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Platforms and Monetization
How is simultaneous release on multiple platforms being handled? Do players on different platforms play together?
They have to play separately per platform; first party wouldn’t allow us to do cross platform.
Got it. Are you going to be able to do all the major patches on consoles that are coming to PC?
Yeah, there is a differential in time on going through the first party’s certification process but as far as bandwidth if you mean getting it to clients; we host that on our site. So once we get it certified we handle the patching. There is really no limitation to what we can put on.
So if I’m playing 360, I would put my disc in and if there was a new patch, it would connect up to the Trion servers and get that patch that way?
Yup, once you go through Xbox live or PlayStation Network, you connect to us.
The other challenge that we’ve heard about with console MMO’s has been demands console makers have made about how things are monetized and their cut of things. Has that been a challenge for you all?
That’s always going to be there whenever you’re on a dedicated console, but we feel that the player base, particularly for shooters on both of those platforms far outweighs any of that. And we expect to get a lot of people playing this game because there’s a lot of shooter fans and this is something that we haven’t seen. So it’s going to be a very unique experience for them, that I don’t think they are really expecting as much as they’ll find.
Can you tell me about how the game is monetized?
Hill: A lot of what we do is boosts; we don’t sell powerful weapons, we don’t sell faster vehicles necessarily, and we don’t sell better shields or grenades or that kind of stuff. Outfits or helmets or hats or headgear or boosts, so if I want to get somewhere faster so that I can get my ego-rating up faster, I can decide to purchase that. If I wanted it for my group, I can decide to purchase that. If I wanted it for my clan, I can decide to purchase that. So that’s a lot of the stuff we are really looking at under the micro transactions.
Email the author Matt Miller, or follow on Game Informer.
I've been intrigued since I heard about it. Let's hope it plays well.
Although the idea is neat, the gameplay has not impressed me yet
I actually got to play this game during the beta, I was of the mindset to just test it for Trion's sake cause I really like the work they do and I didn't have high hopes for the game, but when I started playing I was actually having a lot of fun and really enjoyed it!
Been following this game for awhile now, looks like it could be the next step between bridging the gap in interactive entertainment since the game creators have stated that major events in the game will change things during the course of the show.
Maybe the gameplay will be fine, but graphics and soundtrack wise, I just don't see anything special.
I played one of the beta weekends a few weeks ago...It actually seemed fairly decent; a nice mix of MMO and third-person-shooter mechanics, plus it's coming to consoles which should be nice (the beta was PC-only).
That being said, I personally don't think it's worth shelling out $60 for, even if there is no sub fee. I'm curious to see if the show's popularity combined with how many intitial sales the game makes will determine the game's price. Like, if they notice sales aren't doing so well will the lower the game's price to keep the show from floundering?
It's most likely just pointless speculation on my part, I'm sure both Trion and SyFi have contigincy plans incase either the show or the game flop but it's still going to be an interesting process to see unfold.
I've been on the closed beta weekends of this game. So far everything is really neat, just the obvious bug fixes and stuff that are always in a beta, but the gun play is pretty good. And the arkfall events where lots and lots of player get to work together are really fun! and that's just the beta, i hope that when they get the game out those event will be a lot better!
The show looks like it's going to be awesome.
Great interview. GameInformer is soo good :D
Very comprehensive interview, Matt. I'm sure that the game will be great, but honestly, aren't their enough Defiance ads around this site?. . .
This is too long to read XD
Yeah, DCU got me addicted to the idea of a console MMO (4 and 8 man raids are cool), So this is day 1 for me. 50 vs 50? Finally!
I'm SO hopeful that this turns out to be good. I'm all onboard if the thing works. The universe seems cool (that TV show is pretty much the only promising thing I've see "the Ghost Network" come up with in years. God, SyFy sucks), and TRION's MMO (Tera? Rift? There are too many four letter MMO's) was quite well received. This has also been compared to Borderlands, which is a good thing. There's a lot more hype and energy for this right now than, say, Dust 514. Everything seems to indicate that this is going to be good. I'm crossing my fingers.
Just waiting for a beta to see for myself...
Is it coming to the PS4