Ekim's Gamer View: Good Days, and Bad Days
Ekim, 2003-11-28

There were two noteworthy pieces of news this week in the world of mmorpgs. Maybe one was a bit more significant than the other, but both might still influence things to come in our beloved genre.

Premium Ultima

First there was that little news bit about the new pricing structure that will be introduced with the coming of Ultima X: Odyssey (UXO). Or maybe I shouldn't use the word "introduce" here since the pricing structure for the upcoming Ultima franchise will be exactly the same as the older UO (http://www.uo.com/pricing), which in and of itself is great news, in my opinion. Let's not underestimate the fact that it would have been relatively easy for Electronic Arts to justify a higher monthly price tag for their new high-profile online game, bringing it to the same level as the "big boys" out there. They've been running the very first commercially successful mmorpg in the history of the genre for the past 5 years, nothing could have stopped them from charging us $15USD. But they didn't.

Not only that, but the premium pricing plan they've introduced is pretty interesting as well! Pay just a bit more than what those "big boys" are charging right now and you get to play two different games instead of just one. But what really got me interested is that they will offer 90 days of free UXO trial play to those that are already subscribers of the original UO, instead of the regular 30 days you usually get from the purchase of the box.

Now, granted, this is just one huge marketing ploy to get more people to subscribe to UO before getting UXO, and thus swell its numbers to compete with other, more popular titles. But still, you have to admit that for once the deal isn't too bad! If I'll get 90 days of free UXO play for it, I'm certainly contemplating making a discreet return to Britannia for a few months. I think it's a good idea, and I hope that as more and more mmorpg developers start to release their second (or third) game this will mark the start of a new trend. I wonder why Turbine didn't think of this when AC2 came out? I'm sure it would have helped alleviate some of the early growing pains some of the players had with the game.

Sunset on Rubies

It's funny how some things come from unexpected places, isn't it? Here we are, constantly trying to determine which mmorpg will be the next (or even first) to fall, and the only names that usually appear are those from the bigger developers. But this month, the fall of Rubies of Eventide came like a brick from the sky. And, again, let no one underestimate this news, because it could be the start of a trend.

When looking at the number of new mmorpgs coming up in the next year alone, you can see that a great portion of the big publishers are backing many of the upcoming titles. This leaves very little place for the independents unless they get backed by a wealthy publisher, a little like what happened to Horizons. But there are certain jewels out there that remain unnoticed, unfortunately. And without intending any pun, Rubies of Eventide might have been such a jewel.

I myself was never a subscriber, but I did try the game out for a while by using their trial download, and I wonder if many other people who complain about the state of the genre even did as much. If they had, then maybe they would have seen in RoE a game that has lots of potential compared to many of the games that are coming up. Granted, this was still an independent project, with little or no financial backing. But sometimes it's more comforting to play a game in such an environment, because the little developers often tend to have more of an open mind when it comes to players' requests and criticisms.

There is a place for independent developers in the single-player rpg market, but I'm starting to wonder if there is one in the mmorpg's. The inherent costs to online games are tremendously high, regardless of what some players may think, and it makes it very hard for anyone to hope to accomplish anything without having deep pockets to start off with.

I'm feeling a little bad about it because, being part of the RPGDot family, I could have at least made a review of the game, or try to make others aware of its existence and potential, but I failed in that respect. I don't know if it's already much too late, but even if the game is going away by the end of the year, it may be a nice gesture to go to RoE and at least try the game for free while it's still available (https://secure.rubiesofeventide.com/signup/). I myself would like to show my appreciation and at least allow RoE to ride off in the sunset with its head held high…