John Smedley, president of DGC studio and head of MMOs such as H1Z1 or Planetside 2, believes that the days of pay-to-play MMOs with long raid nights like in World of Warcraft are a thing of the past.
Sony Online Entertainment has a new name and a new logo, but otherwise, much remains the same. Studio president John Smedley, who calls himself a “Loudmouth”, gave interviews explaining his vision for his company, which made waves many years ago with Everquest. For a long time, it was just one of many departments at Sony. Now, under the investment firm “Columbus Nova”, it operates somewhat independently.
At Sony, one never felt completely at home, but had special conditions with American Express
Overall, they are satisfied to be away from Sony. Even though they were treated well, it always felt a bit odd. They were essentially the PC division there. They couldn’t develop for XBox and mobile. This made them feel disadvantaged, and they want to change that:
It was the case that we could publish on fewer platforms compared to our competitors. That has changed; now we will eat them for breakfast.
However, there were also numerous advantages to being a sub-department of a sub-department at Sony. The reputation was solid. In every job interview, candidates knew they would be paid on time. They had special conditions with American Express. All competitive advantages. In this regard, they are starting from scratch again.
The layoff of long-time employees during the restructuring hurts Smedley. It was necessary due to a financial imbalance that needed to be corrected. Smedley wants to rehire as many of the old comrades as possible as soon as possible, saying: “We do not want new employees; we want the old ones.”
Who raids every night anymore?
The future of his field, MMOs, the Everquest creator sees in games like H1Z1 or Planetside 2: “I firmly believe that the days of WoW-style MMOs are over,” he says.
If you look at H1Z1: It is an MMO, yes. But the average life expectancy of players is 45 minutes. And that is exactly what they want. How many people do you still know who raid every night in World of Warcraft, Everquest, or Everquest II?
The willingness of players to invest time has changed, and as developers, they must respond to that: Luckily, they have long bet on this trend, as Smedley puts it, and are now in a favorable position. They are sitting in the front of the bus.
DGDC focuses on free-to-play MMOs, invests 30 million dollars in the PS4 port of Planetside 2
As a goal, they are focusing on free-to-play MMOs on consoles PlayStation and XBox. They see this development still in its infancy: “When you get a console for the first time, it is normal to see what is offered for free.” Currently, there is not much competition in this area. Daybreak Game Company benefits from that. A name that should signal a departure, but also makes it clear that gamers are indeed active at night.
When asked what a AAA MMO needs to trigger the free-to-play rush on consoles, Smedley replies: “I will be able to tell you soon,” he responds, “we are putting 30 million into Planetside 2 on the PS4. We are not just talking; we are also backing it up with our money.”
