The online game industry has a problem: World of Warcraft so dominates the
industry that it's hard to imagine any serious competition. There's
room for niche players like Eve
Online; it takes about 100,000 subscribers to break even. But
everyone's angling to have the next million+ blockbuster, and it's not
happening.
The latest competitor in the mix is Age of Conan. On the surface it seems a lot like WoW; high fantasy, RPG, quests and levelling and all that. They're trying to distinguish the gameplay by adding realtime combat elements and a serious PvP endgame. ![]() I don't think gore and boobies will be enough to make AoC a success. It might even backfire; a big part of WoW's growth is its appeal to people who aren't hardcore fantasy gamers. But it's nice to see something different and it's good campy fun. What is best in life? To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. |