MMORPG - COH profitability

[Triplash]

I don't know if they were shooting for "she's got a sexy sweat thing going on" or "she's oiled up to high heaven," but it comes off more like "she's made of some kind of canned ham substance with that nasty slimy sheen on it."

https://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz55/KansasCrawford/Funny%20Pics/HamRoveTimetoShine.jpg

[JaguarX]

In the B&S video, is that is how all the characters are made or are people just choosing to made characters like that. I noticed they had male characters too but seems many more videos of the females than males so it would seem that people like that kind of thing actually.

Well, one thing about proportions, not many games get it right. The chest slider in COX even was from flat chest to an overdone boob job, without movement of course and no shape below the waist. Another NCSoft product. They seem to focus on breast alot and alot of people use them to the max, in CO, in COX, seemingly in B&S, and various other games. If the breast can be made huge, many people do it, even if the proportions are not right.

Then again, games tend to be marketed towards raging hormone teenagers. I think the crowd of this game is an anomaly for the MMO world for usually stated average age. Although, still there was plenty of skimpy dressed out of proportion breast and body toons running around.

I guess as the old saying goes, sex sells. Or at least that seems to be the thinking. But B&S is not sexy to me. Although I dont play games looking for a turn on anyways or looking for sexy. Probably why B&S dont bother me, as I seen it before in other games. If it's about proportions than 99% of games fail in that in some manner in the MMO world.  Whether or not it failed a little or a lot, it's still failure. I dont think B&S was made to attract mature in age players, but then again MK1 caused a lot of outrage when it first hit stores in it's day within mature age audiences and parents. Now, MK1 is considered very very mild. Not sure if there is any family friendly MMOs out there have been many family friendly MMOs out there since 2004. Maybe Pirates of the Carribean, or some of the Disney offerings. Besides that, each had it's own kind of "strange" "wouldnt want my kid to be around" thing. COX had it's catgirl and erotic role play thing. More power to them but I wouldnt want/allow my kid to be part of the game.

[InOnePiece]

Personally, I think NCSoft would do well to cross market the game with Jergen's and Kleenex.

Back to an earlier point, I really think if COH/PS/Whatever wasn't profitable they would have "trimmed the fat" first rather than close down the whole studio. And, as far as what the fans are "accustomed" to... well, we are unaccustomed to not being able to play the game. Therefore, any host would be better than none, I would think.

Oh, and Hi... post #1.

[FatherXmas]

Then again, games tend to be marketed towards raging hormone teenagers. I think the crowd of this game is an anomaly for the MMO world for usually stated average age. Although, still there was plenty of skimpy dressed out of proportion breast and body toons running around.

I would agree but a break down in demographics early in B&S life showed over 50% of the subscriptions were to those 30 and older.  Gender breakdown was 69% male 31% female (all subscriptions not the ones over 30).

[JaguarX]

I would agree but a break down in demographics early in B&S life showed over 50% of the subscriptions were to those 30 and older.  Gender breakdown was 69% male 31% female (all subscriptions not the ones over 30).

I see. So raging hormone middle aged people?

[eabrace]

I see. So raging hormone middle aged people?

Midlife crisis, engage!

[Lily Barclay]

The second girl in that video actually looked realistic to me... in the same way this girl in the photo bellow is NOT fake (no sarcasm, she is real and actually looks like the second girl in the video.)


Her name is Valeria Lukyanova and... well she is a strange one. I'm guessing the art team in B&S are fans.  8)

A lot of those photos are heavily photoshopped. She doesn't actually look like that. If you look at the eyes, they are all different sizes, and it isn't just makeup. The proportions of other parts of her face change, too. So yeah, technically that isn't "real"either.

[Starsman]

A lot of those photos are heavily photoshopped. She doesn't actually look like that. If you look at the eyes, they are all different sizes, and it isn't just makeup. The proportions of other parts of her face change, too. So yeah, technically that isn't "real"either.

I seen videos of the girl, she IS freaky. The eye thing is indeed a lot of makeup. She has at least one video in youtube defending herself not over photoshop claims, but about plastic surgery claims (I still think there is plastic surgery involved, though.)

[Lily Barclay]

I seen videos of the girl, she IS freaky. The eye thing is indeed a lot of makeup. She has at least one video in youtube defending herself not over photoshop claims, but about plastic surgery claims (I still think there is plastic surgery involved, though.)

I don't care what she says, I'm in the field, and some of those are heavily photoshopped to change her proportions. Not all of them, but some. And of course she says it isn't, because she wants to sell images. Videos can also be manipulated. I'm not arguing that she isn't oddly proportioned, but she doesn't actually look like those photos, I promise.

[houtex]

Her name is Valeria Lukyanova and... well she is a strange one. I'm guessing the art team in B&S are fans.  8)

Pfft, you linked with Bing, must use IE too.  *shakes head...*

/And now the thread turns into a Bing vs Google vs IE vs Firefox vs Windows vs Mac debate... GO! :D
//Kidding about Bing, btw. :P
///Well, also about IE, to a certain extent...

[Quinch]

Personally, I think NCSoft would do well to cross market the game with Jergen's and Kleenex.

Back to an earlier point, I really think if COH/PS/Whatever wasn't profitable they would have "trimmed the fat" first rather than close down the whole studio. And, as far as what the fans are "accustomed" to... well, we are unaccustomed to not being able to play the game. Therefore, any host would be better than none, I would think.

Oh, and Hi... post #1.

Hi hi, welcome to the forums! And yeah, cost-cutting vs. outright closure has been discussed ever since the announcement, and is one of the main arguments that NCsoft just wanted to sink the studio outright.

[Starsman]

Pfft, you linked with Bing, must use IE too.  *shakes head...*

At work, I do. Computers are very locked down there, lots of things blocked as far as sites go and the network wont allow anything but IE to access the web. All configs are forced-default to BING.

Has lots to do with the agency not trusting Google (although Google is NOT actually blocked, no google nothing is allow to be installed.)

At home, I am a Safari guy.

[JaguarX]

sounds like here. No google stuff can be downloaded, even google maps/mapquest is blocked but irony is yahoo maps work.


At home, I just dont use Google myself. Personal preference is sufficient enough of a reason to be given here. Some of my friends do not trust Google at all, some dont care and will use anything on the net, and some dont trust any of them and is tougher and more thorough about those ToS, Privacy policies, EULA, and stuff than I am.

[therain93]

You know, I really don't mind a bit of fan service in games.  And I'm usually the one who defends sexuality in games.

But the women, they just don't look like women.  Seriously, when I watch that video, I can't help but think they looks like aliens that were meant to kinda sorta look like women, but that come more like...  I dunno, like mannequins with grossly exaggerated features.  Kind of like how, have you ever seen those little ancient stone carvings of fertility goddesses?  When you did, did you think, "Oh, those...things...are supposed to be the boobs I guess"?  Did you think, "Wow, she's sexy!"  I know I didn't, because when I look at them, they're so fakely out of proportion that I don't get aroused or anything, it's more like, "Ah, it's some abstract artistic representation meant to grossly exaggerate some particular features without striving for accurate representation."

It's the same when I look at that video.  The clothes don't move right, it's like they're painted on.  And not in a good way, like body paint, but like even stuff that is supposed to be a little loose is glued on.  The hips don't move right.  There are graphics clipping issues.  The way the back stays arched frankly looks painful.  Even the "jiggle physics" that supposedly they worked hard on doesn't really look normal; it's more like a couple of water bags are strapped onto the front of her chest, not actual human breasts, even exaggerated in size.  The faces are all expressionless, neither happy nor sad nor determined nor angry nor, well, anything, which is a creepy.  And the skin, oh god, the skin.  I don't know if they were shooting for "she's got a sexy sweat thing going on" or "she's oiled up to high heaven," but it comes off more like "she's made of some kind of canned ham substance with that nasty slimy sheen on it."

Like I said, I don't mind a bit of fan service.  (I'm looking at you, Swan.)  I used to be an avid fan of The Man Show.  (During Adam's and Jimmy's years; when they left, the show REALLY sucked.)  But this game is disgusting.  Not in a pornographic kind of way, but in just an artistically messed up kind of way.  I'm sorry, but when I watch videos of it, I don't think, "Ooh!  Strippers!"  I've been to strip clubs, and that ain't a strip club.

I guess what I'm saying is that I agree that portraying the game as pornographic is probably the wrong angle.  I don't know how to say this tactfully, but saying that would be an insult to pornography.

The difference between those games and Blade & Soul is that although those games exaggerated features, sometimes even skirting the edge of unrealism (in proportion; functionally in terms of what they were doing in their respective games, the characters were almost all completely unrealistic), at least the characters in them were still recognizably human.

Your reaction is in line with uncanny valley hypothesis.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley

[Mazz vs The World]

Sorry but i can't jump on the bandwagon here I think the game looks great. I hate to admit it but yeah sure some features are exaggerated but they should be it's a game not real life. I guarantee that most of the female toons were made by men can you say boob fetish?? Also have you all not been out in the world i see countless boob jobs with the same sized boobs if not bigger on the streets or on television (I live in NYC). I find absolutely nothing wrong with the way they move and I actually like the jiggle makes it more realistic. Now will I be making an overdone boob job toon no but I will appreciate the men who make their characters however they want to make them. Isn't that what we loved about the COH costume creator? You could make whatever you want, look however you want. If you want to make a plastic surgery chick with quadruple D's, with hot pink skin, and metalic wings then more power to ya! I get the hate on B&S because many feel like NCSoft are replacing COH with it but come on the graphics look great! Don't hate the GAME hate the Playa!!

[Aggelakis]

Don't hate the GAME hate the Playa!!

When you literally cannot make a lady in the dark-skinned and light-skinned races that doesn't look like a hooker, there is no way to blame the "playa" on it. It's the game's fault.

[Mazz vs The World]

When you literally cannot make a lady in the dark-skinned and light-skinned races that doesn't look like a hooker, there is no way to blame the "playa" on it. It's the game's fault.

The game isn't even out yet how do you know what you can and can't literally do? Sure there are videos but they aren't set in stone as far as what the actual game will entail. Here how's this when the game comes out I will get it make multiple toons of different races and attemtp to make them all look similar "non-hooker" if you will, toons! Then we can discuss who to hate.

[Aggelakis]

The game isn't even out yet how do you know what you can and can't literally do?

The game IS out, it's out in Korea (hooker version) and China (in a toned-down version that doesn't look like it will make it over here, instead we'll get the Korean hooker version). There is tons of footage from the game.

[Mazz vs The World]

The game IS out, it's out in Korea (hooker version) and China (in a toned-down version that doesn't look like it will make it over here, instead we'll get the Korean hooker version). There is tons of footage from the game.

You have no idea what our version will look like. Stop assuming and hating and wait to see what it will actually look like. This will help save face in case your initial assumption is wrong. Also I have seen other videos where the toons do not look as "bootylicious" and vice versa so it looks like the player decides on how big the breast are and not the actual game. This was the same in COH not sure what the big hype is in regard to breast size besides the fact that in B&S they actually move??

[Aggelakis]

Why are you fixated on the size of the breasts? I never mentioned the size of the tits. I honestly don't care how big the tits are in the game. Hell, City could make them go bigger! The problem I have is, they are the only thing with movement physics on them - and the movement physics are WRONG (boobs don't move like that! I know - I own a pair!). And the ladies walk/run like exaggerated catwalk models. Also, their legs take up more than half their body height and you CANNOT fix that with the customization options. Also, their waist/chest doesn't have enough room to contain their innards, and their hips/butt are big enough to contain two to three hips/butts.