So, it's no secret that one of my favorite podcasts out there is MOG with hosts Garry and Ryan. These guys present a very good editorial and opinion podcast on MMOs...added to that, they've really stepped up their media content with both the MMO Minute and Cognition. However, in show #60, Gary said something that made me go "Whoa???!!". He said, "...We need some innovation. Until something comes out that is so innovative and just knocks me down...I'm almost done with MMOs." Ryan feels the same way and it looks like their interest in the genre is being "stripped away" with the current MMO offering. Again...whoa??
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to argue their point because they do represent a segment of the current MMO audience...but it still stuck me as a really weird statement to make for these two guys. Why? The reason I listen to shows like MOG and VirginWorlds is because I respect and trust their opinions on games that I'm interested in. If Brent were to message me and say, "Darren, go by game X...you're going to love it", I wouldn't hesitate. Actually, Brent is the one who put me onto Ryzom and the MOG guys convinced me to try Eve Online again....both of which are great games. I'm sure, there are people who listen to these guys and try many games based on the coverage they give. With their focus now including XBox 360 titles, this just widens the net.
Now, if Garry and Ryan are not going to try titles like Conan or PoTBS or Tabula Rasa, I wonder if they are making a mistake by not putting both feet in the pool for 2007. I've said it before, 2007 is a pivotal year for MMOs. If imitation breeds innovation, the next couple of years are going to be nuts in the MMO space. As a listener of MOG, I want to hear what they have to say on all of the MMO titles coming out in 2007.
Oh well...I hope it was just an "off the cuff" statement made out of a level of frustration. Loosing that MOG angle on MMOs would just feel wrong IMHO.
D out.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
MOG stopped making a lot of sense when they were playing Dark and Light and Shadowbane while downplaying every other game on the market. That is when I stopped listening.
I totally lost faith when they started touting Vanguard as a game worth playing, with great potential. Gary and Ryan are just wrong about the MMORPG market.
Their shows turned into a bunch of drivel. Every GREAT OPPORTUNITY they received resulted in half-assed drunk escapades.
The show was great when they actually played good games and talked about those games as they were playing them. Even their EVE Online fanboism has gone awry. They once had great coverage of EVE Online with their natural flare for presenting. Then they just turned into bad griefers :/
Now they seem to care more about dumbass comments and one-liners than actually providing what attracted people to the podcast in the first place.
Not surprising though.
MOG works as intended.
I'm pretty sure they'll play Conan and Tabula Rasa. They played WoW: TBC, and so far as I can tell, they generally despise the WoW experience.
As off the cuff and tangental as they can be, they're barking a message that no one else is. I'm watching these guys very closely because their mind set is radical and remorseless, and frankly, probably 2 "generations" ahead of the industry.
Hey Guys...Gary here from MOG here
When I said that I was done with MMO's right now it's more of a frustration with the current market...
We are absolutely going to be trying Conan, POTBS, Tabula, and probably every other MMO that comes out...
We LOVE the genre...it's just in a really boring place right now...consoles are forging on creating some really great experiences while MMO devs are giving us alot of the same over and over again...it's frustrating...
As for your first commenter I am sorry you think that we stopped making sense for giving what was supposed to be a monumental title(D&L)a shot...and at that time Shadowbane went completely free!! Why wouldnt we try it out...we didnt play SB in it's hay day...
Do we have a drink once in awhile...sure
Do we crack some jokes...sure
Do we talk about video games...sure
That is what we do...hopefully we make you chuckle at something and you realize we are talking about video games here...not Global Politics...it should be FUN!
Hey Gary,
Thanks for dropping in and commenting.
Yeah, I thought it was a more frustration thing when you said that. Would hate to loose that MOG voice for the upcoming titles.
Heartless...I think you missed my point.
Darren, you had me worried with this post, but I finally listened to MOG ep 60 and I think you might have jumped a wee bit far in conclusions.
I think wild mood swings are just part of the MOG package.
They were certainly down on how MMOs have been developing (or not developing) and I was happy to hear Ryan's new take, that we are not even out of the first generation of MMOs. (Because that is what I have been saying all along in this generational discussion.)
But this lead to a reverie of live brainstorming and speculation on where the genre might go. I felt it was, compared to other recent shows, perhaps the most interesting on the subject of MMOs.
Post a Comment