Lego MMO Delayed 32
LEGO Universe, the MMOG currently under development by NetDevil, will not be coming out this year, as was previously expected. Mark Hansen, a LEGO Group exec, would not specify a new time frame, and attributed the delay to avoiding competition between some of their other upcoming products. Hansen did comment on the possibility of a console version of the game, claiming that they're just waiting for the right time. IGN did a related piece on the past and future of console MMOGs, exploring where early attempts failed and what needs to be done for them to succeed. Many game developers and publishers are still hesitant due to the massive financial investment required to get such a game up and running in a market that has yet to prove itself.
Doesn't sound too smart... (Score:3, Interesting)
If the game is/will be ready, and they are delaying it for basically artificial reason, that doesn't sound like a wise strategy. They'll lose the marketing momentum of people anticipating the game, and it might mean that the game is somewhat obsolete by the time it is released. Also opens the door for competitors, which is a bad thing in a MMO environment that relies on subscribers or active players. Most people won't actively play more than a couple of MMO games, and subscribers lost to a competing MMO might be lost forever.
Of course, this could just be a smokescreen for the game not being ready, or needing more work. But MMOs tend to be works-in-progress anyway.
Personally, I subscribed to Lego Universe, and the lack of any actual activity regarding the game has made me rather disinterested. I'm not interested by "download some new concept art wallpapers," I want the game.
Re:I don't get it (Score:2, Interesting)
Google the term AFOL sometime.
LEGO has a big market outside of little kids.
Re:I don't get it (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm more interested in the lack of gameplay videos, or details on exactly what the game mechanics would be. There's some vaguness along the lines of "co-op with vehicle, weapon and building construction", but that's almost meaningless. Could it be they're delaying ti because they don't actually have a game yet? Or am I just not finding the right sites?