Welcome to the tenth edition of Reloading…
E3 2011 is this week! Tune into Ten Ton Hammer for all MMO-related coverage live from the event starting tomorrow!
“A child of five would understand this. Send somebody to fetch a child of five.” – Groucho Marx
If you have been following this column, MMO news in general or even the Stanley Cup playoffs then you have heard that a mobile MMO (does that make it a MMMO?) titled Order and Chaos has earned over $1 million in revenue in its first 20 days. [GamaSutra]
Published by Gameloft, a publisher with a large stable of iOS games, Order and Chaos has taken a World of Warcraft approach and placed it on mobile devices. A fantasy theme, subscription model, “cartoon” graphics and scheduled updates don’t necessarily set this apart from the also-rans, but a full 3D environment does.
I’m not convinced that gamers, even casual (which this game is not) or “mobile” gamers will be intrigued enough to play this game for hours on end. There is certainly overlap between MMO players and their mobile counterparts, but given the choice, would you play a MMO on your PC or on your phone? Ask yourself this, if your favourite MMO was currently available on your phone, with the same gameplay as on your PC. Which would you use if you had a choice? Sure, you might play on the phone while commuting or sitting in a boring meeting or listening to your mother in law, but what would you do when you really had a choice? My money is on use your PC. It’s more comfortable; you can multi-task (browsing game databases, etc.) and it’s easier to play. It may happen one day, but for now, the UI on a phone simply isn’t as comfortable or easy to use as that on a computer.
If nothing else, Gameloft’s ability to clone games, shoot them with a shrink-ray and move them to mobile devices will cause more companies to take a look at the mobile industry. More companies making games equals more games for us to play and I think we can all agree that choice is a good thing.
Order & Chaos sells for $6.99 via the App Store and includes the first three months of subscription. Additional months can be purchased at $0.99 per month. One little note, that may play into my earlier comments. From the Gameloft official site, “A Wi-Fi connection and a Gameloft LIVE! Account are required to play the game.” Perhaps playing while on the subway won’t work. If you have tried it… let me know.
What are your thoughts on mobile gaming? Do you play games on your phone? Would you play an MMO on your phone?
Let me know! Leave a comment!
Until we meet again,
John “Boomjack” Hoskin
