April 30, 2010
Lords of Ultima, Farmville, Mafia Wars and The Stinking, Rotting Death of Online Games
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I hesitate to post this here, and thought about posting it on my computer games related blog, but it has such value to the business minded among us, I thought I’d share it with the marketing folks too (of course, altering it greatly to avoid duplicate content).
Online Gaming is Dead! And perhaps your answer is, so what?
Maybe you never play online games, simply don’t get them, or simply don’t care. But there are many reasons you should. When I ran a computer game company, the people next door were making Meridian 59, arguably one of the first serious online multiplayer games. It was a great game. A multiplayer “Ultima Online”. Since then, there’s been a slew, EverQuest being the best known. Even at the time of Meridian 59, there were people whom were trying to figure out how to tie real world money into game items. How to allow people to spend real cash, to further their game lives. That was over a decade ago.
Now, that concept, of spending real money to further game objectives is commonplace, and getting worse. It’s mind boggling to think about, but just today, I actually spent money (additional money) to further my game objective (in Lords of Ultima) of building a computerized empire. That’s right, rather than work on my own real-world “gazillions” making business Empire, I spent money to “play” a game. If it continually costs money to progress in a “game”, can you really even call it a game?
That’s a real problem. Because, regardless of what all the millions of game players out their think, they are not “playing anything”. These games aren’t games. Mafia Wars, Farmville, and it’s slew of ilk are not games! They are scientifically calculated money-sucking algorithms to get people, on a psychological and emotional level, to fork out cash.
And yes, I just did it too. Wow! It’s like gambling … but bigger. Creepier … and even more insidious, hiding behind the thin veneer of a “game” on your console, computer or TV Screen. How did they get me? Back when there were actual “games”, I played one, and grew up on one, called “Ultima”. This series of role playing games were some of the first of their kind, and I spent many fun filled days lost in their stories. I did not have to pay money to continue playing, or to find out how the story progressed, or to aid my character in staying alive, or to further any in-game objectives. I simply play-ed …
It seems like those days are all but gone, as online social gaming becomes more and more popular, and PC gaming becomes less and less. How long until social gaming truly devours our next generation consoles machines? Would you spend an extra $1 to beat the hell out of your friend in a racing game, a shooter, and the grandaddy “Sims” style games? I’m betting a lot of us might, and so are a lot of major gaming companies.
But hold on, this all might be interesting, but isn’t this a marketing blog? I mean, “hey, I’m sorry you just spent $50 to buy yourself a better fantasy castle, in your fantasy city empire building computer game, but what does that have to do with me”? Well, perhaps more than you think!
As this has become so mainstream, big and small (yes, small) brands are using social gaming as a way to reach out, and addict, prospective customers and clients. In fact, walking around Adtech, I even bumped into one of these game companies - with hundreds of games. The psychological triggers these games employ, and their widespread acceptance, provides an enormous amount of actionable data to would-be marketers on how to sell.
I wouldn’t have believed it. If you haven’t booted one of these games up, perhaps now is the time? I downloaded several to my IPad unknowingly, thinking they were just regular strategy games, and was amazed at how they weaved in the concept of using real money to purchase items in the game. You owe it to yourself to see what’s happening out there to the younger generation! This is a total disaster for gaming …
And I say younger generation with great sorrow - as they will likely never know the simplicity and fun of the way games used to be - prior to them becoming disguised ATM machines with the purpose of getting money out of you in the guise of accomplishing more in the game. I feel like my dad, when I say, “back in my day, we didn’t pay to win a video game … we simply played them well”.
