: it doesn’t take too many subscriber defections to push the product toward insolvency. tales of pirates gold Any smart company realizes that every new subscriber is gold and every subscriber lost brings the title that much closer to going into the red. tales of pirates

(Editor’s Note: Subsequent to the publication of this article, GameSpy recieved the following official statement from John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment: maplestory mesos

The long and storied history of the Galaxies Jedi epitomizes the struggle of any massively multiplayer game to make a lasting connection with a fickle audience. Star Wars Galaxies credits It’s a story of warring game philosophies, conflicting player and designer expectations, and a vocal (okay, a very vocal) player base.

But first, some background. hellgate london

http://swg-credits.virdeal.com

Not from a galaxy far, far away, of course. hellgate london palladium We’re talking about the digital Jedi within LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment’s Star Wars Galaxies, hellgate palladium a group of players who more than any other embody both the promise and frustrations of a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). Star Wars Galaxies

But unlike single-player games, online games are continually evolving. Star Wars Galaxies The story is still being written. This is a tale about the give and take of a game that can give and take more than any other: an ongoing drama in a galaxy far, far away, and a look ahead to what’s going to happen next. swg credits

Development of any MMOG is a careful balancing act, maplestory mesos like spinning a thousand plates on poles at once and not letting any of them fall. In a single-player title, Star Wars Galaxies game developers can tailor the game experience to one player. Star Wars Galaxies credits Not so online, swg credits where everybody is a paid subscriber and one player’s fun can’t take priority over another. top gold In Grand Theft Auto players can steal cars; in an online game, maplestory mesos players couldn’t steal cars without the owners getting upset and canceling their subscriptions. It’s (literally) a whole different world. Making an MMOG is tough. hellgate palladium


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