Unless it is SOE's intent to let EQ exist and then die off slowly by catering only to existing players, some resources absolutely must be spent on marketing, and this includes boxed sets of the all too frequent expansions.
As I walk through any store that sells games, I see games like WOW, Oblivion, Vanguard, etc. prominently displayed. Where is EQ? When I am asked about what game I play, unless people already know about it, when I tell them EQ they have this questioning look and reply "Everquest, hmmmm, not familiar with that one." Lack of public awareness is the absolute deathknell for any commercial product.
Attrition of longtime players is a natural occurance. However, attracting new players to the game is as or perhaps more critical to its survival than frequent additions of new content for existing players. (As an aside, veteran players please be tolerant of and help the newbies. You may need to recruit that new player later when your raiding guild's principal warrior has to quit playing because they switched to second shift)
I see the absolute need for placing boxed sets in stores, complete with a good PRINTED manual for getting started. I was lucky enough to have relatives who played who could guide me, others are not so lucky. The tutorial is good, but there are dozens of game features and tweaks which can't be covered by the tutorial and people who get frustrated will eventually leave. It would also be nice if the updated game on display were accompanied by a demo disk running on the store's display computer. Perhaps even a point of purchase floor display with the with the boxed sets on it. Advertising works.
New content is nice, but most can't keep up with expansions every 6 months. However, even with server mergers, without a steady stream of new players, SOE is simply accepting the death of the game. The only variable is time.
Producer's Letter: January 29, 2007
Here is the latest Producer's Letter (as seen on EQLive):
I wanted to start off this Producer's letter by saying THANK YOU to all of the beta testers that are actively participating in The Buried Sea beta. I know that jumping into a work in progress can be frustrating at times, but the teamwork between the developers and the players really makes EverQuest into the classic that it is. Special thanks go out to the guilds that are helping with the larger tuning tasks.
I wanted to start off this Producer's letter by saying THANK YOU to all of the beta testers that are actively participating in The Buried Sea beta. I know that jumping into a work in progress can be frustrating at times, but the teamwork between the developers and the players really makes EverQuest into the classic that it is. Special thanks go out to the guilds that are helping with the larger tuning tasks.
Being able to participate in beta tuning is a huge job for both the developers and the testers involved. I know that many of you want to help out with each beta and we welcome the extra help. We wanted to get in a few new guilds to help us this time around. We tend to stick with guilds that have proven in past beta's that they are professional, on time and willing to work with our developers to ensure a better game for everyone else. If you have not participated in beta tuning with the developers, don't worry. We plan to cycle in new guilds when needed and will send out open calls in a similar manner as we did on The Buried Sea. The guilds that are listed below have all contributed to the tuning passes we are doing on this expansion.
Midnight Tempest - new beta testing guild from our board recruiting
Silent Redemption - new beta testing guild from our board recruiting
Fire & Fury
The Relentless
Silent Resurgence
Township Rebellion
Triality
Our internal Quality Assurance department is hard at work checking all of the new zones, quests, items and additional content that will roll out in The Buried Sea next month, and the work is right on schedule.
I plan on having a weekly feature on the webpage leading up to the launch of The Buried Sea as well, which we kicked it off on Friday with a feature on the Guild Banners. If you haven't seen it - go check it out! They are really cool and they should help guilds out quite a bit by reducing downtime and travel time.
I have been reading the boards regarding me taking over the reigns as Producer, and I appreciate the votes of confidence, and also understand the skeptics. The development team and the community have seen many people come and go, and I was aware of that when I joined the team. I am looking to bring a new angle to EverQuest. As I have said before, my intentions are not to change the game, but I do believe that there are quite a few things that could be done to make playing it more fun.
While I can't comment on promises made in the past, I can listen to you now and work with you to make this game a place that you love to come back to everyday. Changes can take some time but making sure that the right changes happen is far more important than rushing anything. Just remember that I am listening, so keep posting!
Clint "Jourdian" Worley
EverQuest Producer
Sony Online Entertainment