So far I believe Warcraft is the exception and not the rule, and is probably the first game to really jump this shark (There was Ultima before but it honestly didn't change it's gameplay very much in that transition). I often wonder if it's this very success that wrongfully encourages other developers to do it. There's also the fact that in most cases a MMO can remain commercially successful even if it's not critically successful (which to game publisher marketing is really all that matters).
Nods Respectfully Towards You said:
I wouldn't really add The Elder Scrolls to that list. It was more of a spinoff created by a separate studio to be a blatant cash-in. Stuff like TOR, Dragon's Dogma Online, and that Nosgoth bullshit actually replaced the main series they spawned from.
That is a good point, I'll admit while I have little desire to play TES:O I don't have this bad taste in my mouth when I think about it the same way I do for other titles, it's been clearly said by Bethesda that production of TES:O won't tie up or prevent the studio from making SP games in the future.
Maxtro said:
Anybody remember Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning?
It was a very fun action RPG with some of the best combat I've ever seen in a game.
The franchise ended because of huge lawsuit about unpaid loans that were used to develop a MMO.
Yeah.
I am quite saddened by this but making a MMO was their intention all along before they even released Kingdoms of Amalur. I am sad to see them go, they had a lot of potential but given that a MMO was their intent from the start, perhaps it's better we are left not knowing what the future of that franchise might look like.
GamingBlaze said:
My opinion is that if a series has been strictly single player, then tacking on a multiplayer mode is both annoying and a waste of time.
Look at DA:I for example,that multiplayer got chucked in for the sake of it and I have'nt heard anyone talk about playing it.
Tacked on and forced multiplayer never works in games that don't need it.
While this is certainly an issue for many, and I clearly see how people might feel that the addition of unnecessary MP hurt the SP campaign, I think it's a somewhat separate issue. Even if I hate the Multiplayer Components of Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, Tomb Raider, Dragon Age, etc. I can still choose to ignore them in favor of the far more robust SP campaign. Games that go full Multiplayer only however deprive us of that choice and alienate those players who only wish for a single player campaign.
I find it particularly egregious that franchises built around great single player experiences go this route not as a side project (The Elder Scrolls Online) or one-off attempt (Final Fantasy XI/XIV & Dragon Quest X) but when they overtake the original series entirely forever alienating it's original fanbase in favor of (hopefully) more profits. It's a cash-grab no matter how you slice it. I may even enjoy games like The Old Republic or Fable Legends or Dragon's Dogma MMO if they did not use the wealth of lore of existing franchises as a crutch to build upon and did their own thing.