Alright, first off - in light of a certain comment, I've got to apologize for my absence. As an aspiring Business Accountant (student) with 4 children, my time is limited. That doesn't include my various other obligations and the rather nasty winter we've been having here in Atlantic Canada. I have my reasons, but that doesn't excuse the fact that some of you would prefer I updated a little more frequently - or at least be a little more predictable. I'll work on that.
On to what I'd like to talk about - fighting games. Now you're asking "How does that relate to the title?". Let's start off with a little background. I studied as a game designer/programmer and followed up with some education in computer graphics which also revolved around game development. Now I'm studying as a business professional and I'm seeing an opportunity that is only beginning to be tapped. I'm talking about MMO fighters.
I know what you're thinking - we already have online, match making, rankings, arcade scenes, tournaments... all of that is already there and works (seemingly) but from my perspective, this genre hasn't reached its full potential yet. There are so many people itching to get into it but just don't know how. There is a ton of money waiting to be spent on it - yet no one is REALLY taking advantage of it. You have the giants like Capcom who are moving in the right direction - getting outside advice and guidance from experienced players like Seth Killian (very very smart move Capcom, you understand your market very well). They offer periodic updates to their main titles like Street Fighter 4 and focus pretty heavily on the arcade scene followed by the console scene. They obviously are making some sort of profit or we wouldn't be seeing SF4 getting updated and tweaked. Downloadable content gives them a little extra $$ without forcing it down the consumers throat and allows them to continue working on the game.
Now let's take the concept a little further: What if... WHAT IF they treated a fighter like SF4 like an MMO? You pay a small fee to purchase the game and you have access to everything. You can go online, you can fight people, you can rank up, you can do any extra training/grinding that they work into the system - you can do everything... eventually. Now also allow players to pay a small monthly fee which grants them access to new characters and downloadable content for free - and earlier than when it would be available to the non paying members. This means paying members can toy with new balances, characters, costumes, modes, etc earlier than anyone else. Certainly something many people would consider worth the purchase - especially if there is a gap of about a quarter (3 months) between the paying members getting the content and those who can't afford it and/or don't want to pay (or simply can't).
This gives the developers a little more financial breathing room for further balancing the game, adding new characters, developing new modes/content, etc. without needing to release a new game every year or two. It also opens the possibility up to dedicated (and more reliable) servers. More importantly, if the pricing structure is bang on, they may even be able to keep their online interfacing completely up-to-date with the most recent advances in technology. Sure we'd still likely see a completely new engine every so often and "start from scratch" again, but I think the games would last much longer (closer to that of a home consoles lifespan) and that is something I think people wouldn't mind so much.
There is a bit of working to do with the arcade scene, though. Since arcade play is large in certain parts of the world, I'd think that those machines would need to be able to interface with home console versions and vice versa. Balance and character patches getting on the arcades would need to be a must as well. If those systems are in place, cosmetic dlc would be easy enough to incorporate as well. Also, since arcades would also be completely up-to-date at all times, those who prefer the arcade over their home consoles could still use that avenue. Since arcades are most popular in forgien markets, I can't really make an educated guess on the impact this would have on their revenues, but in North America, I don't foresee much of a hit in that area (no real research to back that up though).
There is one glaring problem left - newcomers. The fighting genre is mostly reserved for the most dedicated of gamers since they require constant vigilance in self-improvement. A lot of my local friends falter in this area mostly because of a lack of guidance. We have very good training modes in recent fighters, but they're extremely daunting to a newcomer. We have missions/trials/etc which help you get a good feel for the characters, but those rarely prepare you for actual battle. If the developer used some of the revenue for R&D in these areas, they could help newcomers by making more applicable modes for training purposes. Repetitions is a good example of on way some players train to help get to know their characters. Help these players by giving small rewards for daily training in this area. They could also offer situation specific practice that pertains to the current meta of their level. "Find x ways to punish y character doing z move" and give a small reward on completion. This helps them understand matchups and - through a little trial and error - what will and won't work in those situation. The possibilities are endless.
For the rewards, they don't need to be big, but they do need to be meaningful. Say I get rewarded for completing X number of training days in a month and they let me try out a new costume for the remainder of the month. Or even a small discount on my next months fee. Paid for practice? Bring up the skill level of the community? Sounds good to me.
I think you get the idea and obviously it goes much MUCH deeper than this. It's just a general concept that I've always wondered why it wasn't pursued. With micro-transactions becoming more and more popular - why not take advantage of it? With the right model, the company could make a huge profit, players get a continually up-to-date fighter, the general skill and knowledge in the genre increases, potentially more solid connections, and overall - I don't think many people would be upset considering what they would get out of it. Either way, even if my approach isn't bang on, I think there is some serious potential in this area. Someone get on it and make some money!
'Till next time
~Veysey
No comments:
Post a Comment