Destination SkillQueue
Are We There Yet
5482
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Posted - 2013.07.17 08:42:00 -
[1] - Quote
Talon SilverHawk wrote:Malcanis wrote:Anyone can make a lot of promises. Delivering on them is harder. Not a reason to ignore possible competition as far as I am aware... Tal
It's a reason to take what people promise with a healthy dose of scepticism though, since everyone has fallen short on their promises and the purpose of that marketing is specifically to sell their product to as many people as possible. It isn't there to provide you with a fair and realistic view of things. People's inflated expectations also without fail raise unreleased games to a status no actual game will fulfill and they lack knowledge how the market actually works, so their predictions about what will happen is very often far off the mark. All that doesn't mean ignoring what other actors do, but it means you can keep doing your own thing and even benefit from the competition. There is also great risks in moving game in a new direction in an effort to try to react to what others do as star wars galaxies showed us.
When people worry about competition they generally seem to forget it isn't anything new and competition isn't just a bad thing. Competition in all areas has been there from day one and it hasn't really eased at any point. It's just that new games appeal to new people and those new people for some reason think, that their reaction is a new thing, instead of being the norm and constantly felt by a limited portion of the playerbase. What actually alters is people's expectations and they follow a predictable wavy pattern with their highs and lows as expectations are met with reality. Even if the new competing game thrives it doesn't mean others have to suffer in an equal amount. Great popular games will attract more people to the market and can benefit all games sharing those themes and genre by providing visibility, increasing interest and having people try out games they previously weren't aware of or ignored. Even a close inferior copy isn't just a loser in that interaction. It can certainly lose people who won't accept anything but the "best" in the group, but social ties are often stronger then the gameplay differences and it can even draw new players from the "better" game who are looking for more of the same.
I guess the result of this can seem like ignoring the competition, because it doesn't necessitate any drastic development changes to a game, that is already being constantly developed. Maybe stealing some great ideas, that are compatible what you want to do, but certainly nothing drastic. |