MMOs That are Aging Well

As new free to play MMORPGs like Vindictus, Kitsu Saga and Iris Online launch, older games like Shaiya, Last Chaos and MapleStory are starting to show their age. If you compare Shaiya or Last Chaos from Aeria Games to any of the newer titles out – you’ll quickly realize that Shaiya and Last Chaos aren’t aging too well – in terms of graphics that is. The fascinating thing however is that both Shaiya and Last Chaos are still around and being updated. The same goes for MapleStory. In fact, MapleStory is over 5 years old, yet it’s still growing incredibly fast. It’s still one of the most popular free MMORPGs ever – with over 100 million accounts world-wide. Even Rappelz and Fly For Fun from gPotato are still around and growing. It may sound surprising, but Fly For Fun is actually more popular than both Allods Online and Aika at the moment, and it’s over 5 years old. How can a 5+ year old game with lousy graphics be more popular than a game like Allods which cost over $10 million to develop is fascinating. It shows that older MMOs can age well. Another example of an older MMORPG that has aged well is RuneScape from Jagex and Tribal Wars from InnoGames. Browser games tend to age really well, mostly because visuals on browser games haven’t improved too drastically over the years – though Unity wants to change all of that now.

I think the reason some older MMORPGs are still a big success is that graphics aren’t the most important thing in the world. Users are clearly looking at things like gameplay and content when deciding which game to play, and older MMORPGs like Hero Online, Silkroad online and Grand Chase have more content than newer games, as they’ve been around for a longer time – meaning, they had more time to add content, instances and characters to their games. Obviously newer MMORPGs like Fists of Fu, Uncharted Waters Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online have numerous advantages too, but people are clearly more interested in gameplay and content than visuals. Having good visuals certainly helps, as I think so many people became fascinated with Vindictus because of its graphics. The game has solid gameplay mechanics too, but its beautiful graphics are what pulled in users while the gameplay kept them hooked. This theory applies to FPS games too. Just look at Cross Fire from Z8Games – it’s HUGELY popular, even though Cross Fire isn’t exactly a new game. In fact, Alliance of Valiant Arms has 10x better graphics, but it has a smaller playerbase.

Are there any older MMOs you still play? I personally still MapleStory and GunZ, even though they’re both old games with less than stellar graphics. I’m also more interested in gameplay elements than visuals. Because if I wanted “good graphics” I’d watch a movie. When I’m playing an MMO or an MMORPG, I want fun gameplay. Visuals help, but in the end gameplay is what matters.

Unique Ideas for MMORPGs

It seems like there are more and more fantasy MMORPGs coming out each and every month. Legend of Edda and Iris Online should be coming out late September. Vindictus began its early access open beta on September 15 and The Lord of the Rings Online went free to play on September 10. Fantasy MMORPGs are growing like crazy. But what about sci-fi MMORPGs? Aside from perhaps Zero Online from TQ Digital, CosmicBreak from CyberStep, Clone Wars Adventures from Sonly Online Entertainment and GhostX from GameKiss there aren’t any sci-fi themed MMORPGs out there. The genre definitely needs more attention. You’d imagine a sci-fi themed game would be easier to develop, as its an untapped market and the sci-fi genre is enormous. Time traveling, space battles, diplomacy and more. There are so many awesome sci-fi concepts that developers could use to make their games interesting, but MMO developers seem to be sticking with fantasy themed games.

Another untapped genre for the free to play space is Superhero MMORPGs. Why aren’t there any of them? There are a few pay to play ones like City of Heroes and Champions Online – but there isn’t a SINGLE free to play superhero themed game. Why? Disney has been embracing free to play MMOs quite a bit with Club Penguin, World of Cars, Pixie Hallow and Pirates of the Caribbean Online – so you’d think they would make a superhero themed MMORPG, but nope. I say Disney would make a superhero themed game, because they own Marvel Enterprises, and Marvel is the huge comic company behind well known superheroes like Spiderman and Iron man. So what’s Disney waiting for? They could make a ton of money if they made a sweet superhero themed game. They could even make it a browser MMO like Pirates of the Caribbean Online.

Another genre that developers need to pay more attention to is the third person MMO shooter genre. As is, aside from Battlefield Heroes, MicroVolts, S4 League and GunZ, there aren’t any other third person MMO shooters – but there are a ton of first person shooters. In fact, there are already a boat load of upcoming MMOFPS games like Karma: Operation Barbarossa and Genesis A.D. But there aren’t any new third person MMO shooters. I’m actually a fan of MMO shooters in general, but it sucks to see such little variety in the genre. Especially since 99% of MMO shooters are counter-strike like tactical MMO shooters where people die in 1 or 2 hits.

Think any other MMO genre deserves some more attention? Leave it in the comments below. I’m curious what you all think!

Nexon Should Make More 2D MMORPGs

Nexon has had enormous success with their 2D side scrolling MMORPG MapleStory and their arcade MMO brawler Dungeon Fighter Online. The company reported some $550 million in revenue in 2009 and MapleStory is easily their biggest game. With the explosive growth and success of MapleStory, you’d think that they would release similar games, but that isn’t the case. Nexon is committed to releasing “different” games like Vindictus and Dragon Nest. Now, don’t get me wrong, these two games both look awesome, but it seems like all 3D MMORPG feels the same, so I prefer 2D games. In case you haven’t heard, both Vindictus and Dragon Nest are 3D action MMORPGs.

I should mention that Nexon has made an effort to grow their 2D MMO portfolio – especially with the recent acquisition of Ndoors. That’s right, Nexon actually bought Ndoors! They are the guys best known for the turn based MMORPG Atlantica Online and the less known 2D trade skill heavy game Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu which for some odd reason is published by ijji. The main reastson, in my opinion, that Nexon bought Ndoors is because it saw the company’s newest MMORPG – WonderKing Online as a threat to MapleStory. WonderKing, for those that don’t know, plays almost exactly like MapleStory. It has the same art style and controls, but offers some interesting gameplay mechanics that MapleStory just doesn’t have – such as crafting and PvP. Nexon also had a lot of success with their MMOFPS Combat Arms, which is why they decided to buy GameHi – the game developer behind Asia’s most popular MMOFPS – Sudden Attack. So Nexon has bought out other companies in the past.

Instead of just buying other game studios, Nexon should definitely think about making more 2D MMORPGs. Why? Because they’ve already had a lot of success in that department! Both MapleStory and Dungeon Fighter Online are big hits! Why do you think ijji keeps releasing new MMO shooters? It’s because they’ve had success with them. Just look at ijji, they publish GunZ, Soldier Front and Alliance of Valiant Arms. They also have Huxley: The Dystopia, Karma: Operation Barabarossa and Genesis A.D. Releasing soon. These are ALL MMO shooters too! Ijji is sticking with what they know, and that’s MMO shooters. I think Nexon should do the same with 2D MMORPGs.

Any other MapleStory fans agree?