But realistically I don't see many people buying UO on Steam and paying a monthly fee with the current graphics. Maybe if they show the Enhanced Client after the graphic overhaul. If we ever get that.
I don't think even that would help, unless it's one heck of an overhaul. Even what the KR client dished out as far as graphics (which were better than the EC's) were still outdated by almost a decade. When people look at MMO's now, they think of 3D environments, not a 2.5D or Isometric views. UO will have to move beyond that in order to make a world new people will want to play in, UO these days is simply too far removed from the market, at least too far for the majority of MMO players to want to send $13 a month on.
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I want someone to give me something UO can really market. I've asked this over and over and I usually get the same answers over and over. So I'm going to list the most common answers I get and my rebuttals.
- Community
- Legacy
- Sandbox experience
- Simplicity
My answers to this...
1) Community - UO's community has some highlights with certain groups, but as a whole it is no where near providing the best social community experience in MMO's and that experience is a large portion of what players see when the log in. Largely we're extremely anti-community, we play within our own little groups, and interact primarily within our own little circles even inside guilds. When was the last time you were randomly invited to join a group made up of total strangers? Seriously, how often does it happen? Other games I play depending on the area I'm in I can't go 10 minutes without a party invite, or hear someone broadcasting in the regional chat about how they are forming a open party.
Yes UO has the RP groups, and the EM's but do you actually think the average 20 something cares if a group of people can act out Hamlet in game? Most probably don't even know who Hamlet is. Do you think most of the target audience for MMO's want to attend a poetry reading in game?
Most importantly you can't market community effectively as it's an intangible. What are they going to throw on the box? "Come play Ultima Online! You'll find people role playing all walks of life, but please ignore the racial slurs, profanity, verbal assaults, and consistent insults in our chat channels, and in game cities!".
2) Legacy - So what? I mean yea it's great and all that UO's been around for well over a decade, but that also means it lacks modern features that are considered almost standard. Our Chat system is kinda wonky, we don't have integrated voice chat, no way to IM other players without first partying (I mean seriously ICQ is still the UO Players main form of pvt communication), No real in game "Mail" system, the entire control scheme is counter-intuitive to the younger generation of MMO Player, we've got out dated graphics. One of the biggest issues with UO is it was released and everyone that followed that has shown any relevance in the market place went in a different direction entirely opposite. They became the standard while UO became "that weird game". This was fine when there were only 4 or 5 alternatives, but today... it simply doesn't work. Marketing based on Legacy is just setting players up for disappointment. What are they going to stick on a box? "Come play Ultima Online! We're oozing with 90's nostalgia, come see how your parents played online games, while you were still wetting your bed!"
3) Sandbox Experience, it's refreshing but it's also almost impossible to balance in UO because of how many options are available to us. This leads to frustration as many are forced to continually re-hash characters, or stick with a set template and sooner or later be driven out of competitiveness due to changes. Other games, balance set classes against each other and the game knowing exactly what the different variables in the equation are, and generally only need to make a few teaks not consistent adjusting. UO's development in terms of balancing is and always will be guess work and theory at best, this isn't what most players want and fragments the player base into three camps. Those who don't like the changes because it hurts their play style, those who like the changes because they benefit their play style, and those who simply don't care one way or the other either because changes don't effect them or they actually like building characters over and over again. Does this seem attractive to you? "Come play Ultima Online! Where you'll never finish building a character or if you do, just wait a few months to really get comfortable with how you play and you'll have to start again!"
4) Simplicity - This is actually one of the worst traits UO has now, it's interface was simple it made sense 15 years ago, but not to today's serious MMO gamer. The EC breaches some of that gap, but doesn't close it. "Come Play UO, where Point and Click is still in fashion!"
More important than anything what exactly would they slap on to a box if it was stuck back on shelves? 16-bit graphics from the CC, or the higher Resolution 2D graphics that look like something from a PSX game that the EC delivers? Who looking for an deep, compelling, completely immersive MMO would take those images seriously, and think them a sign of a quality product when they have to use more modern MMO's as a basis for comparison? The same holds true for commercials, online ads, magazine ads etc. It's not UO's strong points that will grab the eye, they can hold people once they have invested time into the game, I mean after all we're all still here, but UO does not have the ability to catch the eye of today's market audience who focuses on the tangible features first.
What's really happened that's hurt UO the most is the market has moved on, while UO really hasn't, and because of this UO is pretty much unmarketable.
Cant put it much better than that.
