Hot takes, getcher hot takes here! Hot takes for everyone!
WILDSTAR SET TO RE-LAUNCH AS FREE-TO-PLAY
Note to self: don’t charge for things.
Second note to self: when attempting to replicate success of original World of Warcraft, structure business plan on original World of Warcraft, not on reading all the halcyon, Vaseline-smeared forum posts about original World of Warcraft by hardcore raiders and assuming both that they discuss ideas that are good in this decade and that the number and volume of them means there’s a big market there.
There is not.
This assumes that WildStar wanted to be a monthly sub forever, though, which… I mean, this is the 2010s. F2P re-launches are just too good of a business idea not to do, if your name isn’t Blizzard. You get a second round of that golden launch-day publicity. You get all the gamers who are too cheap to pay $15 a month to give you downloads (and, therefore, more publicity). And it’s not even a sign of failure anymore, because Lord of the Rings Online and Final Fantasy XIV have done it so well. You have to think this was planned.
But then, this is me talking. MMOs going free-to-play aren’t a World of Warcraft story, as they’re often made to be, in my opinion — they’re a MOBA story.
IGN HAS SEVEN MINUTES OF FOR HONOR GAMEPLAY
Look at it. Look at that beautiful Dark Souls crunchiness. Look at the respawn animation, swooping down on your avatar. Look at the weft and flow and parry of swordfighting that doesn’t have the janky, drunken-marionette feeling I got from Mount and Blade. Look at the depth of the combat mechanics.
Now come and pick me up at 3987 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, because I have had a… problem for at least four hours and need to see a doctor.
VALVE UNCERTAIN ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COUNTER-STRIKE:GLOBAL OFFENSIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS
So, in the wake of the seventy homfzillion dollars given out during Dota 2‘s The International 2015, Valve responds to questions about a possible CS:GO Huge Multi-Country Competition with… a shrug of the shoulders?
On the surface, this makes no sense. They are Valve, they have money, they can spend money on another The International for CS:GO and have three monies. I know we would sure love it here at AYB — more CS:GO money means more people showing up to BaseLANs, and if we make enough cash from that, Reactor might let me out of this basement. So, you know, thumbs up.
But, at the same time, I can understand a possible hesitation. They don’t come right out and say it, but we know there are both drug problems and cheating problems at high levels of CS:GO play. It’s possible they just want to make sure that’s cleared up before pointing all the cameras and lights at another of their crown jewels.
Now, pardon me whilst I inquire after today’s water and stale bread.
Jesse Mackenzie is the Managing Editor for aybonline.com. He refuses to explain exactly how many is in a “homfzillion”. He can be reached at jessem@aybonline.com, and his opinions are his own.
