3/12/03

Motor City Online was fun while it lasted
By Michael Lafferty

At one minute past midnight GMT on August 29, 2003 (7:01 p.m. EST on August 28), the lights illuminating the raceway at Tri-Oval will be turned off, the parts auctions will close, and keys will be removed from the ignition of souped-up cars and trucks. The world of Motor City Online will be closing.

That is not a decision that sits well with many of those who love the massively multiplayer online game. A petition has been drawn up. Many have signed it and added comments. However, in the greater scheme of things, it seems unlikely that the petition will have much of an impact. The die has been cast.

However, as regrettable or unfortunate as it may be, the biggest joke may be what Electronic Arts is offering to do for the MCO faithful.

But let’s backtrack just a bit. No one would deny that the world of MMOs is a harsh one. A game may surface and almost as quickly disappear. It costs time and money to maintain the servers, to change the game enough to keep the older players still interested while not moving the game beyond the reach of those newcomers to the genre.

It seems that a great many of the games currently offered are cut from similar casts. MCO offered something new and different. It was an online racing game. You built cars and stacked them up against other drivers. You not only earned experience points, but cash - which could be used to buy better parts. The challenge was to put together the ultimate driving machine.

The game also had its practical aspects as well. Anyone who has found themselves in a 140 mile-per-hour slide and corrected (using a steering wheel and not keyboard controls) may have found correcting after hitting the icy patch in winter a little easier. And the generosity of the developers was wonderful. At the end of 2002, many in the game found a truck body in their virtual garages.

But that was then. On February 26, the announcement was made that MCO would cease to exist. On the www.mco.ea.com website, a member of the MCO development team named "Trouble" explained what had happened.

In part, this is what the message said: "In October of 2001, against many odds, the team delivered MCO just in time for the holiday season. The initial sales data was encouraging. However, we were soon faced with a new challenge only applicable to online games - how to keep the community thriving.

"MCO was (and still is) very different from a lot of subscription-based games because of its competitive nature. It was evident that the game was quickly dominated by skilled players. Anyone who can modify cars and race well succeeded while the less-skilled players failed. New players were faced with more defeats than helping hands. Though the overall subscription base was growing, we also experienced a substantial outflow of existing subscribers.

"The team then set out to improve the game …

"Unfortunately, the product was losing steam. …the sales of MCO already began to slow down. In the world of computer games, retailers promote and sell the latest and greatest. MCO no longer fit that category. As our shelf space shrunk, so did the inflow of new players. The MCO community stopped growing.

"At the end of the day, we had to make the business decision that resulted in today's announcement. Our production resources are valuable, and the EA team that has been supporting MCO needs to go to work on other games."

So there it is, the end of an era in computer gaming. It happens, and though sad to see, the world of video gaming is a business where profit means everything. Who knows, maybe EA will sell off its MCO franchise and some other developer, or company will buy it out and try to maintain it. But the grease monkeys will need to find something else to do.

Here is where EA may have made a mistake and will alienate many. It offered players a copy of The Sims Online free to MCO subscribers. Hmmm, well, The Sims Online may have great appeal, but it hardly seems a replacement for those used to burying a needle in the redline, listening to screaming and burning tires and squealing brakes as they flirt with disaster in the corners of so many of the tight tracks.

Hey, this is a group who would rather jam gears than fruit. Their idea of "go-go" is tromping on the accelerator at the start of a race, not Sim babble when playing with a dollhouse to increase the fun quotient.

Each MMO has its own personality and draws its fan base built on the style of the game. Very few genres have big overlaps. It is unlikely you would not see a devotee of Diablo II playing Barbie Team Gymnastics. (Well, Ok, have to plead guilty on that one, but it is part of the job … really, it is.)

There may be some overflow from MCO and The Sims Online, but if EA is hoping to seriously bolster its player base for the latter, it is likely kidding itself. Some may try it out. The turnover is likely to be high, especially when that free trial period is close to expiration.

MCO was unique, and enjoyable. While some race sims did have multiplayer gaming, not to the extent that MCO did. You could actually build a car and become so familiar with it, you knew precisely what it would do in almost any circumstance. The game was challenging and fun.

But business is business. MCO wasn’t generating the income needed to sustain it. Doubtless something else may come along to replace it. In the meantime, thanks EA, it was enjoyable while it lasted.
 

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