by Garrett Fuller, Industry Relations Specialist



Many MMO players think of free-to-play games as casual places for
players. Acclaim is here to break that model. In speaking with Howard
Marks and Dave Perry at GDC we were happy to hear some of the ideas
that Acclaim is trying to bring to the MMO marketplace. The best part
about Acclaim is that they are not afraid. They are looking to
communicate with players about what they want and try to directly
implement that into their games. Acclaim is thinking along the lines of
future MMOs right now.


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2Moons is
now running in 65 countries.

2Moons has been a popular hit for Acclaim and continues to do well. The
game follows a free to play model which has now been successful in up
to sixty-five countries. Acclaim took 2Moons into a global marketplace
and it has continued to do well. The game is looking at a major update
in the next few months to bring several more elements to gamers. The
advancements in the game over in Korea have been moving at rapid pace
and Acclaim is looking to being their global game into check. So for
2Moons players there will be a lot coming up in the next few months.
They plan pets, mounts, and new ideas for PvP that players will be able
to enjoy.



While Acclaim continues to work on bringing over Asian games to the
western market they are now in a position to start designing and
developing their own games. What they have done is put together an
advisory committee of players who they keep in contact with about what
they might want to see in Acclaim’s games. The great thing is
that Howard and Dave are taking the interaction with players very
seriously. Players are being given voice in the types of decisions that
are going into design. With the Top Secret project still in the works
you are looking at a company who takes their players seriously. Not
only are they giving them a platform to design their own game, but they
are taking player choices into account while developing their own
games.



While not everyone may agree with the free-to-play model, Acclaim is
embracing the model to offer the best options for players. Acclaim is
making the micro-transaction payments available through cell phones and
cash cards. The cards are available at retail outlets like Target and
give players access to Acclaim coins if needed. However if you do not
want to spend any money and simple play these games for free you can
download them and play through as much as you like. Acclaim continues
to try and work on making ways for players to have easy access for
micro-transactions.


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Acclaim cards are
available at retail outlets nationwide.

Players can join the advisory board to have a say in what elements work
and don’t work in the game. It is great to see a company be
so honest and up front with their players. As Howard and Dave both
explained, some ideas that come from the fan base are things that have
worked really well. They look at all the ideas and choose the best ones
to implement into the design of their games which not only helps
development, it helps the players too.



Overall it was great to talk with Howard and Dave to see where the
future of online gaming is going, games that follow a model which on
the surface may look very casual but actually have the depth that
players enjoy. As players continue to get used to the free-to-play plan
Acclaim continues to see success in the downloading of their games.
They really are not afraid to give fans a voice in the design and
construction of their upcoming MMOs. Howard wanted to make sure that
players who had a short time to play would still get a great experience
and the model works to give players that fun. Acclaim really is looking
to design games and a community that differs greatly from the normal
MMO design. We certainly look forward to the differences they will
bring to the future of the market and the video game industry down the
line.



What do you think about
the line up of Acclaims games? Are/Were you a fan? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?p=210422#post210422">Let
us know in the forums!



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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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