March 2, 2010 – MMO Fallout

Final Fantasy XI: Going Nowhere, In A Good Way

Because dumb employees can be managed...

Last month I wrote about how someone at Square Enix is sooo fired, when a high level Human Resources employee blabbed the following:

“I think some amongst you will know, but FF11 started in 2002 … Well, this year it’ll end and the stage will shift to FF14.”
-Square Enix Employee

Of course, with the nature of the internet, fans went wild. Is this an indication that Final Fantasy XI is going to be shut down when XIV comes out? Is this confirmation? Who knows? Square Enix knows, but unless that answer is anything other than “yes, we are shutting down,” anything they say is likely to be ignored by the group of players who are now convinced that the title is indeed set to be canned later this year.

But Square Enix has turned around and confirmed that no, not only is Final Fantasy XI not getting the boot this year, it is receiving even more updates! Square has announced three new scenarios for the not-so-Final Fantasy MMO, as well as an increase in the level cap to 99 (because all good updates have increased level caps). In addition, players will also see the gift of two new summons for use in battle.

So there you go, Final Fantasy XI..ers. If the announcement of new updates isn’t enough to convince you that the title isn’t going anywhere (at least for now), at least you’ll be occupied for the long grind to 99, long enough to forget about your woes.

Allods Online: Whoops, Our Bad

Allods_100219_234817 — All the vermin will drown.

Allods Online is a great example of how a title can grow under the guise of a World of Warcraft clone, gain the attention of both gamers and publications as a beacon of individuality in the WoW Clone genre, pull forward and grow a community that could rival the Darkfall community in terms of loyalty and vicious attacks on naysayers. That being said, Allods Online is also an excellent example to how a company can turn its customers against it in the flash of a hand.

gPotato’s response spoke to many players as “deal with it, and pay up or leave,” however the latest announcement should shed some light on the situation. This week, Allods Online will receive an update, and gPotato has

restructured the pricing based upon your feedback in conjunction with the data we’ve reviewed and communication with our developer. Consequently, we’ve revised pricing so that more people can participate in this feature of the game.
gPotato, on Allods Online

Sure, gPotato can play a mean fiddle, but can they put a crack in the wall with a sweet but ferocious melody? As I’ve mentioned before, the community is still in a position where they are more than willing to return if the prices of the cash shop are lowered and gPotato does something about the requirement of investment in order to stay competitive at end-game.

So Allods Online isn’t going anywhere, at least not for now. The benefit of not having launched yet is that you get to make stupid mistakes like this and still make up for it in time for the big day.

Alganon: Moving to DDO Formula

If Funcom's money was gold-backed... — Not Enough Gold In The Coffers

Alganon booted in December this past year to a very mixed reaction. Launched as a lower budget, indie MMO, Alganon plucked various mechanics from other MMOs (offline leveling system, skill branches, etc) and threw them together in a game that looked similar to a world of war and craft. Reviews for the title were generally positive, but many reviewers noted that despite the community, the title was not quite ready to put itself out there and demand a cash payment each month.

In a move the may not surprise anyone, Alganon has announced that the title will be going subscription free, with an item shop, much like Dungeons and Dragons Online (minus the subscription). I said booted earlier, because Alganon has still technically not “launched,” the official launch being this April.

I’d like to think Alganon will be able to pull around, and hopefully moving to an item mall model will bring in more money than the company was receiving previously, but at the end of the day they aren’t changing to a free to play model because the old one was so successful.