Lots of ups and downs in the gaming world today as Guild Wars 2 tops UK sales but lags behind SWTOR and Tera is merging servers. What could these trends be showing us about the gaming niche in general or what we stand to see or not see from future games?
Massively explains:
Guild Wars 2 is the second largest non-World of Warcraft PC MMO launch in UK history according toChart-Track. The new fantasy title from ArenaNet topped sales charts this week but still sold less at retail than Star Wars: The Old Republic did at launch.
This comes out at the same time as the news that the newly released (younger than SWTOR) game Tera is trimming down its servers list:
The latest letter from TERA’s producer is out, and while it includes some interesting statistics, the most important bit of information is that the game will be trimming down its server list. On September 18th, the game will be shrinking to three servers: an unnamed PvE server, an unnamed PvP server, and the existing RP server called Celestial Hills. The letter is quick to state that this is a net positive for players looking for a larger and more active population within a given server.
People are already predicting the shutdown of Tera or a move to free to play option just like SWTOR. Is this a sign that gamers just don’t want to pay subscription fees for their games anymore or that we are only willing to pay when we feel the game delivers? Is it a sign of the economy or a sign of gamers growing bored with the games being handed to us?
I think it’s definitely safe to say that gamers have changed over the years, as have the games we are being offered by the industry. Do you think these are examples of a reflection of those changes or what we want to see from the games being created today?
If you’re wanting a gamer’s breakdown of the two games in comparison, check out this thread on the Escapist which discusses GW2 vs TERA.
