Obduction in the News

Nalates · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2016 8:31 pm

I posted in my blog about Eurogamer.net covering Cyan and Obduction in an article. I have little to say and just point to: Myst connection: The rise, fall and resurrection of Cyan

Its a nice article, even if it is not quite how I remember things coming down.

belford · **Joined:** Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1890

Is there a specific point you disagree with?

The interesting assertion in this article, which I've never seen before from the horse's mouth, is

Quote:

They just said 'no, we're not gonna do online', and they shut down The Matrix Online and they closed the online office and they pulled Myst Online as well

That is, Ubisoft made a company-wide decision to get out of MMO gaming. I had always assumed (without evidence) that they had specifically evaluated Uru's potential as an online game and decided to drop it.

Mac_Fife · **Posted:** Sat Sep 10, 2016 12:16 pm

That was my "key takeaway" from that article too.

Chogon · **Joined:** Wed Aug 02, 2006 7:13 pm **Posts:** 1064

It is a nice article, lots of rich details.

As far as the going (or coming) down, that is the way I remember it.
It would have been easier to take if Ubisoft had based it’s decision on the potential merits of UruLive (and MatrixOnline). But personally, I think the roll out of Shadowbane had a lot to do with the demise of the Ubisoft Online division. All the technical problems that get magnified being massively online. Problems that are normal for any MMOG start, especially at that time period. I’m not trying to blame Shadowbane at all, they were pushing the envelope also in a different way. But it made Ubisoft pause and realize that it just didn’t have the stomach for it (I think there is a Bill Slease quote in there somewhere).

--Chogon

Robin · **Posted:** Tue Sep 13, 2016 3:23 am

I thought URU had a chance with Game Tap, but felt "marketing" was a more than little lacking, letting URU get lost in the crowd. :cry:

Afterward, as a Greeter, I found that a great many new explorers hadn't even known about it in the Game Tap days, only discovered it had ever existed by chance, and then stumbled onto MO:ULa or were directed to it by other explorers.

These days, a social media campaign can make a huge difference, but even a relatively few years ago, traditional advertising channels were still your best bet. And much as I personally detest them, targeted click-through ads on web-pages would be another way to go now. I suspect TV ads would be largely wasted on your target audience today.

(Yeah, among many other things, I'm an MBA that did VERY WELL in my Marketing classes, and often look at things through that "filter". :wink:

)

korovev · **Posted:** Tue Sep 13, 2016 1:58 pm

I don’t think the end of The Matrix Online fell entirely on Ubisoft, though, it was backed by Sony and Warner too.

I guess no MMOG can be a guaranteed and/or enduring success, even with Star Wars they had to try twice.

Szark · **Posted:** Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:55 am

I liked this passage

Quote:

Myst was quiet. Peaceful. Elegant. As such, it drew attention from an audience otherwise uninterested in video games in those games. Artists, academics and grandparents alike all looked to Myst as a sophisticated piece of media. Suddenly gaming - or at least Myst-playing - was no longer considered a guilty pleasure, but rather a worthwhile academic pursuit

Obduction in the News

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