DC Universe Online Interview
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Eurogamer: NCsoft Austin is downsizing, and yet you're releasing a broad range of new games. Is this a difficult time for MMOs?
John Blakely: I have to point to our bosses, who have always been able to manage us through difficult spaces. There have been tough decisions along the way, but they've always made sure we had the ability to weather these waters. Also, there's the talents of our teams, who learnt lessons so we've always been just a little bit ahead of everyone who's still gaining knowledge. That allows us to be a little bit more agile. We've had lean periods, but we're coming out of that and getting back in touch with our audience. Now we can try and add new audiences.
Eurogamer: Has there been a decision to take MMOs away from fantasy?
John Blakely: I think so, mainly because we've been the pointy tip of the spear for a long time. With an MMO, players build a relationship. It's more marriage than quick fling. In a relationship, people get to see the flaws. We realise that our players, after playing these kind of games for ten years, want something different. And we want to tackle different problems. So we're all coming to this point together.
The newer entries are chasing WOW, that big beast, but we're saying, that big beast is going to have a momentum of its own, but there's other opportunities here, and the players will be excited about that. You play a lot of "Me too" games, and you're, "Okay, there's different graphics and terms, but I can figure this out in the first ten minutes and now I'm bored."
