Comments on: MMORPG Panel at New York Games Conference 2008 http://radoff.com/blog/2008/10/07/mmorpg-panel-at-new-york-games-conference-2008/ Swashbuckler, adventurer, slayer of dragons, commando, storyteller, Internet entrepreneur; explorer of rabbit holes Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:54:54 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jon http://radoff.com/blog/2008/10/07/mmorpg-panel-at-new-york-games-conference-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-883 Jon Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:34:55 +0000 http://radoff.com/blog/?p=38#comment-883 @rodica - I agree that individual products can be healthy and profitable, even in the shadow of an overwhelming larger competitor. There will always be guerrilla products that attack the edges of a top-selling product. However, I'm talking about the health of an entire industry, not individual products--and it's my opinion that there must be more than one market leader for a healthy industry to exist. @rodica – I agree that individual products can be healthy and profitable, even in the shadow of an overwhelming larger competitor. There will always be guerrilla products that attack the edges of a top-selling product.

However, I’m talking about the health of an entire industry, not individual products–and it’s my opinion that there must be more than one market leader for a healthy industry to exist.

]]> By: rodica http://radoff.com/blog/2008/10/07/mmorpg-panel-at-new-york-games-conference-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-879 rodica Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:07:48 +0000 http://radoff.com/blog/?p=38#comment-879 I'd love to hear more about how you define "healthy" in this context. To a certain extent, MMOGs can be successful if they attract a niche audience, albeit a small one. To me, this is a bit like the movie industry - you have the blockbusters and then you have the independent movies. Sometimes, the independent ones will reach mass appeal, but they exist to serve other purposes. Then again, I may be totally off beat here, since I don't know what you're referring to when you say "healthy". :) I’d love to hear more about how you define “healthy” in this context. To a certain extent, MMOGs can be successful if they attract a niche audience, albeit a small one. To me, this is a bit like the movie industry – you have the blockbusters and then you have the independent movies. Sometimes, the independent ones will reach mass appeal, but they exist to serve other purposes.

Then again, I may be totally off beat here, since I don’t know what you’re referring to when you say “healthy”. :)

]]> By: Jon http://radoff.com/blog/2008/10/07/mmorpg-panel-at-new-york-games-conference-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-867 Jon Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:09:30 +0000 http://radoff.com/blog/?p=38#comment-867 @Zack - there is no "MP3 player industry" because Apple is totally dominant. At this stage, it's just another Apple product with no viable competition. For example, if you're a brilliant product developer who knows how to make MP3 players, what are your career prospects outside of Apple? If you have a startup company idea, how available is the capital to form your competitor? When there are little or no ways to get a job or start a company within a market beyond one dominant leader, I don't call that an "industry." @Zack – there is no “MP3 player industry” because Apple is totally dominant. At this stage, it’s just another Apple product with no viable competition. For example, if you’re a brilliant product developer who knows how to make MP3 players, what are your career prospects outside of Apple? If you have a startup company idea, how available is the capital to form your competitor?

When there are little or no ways to get a job or start a company within a market beyond one dominant leader, I don’t call that an “industry.”

]]> By: Zack Hiwiller http://radoff.com/blog/2008/10/07/mmorpg-panel-at-new-york-games-conference-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-866 Zack Hiwiller Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:04:47 +0000 http://radoff.com/blog/?p=38#comment-866 While I agree that the MMORPG space isn't healthy, I don't think it is because there aren't multiple leaders. Apple is the only MP3 player maker that matters. eBay is the only auction site that matters. Likewise, there are many product fields where there are multiple leaders that aren't at all healthy - fantasy football games for instance lose tons of money, yet CBS, ESPN and Yahoo all are considered leaders. While I agree that the MMORPG space isn’t healthy, I don’t think it is because there aren’t multiple leaders. Apple is the only MP3 player maker that matters. eBay is the only auction site that matters. Likewise, there are many product fields where there are multiple leaders that aren’t at all healthy – fantasy football games for instance lose tons of money, yet CBS, ESPN and Yahoo all are considered leaders.

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