G
Guest
Guest
Archived from groups: alt.games.everquest (More info?)
I'm trying to walk the fence and figure out what the process was in the
meeting room when Smedley (et.al.) came to the decision that something like
StationExchange was a damn fine idea.
Having only been back in EQ2 for a couple of months, I have absolutely no
reference point as far as player numbers go.
Did the numbers never reach the expected levels? If so, I don't really see
how implementing this feature is going to help that. In other words, I
don't see how someone would read about StationExchange and think, "Gee,
maybe I'll give EQ2 a shot after all?"
Have the numbers been in steady decline since launch? If so, I suppose I
could see how something like StationExchange could possibly help you hold on
the the time-challenged gamer who really prefers EQ2 over WoW, but it seems
to me that the numbers you might lose based on their principles would at
best counterbalance that and make it a wash.
Were they not expecting Blizzard to be as strong of a player as they've
become? I can see that. The evidence is there if you listen to Smedley
talking about starting up PvP in EQ2. But again, I don't see how
implementing StationExchange is going to help their cause against Blizzard.
I don't think Blizzard is particularly worried about SOE right now.
Blizzard is going to have to be it's own worst enemy at this point.
Are they really listening to the desires of the playerbase, and the folks
that are raising a stink constitute a vocal minority? That seems doubtful,
at least from what I'm seeing here. The folks in the ng who have cancelled
their accounts aren't folks I'd normally associate with the "righteous
indignation" crowd. They are, for the most part, level headed folks. As an
aside, I also saw a post on the offical forums from the GL and several
officers of a guild I was once a member of (before finding some old EQL
friends and re-joining them), and having talked to the GL for a while before
accepting their tag I found him to be a genuinely nice fellow about my age
(let's just say 40+). Flying off the handle isn't his style.
Are they wanting a piece of IGE's pie? If so, why not broker coinage? Items
grey out pretty quickly, to the point that I doubt there's much of a market
for it. Coinage is much more versatile. Also, but specifically not going
after coinage, they're leaving the IGE's of the world in the game. Some may
say they're actually strengthing the market for coinage.
Are they using EQ2 as a testing ground for other, as of yet undeveloped
games? This would be kinda scary, given that the game's not six months old
yet.
Something else that I haven't thought of?
Not trying to stir stuff up. Really, I'm not. Just interested in opinions.
Crash
I'm trying to walk the fence and figure out what the process was in the
meeting room when Smedley (et.al.) came to the decision that something like
StationExchange was a damn fine idea.
Having only been back in EQ2 for a couple of months, I have absolutely no
reference point as far as player numbers go.
Did the numbers never reach the expected levels? If so, I don't really see
how implementing this feature is going to help that. In other words, I
don't see how someone would read about StationExchange and think, "Gee,
maybe I'll give EQ2 a shot after all?"
Have the numbers been in steady decline since launch? If so, I suppose I
could see how something like StationExchange could possibly help you hold on
the the time-challenged gamer who really prefers EQ2 over WoW, but it seems
to me that the numbers you might lose based on their principles would at
best counterbalance that and make it a wash.
Were they not expecting Blizzard to be as strong of a player as they've
become? I can see that. The evidence is there if you listen to Smedley
talking about starting up PvP in EQ2. But again, I don't see how
implementing StationExchange is going to help their cause against Blizzard.
I don't think Blizzard is particularly worried about SOE right now.
Blizzard is going to have to be it's own worst enemy at this point.
Are they really listening to the desires of the playerbase, and the folks
that are raising a stink constitute a vocal minority? That seems doubtful,
at least from what I'm seeing here. The folks in the ng who have cancelled
their accounts aren't folks I'd normally associate with the "righteous
indignation" crowd. They are, for the most part, level headed folks. As an
aside, I also saw a post on the offical forums from the GL and several
officers of a guild I was once a member of (before finding some old EQL
friends and re-joining them), and having talked to the GL for a while before
accepting their tag I found him to be a genuinely nice fellow about my age
(let's just say 40+). Flying off the handle isn't his style.
Are they wanting a piece of IGE's pie? If so, why not broker coinage? Items
grey out pretty quickly, to the point that I doubt there's much of a market
for it. Coinage is much more versatile. Also, but specifically not going
after coinage, they're leaving the IGE's of the world in the game. Some may
say they're actually strengthing the market for coinage.
Are they using EQ2 as a testing ground for other, as of yet undeveloped
games? This would be kinda scary, given that the game's not six months old
yet.
Something else that I haven't thought of?
Not trying to stir stuff up. Really, I'm not. Just interested in opinions.
Crash