Where virtual worlds once ruled, Farmville dominates (CNET)
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Hijacker27
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Looks like we got mentioned.. if ever briefly (all it said was that MindArk attended a conference a couple years ago), and then goes on to talk about how 3D virtual universes suck compared to 2D ones.
Inifus
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It is far more eco that way...
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"We are now going to switch from CE2 to flash! You will be able to plant and harvest fruit, which can be sold or fed to your animals..."
Inifus
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"We are now going to switch from CE2 to flash! You will be able to plant and harvest fruit, which can be sold or fed to your animals..."
McCormick will be the new lead animator!
Charlie Gloom
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cant cash out farmville (Fail)
Menace
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The reality of it is.... there are a HELL of alot more active Farmville players than Entropia/Planet Calypso players and I'm betting MindArk has about 10000x more money invested in creating EU and probably only a fraction of the profits. Slam farmville all you want.... but their owner (Zynga) is prospering while the owner of Planet Calypso and EU is struggling to keep financials stable.
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There are a lot of flash games like farmville that all have more players than even WoW has... a LOT
DanielleYourMom
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lol - you don't have to pay to play, either.
it's still just a sucky flash game, though ...
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odBDAcOEKuI[/YOUTUBE]
StatikNode
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We cannot forget some other games, that generate income in less moral, less legal ways. Such as the alleged gold-farming game, that potentially steals CC numbers and more:
Yes, it's Evony. That is a totally real ad. I'm sure everyone has seen it anywhere that has Google Ads.
Yes, it's Evony. That is a totally real ad. I'm sure everyone has seen it anywhere that has Google Ads.
Few Scars
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iPhone application
Maybe MA will come out with an iPhone application, which allows users to access the auction, chat with in world friends and manage their Entropia account when not in-world. This would open up accessability when we arent if front of our PC. For me anyway, I can only use EF at work to organise trades etc and have to wait until I get home to do the real in-world stuff. Accessibility to the 'real-cash economy' and auction and transfer of goods needs an external application.
A phone application could help MA make some money and keep people coming in. It would also allow current players do their trading with more ease in working hours. I am always at work when doing trades with the US and vice versa which is frustrating. If their was a way to do private trades with out actually having to meet, it would make things easier.
Anyway, MA seems to be doing ok at the moment. A lot of people have alot of money invested in the game, even after the CE2 upgrade, we moaned and groaned, but we are all still here.
Thoughs
Bjorn
Maybe MA will come out with an iPhone application, which allows users to access the auction, chat with in world friends and manage their Entropia account when not in-world. This would open up accessability when we arent if front of our PC. For me anyway, I can only use EF at work to organise trades etc and have to wait until I get home to do the real in-world stuff. Accessibility to the 'real-cash economy' and auction and transfer of goods needs an external application.
A phone application could help MA make some money and keep people coming in. It would also allow current players do their trading with more ease in working hours. I am always at work when doing trades with the US and vice versa which is frustrating. If their was a way to do private trades with out actually having to meet, it would make things easier.
Anyway, MA seems to be doing ok at the moment. A lot of people have alot of money invested in the game, even after the CE2 upgrade, we moaned and groaned, but we are all still here.
Thoughs
Bjorn
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me thinks any content making it interesting for majority is needed. but for instance, majority did not miss/demand barbie stuff, or footguards, I smell enhancers going same way... that is why such content adds little addiction if any and it makes you wonder if they ever hear players...
missions however could add a valuable part to it. actually to any side of the game - socialising or non. how long did it take until they understood those are a top priority?
by the way, I think MA could easily make a flash version of the game and make it let's say 10 times cheaper - I wonder which one would be more popular...
J.
missions however could add a valuable part to it. actually to any side of the game - socialising or non. how long did it take until they understood those are a top priority?
by the way, I think MA could easily make a flash version of the game and make it let's say 10 times cheaper - I wonder which one would be more popular...
J.
Janus
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The broader issues touched on in this article are sadly indicative of the general devolution to the "least common denominator" way of thinking/living that we find ourselves today.
With few exceptions (one of which by the way is the high degree of pastry innovation in my neighbourhood!) the urge, desire and ambition to develop the complex, elaborate & sophisticated has given way to complacent expediency whereby opting for the cheaper, quicker, shoddier alternative is seen as prudent, more than "good enough" and certainly (in many ways counterintuitive) more profitable.
Granted some of this is recession related, but here are a few examples...
1. Top rated TV show here in england certainly isn't Masterpiece Theatre… its "Britain's got Marginal Talent"
2. MP3's trumped Hi Fidelity
3. WalMart and ASDA and Poundland rule the retail roost
4. Semi-literate, geographically challenged, god-fearing moose hunters somehow now have viable shots at securing nomination for a run for President of the USA?
In terms of our game, its a shame that MA didn't raise the level of complexity earlier when it was still in the ascendancy. While they poured in tons of time, effort and money to make it look really nice, at its heart, the gameplay remains far too basic and simple to attract the audience of gamers who might be willing to consistently pay more and play more for a more cognitively intensive form of entertainment.
The EU model (too much time, too much dependence on chance, too repetitive, far too high costs per hour over time), all make FarmVille (et al) more appealing alternatives as society continues its spiral towards the simple.
With few exceptions (one of which by the way is the high degree of pastry innovation in my neighbourhood!) the urge, desire and ambition to develop the complex, elaborate & sophisticated has given way to complacent expediency whereby opting for the cheaper, quicker, shoddier alternative is seen as prudent, more than "good enough" and certainly (in many ways counterintuitive) more profitable.
Granted some of this is recession related, but here are a few examples...
1. Top rated TV show here in england certainly isn't Masterpiece Theatre… its "Britain's got Marginal Talent"
2. MP3's trumped Hi Fidelity
3. WalMart and ASDA and Poundland rule the retail roost
4. Semi-literate, geographically challenged, god-fearing moose hunters somehow now have viable shots at securing nomination for a run for President of the USA?
In terms of our game, its a shame that MA didn't raise the level of complexity earlier when it was still in the ascendancy. While they poured in tons of time, effort and money to make it look really nice, at its heart, the gameplay remains far too basic and simple to attract the audience of gamers who might be willing to consistently pay more and play more for a more cognitively intensive form of entertainment.
The EU model (too much time, too much dependence on chance, too repetitive, far too high costs per hour over time), all make FarmVille (et al) more appealing alternatives as society continues its spiral towards the simple.
Shadowwraith
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Am I the only one wondering why this got posted since it is not press about EU and is indeed detrimental? It states things such as 'SecondLife is about the last man standing' and suchforth. Wow, someone screwed up BAD.
Ozi
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I really wonder about the longevity of games like farmville. I know heaps and heaps of people who have played farmville, as well as many other games on facebook. However, most people only lasted a few months at best before trying something different. Pretty soon all the games seem to be variations of about 5 different themes.
I think the simple Flash games will actually help games like Entropia in a big way. Due to Facebook games like Farmville, about 200 million people have tried their first online game and experienced the fun of socialising through gameplay. Many of those players are likely to move on past the simple games and experiment with something more complex and interactive.
Entropia actually suits alot of those players very well because it is generally not the high paced action shooter that scares the Facebook gamer. Elements like farming, beauty, fashion, housing, pets etc will be the elements that attract the Facebook gamer to EU.
The big challenge that will only be resolved with time is for the majority of computers to be able to run EU. As the average computer improves, so long as EU sticks with CE2 the number of potential players will go up exponentially.
I think the simple Flash games will actually help games like Entropia in a big way. Due to Facebook games like Farmville, about 200 million people have tried their first online game and experienced the fun of socialising through gameplay. Many of those players are likely to move on past the simple games and experiment with something more complex and interactive.
Entropia actually suits alot of those players very well because it is generally not the high paced action shooter that scares the Facebook gamer. Elements like farming, beauty, fashion, housing, pets etc will be the elements that attract the Facebook gamer to EU.
The big challenge that will only be resolved with time is for the majority of computers to be able to run EU. As the average computer improves, so long as EU sticks with CE2 the number of potential players will go up exponentially.
J
JingyiDai
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My God New Bot's reputation is even worse than our loot... he doesnt do bad work or evil things , why oh why..
THANATOS
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I think part of the success of farmville and the like is also the micro payment method of income. If you do want extra bits and pieces its pennies to buy them, where as in Entropia you need enough money to buy a Lotus Elise to get hold of a good fap. How can a system like that ever attract the masses...?
Farmville recently did a thing raising money for Haiti where for 25 FV dollars you could buy some seeds for growing sweet potatoes. Half the money went to Haiti and half the game developers kept. 25 farmville dollars is $5 IRL money (if you buy them).
The company made over a million bucks for Haiti and obviously a million bucks for themselves. This profit is more than 3 times the recent Buzz record for CP and was for sweet potatoes FFS! Now fair enough people were donating because it was for charity, but the fact it was so little money got people buying these seeds.
IMO its about time MA (and FPC) realised that bigger is not always better. I think they would make far more money if everything was scaled down so the masses could afford to play this game at a reasonable level. Having more players paying in a micro payments style setup would bring in for more cash than keep churning out higher priced estates and equipment...
Sure there will be people who disagree with me, but the way I look at it, higher prices traditionally mean more exclusive clients, better customer service and a better product. I only see higher prices. I think we can all agree customer service is virtually non-exisistant and as far as the product goes - we have always had bugs and promises never kept etc etc... sooner or later MA need to wake up before their customers do.
(yet weirdly I still love this game!)
Farmville recently did a thing raising money for Haiti where for 25 FV dollars you could buy some seeds for growing sweet potatoes. Half the money went to Haiti and half the game developers kept. 25 farmville dollars is $5 IRL money (if you buy them).
The company made over a million bucks for Haiti and obviously a million bucks for themselves. This profit is more than 3 times the recent Buzz record for CP and was for sweet potatoes FFS! Now fair enough people were donating because it was for charity, but the fact it was so little money got people buying these seeds.
IMO its about time MA (and FPC) realised that bigger is not always better. I think they would make far more money if everything was scaled down so the masses could afford to play this game at a reasonable level. Having more players paying in a micro payments style setup would bring in for more cash than keep churning out higher priced estates and equipment...
Sure there will be people who disagree with me, but the way I look at it, higher prices traditionally mean more exclusive clients, better customer service and a better product. I only see higher prices. I think we can all agree customer service is virtually non-exisistant and as far as the product goes - we have always had bugs and promises never kept etc etc... sooner or later MA need to wake up before their customers do.
(yet weirdly I still love this game!
)
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soothsayer
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are MA trying to tell us somthing... EU the new flash game release seat your mods and sell your sweat for real cash on FB now.
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Easy..Its perfect to use as a cop out for shittin on the playing public here..
"Well even the press says 3d worlds are dead"...
THANATOS
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It mentioned EU in the article (briefly) and was news, so News Bot auto posted it here... give it time and i am quite sure it will be deleted!
Clicking those flash games is broinng as hell just to see numbers change. AT least EU gives an immersive experience. Not to mention the ability to withdraw. But alas we know the majority of people are dumb, lazy and easily pacified. But that`s part of what makes EU so great is that those types of people usually disappear from our world rather fast. A pat on the back for EU`s core community!
Menace
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I think part of the success of farmville and the like is also the micro payment method of income. If you do want extra bits and pieces its pennies to buy them, where as in Entropia you need enough money to buy a Lotus Elise to get hold of a good fap. How can a system like that ever attract the masses...?
Farmville recently did a thing raising money for Haiti where for 25 FV dollars you could buy some seeds for growing sweet potatoes. Half the money went to Haiti and half the game developers kept. 25 farmville dollars is $5 IRL money (if you buy them).
The company made over a million bucks for Haiti and obviously a million bucks for themselves. This profit is more than 3 times the recent Buzz record for CP and was for sweet potatoes FFS! Now fair enough people were donating because it was for charity, but the fact it was so little money got people buying these seeds.
IMO its about time MA (and FPC) realised that bigger is not always better. I think they would make far more money if everything was scaled down so the masses could afford to play this game at a reasonable level. Having more players paying in a micro payments style setup would bring in for more cash than keep churning out higher priced estates and equipment...
Sure there will be people who disagree with me, but the way I look at it, higher prices traditionally mean more exclusive clients, better customer service and a better product. I only see higher prices. I think we can all agree customer service is virtually non-exisistant and as far as the product goes - we have always had bugs and promises never kept etc etc... sooner or later MA need to wake up before their customers do.
(yet weirdly I still love this game!
I totally agree with you... unfortunately, the players with the high end gear and huge TT value worth of skills make up for the majority of the cash floating around in MA's bank accounts/assets. If MA started dropping high end gear in order to crash prices... then the high end players would sell out in anger (cuz it's someone else's fault they spent 200k US on gear for a vidja game) leaving MA to either A.) Pay out HUGE amounts of dollars at one time.... or B.) File for bankruptcy so they don't have to pay out that money.
That's why they keep the rare items rare. To keep the owners of those items from getting upset and cashing out.
Too bad though really. This game would be HUGE if it was affordable to the blue collar public. Personally if I was CEO of MA, I'd crash the prices and say to hell with the smart people who spent 35k u.s. on a virtual item in a video game and in turn multiply the company's revenue probably 10 fold or more within a short period of time.