Comments on: In which it is claimed that every game is now an MMO

By: Dril

Dril — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:28:31 +0000

Ignoring the jibe at Blizzard, I’m leaning more towards this as well.

Most MMORPG PR departments are, obviously, quite bad when it boils down to it, since by and large they fail to sell a product’s real strengths; instead, they either lie outright (Rift being next-gen is the most recent example that springs to mind) or throw out some generic psuedo-buzzwords to try and generate hype. I find developers themselves are far better at PR than their own company’s marketing departments, since they actually talk about what the product is, rather than what some moron with a degree in corporate advertising thinks it should be.

Of course, were this any other industry, the press would devour their bullshit wholesale and deliver an actual verdict based on, at the very least, a justified opinion.

This doesn’t happen in the gaming and, specifically, MMO industries. While I think the companies themselves are obviously at fault for using the word “MMO” in reference to a lobby-based shooter (World of Tanks, for instance) what passes for journalism should also take the blame. I’m looking particularly at Massively and MMORPG.com in the web-world, and PCGamer for both print and web: they don’t refute these claims. They don’t do any intelligent analysis that I expect from paid writers of any substance. They’re like tabloids: useful for picking up the gist of the news and getting sensationalist headlines pumped into you, but if you want anything actually intelligent and responsive you’ll be looking elsewhere.

Sure, they’re lighthearted, hold the occasional giveaway and do some fun stuff, but what’s the price for that? Gaming media is entirely enthralled by and subject to a publisher’s every whim.

Alas, I don’t see it changing any time soon, but it is what it is: populist, paper-thin journalism for the masses.

By: kiantremayne

kiantremayne — Wed, 25 May 2011 12:14:29 +0000

Leverage is a financial term, referring to taking out loans to bulk up the funds available to a business – you leverage your savings with a mortgage to buy a house. Given that over-use of ‘leveraging’ got the economy into the current mess, anyone using it as a positive term is automatically suspect in my book!

By: Syl

Syl — Wed, 25 May 2011 11:33:13 +0000

I catch myself constantly erasing ‘MMO’ for ‘MMORPG’ and vice versa these days, because indeed it feels harder and harder to explain ‘which’ type of game you actually speak of. I find it more important to highlight the ‘RPG’ part now when I speak of the classics, MMO has become such a widely used (and misused) term that basically holds the sum of all expectations towards ‘online games’… We really do need a new terminology!
It is also rather telling on what’s currently happening, I guess the classic MMORPG is doomed to disappear forever?

P.S.: I absolutely hate the term “leveraging”; hear it at work every day and nothing good comes of it, ever. Hate hate hate!

By: Stabs

Stabs — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:52:35 +0000

Isn’t he just saying what Garriott said on Massively Speaking 100 but without the hint that he might create an interesting game?

By: Wolfshead

Wolfshead — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:16:52 +0000

Too many video game companies are using the terminology of MMO’s to market their games. They are playing fast and loose with the truth in an effort to secure funding and to promote their games to potential players.

I’m working on an upcoming article that shows how Blizzard did this as well.

The truth is if you can convince people they are somehow playing a MMO then are more likely to be to fool them into paying a monthly fee.