Established IP = successful MMOG.

by WyldKard on May 5, 2008

Let’s clarify that: in order for the next big massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) to become a real competitor to World of (WoW), it will need to be built upon an established background. World of (WoW) set this precedent when it was released; WoW wasn’t a success overnight, but rather, because of the intellectual property (IP) that it was built on (Blizzard’s three real-time strategy games), thousands of fans immediately flocked to Blizzard’s MMOG offering. It was these fans that managed to convert the skeptical. Arguably, if WoW wasn’t based on the Warcraft games, WoW’s growth would have been much slower.

Today’s MMOG market, dominated by WoW, isn’t open to a drastic change in subscription-base unless one of two things happen:

  1. A major innovation in occurs, which will be so awesome, WoW’s dated gameplay will be too reminiscent of Everquest to matter.
  2. The IP behind a new game is so alluring, that players won’t much care if this new game still utilizes the archaic tank/healer/DPS foundation on which existing MMOGs are mostly based upon.

Obviously, the first variable here is uncertain, because if someone had an idea that was so groundbreaking compared to existing MMOGs, the concept would likely have already been tried, or is already in the pipeline. We’ll focus, instead, on the second variable noted.

If the next big-budget MMOG is based on already-successful IP, the fans of that IP will try out the new game regardless of whether they know anything else about it. We’ve seen this from countless other game franchises, and for MMOGs, the appeal to jump into a “sandbox” world that players have already come to love is too great to pass by. They key, however, is for such a game to be based on relevant IP, and that’s where games like Age of Conan fail. Who, aside from a small group of gamers, cares about Hyboria? If there had recently been a Conan movie, highly read graphic novel, or even a successful single-player Conan game, then things might be different, but only a small number of individuals are going to give Age of Conan a serious look right now, and that’s unfortunate given the improvements it’s said to sport over WoW.

The other barrier, we ought to mention, is the type of machine required to run MMOGs. Blizzard has always been good about writing code that will run on a wide range of computers, whereas games like Everquest II, Age of Conan, and other “photorealistic” MMOGs won’t appeal to as many gamers as possible because the system requirements are too great. WoW is easy to get into for most people because their existing computers can run it, even if it’s a few years old.

At present, there are two games on the horizon whose IP is enticing enough to draw in the amount of players from the get-go. Firstly, is Warhammer, which is based on the highly successful line of tabletop war-games. This will entice not only many current MMOG players, but those who may have never entered the MMOG fray but who are current or former Warhammer aficionados. That’s a very large player-base, without even considering the number of dissatisfied WoW players who’d be interested in giving a similarly-themed game a go.

Secondly, the Fallout MMOG that was announced some time ago will undoubtedly offer a backstory that many current gamers have come to love. Bolstered by November’s release of Fallout 3 on the XBox 360, the Fallout IP is going to receive some serious love, which will hopefully carry over to an expansion, else directly to the MMOG itself. In fact, the Fallout IP may very well be what it takes to get a non-fantasy MMOG into the mainstream.

An existing, familiar background won’t guarantee success, but it will nonetheless be a required variable for any up-and-coming MMOG for the immediate future. In fact, we’d say that this variable will be just as important as the developers ensuring that players won’t need to upgrade to brand new systems.

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