The Daily Quest

Age of Ups - Conan Fails.

Posted Sep 19, 2008 by Indelible

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That's right. Age of Ups is the new title for the previoudly titled Age of Conan...or at least it should be.

After reading that Funcom have pushed the release date back into late Q1 2008, I can't help but think, "here comes Blizzard!" Funcom had a chance to fatique the market right before the release of a major MMO title and also a major expansion for an already well established MMO title (see: WoW) and instead of taking this chance, they *** up and push the release date right back. Are Funcom seriously expecting to compete with two massive titles expected to release before them? Sadly, I don't see that happening and I see Age of Conan being yet another flop (see: Lotro) in the MMO war.

With Wrath of the Lich King hype well and truly started, the attention has turned to when Blizzard will release the anticiapted 2nd expansion. Many believe we are looking at a 12-18 month wait for the game to be finished (due to Blizzards, "when it is ready." stance) but I'm thinking there has been a slight change in Blizzard policy...specifically where WoW is concerned.

With Warhammer Online and now Age of Conan both releasing late Q1 2008, I anticipate a january/february 2008 release for World of Warcraft, with Starcraft being released in time for the christmas buyers of the same year. Why? Well it is simple. WoW could lose a massive amount of market share to WAR and AoC. That is a very real threat to Blizzard and they know that. 3 fantasy titles can not share the market and someone is going to have to come out on top. Guess who my money is on?

At this time, all we can do is speculate as to what Blizzard will do. It will be interesting to see how the three titles try to out do each other.

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  • Kody said 
    Fri, Aug 10 2007 2:28 PM ()

    Yeah this is relatively disappointing to see from a competition standpoint. It's definitely going to be a lot harder on both games because of the release of the expansion, but from a design standpoint I think both games will be healthier in the future because of their delays. No one wants to pull a Vanguard again. ;)

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  • Flisher said 
    Fri, Aug 10 2007 2:28 PM ()

    Keep in mind that alot of warcraft player returned to Wow for 2-3 month after the expansion then stopped playing it.

    Same hype will happen with the next expansion for sure, but I doubt it can kill a game such conan.

    However, pushing the release at the same time than Warhammer Online might hurt them more than a WoW expansion. Alot of old-timer WoW player love to see new content, but are waiting a new game.

    Loot at the major mmorpg title for 2007 and 2008, we can only see AoC, WAR and WotL. There is alot of other mmorpg, but not alot with chance of beating half a millions user.

    Between AoC and WAR, I think there is more hype around WAR. I might be wrong, but pushing the 2 release at the same time will be more harmfull than a WoW expansion in the long run.

    Keep in mind that the game that will cause the most hurt to MMO playerbase, including WoW, will not be a MMO.... Think about Starcraft 2. Infamous, no monthly fee, a good fallback game when you unsubscribe to paying mmo. You can return anytime, you give a break to your wow player while not letting them got to the competition. And most of all, you cut the grass of your competitor with a non-mmo game.

    Starcraft 2 will hurt the competition more than a WoW expansion...

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  • Flisher said 
    Fri, Aug 10 2007 2:28 PM ()

    @Kody:

    Vanguard, EQ2... Looking for more mmo with crap release week/month?

    Eve Online started like an head-ache (but recovered pretty well)

    SWG started like a pain in the a.... 8-12h a daydowntime for a few week, server crashes... thank's to their good franchises... they recovered well and where still able to screw the game.

    I could name a few other disaster, but keep in mind that before WoW, it was 'generaly accepted' to have uncompleted, unbalanced, client or server crashing game, to in release state. However, it's not acceptable anymore to release bugged stuff, it's would mean a game shipped in it coffin to the player...

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  • Indelible said 
    Fri, Aug 10 2007 2:28 PM ()

    "Look at the major mmorpg title for 2007 and 2008, we can only see AoC, WAR and WotL. There is alot of other mmorpg, but not alot with chance of beating half a millions user."

    Warhammer Online, Stargate Worlds, Star Trek Online, Age of Conan, Wrath of the Lich King, Guild Wars 2...there are far more than that small list that are likely to have more than half a million users I assure you of that :-P

    Furthermore, you have to understand that Starcraft 2 is a completely different game to WoW. Only a few people incapable of playing both at once will leave WoW FOR Starcraft 2. I am intending on playing them both together. Starcraft 2 isn't going to cost me more money per month so I fail to see how it is going to stop me playing the game. Logic rules when you know how to use it.

    The only games that are likely to threaten WoWs continuing success are other subscription based MMOs. The reason this is is because of the financial implications of playing more than 1-2 MMOs is horrid. I frown at paying £8.99 a month for WoW. Why would I pay a further £8.99 a month to play another MMO. I may as well just leave WoW if I'm going to be playing another more often.

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  • Flisher said 
    Fri, Aug 10 2007 2:28 PM ()

    You don't need to stop paying for a MMO to hurt it... only stop playing, or play less. This impact the group making, raiding, pvp, auction house, item availability...

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  • Indelible said 
    Fri, Aug 10 2007 2:28 PM ()

    The thing you have to remember is that people pay money to play most MMOs and as long as the company on the other end is recieving money, the game shall continue. Starcraft 2 has a finite shelf life as it is not persistent. World of Warcraft however, will continue for a long, long time.

    When Lotro came out WoW suffered the biggest decline in subscriptions in recent years (as far as I am told) and within a month, it had made up for this AND climbed to the 8,000,000 mark. In 2 months it has claimed another 1,000,000 users. This is active, paid for accounts and not counting trial accounts or accounts that are currently in the red.

    I maintain that the only gerne capable of crippling World of Warcraft is the genre it is currently defining and with the closest competitor having 1/9th of the subscribers WoW has, I don't see any real threat at this point.

    Also, Starcaft 2 is a Blizzard game. World of Warcraft is a Blizzard game. Blizzard are genuinly considering charging people to use battlenet, which is fair imho. So no matter which game you play, it i smoney in Blizzards pocket so why should they be bothered? I can't see the mass population of WoW undergoing and exodus to play Starcraft 2. You'd be surprised to see how many only know Starcraft and Diable exist because of WoW :-P

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  • TheMagician said 
    Fri, Aug 10 2007 2:28 PM ()

    Your estimates for release dates were way out. Too much wishfull thinking I'm afraid.

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  • Indelible said 
    Fri, Aug 10 2007 2:28 PM ()

    Indeed - I changed my mind about 3 weeks after writing this article but thought better of changing it. I'm human and thus, I'm not infallible :-P

    I still believe that StarCraft 2 will be around for Christmas this year. At least, I believe that is what Blizzard are aiming for. Whether that will transpire or not is another matter.

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