This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us.

Of all the genres of video games, one genre seems to stand out quite a bit from others: the MMO. These games are different than your run of the mill shooter or RPG. They thrive on people working together and playing together. These games are designed and created with completely different goals than that of most other games. If anything, MMO's are at the forefront of listening to the community. Of course, when the word MMO is put out there, the game World of Warcraft is sure to follow. There is no denying that World of Warcraft is the single most accomplished and popular MMO out there. It is almost overwhelming how popular WoW is, with its over 11 million players. The MMO genre is lead by WoW, and most other MMO's are severely crippled in number or just don't do well. So the question pops up: Is there room for another successful MMO? Can a developer create an MMO that is as popular or more popular than World of Warcraft?

First, think of what World of Warcraft has done right. There has to be a reason over 11 million people play this game. WoW is a standard MMO. For someone that isn't experienced with MMO's (like myself), there isn't that big of a learning curve. Now, don't get me wrong. There is quite a bit to learn in the game and it will take a while. The game is instantly playable though. Just create a character and play. The game guides you initially, and shows you the basic structure of the game. After this great technique, it isn't that difficult to learn things. WoW creates enormous accessibility. Just pick a faction, pick a race, pick a class, and jump into the game. The game just fits anybody's style so well. Another great thing WoW did right is make the game not too high on the graphical curve. It sucks not having the graphical capabilities to play a game. This is one of the main reasons people will move towards the console market exclusively. All games work at their highest rate on consoles. No need to keep upgrading your graphics and video cards. WoW is not the most graphically advanced game. It created a style of its own however. The style fits a game of this type. The mystical atmosphere of WoW allowed Blizzard to keep the graphical requirements pretty low, so that the game is accessible to most computers and people. This allows anyone from the person with a 2002 desktop with an integrated video card to an alienware player with a Nvidia graphics card to play WoW.

So why can't other games do this? Warhammer Online implimented very similar things from WoW, yet it has done terribly. WoW is overwhelming in the MMO market. A lot of this has to do with pricing. WoW is not cheap. For a full year, you can pay $120 or more just to play the game. It isn't pretty. But because WoW is worth this for most people, players pay for it consistently. Unfortunately, if another MMO comes out, most people probably won't be willing to purchase and pay for an entirely different MMO for the same prices. WoW has a commanding crowd partially for this pricing strategy. A game like Warhammer would most obviously fail.

How can a developer create a good MMO then? Developers need to do 2 things to stand out, and some of these things have actually been working. First off, developers need to find different ways of pricing. A new immerging concept is that of micro-transactions. Instead of making players pay a monthly fee, the game is free to play for all. Pricing comes in the form of paying for clothing or weapons or things of that sort. This way, most of the money is gained from people if they only want to pay for it, not for playing the entire game. A great example of this is Battlefield Heroes. The game is completely free to play. Spending money only comes in the form of customization for your character. if you want to you can, but if you don't, it doesn't affect the gameplay. Spending money is only there if someone wants to look cool. This of course would never work if the transactions were for things that enhance the gameplay and give the player an edge, of course. Another pricing option that is becoming popular is that of lifetime payment. If players know they like the game and that they will consistently play it, developers can offer a lifetime payment where the player pays a substantial fee to play for the entire existence of the game. This is a great option for hardcore players. Although this may be a steep price for this, if you know you are going to play the game, this will save you money.

Secondly, developers need to create something different. WoW dominates the mythical, orc vs. human type of genre. No MMO will be able to create this same formula and be successful. Devs need to create something different and unique, something that has never been done. Go into genres and scenarios that haven't been made into an MMO before. Don't be afraid to take some risks in branching out to other genres. This will gain attention for being unique, and therefore seperate it from WoW as a new game. Inovation in gameplay is important too. Create new ways to play the game. If that means creating a streamlines user interface, so be it. If that means changing the entire system of questing, so be it. Even if that means making a completely different style of MMO that is radically different but extremely intriguing, so be it. Devs need to make new types of MMO's. This is the only way an MMO will do well with the WoW powerhouse.

Now, there are some games out there that have gotten the right idea. EVE Online, although not as popular, differentiates itself by taking place entirely in spacecrafts and existing in a gigantic space system. It is completely different from WoW. The devs are even making a new console FPS to connect with EVE Online. The console game will influence the events and actions of the online MMO. New techniques like this most certainly pay off. A great game in development that seems to be on the right track is Star Wars: The Old Republic. By capatalizing on the immensely popular Star Wars franchise and the Old Republic series of video games, BioWare is created an interesting MMO. The fact that they have seperate voice actors for every NPC in the game is impressive too, and will attract people.

The MMO market is an interesting one. It almost seems to act independently from the rest of the gaming industry due to its nature. World of Warcraft is the best example of a game well made to suit the player. This idea is a central idea for any type of game, and it will come as no surprise that developers will surely try to make their own successful MMO. But the only way these games will even come close to WoW's success is exactly the opposite: to be different from WoW. By being different and interesting, these new games can gain a crowd. It just takes a little creativity and a lot of hard work.