City of Heroes/Villains

[lyceus]

Video games are serious business. And I say that with a straight face. Because it's true. Video games are The entertainment option of choice, even over films/television, and instead of creating titles that have people playing alone the growing popularity of MMORPGs and the resulting communities created by their existences are forcing customers to rethink what kind of investments they want to make for long-term enjoyment (why not sink 300 USD into a set of tabletop RPG books that can be played with for generations instead of a "lifetime subscription" for a game that may or may not last long enough to return the worth of that investment) and, now, are forcing developers and publishers to rethink how they feel they can handle their business without shooting themselves in the foot while burning bridges and essentially killing their company through badly handled Public Relations.

Well the online game boom is quite different in several parts of the world for example, few people in Mexico uses online games for PC and consoles like Xbox Live or PSN services since they ask for credit cards. Credit card is difficult to get here since the bank ask for too many papers and conditions (have a stable job with some minimum wage, some guarantee like a car or house, etc.) and the commissions are quite ridiculous like to charge 2 USD for use an ATM even if is one of your bank.

Since few people go online, instead to be kind for people and provide some sort of alternative payment like prepaid cards, console makers and publishers write in their magazines (like Xbox Official and PSM Offical) that Mexicans are stupid people that don't know how to play online or are greedy people, not with those exact words but with that intention. When they saw that few people enter not matter their insults, they opt to sign in without credit card and later started to create some prepaid cards locked to local shops DVD region style: Shop #4 LatinAmerica and Shop #1 for USA/Canada.

This is the start of the trouble, if you buy things in Shop Region 4 they don't work if you have a console DVD Region 1. If you have an account in Shop Region 1 -like many early adopters of the console models- you cannot shop in Shop region 4, and you cannot exchange shops, the solution is buy a new console for the region you want to have the account. For this only brave people try to play online here. Any charge of the credit card is made as is, this means that if you buy in the wrong console-shop set, your money is gone with no refund or explanation. Consoles like PSPGo bite the bullet for this reason, all consoles were Region 1 and the shop was Region 4. No refunds, thank you!.

Nintendo opted for prepaid cards only as well Facebook games and some PC online games like Club Penguin and Neopets. Oddly Neopets cards are sold exclusively in one expensive shop called Liverpool so few gamers really use neocash from my country.

So basically, locally in Mexico we have the idea of online games/online shops = no refunds at any mistake (rats!) = few people play online.

[Moonchild]

Matt Miller presents an article explaining how tabletop gaming is really on a return.

I think there is a big difference between the two, one that will not have the same players in their audience. Why do I say this? Well, consider this:

• For a tabletop game, you have to be physically present (video conference tabletop gaming is still widely unheard of, and might never take off) -- You won't cross borders or play with far away friends (or friends-to-be), as a result.
• People playing MMO games have a thirst for change; and I'm not talking about the radical revamps of an entire RPG system like some companies like to pull *cough*Blizzard*cough* but an evolving world. You can never get that with a physical game, but you can with a virtual game. It won't appeal to the same people because of this.
• People playing MMOs tend to love larger crowds. Have you ever tried playing a tabletop game with more than 4 or 5 people? It gets tedious real quick.
• Visual feedback. In a tabletop RPG game, you don't see your characters or those of other players; all of it will be in the mind's eye of each player. A good number of people can't do this, they can't imagine characters in their head alive, even less so when there are more working together on a common goal.
• Incognito playing. For a large number of MMO players, especially the ones that take RPG in MMORPG serious, a tabletop game will never be able to create the same kind of detachment from reality as an on-line game will. Much like a superhero in a tabletop equal to being stripped of his costume and always seeing the "Clark Kent" instead of the "Superman" - a tabletop game will not allow someone to slip out of the "real world player" and into the "personality played" because the other players will always be looking at and being with the "real world player"

[Moonchild]

Also, after some issues trying to get to the NCSoft site today, I decided to look up their front page news, ignoring their "Blade & Soul" peddling for a (probably too) asian style game -- and it seems I was right about Guild Wars 2's release date, after all. According to their news the release was 3 days before their announcement about City of Heroes, on the 28th of August. http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/press-rele ... -live.html
Depending on how things develop, we'll have to see what they have to say for themselves - right now there seem to be a whole lot of unsubstantiated rumors around this shutdown, but looking at the things that are fact, like the release dates, focus on Asian games, Nexon getting a hand in things, etc., it seems to have been planned and deliberate.

I'm still waiting for NCSoft to make further announcements, because silence is also digging their grave deeper, when it's become clear that the gaming community doesn't just sit idly by while they kill this game with a surprise axing.