One billion is a number so big that it's hard to take seriously. But Activision boss Bobby Kotick does take it seriously, especially when it relates to what he'd have to pay out to take on World of Warcraft as a rival MMO.
Of course, there's no need to do that now. But even before the Activision/Vivendi merger happened, Kotick knew that even spending 1 billion USD in development on an MMO to compete with WoW would be risky business.
"We don't think that even if we made the USD 500 million or billion-dollar investment to get a product out that we would even be successful doing it," said Kotick.
"When we first started looking at it, it appeared to us like a game in an insurmountable product category... EA, Microsoft, Sony and scores of venture capital investments had been put to work unsuccessfully in trying to develop massively multiplayer games as a product opportunity," he told investors.
This whole can't beat 'em, join 'em attitude probably played a big role in the creation of Activision Blizzard. Hopefully Kotick saved some of that cash to put back into their new supercompany for some new MMO titles.
Do you agree with Kotick's view that no one else will be able to compete with WoW? Or is the next big MMO right around the corner?
[Via Play.tm -- Thanks, JR]
Contest:
9:16 AM on 02.28.2008
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You can throw $1b to any MMO out there now, it will not reach WoW due to the fanbase. Prob LOTRO, but they blew it, game sucks nuts.
MapleStory. You heard it here first.
It can be done, but it'll have to be something different, easy, loveable (not cute, but loveable: Warcraft is loveable - WarHammer is not) and, in the next "round" of MMO progression, it has to connect to the player outside of just playing the game.
The Agency, at least in preview stuff, is talking about sending you a text message when your crafted item is ready. The next big MMo (Not necessarily the Agency) will be sending you emails, recorded phone calls (like the Snake on a Plane and Transformer movie promotions) and will have a mini-game/interface that you can run on your cell phone.
For the love of God APB requires Destructoid coverage. Now. Right now.
A propely created Star Trek MMO.
A properly created Pokemon MMO.
Thats about it.
What?
It's really not about dumping 1 billion dollars into an MMO to make it better; IT'S ABOUT PROGRAMMING A GAME THATS'S MORE FUN!
@Maverick
MapleStory? Yeah right. The only place I can see that taking over is maybe Japan, where FFXI is king, or maybe China.
Did Everquest have a big fanbase when they started?
Compared to now, did Warcraft have that many fans?
It just needs to be a great game with a hook that makes all sorts of people want to experience it, and is addictive as crack. It's not that uncommon. Another MMO will eventually lead the market, regardless of whether it is right under our noses or not. I guarantee it.
I think APB will be great, but i don't think it has the ability to hurt WoW in any significant way.
I think a Starcraft MMO would come close to bringing it down.
i see little point in a company trying to compete directly with WoW, as in trying to kill it with another MMO. that'll take some pretty radical technology - but i'm open to surprises.
i think a better bet is the route that APB is taking: appeal to those who never liked WoW in the first place (like me). don't compete with WoW directly. there are plenty of gamers with computers and an internet connection that aren't playing WoW (i know, it's hard to believe. but it's true.)
But in order to TAKE ON BLIZZARD and create an MMO that would RIVAL or SURPASS WoW. it doesn't matter how good the idea is a billion dollars to invest in he creation of the game, the purchasing and maintenance of fucking massive servers, advertising, and the salaries of a huge team constantly updating and developing new content to keep players active.
it seems kind of naive to believe that, "all you need is a good idea". that just won't work in the situation the MMO market is with WoW atm.
. . . a billion dollars to invest would be absolutely necessary in order to make sure the creation . . .
i don't know what i did to fuck that up. woops
Are you guys really that excited to mindlessly bash a new game?
WoW is a polished, well made game. Much like everything else Blizzard puts out. But you all still decide to blast it and treat it like Satan. Whats going to make the next big thing any different?
ha great idea i'm not even a big pokemon fan and i would try it out
Set system requirements too high.
This is why you never hear talk about Tabula Rasa. The average person doesn't have the specs to play something like that. Even then, games that aren't as new, like EQ2 and LOTR Online are still massive resource hogs.
Games like WoW, Ragnarok Online, and MapleStory (yes, I knocked it earlier, but only because it probably can't dethrone WoW) don't require an expensive gaming rig to log in and play. Thus, it can bring in regular people with regular computers who haven't been exposed to MMOs.
If something comes out from a major publisher thats a free download but still with the wow level monthly fee it's got a chance. Then all it's got to do is be interesting.
A Pokemon MMO, if done right, could quite possibly be the best online game in the history of the internets. I doubt it would be done right, though.