With a month to go, it doesn’t look like the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter will reach it’s $1,000,000 goal. Granted, the online game based on the Paizo game is about a third of the way there (including 31 backers willing to pony up $1,000 for the privilege of alpha testing the game, among other things), but I just don’t see it happening, and I don’t even see what the plan was, here.
Pathfinder is a tabletop roleplaying game, the heir to Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Thanks to a flurry of flubs by Wizards of the Coast (owners of D&D), Pathfinder seems to be even outselling D&D, albeit by turning D&D fans into Pathfinder fans, so I can see the interest in trying to get a game to complement Dungeons and Dragons Online. Most of Pathfinder‘s success as a tabletop game, however, is it’s popularity amongst players who loathed the “computer game like” changes WotC made to D&D in the fourth edition rules. The market for players that wanted a D&D-like game online is already absorbed into Dungeons and Dragons Online, and there’s just no money in another game that does the same thing. That, and the sad track record of online games that don’t have “Warcraft” in the title make this a scary way to spend a gaming dollar.
The kickstarter also has daily deals in an attempt to wring even more money from gamers, but…no, just no. The tendency of online games to suck, along with the tendency for them to spend years in development make this a hard sell to the wrong market. With the online game likely a bust, there’s still plenty of stuff planned here that I hope will see print someday. The best by far is the multi-level megadungeon, Emeral Spire, with each level planned by top RPG designers like Rich Baker, Ed Greenwood, Mark Rein-Hagen, and others. I know if I see that on a hobby shop shelf, I’ll be reaching for my wallet, just to see the work of these guys side-by-side.
Even if you’re not likely to part with your money, take a look at the Kickstarter to see the cool gaming stuff will be coming out, eventually.
Read [The RPGsite] Product Page [Kickstarter]
This is a typical misunderstanding of the MMO market. It’s true Many AAA MMO’s have failed, but this in no way reflects on pathfinder online. Warcraft created many misconceptions in that an MMO with 200,000 subscribers is somehow a failure. An MMO that costs 13 mil. to create sells millions of copies, but then only has 200,000 subscribers in 6 months is a failure. EVE online (which PFO is emulating in a fantasy universe) which had a more manageable development cost and had a steady growth of players continues to run strong in its upcoming 10th year with near 400,000 subscribers. Undeniably EVE is a success, other games that have seen the writing on the wall that the standard MMO game formula/pricing plans have changed also enjoy success; LOTRO for example. The author mentions DDO which is nothing like the planned Sandbox world of PFO, its the same difference between a puzzle and a box of legos, puzzles have an end and while you can take different paths there it will always be a picture of a sweet unicorn in front of silvery night sky while legos can be whatever your heart desires and you decide when its finished. Paizo and Goblin Works have committed to making this game with our without the kickstarter this is simply a chance for the fans to help speed up the development. The kickstarter is a little less than half over and is a little less than half complete and even if kickstarters didn’t tend to pick up steam the further along they are it would still be on track.
It’s certainly possible; in 2 weeks we’ll see if your understanding of the chance of this making a million bucks is as valid as your understanding of license MMOs and the relationship between tabletop/online gaming. I’ll certainly acknowledge if I’m wrong here.
Called it!
Yep, though it was a near thing:
http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/105848/pathfinder-mmo-is-a-go/