rant
The Soapbox: Hating on the competition is no way to promote an MMO
Recently, RIFTÂ was back in the news, offering free subscription time to new and returning players. While I salute Gamigo's generosity here, whenever the topic...
The Soapbox: Subscriptions might actually be the next big innovation in digital card games
What started earlier this week as a rant on how bad an idea a subscription model in Hearthstone would be evolved into something more:...
The Soapbox: Comparing the monetization of physical and digital card games
Earlier this week, we reported on the recent Blizzard survey about a possible Hearthstone sub. When I read the news, I almost choked on...
The Soapbox: Why diversifying your MMO gaming is the smart thing to do
Allow me to indulge in some retrospection for a moment as I sit back on my rocker, squint into the fading afternoon light, and...
The Soapbox: WoW’s talent trees don’t deserve your nostalgia
As World of Warcraft's Dragonflight expansion marches into alpha testing, we're getting more glimpses at its new/old talent system, which harkens back to the...
The Soapbox: Fallout 76 absolutely needs better social tools to thrive
Unpopular opinion time: I have to say that Fallout 76... is kind of a great game right now. I know that the launch and...
The Soapbox: Are modern games more disposable than ever?
Atlas Rogues went out not with a bang but a whimper. I forgot it even existed. And after it closes July 5th, it's gone....
From the Depths: Everything we know about Wargaming’s exit from Russia
Mixing gaming and politics is rough. Think back to the Blitzchung fiasco for Blizzard back in 2019. Or when Daybreak was (and then wasn’t)...
The Soapbox: SWTOR’s Legacy of the Sith is bad, but not for the reasons you’ve heard
I've never been a big Star Wars fan, but I am a big BioWare fan, and after many failed attempts to get into the...
The Soapbox: Single-player open worlds will never equal those of MMORPGs
These days it seems like sprawling open worlds are becoming an ever more popular choice for single-player games, from the newer Assassin's Creed titles...
The Soapbox: #DayOffTwitch illustrates how good intentions break under bad planning
Those of you reading this probably know me as someone who wears one of three hats here at MOP: a news writer, the Choose...
The Soapbox: World of Warships’ aggressive monetization incited a mass-exodus of content creators
Gaming monetization has been a topic of intense conversation ever since box copies of software diminished in favor of persistent online experiences. Subscription services...
The Soapbox: Pokemon Unite’s monetization is gross and threatens a competent game
By now, you've probably seen several articles about the poor monetization in Pokemon Unite, often based on Reddit posts or streamer hot takes. Most talk...
The Soapbox: Abusing MMO community reps over design decisions is not only toxic but futile
Recently, an online video game community rep was run off Twitter by "fans." The CM's fellow game dev shared how upset she was that...
Not So Massively: First impressions of Dungeons & Dragons Dark Alliance
I'll admit I had low expectations for the new co-op action game Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance. The graphics looked a bit dated, and...
The Soapbox: MMO monetization that complements poor game design makes us all losers
I have a problem: As much as I enjoy games, I can see that many online and multiplayer games are becoming designed more poorly...
The Soapbox: Reconsidering social media as an MMORPG
At GDC 2011, Raph Koster gave a talk in which he said, "Games are fundamentally social media and always have been." You can watch...
The Soapbox: If you want innovation in MMOs, stop worshiping polish
Gamers often lament that the world of MMORPGs lacks innovation. It's a frustration I share; this a genre that could be much more than...
The Soapbox: Lies I was told about World of Warcraft
A few months back, I was feeling restless in my MMO routine. Guild Wars 2 is my MMO "home," so I'm always in that...
The Soapbox: How Magic Legends went wrong with the Dimir Assassin class
Cryptic and Perfect World Entertainment are known for their love of lockboxes as a monetization strategy. Therefore it was not wholly surprising when Magic:...
