Some MMORPGs failed to capture players’ attention because they were ahead of their time. Others failed because the developers didn’t have a clear goal in mind. And others simply due to the saturated market that just couldn’t bear another generic and dull MMORPG.
We delve through some of those games and try to find out what went wrong.
Asheron’s Call 2
(November 2002 – December 2005)
Creating a sequel to one of the most beloved MMORPGs can be tricky – just ask EverQuest 2 developers. Experienced studio Turbine tried its best... to annoy players.
What went wrong: They succeeded in the arduous task of making a sequel that was dubbed by fans as “nothing like the original game”. No one was happy and Asheron’s Call 2 featured a vast and completely empty world. Graphics were better but that’s not the issue here, as players quickly reverted to Asheron’s Call 1.
Auto Assault
(April 2006 – August 2007)
Something of an Interstate ’76 or Twisted Metal drive’em up couldn’t sound too bad. It was NetDevil’s second attempt at MMOs, after Jumpgate. With some nice combat vehicles, upgrades and explosions, what could go wrong?
What went wrong: A lot, it seems. The potential was thrown out of the window by making the game dull and not funny at all to play. An action and driving game where your skills don’t determine your success is just wrong. The weapons don’t hit your enemies thanks to your aim and driving skill, but to your stats. So you would just drive in circles hoping that the die roll would finally strike a hit. Obviously, everyone grew tired of it.
Auto Assault was an action game with the elements of other classic MMOs, instead of choosing its own path. Released in April 2006, the servers were shut down on August 2007 due to lack of subscribers.
