Thursday, March 31, 2005
Just So We're On the Same Page
My EQ2 account is active. My WoW account is canceled. I could put up long entries criticizing WoW, but honestly it's not worth the effort. There are many good aspects of EQ2, one of which is that SOE is very active in trying to improve it. It's just that a lot of the improvements either don't really address the original problems, tackle relatively low-priority issues (e.g., new mail system), cater to people who are already happy with the game, or cause as many problems as they solve. I'm not going to list everything I like about EQ2, at least not right now. Once I get to the "offering solutions" and "cool ideas" phase, some of them will be mentioned as things to build on.
I am hoping by listing every problem of significance, and then going through and explaining them clearly and offering solutions, it will be easier to determine what improvements will best accomplish SOE's goals: attracting customers from other games, appealing to a wider range of customers, preventing existing subscribers from canceling accounts, etc. Right now it seems like they are flailing without a clear focus, mostly trying to emulate WoW's success (which I think is temporary) by imitating some of its features.
I am hoping by listing every problem of significance, and then going through and explaining them clearly and offering solutions, it will be easier to determine what improvements will best accomplish SOE's goals: attracting customers from other games, appealing to a wider range of customers, preventing existing subscribers from canceling accounts, etc. Right now it seems like they are flailing without a clear focus, mostly trying to emulate WoW's success (which I think is temporary) by imitating some of its features.
