Global Chat: January 1-7, 2012
We love hearing what the Massively community has to say. What better way to salute the smartest reader opinions and posts than by sharing them in a weekly column? Join us every Sunday morning for Global Chat, where we do just that!
This week we've got a poke at the lighter side of game bugs, some thoughts on development costs and how they affect us in the end, and some compliments (we always love those). Ready to see what they are? Click past the cut and let's get started!
Our readers aren't the only ones participating in the comments on Massively. It's pretty common to find the Massively staff clicking the comment button and joining the discussion. (Hey, we love talking about games almost as much as we love playing them -- it's why we're here!) Jef did just that last week, jumping into the conversation that followed Beau's recent Soapbox:
I see this a lot ("this" being the conventional wisdom that the cost of MMOs has gone through the roof), and yet I never see a) any data supporting that claim or b) reasons for the increase if it is in fact true. Sure, we can say "inflation" and call it done, but is that really the whole story?
Why are these games so much more expensive to make now than they were in 2000? The 2000-era games had more features and functionality. Is this huge theoretical cost upswing the result of better graphics? Other than graphics, the genre has regressed, so I'm always curious to see where people come by the notion that "MMOs are more expensive now."
The SWTOR /getdown bug gained a ton of attention, with some of the opinion that it was a serious issue and others simply having fun with it while it lasted. Guess which side Massively reader Nibbana fell on?
The debate rages on. There are some who say you need to /getdown before you can /getup. There are those who say you definitely need to /getup before you can /getdown. And there are some of us in the galactic funk community that believe you can /getup and /getdown at the same time, in balance with the force.
Brendan's most recent EVE Evolved was all about DUST 514, and Baby Choo Choo pitched in a few thoughts on launch timing and more:
I don't think the fact it's a console exclusive is a real problem here. At all. People are forgetting it's a downloadable title, and on consoles, PS3 and 360, downloadable shooters such as this have yet to "make it big" per se. People buy them. People play them. It's just not a lot of people when compared to the amount who play boxed shooters. The communities just don't seem to stick around for the long run. That's just how it is.
That said, there haven't really been that many attempts, and the best one out the bunch is BF1943, which I think is average at best. So for all we know, DUST might be the first one to make a serious splash. I just hope CCP markets it right and it actually comes out in the summer. The summer is a notorious dry period for games, and if CCP plays its cards right, DUST can practically have a month all to itself, assuming history stays relatively the same as before. In any case, I'll be picking this up on day 1.
Hell, I'd preorder the darn thing if I could, lol. This is easily one of my top picks for games I'm most looking forward to this year.
Finally, Karen shared some of her favorite livestream memories in The Guild Counsel, prompting some very kind words from Biggin:
Massively's livestream (and subsequent show archive) has become a staple of entertainment for me this past year, and your shows with Jeremy are among the highlights. An honorable mention goes to Beau, whose shows have introduced me to many new (and often times innovative) MMORPGs. Keep them coming!
Thanks for the positive feedback, the laughs, and the insightful conversation -- keep 'em coming!
Global Chat is the weekly feature that's all about you, our readers. Every Sunday we collect the best, funniest, and most thought-provoking comments from the Massively readers and round them up into Global Chat for discussion. Read over them for yourself, hit the comment button, and add your own thoughts!
