kevincure
07-02-2005, 02:23 AM
So a lot of game companies are worried about the economics of the industry right now, and in many cases rightfully so. One segment is doing better than OK, though. MMORPGs.
World of Warcraft will have profits this year, profits, of US$200 million. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That's on revenue of US$400 million, and that's before adding in the 500,000-1m+ players expected in China once the game goes fully live there (although the cost is admittedly well below 10 bucks a month over there). What's even better about MMORPGs is that the social networks required for the game tend to ensure that bad games die and lose money, while good games make a killing. Poorly thought out titles like Matrix Online? Losing cash. Further, the top games are all unlicensed - WoW, CoH, Everquest, Ultima Online, Lineage, Motor City Online (OK, this one isn't a bestseller, but it was a cool concept).
Personally, I'm waiting for some type of 24-hour war simulation, with air, naval and ground combat. How crazy would that be? Wasn't Jane's going to do something like this?
World of Warcraft will have profits this year, profits, of US$200 million. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That's on revenue of US$400 million, and that's before adding in the 500,000-1m+ players expected in China once the game goes fully live there (although the cost is admittedly well below 10 bucks a month over there). What's even better about MMORPGs is that the social networks required for the game tend to ensure that bad games die and lose money, while good games make a killing. Poorly thought out titles like Matrix Online? Losing cash. Further, the top games are all unlicensed - WoW, CoH, Everquest, Ultima Online, Lineage, Motor City Online (OK, this one isn't a bestseller, but it was a cool concept).
Personally, I'm waiting for some type of 24-hour war simulation, with air, naval and ground combat. How crazy would that be? Wasn't Jane's going to do something like this?