by John Hoskin on Apr 30, 2007
Welcome to the 569th Edition of Loading... If you aren't reading this in your e-mail, you could be. Sign up.
Are you looking for the latest industry headlines? Look no further.
I'm testing out a "Bling Free" format for the column this week. This is your chance to give it the thumbs up or thumbs down. Gone are the fancy graphics and our long-time friend Vin Diesel. Coverage of the MMOG industry continues down its merry path.
Daily Column New MMOG Articles at TenTonHammer Today (18 New) Real World News - You Can't Make This UpLast week we took a lot of flack for posting about a rumour that had been circulating through the Vanguard community since the game had launched and perhaps even before. The rumour linked Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) with Sigil in a partnership to right the listing ship we affectionately refer to as Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
Over the weekend Brad McQuaid posted the following,
âSOE is in discussions with Sigil regarding the future of Vanguard and Sigil Games in Carlsbad. Talks are going well and first and foremost, our primary concern right now is what's best for Vanguard and its community. We want to ensure that this game and its community have a healthy future. The specifics that we work out over the coming days will all be with that single goal in mind.
What does that mean? It means that right now Vanguard is doing decently but not as well as we hoped...So the bottom line is that SOE is going to be getting more involved with Sigil and Vanguard â our relationship is going to become even tighter â much tighter. At this point I canât say much more than that.
Does this mean an acquisition? I canât say at this point.
Does this mean more or less people at Sigil? I canât say at this point.
Does this mean management changes at Sigil? I canât say at this point.
I *can* say that regardless of the turn out, SOE knows that Sigil has the experience and vision necessary to run Vanguard and therefore a major change in that area is extremely unlikely and would be foolish on their part.
What it does mean at this point is that both companies agree that we need more of SOEâs involvement if Vanguard is going to continue to get the support it needs to both continue to be worked on and improved and debugged and optimized.... "
There you have it. SOE and Sigil are in talks about Vanguard. It's obvious what SOE has to offer to this relationship. Money, expertise, marketing clout, and more don't come without a price. Sigil can offer a development team that is capable of completing the project that they started.
If SOE believes that the game design is a winner then why didn't they put their resources behind it before launch? Reintroducing a game to the market is a much steeper hill to climb than launching a game in a finished state. EverQuest 2 was polished and finished yet didn't meet expectations and was reintroduced. Star Wars Galaxies became a shell of its former self after reintroduction.
If SOE doesn't believe that the game design is sound then what can we expect to change? Those of you who play Vanguard must have some thoughts on what you would like to see changed?
"So what does that mean again? Again, I apologize for not being able to go into details and itâs the details that need to be worked out. But I think itâs safe to say that both Sigil and SOE see the potential of a mind blowing game by the end of the year. Whatâs needed, bottom line, is some time, and how to get that time is whatâs being worked out. And so I still see a 500k+ game, I was just off by a year for a variety of reasons, some under my control, many not. And I think SOE sees this as well. To pull it off however, requires a funded and supported Sigil and a well marketed Vanguard with these different target audiences identified and solid plan on how to reach them all, and then a solid execution of said plan, hitting them hard, pushing these âWoW everywhereâ point of purchase materials from the front to the very back.. In the meantime, the Vanguard that was launched in early 2007 continues to move forward, with much of what Iâve talked about patched in over time, and the rest in the first expansion (or re-launch, or whatever we all agree upon in terms of product and service placement). "
500k+ users in a year seems like a lofty goal to me. Best guess at the moment and it is only a guess is that the game has 100k users and is bleeding. If the game had been launched in the state that Brad wished it to be perhaps 500k was a number I could agree with. It is a niche game, but it's a niche game with a great pedigree and superb development team. Out of the gate it had a chance.
Reintroducing a game has a plethora of problems.
Will you alienate the players who like the game "as designed"? These players are your lifeblood. They are paying the bills. They are supporting the game so that it can exist at all. If you make sweeping changes you run the risk of driving these players off.
Will new players decide to take a chance on a game that has been out for a year? Given the treadmill that seems to be a constant in MMOG design how many players will be willing to start the game a year behind the curve? How can SOE eliminate this problem? Fresh servers are one answer, but there is already a population problem. New servers would undoubtedly drag "current players" to them in a rush to be the first to level to maximum and experience the known content again.
Whatever happens, it can only extend the longevity of Vanguard. I don't think anyone would argue that in its current state the game isn't going to be large enough to support the Sigil development team financially. Can the title reach 500k subscribers in a year? I have my doubts, but I would love to be proven wrong. Developers like Ryan Elam and Jeff Butler who tell it straight-out like it is deserve a victory.
In the short time that I had to chat with them at GDC this year they delivered some of the most frank and honest answers that a gamer could hope for.
I truly hope that Sigil can turn Vanguard into a rousing success and like the rest of you await further information on the new SOE/Sigil coupling.
2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today
Blog: When Do I Get To Play?Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com
John "Boomjack" Hoskin