NCSoft are currently working on two MMOs. We’ve known about Guild Wars 2 for a while but the big reveal was Wildstar, a game that most of us had never heard of until the start of Gamescom. The games couldn’t be more different – take a look at the trailers below.
Both games appeal to me in different ways. The rich detail of the environments in Guild Wars 2 makes me want to explore every nook and cranny of the game world. The attitude and soul shown in Wildstar just makes me think that it’s going to be huge fun to be a part of. Guild Wars 2 is due out sometime in 2012, while Wildstar should be with us in 2013.
I’m also left wondering what NCSoft’s strategy is. Are they saying that there’s a place for both MMOs – with players drawn to either the psuedo-realism of Guild Wars 2 or the cartoony style of Wildstar? Do some people go for high fantasy while others prefer sci-fi?
Or are they trying to start influencing the MMO player’s “flight plan”? Are we seeing the start of a shift from being loyal to a game for years to swapping to a new MMO every 6 months or so? Are developers hoping for us to become MMO nomads where we all periodically shift from one title to another?
At the moment I’m not sure. All I know is that in a post-Warcraft world there doesn’t seem to be much Blizzard. Titan remains a mirage on the horizon.
It takes just one flashy trailer like those above to put Titan (and implicitly Blizzard) back in the front row of “next-gen” MMOs. And it’s not far away… my guess would be 6 months tops.
Regarding MMO longevity, it’s certainly a discussion worth having, even if I don’t think it’s an issue yet. The increasingly popular F2P model favors a nomadic behavior but at the same time developers lately do all they can to pump content in their games at a higher speed. So everything seems to be balanced for now… remains to be seen how the new wave of MMOs will affect this.
I think a more popular pattern will be people engaging in 2 MMOs at the same time. I can already see myself dividing what free time I have between GW2 and Firefall.
You’re right about the trailer. So far they’ve been very closed about what they’re working on. I’m wondering how concrete players plans are – if Blizzard leave it too late will they end up being “locked out” or will people instantly look to add it?
I’m not sure if the two-at-a-time process is sustainable for many people. I do think you’re right about content updates though – regular monthly updates rather than quarterly changes seems to be what keeps people in a game these days.
I think the reason they’re really cheap on details so far is that they don’t want to steal the focus from D3 and even Heart of the Swarm. Opening the flood gates on Titan info would really hurt the hype surrounding these 2 games. This is why I think as soon as they get at least D3 out the door, we’re going to start receiving Titan details.
Unfortunately the Wildstar trailer is a lot more fun than the ingame footage I have seen so far which looks a lot like hello Warcraft, hello Allods.
I’ll admit the style seems to be similar to Warcraft, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing if the content, story and mechanics are unique enough. if it turns out to be a WoW clone then you’re right.
I never played Allods though, so I have no idea there.
Damn! Wildstar looks fun
Aye. Reminds me a lot of Titan A.E if you ever watched that film.
Indeed – and I’m not sure if that’s a great thing or a lame thing – I’m leaning towards great at the moment 🙂
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/GamesCom-2011-WildStar-Gameplay-Footage-Kills-Yetis-34418.html
Has some in game gameplay footage of Wildstar in case anyone is as late to the party as I am
Guild wars (Having never played it) looks like a very surreal/abstract game, with elements taken from other competitors (maybe the gnome character look alike and the Leogolas LoTR ones?), with unique elements of its own. It seems to give me an image of individual story progression and development. Also, the graphics appear a lot more defined and grainy (nice to look at). One big feeling I get is one of ‘mixed-time zones”.
Disney Pixar. Anime/Manga (Cartoon). Jak + Daxter games. Even Hurcules (With that big dragon thing). All of which come to mind when watching that trailer. The fact that I cannot fit it to an MMO makes it so interesting! Going to be a lot of speculation around this one, I bet. From taking on board what It gives you, it looks like a Single/solo based campaign, I just can’t see MMO. So what is there plan?
Suppose it’s up to us, the consumer, to decide what we like best 🙂
– Jamin