Kxmode wrote on Apr 14, 2022, 01:04:
It's not a monopoly despite your loathing and contempt of it.

If it is in fact NOT a monopoly then why does the life of Garriott and his project 100% depend upon being on Steam in your view? You are saying he is destined for failure because he can not release on Steam cuz Steam isn't into NFTs but then you are also saying that Steam is not a monopoly. That does not make any sense. A platform that, according to you, decides over the life and death of a project (sales success or not) sounds a lot like a monopoly to me. If you can not even begin to exist without Steam then what is it other than a monopolistic platform?
Steam is obviously God in your world. It decides via a thumbs up or thumbs down which companies are allowed to survive. There can not be any success without Steam. Steam is everything. But it's not a monopoly? What?

RedEye9 wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 20:32:
Thinking a game cannot be successful because it won't be on the monopoly store is pure EDS.

I wrote, "There's also no major distribution channel since Valve's ban on products with blockchain and/or NFTs" and "No enormous platform to sell" (#34 and #38, respectively). I appropriately called it a major distribution channel and an enormous platform because it is—over a billion registered accounts and 120 million active monthly users. It dwarfs all other platforms, including the console platforms (Xbox Live 100m; PlayStation Network 111m). Valve doesn't prevent simship, nor do they have third-party exclusives. It's not a monopoly despite your loathing and contempt of it.

This comment was edited on Apr 14, 2022, 15:25.

*yawn* Another loser trying to con other losers via blockchain/crypto -- must be a day that ends in 'y'.

Thinking a game cannot be successful because it won't be on the monopoly store is pure EDS. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

RogueSix wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 20:21:

Citizen P wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 19:26:

RogueSix wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 17:59:

Kxmode wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 14:18:
Not exactly sure how Mr. Garriott expects his product(s) to have any chance of success with Valve banning...

Oh, yes, there is absolutely no way anyone could ever release a successful video game without Valve. We can see this every day by the huge failures called Nintendo, ArenaNet, Activision Blizzard, UbiSoft, Epic, Riot Games, Mojang et al. It is a biblical miracle how those walking corpses even manage to survive without the almighty life-giving Steam empire. Absolutely unfathomable.

I like how all your examples are mostly publishers too, and each worth many millions of dollars.

I like how the super-obvious sarcasm flew over your head . Seriously, man...

I like how you missed his sarcasm and somehow though he missed your sarcasm despite that clearly not being the case.

Citizen P wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 19:26:

RogueSix wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 17:59:

Kxmode wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 14:18:
Not exactly sure how Mr. Garriott expects his product(s) to have any chance of success with Valve banning...

Oh, yes, there is absolutely no way anyone could ever release a successful video game without Valve. We can see this every day by the huge failures called Nintendo, ArenaNet, Activision Blizzard, UbiSoft, Epic, Riot Games, Mojang et al. It is a biblical miracle how those walking corpses even manage to survive without the almighty life-giving Steam empire. Absolutely unfathomable.

I like how all your examples are mostly publishers too, and each worth many millions of dollars.

I like how the super-obvious sarcasm flew over your head . Seriously, man...

RogueSix wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 17:59:

Kxmode wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 14:18:
Not exactly sure how Mr. Garriott expects his product(s) to have any chance of success with Valve banning...

Oh, yes, there is absolutely no way anyone could ever release a successful video game without Valve. We can see this every day by the huge failures called Nintendo, ArenaNet, Activision Blizzard, UbiSoft, Epic, Riot Games, Mojang et al. It is a biblical miracle how those walking corpses even manage to survive without the almighty life-giving Steam empire. Absolutely unfathomable.

Not an indie developer/publisher producing a brand-new IP with universally hated technology. No enormous platform to sell. No customers to buy. A failure combo.

RogueSix wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 17:59:

Kxmode wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 14:18:
Not exactly sure how Mr. Garriott expects his product(s) to have any chance of success with Valve banning...

Oh, yes, there is absolutely no way anyone could ever release a successful video game without Valve. We can see this every day by the huge failures called Nintendo, ArenaNet, Activision Blizzard, UbiSoft, Epic, Riot Games, Mojang et al. It is a biblical miracle how those walking corpses even manage to survive without the almighty life-giving Steam empire. Absolutely unfathomable.

I like how all your examples are mostly publishers too, and each worth many millions of dollars.

Pallais wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 06:07:
I loved the early Ultimas (and have physical copies), but Richard Garriott hasn't been a solid game designer or developer since Ultima 8.

Ultima 8 was also questionable.

Kxmode wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 14:18:
Not exactly sure how Mr. Garriott expects his product(s) to have any chance of success with Valve banning...

Oh, yes, there is absolutely no way anyone could ever release a successful video game without Valve. We can see this every day by the huge failures called Nintendo, ArenaNet, Activision Blizzard, UbiSoft, Epic, Riot Games, Mojang et al. It is a biblical miracle how those walking corpses even manage to survive without the almighty life-giving Steam empire. Absolutely unfathomable.

BIGtrouble77 wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 09:56:
Ultima VI is my all time favorite game. LB is a game dev hero of mine. I bought into Shroud back when that was a thing with the hope that it could be good. Since then, I've decided to avoid anything and everything he's associated with. He's a shell of his former self and has absoutely no business being associated with any game dev projects these days. The fact that this is blockchain related is not surprising, either. I hope this fails spectacularly.

It will. Gamers universally hate NFT and blockchain, and the only people who would be interested in this aren't gamers. There's also no major distribution channel since Valve's ban on products with blockchain and/or NFTs. He's entering into a lose-lose proposition.

Pallais wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 06:07:
I loved the early Ultimas (and have physical copies), but Richard Garriott hasn't been a solid game designer or developer since Ultima 8. Ultima 9, Tabula Rasa, Shroud of the Avatar have all been disappointing. I suspect this game company will just be more of the same. Blockchain and NFT are just this month's flavor of sucking away venture capitalist money.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see RG release another impactful game series, but unless you're a Steve Jobs, impactful products are once-in-a-lifetime things. He'd be better off just staying retired as a game designer than constantly reminding people he once had a massive impact on the game industry.

Not exactly sure how Mr. Garriott expects his product(s) to have any chance of success with Valve banning products built with blockchain technology and containing NFT, or some combination of both, especially if he goes the crowdfunding route. I can't think of a worse product to unleash on gamers than a crowdfunded blockchain-built NFT exchange.

Darks wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 11:45:
When I was in the Beta for this game long ago, I warned people how bad this game was and would be. I got bashed to hell and back because of it. Now look at the game and still how bad it is after all these years. Yeah, that's right, look who was right all this time!!!

Who? Ronny Pickering?

Frijoles wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 12:07:
Was thinking the same thing. However, current daily players is 35.7 for March with a peak of 67. I'm surprised the servers aren't shut down. But if those 67 enjoy it, good for them I guess.

The game does not require Steam so it is probably more than 67 players but, yeah, it is a small miracle that it is still online. The standalone client "crowd" can not be that large.

I don't know if it's all about just money for Garriott. His estimated net worth is $30 mill. There's still a few space flights left in the budget, and plenty left over for his beneficiaries, assuming it's sitting in a well managed investment account.

Probably more about being relevant again. But let's face it, for most people, your most creative work is done in your 20s and 30s.

Domgrief wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 10:15:
This is a nice biennial reminder to check out what Shroud of the Avatar is like now.

Was thinking the same thing. However, current daily players is 35.7 for March with a peak of 67. I'm surprised the servers aren't shut down. But if those 67 enjoy it, good for them I guess.

Domgrief wrote on Apr 13, 2022, 10:15:
This is a nice biennial reminder to check out what Shroud of the Avatar is like now. Last time I played, I gave up after I walked chest-deep into the floor of an inn and could only interact with half the environment.

When I was in the Beta for this game long ago, I warned people how bad this game was and would be. I got bashed to hell and back because of it. Now look at the game and still how bad it is after all these years. Yeah, that's right, look who was right all this time!!!

Fk Garret and anything hes involved in!

This is a nice biennial reminder to check out what Shroud of the Avatar is like now. Last time I played, I gave up after I walked chest-deep into the floor of an inn and could only interact with half the environment.

Ultima VI is my all time favorite game. LB is a game dev hero of mine. I bought into Shroud back when that was a thing with the hope that it could be good. Since then, I've decided to avoid anything and everything he's associated with. He's a shell of his former self and has absoutely no business being associated with any game dev projects these days. The fact that this is blockchain related is not surprising, either. I hope this fails spectacularly.

This comment was edited on Apr 13, 2022, 10:47.

So, blockchain was the driving force to get him back into the gaming business? DOH!