You're right, they dont want to keep quiet. I completely agree there.
The marketing campaign though I think is aimed more at customer retention. Some acquisition happens, but I think MA has elected to be careful who comes onboard because there is a serious risk of negative results long term were they to appeal to folks on a massive scale.
Why?
Well, simply put the newcomer experience is not diverse enough to keep low paying and non paying members from viewing the game negatively. Without the ability to entertain that segment properly, they will face, once again, a large host of players who are instantly alienated, and in true gamer fashion very eager to tell their friends (and anyone else who will listen) how much the game sucks.
I am however very concerned that they have put product development on a back seat, favoring Compet. When a business diversifies it must be very careful that it does not make a play that ultimately will threaten to shift the entire focus of business. I see that play as already being made here.
Compet should have been done 6 months ago, if not longer ago. Assets remain undeveloped, and the main product is slipping back technologically. While other games put out dynamic weather, families, and deep social structures, Mindark continues to use the dated society interface, simplistic combat models, and struggles to keep an engaging storyline.
Entropia Universe needs some serious attention, right now, if it is going to remain competitive. The double edged sword MA is dealing with (I believe) is that they need a fresh infusion of cash to pay for that development, but advertising is actually a very risky way of getting that infusion.
Compet is their answer. It's a way to advertise and get money into EU while only passively involving Entropia itself. It's very risky though. If it fails it will take more of the current playerbase along with it. I do not believe MA currently has the staff needed to give both products the required attention. An MMO needs constant updates or it becomes stale quickly. MMO's are virtual reality. Your competitor is always trying to make their next product feel more real than yours. You need to keep up with that, if your product is meant to be long term, or your product will fail for no better reason then it became antiquated and unappealing. A mobile app may seem like a very simple deal, but if its meant to provide regular infusions of money and not just be a one shot deal, its also going to need regular updates and expansions. It will need to keep up with growing mobile technology.
Does anyone here think MA has the capacity to do both tasks right now?
I also think the President of Virtual Reality is a low budget PR stunt meant to get EU attention indirectly. It wont be taken seriously though if there is not buy in from entities outside of Entropia Universe. Listing Planet Partners is not good enough.
