[MUD-Dev] selling Godhoods

[Matthew Mihaly]

On Thu, 27 Apr 2000, Ananda Dawnsinger wrote:

> 
> ----------
> >From: Matthew Mihaly <the_logos at achaea.com>
> >To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> >Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] selling Godhoods 
> >Date: Mon, Apr 24, 2000, 11:14 PM
> >
> >
> >The common misperception that quality and high-end customer service is not
> >scalable is refuted, in my opinion, by the Four Seasons hotel chain. For
> >those of you not familiar with them, they are a hotel chain with hotels
> >and resorts in nearly every major city or resort area in the world, and
> >they are usually either the top, or among the top, hotel/resort in their
> >market. They are _fantastic_. Every one I've ever stayed at has been
> >nothing less than a superlative experience, and yet they are not
> >cookie-cutter at all. Each one is unique, and yet each one manages to fit
> >within the larger corporate structure very well. 
> 
> 
> And though I can't remember whether or not I've actually stayed at a Four
> Seasons, I know the sort of hotel you're referring to.  One of their secrets
> to high-end customer service is limiting the number of rooms.  Even their
> Las Vegas hotel -- on the Strip! -- has under 500 rooms.

Yep. That is also one of our not-so-secret secrets.

 
> And this is what I meant by Not a Scalable Solution.  The online gaming
> community is probably less than a million users.  The ORPG community is a
> fraction of that.  The text MUD community is a fraction of *that.*  The
> number of wealthy text MUDders is finite, fought over by at least half a
> dozen commercial MUDs, and unlikely to grow at a significant rate.  If you
> are looking to these wealthy MUDders for a significant percentage of your
> income, at some point your growth will reach a ceiling.

It doesn't matter to me if it's scalable though. Achaea doesn't claim to
be scalable. We're a niche player, and even when we get to the point of
having 500+ people on line at once (as opposed to 140 or so now), I don't
see that changing.

 
> Just because the Four Seasons hotels keep occupancy high doesn't mean that
> you can get 250 (or 2500, or 25,000) players to play your MUD for
> $350/night...

No, quite right, but neither did i suggest that one take the exact Four
Seasons business model and apply it to muds. I was simply making the
analogy that profibility can be achieved by focussing solely on the
high-end, rather than the mass market.
--matt




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