[MUD-Dev] Blog about GDC implies changes to MMORPG population

[Exar Kun]

Mike Rozak <Mike at mxac.com.au> wrote:

> I was just reading Grimwell online,

>  http://www.grimwell.com/index.php?action=fullnews&id=248

> and noticed an interesting factoid from the GDC... "Vogel reported
> significant changes in gamers' habits. Previously, game retention
> was on average 10 months. This is now down to six months, Average
> time per week played was 20 hours; this is now down to 12."

  "This reinforces the idea that casual gamers must be better
  supported, and as a metric, a one hour game session should be
  productive. He cited Jump to Lightspeed as an example of this,
  where a mission can easily be completed within a one-hour time
  frame." - Baldrake does San Francisco: GDC day 1 Thursday March
  10, 2005 by Baldrake, Grimwell Online

Respectfully, I think that's the opposite of Vogel implies.  It
sounds like the market is failing to meet a content need.  The
target audience has changed, or changed the way they use their time.
Their desire is now for content which allows them to feel satisfied,
but doesn't take up more than an hour of their time at a pop.

As a consumer of video games, I like games where I don't have to
spend a ton of time getting to the content that's important to me.
I'll put up with it for a while, especially if I'm learning the
ropes, but eventually I'll just stop coming back.

If I could have the experience I want in a reasonable time frame,
I'm more likely to eventually spend more time playing that game
instead of others while searching for my fix.  Plus, I'd be getting
it on a more regular basis.  This could imply I'll eventually spend
more time in one place, instead of channel surfing.

My point, they might not be spending less time in general looking at
content, just less time in your game with your content (those are
generalized "you"s).  Maybe the content needs to be 2/3 better than
it used to be.
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