May 29
Why Beckett’s Top 20 List is a Complete Load
Via Sanya, I laid eyes upon Beckett’s list of the “Top 20 Influential People in Massively Multiplayer Video Games” for last year. If you’ve read the site before you’re probably already aware of what I think about Massive Online Gamer. Though it has definitely improved since it launched, it’s still not all that great (IMHO). The last issue I thumbed through had some weak-sauce interviews with folks I know are more interesting than they were made out to be. The core of the mag is still semi-obsolete World of Warcraft strats, with a idiotic advertisement for Skittles at the end.
I’m also, to echo Sanya’s point, not a big fan of ‘Top X’ lists. This one in particular, though, rubs me for a few general points. It also rubs me wrong for a few specific points, which I will gladly illuminate while simultaneously making a handful of people mad at me.
As a note, I almost didn’t put this up. This is a really cynical, jaded post. I’ll totally cop to that. But I do feel that this list is kind of a load. So … sharing time begins now.
Read below for the fireworks.
General Bitching
- The implication that anyone at the bottom of the list, hardworking and intelligent as they are, are less important than the folks at the top is insulting. If you are going to have a list like this, you could have had the decency to make it an unordered list.
- Despite the inclusion of folks like Min Kim and Sage Sundi, this is an incredibly western-focused list. Likewise, the majority of the figures on the list are dudes working at companies making AAA games. Yeah - I care more about the AAAs too but I didn’t publish the list, either.
- The majority of the publishers/developers represented here are working on subscription titles. Not only is this out of whack with the vast majority of MMO players worldwide, it’s a hidebound attitude that completely fails to recognize the strides taken by F2p games in 07′.
- Most of the folks on this list are Chief-somethings, producers, or business leaders. There’s precious few designers or developers, and no artists whatsoever.
Who Probably Shouldn’t Have Been On the List
Caveat: I think all three of these folks are intelligent and contribute a lot to the industry. My only beef is their appearance on this list.
#6. Rob Seaver, CEO, Vivox: Don’t get me wrong, I think Vivox is going to be a big deal(tm) this year and into next … but, sorry, it wasn’t in 2007. Additionally, a dude representing a middleware company on a list of MMO industry movers and shakers? Seems a bit off.
# 13. Cory Ondrejka, Formerly CTO, Linden Labs: This list has the words “video games” in the title. Second Life isn’t a fucking videogame. Moreover, I maintain that Second Life’s biggest impact on the online industry is to draw unwanted attention to it from Congress.
# 18. David Perry, CCO, Acclaim: Dave Perry’s a sharp guy, to be sure … but really? Top 20 for 2007? Nobody deserved to be on here more?
Additional note
# 7. Min Kim, Director of Game Operations, Nexon America: I have no objection to Min being on here. My objection here is that his placement at #7 clarifies for me the gross misalignment of the list author’s understanding of the modern MMO landscape.
All Right, Smart Guy …
So who should have been on the list?
- Andrew Gower, Jagex. Yes, for real folks, that Runescape thing isn’t going away.
- Damion Schubert, BioWare. Damion gave a design talk at AGDC 07′ that should be stapled to the foreheads of anyone making one of the damn things.
- Paul Barnett, EA Mythic. People care about these games. Making them can be fun as well as hard work. Shouting and wild gesticulations are really helpful for getting your point across.
- Hal Milton, SOE-Seattle. Again, the people that make these games actually have souls. They can be funny, inspirational folks. These games are not made by robots.
- Elizabeth Harper, WoW Insider. I realize I have a sort of unique perspective on the site and the people behind it, but have you READ their coverage of World of Warcraft? WI is news from the front in a living, breathing world. If every MMO had a site like this covering their culture/patches/changes the world would be full of happy players.
- I, of course, threw stones at not having many folks from Asia or smaller companies on the list … but I have no one to add because I’m just as western focused as the list’s author. The folks at Joymax are doing interesting things, I will say that …
I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t let stuff like this get to me. But c’mon! This list reads like somebody went through the rss feed of MMORPG.com or Massively and pulled out the names that were repeated relatively often. A little more thought and perspective would have been greatly appreciated.
8 Comments so far
Leave a comment
As the primary author (with a lot of input from Doug Kale @ Beckett and many others) of the article “Top 20 Influential People in Massively Multiplayer Video Games of 2007″ in this month’s Beckett Massive Online Gamer, I felt like I should respond to your comments about the validity of the list.
I can only assume you have not actually read the article yet (most people probably have not) and are simply going by the press release. If you had, you would have read why we chose certain people for the list and excluded others. I hope everyone goes out and buys a copy of the magazine to get the full story.
We consulted a variety of industry insiders to assist in compiling a list of potential nominees. Then we developed a set of criteria to evaluate each candidate and rank them accordingly. To start with, we intentionally decided to highlight people who were actually working in commercial MMO development, as opposed to academics or the media. Secondly, we gave preference to those candidates who had worked on an MMO that either launched or shipped an expansion in 2007. And finally, we tried to focus on those individuals who were truly influential on the industry as a whole, rather than just on their own game.
Many of the people you mention were on the list of nominees, and are certainly high profile individuals. Damion, Paul, and Hal were all considered, but they didn’t ship product in 2007. Expect to see them on the 2008 list depending on how their games do. There are a lot of influential media folks like Elizabeth, but we wanted to focus on people actually involved in making the MMOs and MMO products. I agree with you about the importance Andrew Gower, as well as his brother, but after consulting with Jagex and others in the industry they ultimately they didn’t make the top 20.
As for Vivox, I see 2007 as the transition year for voice. Before that, many MMO developers were still skeptical about integrated voice. But Vivox laid the groundwork for a lot of deals in 2007, announcing inclusion in both DDO and Second Life. The deal with SOE was announced in early 2008, but it had been in the works before that. And now NCSoft this year. So perhaps they’ll be on the list two years in a row, but I really think it was 2007 that was the year things changed.
Is Second Life influential in the MMO field? Absoluely. They’re one of the pioneers of both user-generated conent and virtual currency, two very hot issues that the industry is discussing every day. So even if you don’t consider it a “game” (and the argument of game vs. virtual world is another long-standing feud in the industry we won’t resolve here), it still matters. Heck, Guild Wars isn’t an MMO either, but its influence is undeniable.
If you don’t think Min Kim deserves to be ranked that highly then I don’t think you truly appreciate how big a year 2007 was for MapleStory in the US. Go down to your local 7-11 or Target and see their game cards on sale. Of course, you’ll now see other game cards as well, but Nexon has a lot to do with that.
As always, such lists are expected to generate discussion and disagreement. I just didn’t want you to think this was a case of “gross misalignment of the list author’s understanding of the modern MMO landscape”.
Oh, and I don’t think your should bash Beckett so much given the quality of many of the articles I see on Massively. :P
Sure, Asian free-to-play games are really popular. But looking at the next few years of American big-publisher, AAA offerings, I still don’t think they’ve hit “influential” status yet.
Let’s try again when FreeRealms ships. :)
Sara: I think perhaps you missed the bit where Michael wrote, “Not only is this out of whack with the vast majority of MMO players worldwide, it’s a hidebound attitude that completely fails to recognize the strides taken by F2p games in 07?.” The majority of MMOG players worldwide are not playing subscription-based games. This list is squarely focused on Western games, completely ignoring the massive number of MMO gamers in the Asian territories.
SirBruce: I think Michael was trying to say that Min Kim should have been ranked _higher_ than he was in your list.
Ahhh, I suppose he might have meant that.
The list is certainly western-focused since that’s the audience for the magazine, but it doesn’t have a bias against F2P or non-traditional MMOs. MapleStory, Habbo, Second Life, Acclaim’s 2Moons, and Guild Wars are all represented. Obviously people from RuneScape, Lineage, etc. were also considered.
Having gotten an overview of MMO games in Korea and China at ION, it’s hard to say that any of the big names are actually influencing what the other companies do. Plus, it’s more of an anonymous culture; it’s hard to single out influential individuals. There are some historical roots to the genre, but nothing that particularly stands out in 2007.
Richard Bartle?
Matt “Positron” Miller?
Jeff Yapp - MTV (6 VWs)?
Prof. Edward Castronova (Arden)?
Lane Merrifield - Club Penguin Ent. founder?
Erik Bethke - GoPets?
/sigh
Well, the list was 2007. :) And we excluded academics. Beckett is focused more on MMOs than VWs; Club Penguin and GoPets were probably “a bridge too far” to be considered, but Second Life and Habbo are both represented. I expect many different names for the 2008 list.
I listed Dr. Bartle because he joined Areae in 2007, prior to that he taught and consulted. One of the Originals and most respected people in the genre becoming ‘active’ in the development of a new product, to me, is noteworthy.
I put Matt Miller on the list for having done so much with so little in 2007. Players were oblivious as to how small the live team had become due to their regular content releases and quality of life improvements. If it’s not a case study about successful Live Operation it ought to be.
I take your point about Beckett’s focus, but Club Penguin and GoPets both drew in new market participants from other industries in noteworthy ways, growing the industry overall. 2007 was a year of “baited breath” in MMOdom (Auto Assault, Vanguard, Fury), while VWs emerged from realtive obscurity. It’s a shame Beckett’s list didn’t reflect that shift as clearly as it could have.
Thanks for the comments,