CNN Talks About Online Game
Morfiend:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/fun.games/04/02/two.virtual.worlds.ap/index.html
They seem to have come to the same basic concluesion as a lot of people in Haemish's threads on this topic.
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By comparison, most MMORPGS charge monthly fees in addition to upfront hardware and software costs. Alan Cates, a 55-year-old Internet marketing consultant and gamer from San Marcos, California, thinks online PC games are better if they appeal to both hardcore and casual players.
"It seems to be a problem for the game designer. What do they do with those that spend 100 hours a week playing the game and those that spend four hours a month?" Cates said.
For the genre to really reach the masses, online games need to broaden their appeal beyond males between 15 and 25, said Sheri Graner Ray, a game designer with Sony Online.
I think most of us agree on this.
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At Electronic Arts, spokeswoman Susan Lusty said the market for massively multiplayer online role-playing games is still in the early stages.
"It's a matter of figuring out the perfect blend of financials and game play that will really propel this style of game play forward," she said.
Most big multiplayer games in the works don't appear to be moving very far from the young male demographic.
Discuss.
Venkman:
I actually am surprised they mentioned massive online multiplayer for the console. I thought this piece would be all about that new shiny cool big Everquest game that caused someone's suicide the every-growing-numbers-of-years-ago-each-time-it's-repeated.
As to the emergence of consoles, I can't say I disagree with them.
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Most big multiplayer games in the works don't appear to be moving very far from the young male demographic.
I wonder what gave them that idea?
But I'm really interested in how Star Wars Galaxies failed to get mentioned. How does "Big Brand" plus "Big Company That Brought You The Game we Mention Three Times In This Article" and which is second in the western market right behind that game in subscriptions not yet mentioned?
Sloth:
The myth that the female population is an untapped market is ludicrous. Thats like saying makeup companies are not utilizing the male market. I don't care how much you market makeup to guys, they aren't going to buy it.
A game isn't made for males or females any more than a hamburger is made for guys and a salad is made for girls. If you like playing a game then you play it. I'm sure there are girls who think they'll like a game if the graphics aren't bikini armor, but at the end of the day if they don't like bashing monsters with swords or shooting people with guns all the flannel pajamas in the world won't change anything.
By and large every guy who likes games will play a game he thinks is fun regardless of how girly or manly it is. Girls are the same way only fewer of them actually like playing video games.
pants:
Quote from: Sloth
The myth that the female population is an untapped market is ludicrous. Thats like saying makeup companies are not utilizing the male market. I don't care how much you market makeup to guys, they aren't going to buy it.
Yes they are.
There are a lot of bored stay-at-home housewives that watch Day of our Lives or whatever, and are gradually gaining access to PCs and the internet. Whoever can crack that market and produce EverSoap or whatever, is going to make a whole damn wardrobe out of money, not just a hat.
SirBruce:
If you don't think there's a large untapped female market, you are either stupid or you don't understand the true market.
It is important to understand that MMOGs are a form of entertainment, just as Movies and Television. And just as there are movies primarily marketed to appeal to men, so to are those that appeal more to women. MMOGs are no different. But if we were in a world where action flicks were the only form of movie and "chick flick" romances and dramas had never been made, one might get deluded into thinking there was no market for movies that appeal to women, because women don't like the content of movies... QED.
They key is making new and different kinds of MMOGs, with more expansive gamepay. It's probably true that the traditional hack-and-slash fantasy or sci-fi MMORPG may never have over 50% female subscribers, but that doesn't mean other forms of MMOGs can't. Women already play a wide variety of online games such as puzzle and card games; it is simply a matter of coming up with similar gameplay in a MMOG model that women will pay a monthly fee to play.
One final note: it's important to realize that despite all of the above, there's still a growing demographic of women in traditional MMORPGs. These are a somewhat older demographic -- 30-40 instead of 18-35 -- and often tend to be guild leaders, event organizers, community activists, and so on. Many MMORPGs are actively looking for ways to appeal to this segment in their games.
Bruce
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