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Tag: Namco
Namco Bandai Loves Free To Play Now
Back when Namco Bandai’s Olivier Comte said that free to play games “couldn’t be high quality” and were “whittling away at AAA development,” I made the poor comparison to a child throwing a tantrum in the Walmart parking lot. Fortunately, in this day and age, money talks and so does the threat of unemployment, so like every other entity which diametrically opposes change on a moral level right up until that point where the threat of market irrelevance suddenly overcomes the desire to stand strong and wrong and stop denying that the house is slowly burning down around you when the wallpaper melted six months ago, Namco Bandai now loves free to play.
“Free-to-play is playing an increasingly important role so it’s very exciting to be bringing one of our most successful franchises to the free-to-play space for everyone to enjoy.”
Namco Bandai has unveiled Ridge Racer Driftopia, an upcoming free to play racer for PS3 and PC.
Uninstall Your Free To Play Games, Namco Says They're Low Quality
Today I uninstalled my entire catalog of free to play games. RuneScape, Lineage II, DC Universe, City of Heroes, Everquest II, Alganon, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Pitchblack, Star Trek Online, Hello Kitty Online (it was for screenshots for articles), Missing Ink, Gods & Heroes, Fallen Earth, and Age of Conan, and Team Fortress 2. Sure I was enjoying these games, but it wasn’t until Namco pointed out that they “can’t be high quality,” that I realized how fake and empty my enjoyment was. I mean, sure I was having fun playing through my dwarf fighter for absolutely free, but was I having the kind of fun I could be having by buying another PacMan re-release? I think not.
But Olivier Comte is right, the free to play industry is harming big budget titles. Just look at Modern Warfare 3, which sold 6.5 million copies in the first 24 hours. Or Skyrim, which sold 3.5 million copies on its opening weekend. Or hell, Portal 2 sold millions just in retail, not counting Steam sales. The point is that those games would have sold even more if there weren’t disgusting, greedy developers letting people play their low quality games for free. If there weren’t independent developers peddling their wares for sub-premium prices, maybe developers of real video games could have their voices heard without buying huge ads on gaming websites.
“The business model for smaller, easier titles is making an expectation to consumers that is whittling away at AAA development.”
Exactly. Just look at the substandard titles that are set to launch as free to play. Planetside 2? Bound to be a failure. Ghost Recon Online? What was Ubisoft thinking? Jagex’s Stellar Dawn and Transformers MMOs? Hurting the industry. Hell, i’d venture that DUST 514 will result in the cancellation of Modern Warfare 4, because who can keep up with low quality, but free games?
Sure some people might say that these are the rantings of a developer publisher seeing the market shifting and, rather than accommodate for the changes by shifting their development system, decides to throw a tantrum in the Walmart parking lot and blame their perceived future losses on the customers.
But that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Uninstall Your Free To Play Games, Namco Says They’re Low Quality
Today I uninstalled my entire catalog of free to play games. RuneScape, Lineage II, DC Universe, City of Heroes, Everquest II, Alganon, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Pitchblack, Star Trek Online, Hello Kitty Online (it was for screenshots for articles), Missing Ink, Gods & Heroes, Fallen Earth, and Age of Conan, and Team Fortress 2. Sure I was enjoying these games, but it wasn’t until Namco pointed out that they “can’t be high quality,” that I realized how fake and empty my enjoyment was. I mean, sure I was having fun playing through my dwarf fighter for absolutely free, but was I having the kind of fun I could be having by buying another PacMan re-release? I think not.
But Olivier Comte is right, the free to play industry is harming big budget titles. Just look at Modern Warfare 3, which sold 6.5 million copies in the first 24 hours. Or Skyrim, which sold 3.5 million copies on its opening weekend. Or hell, Portal 2 sold millions just in retail, not counting Steam sales. The point is that those games would have sold even more if there weren’t disgusting, greedy developers letting people play their low quality games for free. If there weren’t independent developers peddling their wares for sub-premium prices, maybe developers of real video games could have their voices heard without buying huge ads on gaming websites.
“The business model for smaller, easier titles is making an expectation to consumers that is whittling away at AAA development.”
Exactly. Just look at the substandard titles that are set to launch as free to play. Planetside 2? Bound to be a failure. Ghost Recon Online? What was Ubisoft thinking? Jagex’s Stellar Dawn and Transformers MMOs? Hurting the industry. Hell, i’d venture that DUST 514 will result in the cancellation of Modern Warfare 4, because who can keep up with low quality, but free games?
Sure some people might say that these are the rantings of a developer publisher seeing the market shifting and, rather than accommodate for the changes by shifting their development system, decides to throw a tantrum in the Walmart parking lot and blame their perceived future losses on the customers.
But that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Hellgate London: It’s Coming Back
People often ask me, Omali, why haven’t you done a “what happened” for Hellgate: London? The answer is simple: The game never died. Despite shutting down in Western areas, Hellgate London has continued to thrive in the Asian markets. Although the new publisher Hanbitsoft has given distinct interest in opening the game back up in Western markets, they have been impeded by Namco-Bandai, who still owned the rights to publish the software on this side of the hemisphere.
“We are pleased to participate in the revitalization of Hellgate through this agreement and are deeply gratified to allow HanbitSoft to take the lead on this franchise and bring this game to the people who seek it”
-Namco-Bandai
Sure it translates to “we had no plans to do anything with this franchise so we got some money off of it,” on Namco’s part, but who cares? Hellgate: London is coming back! Technically the first true resurrection in MMO history, in the same sense of having your arm reattached years after it was lopped off for financial reasons, plans are set to go in motion later this year to bring Hellgate back to the North American and European markets.
Looks like we will be seeing Hellgate: Tokyo and any other planned expansions after all. And that means, Hellgate: London? Back in the list of games you go! Hopefully Hanbitsoft will be willing to run the title somewhere other than directly into the ground (I’m looking at you, Flagship Studios)
Hellgate London: It's Coming Back
People often ask me, Omali, why haven’t you done a “what happened” for Hellgate: London? The answer is simple: The game never died. Despite shutting down in Western areas, Hellgate London has continued to thrive in the Asian markets. Although the new publisher Hanbitsoft has given distinct interest in opening the game back up in Western markets, they have been impeded by Namco-Bandai, who still owned the rights to publish the software on this side of the hemisphere.
“We are pleased to participate in the revitalization of Hellgate through this agreement and are deeply gratified to allow HanbitSoft to take the lead on this franchise and bring this game to the people who seek it”
-Namco-Bandai
Sure it translates to “we had no plans to do anything with this franchise so we got some money off of it,” on Namco’s part, but who cares? Hellgate: London is coming back! Technically the first true resurrection in MMO history, in the same sense of having your arm reattached years after it was lopped off for financial reasons, plans are set to go in motion later this year to bring Hellgate back to the North American and European markets.
Looks like we will be seeing Hellgate: Tokyo and any other planned expansions after all. And that means, Hellgate: London? Back in the list of games you go! Hopefully Hanbitsoft will be willing to run the title somewhere other than directly into the ground (I’m looking at you, Flagship Studios)
MMO Fallout 