Video on C/Net News.com

[Numa]

Just found this on the web. Haven't had a chance to listen or watch it yet, but thought you guys might want to check it out.

If it's already been posted, apologies in advance, but couldn't see any threads related to it, as it was only posted online yesterday.

http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6124552.html?part=rss&tag=6124552&subj=news

Entropia Universe" enables members to make real incomes on online planet

David Simmonds, director of business development at MindArk, joins CNET News.com's Neha Tiwari via Webcam to discuss how "Entropia Universe" differs from Linden Lab's creation "Second Life," how people make a living on Entropia, and what lies ahead for the virtual landscape. Three-year-old Entropia has nearly 500,000 users.

 

[SB2]

Man!!! Talk about PR bullshit... Keep your eyes on the video clips of the game... FLYING VEHICLES ???? A POPULATED HADESHEIM????

Sure, show the people what they CAN'T expect to see.......

This is the biggest load I've seen from MA PR in a long time......

 

[hooters]

I wonder why i couldn't stop laughing during the whole clip? This is suppose to be a serious thing...

I liked the part where she asks: "Why are so many people logging on?"

I don't think any reporters, jounalists, news anchor, etc have realized that there are 500,000+ registered users and not 500,000 users...

Well, it was interesting and good to see that they are thinking of expanding into China within the next 2-3 years. Also notice that the "Project Entropia Exchange" is named "Insurance Exchange" in the clip, what's up with that? (Was that the old name before PE going gold?)

 

[Nitrosomonas]

yeah those interfaces were those old or new ones?
and those better graphics, i guess that's from an old promotional movie, and not the new engine
they didnt show any real footage of the game except the sweating part and then that guy at the crafting machine...
what a way to show your game

 

[Faustian]

They realy need a new video, they been using that same one for 4 years now.

 

[Teilk]

"Thousands of people are making money!"

 

[Legion]

Laaawl!! MA does the hype thing again and uses pure BS to advertise. 90% of those images used was not ingame stuff but rendered and waaay old like 5 years old i think atleast. Sigh.. MA learn to do proper pr and DONT bring up the darn hype even more. Instead focus on what it really is. No wonder you have a 70% join and then leave in a matter of minutes.

 

[NetStalker]

*watches video*

*wonders where I can play that game*

 

[cstarr]

Looks like a cool game sign me up.

 

[SB2]

It really tweaks a nerve when a company refuses to let the game stand on it's own merits and is forced to use blatantly misleading representations to boost sign up levels...

 

[Squee]

Thats indeed old video material indeed used in that interview, and it still looks better then the current VU. To bad ppl dont hear the worde "chance" in "Have a chance to make money" etc, and its spoken as if its easy to "purchase" some land. All Promotional BS, that get ppl in EU for a reason, but when they cannot find it they leave again. I would almost call this misleading advertising.

The ammount of people talking negatively are growing faster then the ones talking positively. How many of the registrations in the past would still recommend EU to another? I have recommended it to several PPL in RL, which almost all already left EU without a good word to say about it.

And as I said before, the complaints always come out louder then the compliments.

 

[The Nightbird]

he uses the word "game" pretty often lol

 

[Numa]

It really tweaks a nerve when a company refuses to let the game stand on it's own merits and is forced to use blatantly misleading representations to boost sign up levels...

I almost wonder sometimes if MA believe enough in EU as it stands with the way it plays, bugs, graphics etc, when they constantly keep putting this rubbish PR out that is so misleading to get more people into the game.

If they really want people to come in there droves, then they seriously need to get over all this crap footage they keep using, that in no way portrays the actual game what so ever. And to keep making it sound easy that you can make money, is laughable.

It's no different to the real world with a slight difference.
95% of the people are paying the most money which goes to the -
5% of the people that have all the land and opportunities to make some real money with only -
1% of the people actually making a decent living out of this game.

If this was based on real life, which they keep making out with the Real Cash Economy, we would all have healthy $30-$50,000 incomes while we hunt, mine and craft, and not constantly having to fund the 5%.

 

[thoreau]

MA has always lied in its PR. This is nothing new.

 

[Mathayus]

It's my video card or that David Simmonds guy got a too red face? (too much drinkin?!) rofl

 

[EarlVonKippler]

It's no different to the real world with a slight difference.
95% of the people are paying the most money which goes to the -
5% of the people that have all the land and opportunities to make some real money with only -
1% of the people actually making a decent living out of this game.

If this was based on real life, which they keep making out with the Real Cash Economy, we would all have healthy $30-$50,000 incomes while we hunt, mine and craft, and not constantly having to fund the 5%.

Actually that is pretty close to real life. the vast majority of people in this world get by on dollars a day. in american 80% of the money is in 20% of the peoples hands. the other 80% of the people fight of the the 20% of the money left over. they work for the rich and buy products from the rich. the money keeps going up the ladder to the upper crusts, leaving less and less on the bottom. that is why you have people dying in the streets for pecs (i.e. guy mugged and killed for $20) and the corporate criminals with millions skate alll the way to ath.

 

[AllesAlexExodus]

I HATE MINDARK ! ! !




j/k david simmonds
i love you

 

[Crunch]

I am rich woohoo

Acording to this interview I may be the richest player in The Entropia universe.

I have over 43K dung in storage. You land owners can beat a path to my door and pay me millions...

... I guess this also means I have the smelliest storage in game as well.


LOL

 

[Iset]

Well, I may not be too popular after this post...

Reading threads like this makes me wonder. All I see is people complaining about every aspect of MA and EU, yet they still participate in EU, and subscribe to this forum. It's puzzling.

Regarding this film; people complain about the numbers being misrepresented. Yet MA sees that there are X number of accounts, and to them, that simply means there are X number of accounts. I am sure they could go through each one to see whether each is regularly active, but that takes a lot of time and effort, and is really pointless. Though most of those avatars are not active, you have to admit there are still tons of people enjoying EU. And thats saying something.

Secondly, there is more than a "chance" for people to make money in EU. Trade. Sure, it is not as exciting or glamerous as hunting or mining, and you do not have to rely on Lootius to break even, but if you are smart, you are guaranteed to make money regularly.

Finally, I get tired of hearing about people complain about all the bugs, and especially when they call MA liers and cheats because they neglect to mention the reality of the bugs that plague EU. I am sorry. With a program as emmense as EU, and with as many avatars as there are, you are bound to get some discreptancies. And yes, some of the issues are a little worse then others (the rubber banding on Amthera *cough cough*), but the same people that complain are still participating in EU. If it is really that bad, then don't play!

Of course MA is going to spend time and money promoting Entropia Universe. If what I've heard is true, then this is just the beginning. The "project" is over, so they need to get as much public and media awareness as possible.

As for

Man!!! Talk about PR bullshit... Keep your eyes on the video clips of the game... FLYING VEHICLES ???? A POPULATED HADESHEIM????

Sure, show the people what they CAN'T expect to see.......

This is the biggest load I've seen from MA PR in a long time......

Ummm... has it occured that we will be seeing this eventually, not just at this very moment?

I think that those serious about EU should just have faith that MA will sort things out. There is much to look forward to, things that havn't yet been implemented. (Now I know my terminology in this post isn't very sophisticated, so please forgive me.)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my two pecs.

Cheers,

Iset

 

[SB2]

.....
Ummm... has it occured that we will be seeing this eventually, not just at this very moment?

I think that those serious about EU should just have faith that MA will sort things out. There is much to look forward to, things that havn't yet been implemented. (Now I know my terminology in this post isn't very sophisticated, so please forgive me.)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my two pecs.

Cheers,

Iset

Although I respect your 2 pecs, Iset... the clips were from 4 or 5 years ago ... from the first PR video they made... So I feel sorry for the people who've been patient since then... and I feel for the people who see videos like this and get a completely wrong impression of the game... There's a reason why 70% of new players quit in the first few weeks and misleading PR such as this is a big part of it...

As for why we complain and yet still play, it's simple... We love the potential of the game as much as you... however we also feel that MA needs to do more to relate to the player base and operate better. That is why we are so vocal... I, for one, will continue to voice my opinion ( good or bad) and will also continue to play....

One thing that many do not realize is that a majority of the changes that have occurred to make this game better have been due in large part to the voices of the members here... Quite frankly, if there were no demand for change, less change would have occurred....

 

[MudKicker]

He didnt really lie about anything, actually was all truth....just how many people ingame all that has happened to he didnt say, lol

Listen to him without watching the fake, I mean, old video and its sounds more truthful....

Then again....C/NET didnt ask him how the "game" status actually was atm....

 

[Mants]

surely this can be seen as faulse advertising there are so many inaccuracies in that interview its a joke... a new piatch every 4 to 6 weeks what they dont tell you is its crap...the easy to withdraw cash bollocks it takes like 90 days and if you have the atm card it has a withdrawl amount set to 1000ped a month..... it made me so mad this video .. see look how mad i am.

 

[Sonya Heart]

Pretty bad really, no point repeating whats been posted.

Marco, Any thoughts?

 

[Legion]

Well, I may not be too popular after this post...

Reading threads like this makes me wonder. All I see is people complaining about every aspect of MA and EU, yet they still participate in EU, and subscribe to this forum. It's puzzling.

Regarding this film; people complain about the numbers being misrepresented. Yet MA sees that there are X number of accounts, and to them, that simply means there are X number of accounts. I am sure they could go through each one to see whether each is regularly active, but that takes a lot of time and effort, and is really pointless. Though most of those avatars are not active, you have to admit there are still tons of people enjoying EU. And thats saying something.

Secondly, there is more than a "chance" for people to make money in EU. Trade. Sure, it is not as exciting or glamerous as hunting or mining, and you do not have to rely on Lootius to break even, but if you are smart, you are guaranteed to make money regularly.

Finally, I get tired of hearing about people complain about all the bugs, and especially when they call MA liers and cheats because they neglect to mention the reality of the bugs that plague EU. I am sorry. With a program as emmense as EU, and with as many avatars as there are, you are bound to get some discreptancies. And yes, some of the issues are a little worse then others (the rubber banding on Amthera *cough cough*), but the same people that complain are still participating in EU. If it is really that bad, then don't play!

Of course MA is going to spend time and money promoting Entropia Universe. If what I've heard is true, then this is just the beginning. The "project" is over, so they need to get as much public and media awareness as possible.

Cheers,

Iset

Since your quite new i'll be nice to ya

I have been playing this game since beta and why i still stay in this game but bash MA so much is due to that i totally love the concept of EU, but as i have seen MA doing the same wrong stuff over and over again for a couple of years and not communicat with their users and just treat us like we were more or less just plain dung and not taking us serious i get fed up. the first year or so i was quite happy but as MA never ever ever has improved (except for a minor improvement on support) i got fed up.

MA is acting like a megacorp that has an abundant amount of cash that doesnt have to care what their users say but thing is MA dont have an abundance of cash and when the users finally has taken enough shit MA will go belly up. And this will most likely happen one day as the bad pr is getting louder and louder and grows faster than the good rep.

Also MA has always only used hyped pr when they talk about EU, they have never used or showed what it actually is. A good example would be the vid in this intervue. Also MA is way to secretive about stuff and we have no manuall to speak of, or any good FAQ, or any real info on certain items and how they work etc etc.. no wonder why the community get's upset.

 

[Canesh Athey]

So I read through the post here and here is my 2 pecs worth.

I as many others see the great potential in EU, It sure has potential and I personally believe that the pretty videos and the one that is located on the website (that dragged me into PE) is all great. It is truly visionary and is showing what can be in Entropia in the future. Again they should be used as such. Marketing this making it sound like a "Get rich" game is just stupid. It doesn’t matter if it is illegal or not (not really) what matters is that it makes allot of players join with a false belief of what it is going to be like to play. When I joined I was quite puzzled that there weren’t any flying ships not much fancy clothes (as seen in the videos) what there is no real sensible way to start. I felt cold abandoned and unwelcome.

To summon it up landing in Port Atlantis was like finding yourself behind enemy lines in a wet and cold ice storm trying to survive the day.

Not some oohhh this is easy to go about your day toodelie warm fuzzy game feeling that one get from looking at this interview. Btw I don’t know how many times I heard (in the current promotional video at entropiauniverse.com) the slogan Virtual Universe being used. Since that is what it is I can’t even begin to imagine Why the Director is using the Word game. After all he should stand by the market approach and explain the difference between a game and this virtual universe to further set it apart from being "just another game".

To me hearing about the marketing that MA does for EU (or whoever is doing the marketing) just make me dizzy because it produces unhappy customers instead of using smart unconventional upfront honest and true advertising of how it is like in game and taking more care of the new arrivals I think the 500 000user accounts would increase allot quicker since people would be staying and not only that they would tell their friends what a inspiring universe it really is and get them to join to. I bet there are allot of people still wanting to join EU if they learned the truth from start A really difficult game to come out on top but the possibilities are endless (after all it is a virtual world and is programmable so there are virtually no limitations).

I could go on for hours but I think you see my point. I have a few ideas of how new arrivals could be taken care of in a better way and have a higher chance of staying but again I don’t think MA would listen to my idea since I don’t have 1 000 000usd behind my name to make this point but again MA seems to be focusing a heck of allot of getting new people to join and very very little on retaining its current customers (player base) that is just a very expensive way of making business.

(And yea I have been studying advertising and marketing for a whole 1 month now and I know that already, i'm not an expert but I just see it as a wrong approach for EU)

I am not trying to badmouth MA here or EU for that matter im just trying to give some constructive criticism...

-Nesh

 

[Silver]

I thought it was quite interesting, sure some of it is marketing gloss and conservative with the truth, but that's really to be expected.

Yes the video isn't an accurate reflection of the game as it stands but not in any really misleading way. The fundamentals such as trading, meeting people etc etc. are all there, they just look a little different.

The key point for me is really the long term view of the universe. I was late joining (start of 2005) and often kick myself for not knowing about it sooner. But I take a long term view of things. Certainly atm it is tough to make much money and often a high level of investment is needed to get going as a new entrant. But if you take a long term view then people here now should be sitting pretty in the long run.

For there to be a stable economy where people really can make money it needs time, development and large numbers. A few years isn't really enough. The earlier you got in the better chance you had of making money in the initial boom but now it's more about positioning yourself for the long run.

Generally, the more new players they can get and keep the better for us. We may not like the way MA does things but we should be pleased to see that they make the effort to open up new markets and promote the product.

 

[Morg]

to discuss how "Entropia Universe" differs from Linden Lab's creation "Second Life,"

funny he forgot to mention that the biggest difference was that in PE you have no ownership rights to anything you own in game.

 

[Ter]

Silver BIG + rep for you as you have just saved me 20 min as I would have constructed a post almost identical to you, why oh why do people on this forum not look at the big picture instead of looking at things purely in their own little world , there is an old saying : "there is no such thing as bad publicity" and I for one am pleased to see MA spending more and more time promoting EU.
And Silver just to make you feel a bit better I started playing in 2003 and I still kick myself for not playing earlier.

 

[AkiranBlade]

And Silver just to make you feel a bit better I started playing in 2003 and I still kick myself for not playing earlier.

There is the problem again I guess. I never even heard of the damn thing until last year. I wish I'd have gotten in early on it.

What's done is done I guess.

 

[Gotham's Finest]

Sorry - but I can't stand all this negativity

I have only been with PE/EU for 10 months - but in that time I have not suffered from any bug that has stopped me from participating. Sure we have glitches with new versions but that is life.

As for the general appearance of EU I wont complain either. Graphical content is not what I looked for when I signed up. It is the cash based economy that keeps me coming back for more (punishment) ..
If I wanted a graphically rich 'game' I would have gone for something like WOW.

As for promises of new content ... let me say this. How many of you complainers have actually mastered the existing content and feel bored enough to require extra activities. Have you got 10k skills in all combat classes, are you a successful landowner running it like a RL business. Do you have a shop to sell your loot? I think the majority have not.

Do you even have the PEDs to buy into new ideas such as 'flying transport'?
.. I too suggest not.

As for marketing .. I'm very pleased that MA got a slot on the news. If it brings only a handful of new people to EU then all the better. After all its the contributions of the participants that allows EU to grow and we as 'players' to progress. In my case it was only the news of NeverDie buying CND that bought me to Entropia.

The serious people will stay whatever happens - threads like this do nothing more than perhaps put potential 'players' from joining or staying with EU.

I have my gripes with EU and the randomness that upsets my theories about the economy and how best to exploit it - but that is in a way a positive issue I have and one that drives me on to try harder.

Getting sucked into this argument only distracts from that and prevents real enjoyment being taken from EU.

People may not like my comments - I am sorry for that - but this is a forum and I felt the need to voice my opinion. After all we are all entitled to one.

Stick with it people - all will be OK in the end.