14 ms·

> the market has repeatedly shown there isn't much demand for persistent virtual worlds I don't know if you have a more narrow view of this idea or specificall

by bmhin 5y ago

> the market has repeatedly shown there isn't much demand for persistent virtual worlds I don't know if you have a more narrow view of this idea or specifically mean VR/AR, but that just sounds like what massively multiplayer online (MMO) games such as Ultima Online, Everquest, and World of Warcraft are. I think Roblox is even a broader use case, though I am fairly unfamiliar with that. MMOs have been very viable from both a business and user stand point and have been a fairly big thing for going on a quarter century or so at this point. Whether these branch into more of the Second Life non-game social space or into being largely AR/VR driven is pretty up in the air, but it's not some sci-fi concept really.

bduerst 5y ago
MMORPGs are not really persistent worlds though. They're an environment crafted to scratch a dopamine itch by providing instant gratification for work, with a social layer attached on top. I write this as someone who used to play MUDs back before MMORPGs even became a thing. Unless Facebook is planning on releasing their own WoW branded as the metaverse, I don't see how they're the same.
- Darmody 5y ago
  They will create some sort of gamification. That's something engaging if it's well done and then, on top of it, their monetization.
  - bduerst 5y ago
    Facebook does this already, and they're not an MMORPG.
tsimionescu 5y ago
MMOs live or die based on constant new content and even new mechanics, not persistent worlds. There are some niche products with stable worlds, but those are a minority of a minority.
debaserab2 5y ago
> MMOs have been very viable from both a business Really? Everything that's not named World of Warcraft seems to die out, usually in less than a year. It's a genre that's been a notorious recipe for failure for most companies not named Blizzard.
- Kevin_S 5y ago
  Don't disrespect my boi Runescape like that.
- tazjin 5y ago
  I don't know what the situation is now that Blizzard is no longer really Blizzard, but back in the early years of WoW this was - in large part - because almost every other MMO that launched just plain sucked. Blizzard was to the gaming industry what people often believe Apple is to the hardware industry. They were the only ones that invested in polished UI, coherent UX, etc. and it was so incredibly noticeable. I'm sure a lot of this was pressure to get something out quickly to make a "WoW killer", which is what gaming media branded basically every MMO that launched after WoW.
- neartheplain 5y ago
  World of Warcraft is actually on the wane, and has been since 2015 when Blizzard stopped reporting subscriber numbers [0]. Big WoW streamers like Amsongold have recently switched to other MMOS, mainly Final Fantasy 14 [1], in the wake of Blizzard's sex abuse scandal and many lukewarm WoW expansions. Final Fantasy 14 has over 4 million monthly subscribers, and that number seems to be growing [2]. Amazon's MMO "New World" also had nearly 1 million concurrent users in the weeks after its recent release [3]. MMOs aren't eating the world like in 2005, but they're a solidly-established genre that looks here to stay. [0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/276601/number-of-world-of-warcraft-subscribers-by-quarter/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/276601/number-of-world-o... [1] https://kotaku.com/wow-disappointment-plus-twitch-start-mass-exodus-into-1847283978 https://kotaku.com/wow-disappointment-plus-twitch-start-mass... [2] https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/05/meet-the-man-who-redeemed-final-fantasy https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/05/meet-the-man-who-red... [3] https://tech4gamers.com/amazon-mmo-new-world-registered-a-peak-of-almost-a-million-simultaneous-users-on-steam/ https://tech4gamers.com/amazon-mmo-new-world-registered-a-pe...
thEiAoLoGy 5y ago
Hey I’m a MMO dev vet, they’re not viable as the unique aspects were adopted widely by the industry. You’re going to see more games like Genshin Impact and the phantasy star online update. Open world multiplayer games without the massively part. Roblox largely is the modern source mod scene but monetized.

by bmhin 5y ago

bduerst 5y ago

MMORPGs are not really persistent worlds though. They're an environment crafted to scratch a dopamine itch by providing instant gratification for work, with a social layer attached on top. I write this as someone who used to play MUDs back before MMORPGs even became a thing. Unless Facebook is planning on releasing their own WoW branded as the metaverse, I don't see how they're the same.

Darmody 5y ago
They will create some sort of gamification. That's something engaging if it's well done and then, on top of it, their monetization.
- bduerst 5y ago
  Facebook does this already, and they're not an MMORPG.

tsimionescu 5y ago

MMOs live or die based on constant new content and even new mechanics, not persistent worlds. There are some niche products with stable worlds, but those are a minority of a minority.

debaserab2 5y ago

> MMOs have been very viable from both a business Really? Everything that's not named World of Warcraft seems to die out, usually in less than a year. It's a genre that's been a notorious recipe for failure for most companies not named Blizzard.

Kevin_S 5y ago
Don't disrespect my boi Runescape like that.
tazjin 5y ago
I don't know what the situation is now that Blizzard is no longer really Blizzard, but back in the early years of WoW this was - in large part - because almost every other MMO that launched just plain sucked. Blizzard was to the gaming industry what people often believe Apple is to the hardware industry. They were the only ones that invested in polished UI, coherent UX, etc. and it was so incredibly noticeable. I'm sure a lot of this was pressure to get something out quickly to make a "WoW killer", which is what gaming media branded basically every MMO that launched after WoW.
neartheplain 5y ago
World of Warcraft is actually on the wane, and has been since 2015 when Blizzard stopped reporting subscriber numbers [0]. Big WoW streamers like Amsongold have recently switched to other MMOS, mainly Final Fantasy 14 [1], in the wake of Blizzard's sex abuse scandal and many lukewarm WoW expansions. Final Fantasy 14 has over 4 million monthly subscribers, and that number seems to be growing [2]. Amazon's MMO "New World" also had nearly 1 million concurrent users in the weeks after its recent release [3]. MMOs aren't eating the world like in 2005, but they're a solidly-established genre that looks here to stay. [0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/276601/number-of-world-of-warcraft-subscribers-by-quarter/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/276601/number-of-world-o... [1] https://kotaku.com/wow-disappointment-plus-twitch-start-mass-exodus-into-1847283978 https://kotaku.com/wow-disappointment-plus-twitch-start-mass... [2] https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/05/meet-the-man-who-redeemed-final-fantasy https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/05/meet-the-man-who-red... [3] https://tech4gamers.com/amazon-mmo-new-world-registered-a-peak-of-almost-a-million-simultaneous-users-on-steam/ https://tech4gamers.com/amazon-mmo-new-world-registered-a-pe...

thEiAoLoGy 5y ago

Hey I’m a MMO dev vet, they’re not viable as the unique aspects were adopted widely by the industry. You’re going to see more games like Genshin Impact and the phantasy star online update. Open world multiplayer games without the massively part. Roblox largely is the modern source mod scene but monetized.