How do you see Defiance's longevity?

[Moose Of Woe]

How long do easy MMO's last outside of WoW? As far as maintaining a large population -it's roughly a month after launch to a year before they begin to wain. MMO's often linger beyond that as long as they're making money...but the population dwindles and the updates crawl to a halt.

A lot of it depends on how Trion measures success. Once Trion no longer considers Defiance profitable, the servers will shut down. On the Xbox 360, Defiance has the advantage of being the only rooster in the hen house. That alone might have people flocking to it for a year or so. Then again, maybe not.

Trion's biggest advantage is the TV tie in. If the show is a hit - the sky is the limit for sales regardless of the quality of the game. Look how many people bought that god awful Walking Dead game that just came out with Meryl and Daryl.

Since almost everyone will plow through all the content, it won't hurt Trion as much as a sub based model as many players will get bored and leave. Given the lack of difficulty, a wise choice for Trion is that it doesn't need to rely on sub numbers. All Trion really needs is that initial sale and DLC packs. (Any bits people buy is a bonus.) Turnover ratio doesn't hurt Trion as they don't need retention - just initial game sales and for you to come back long enough purchase those DLC packs. (Or get the Ultimate Edition right now.)

So, we'll see. It's possible Defiance will still be here in a couple years and still be profitable, but the population will possibly not be all that impressive. Again, the TV show's popularity (or lack there of) will make or break this game.

[RelativeBlue]

These are all just my opinions, I'm going to read yours too.
From what I've seen I could definitely play for a long time. I'm waiting to see more of the show and whether or not there is an improvement on chat before I purchase the season pass or anything from the cash shop.
It's a little early to tell. I'll have to see what kind of people I'm playing with, and what they've got in store for us to do in the long run.
From what I've seen of other games that have released recently... six months. If a content rich game with a flawless launch like The Secret World can only make it six months before a major dropoff (They still release content) then I can't justify more time for this when a cancellation of the show could spell doom for the game as well.
It's just my opinion that so much rides on that tie-in and creating some sense of community.
But then again that release build could be the best thing since cornbread. We shall see. I've got nothing to do until Mass Effect 4 multiplayer (if EA even allows it)

[FuzzyNumNum]

I can't say much for the population as is, I haven't played the Beta but I will be playing this on release... If my hopes hold true and I do play this a lot, I really not too fussed about a huge population. The game doesn't need to rely on the kind of numbers other MMOs need to survive. Each server holds 1000 players right? Unless the game is an abysmal failure I can't see numbers getting anywhere near that low for a while, and as mentioned above, this is a bit of a niche title. They'll always be dedicated players who will continue to play the game regardless of popularity. It's what's keeping games like The Secret World and DCUO alive.

[Moose Of Woe]

It's what's keeping games like The Secret World and DCUO alive.

Well, more like life support lol.

[FuzzyNumNum]

Well, more like life support lol.

I dunno man, I play TSW and DCUO, and while I can't speak much on TSW's population, DCUO is alive and kicking, so much so it's been a very long time since I've seen the server anything less then heavy. I think the thing about certain MMOs, especially those two is that they know who the core player base is, and instead of making changes and additions to attract more players, they instead focus on what's going to keep that player base there. TSW does this especially well as it's never deviated from the setting and lore that makes it unique, and that's what's keeping the core players there. Once a company starts alienating that core player base by making stupid decisions in a grab for more popularity/income, that's when a MMO starts to die. I'm sure Trion knows this and that's what's going to keep this game going.

[Moose Of Woe]

Once a company starts alienating that core player base by making stupid decisions in a grab for more popularity/income, that's when a MMO starts to die. I'm sure Trion knows this and that's what's going to keep this game going.

The life support comment was aimed moreso at TSW. xD DCUO isn't doing so poorly.

The problem for Defiance, like 99.9% of all MMO's (and games in general) is that the core player base is just about everyone.

This game is about as accessible as it gets - just like that which shall not be named. All games which try to eat a bite of "that" game's pie wind up dead in a ditch within a few years down the road. "It" has a decade long head start, and appeals to what it aims at better than any other game.

Games that seek such a wide audience always fall on their faces since they're never mechanically deep enough for die hards to stick around without going bored stiff. At the same time, all the ADHD folks spin through like a revolving door like they always do as soon as the next game comes out. Some folks might find a game too challenging if you only pressed one button to win.

You can't please everyone. Right now, almost every game company tries to please everyone further saturating the market instead of developing their own niche/core audience/IDENTITY in the gaming world. There are reasons that, outside of WoW, the only MMO's which have held a very good sized population for 7+ years are FFXI, EvE, Runescape, Lineage II, Maple Story, etc. They're all fairly unique and appeal to a niche crowd. Most (not all) of them tend to be moderately challenging as well. Maple Story being the main exception.

The wildcard for Defiance is that TV show coming out. It might give Defiance just enough of a push to hang around. Regardless of the game, the show might maintain enough of a fanbase/core of people outside the realm of gaming to purchase the game. Few if any other MMO's have an active TV series to lean on, so that could be the "unique" factor it needs to draw people in. (And get them interested enough to purchase content.)

[MattN]

I think they're launching game before it's ready, there's still bugs and little things like storage, proper chat, trading not straighten out.

But I think it will last long enough to worth my $60. Most of the people who bought the game will stick around.

[Fiancee]

Depends on DLC's and Im pretty confident this is THE mmo to play until Elder Scroll Online, how they recover after that I dont know, maybe season 2/expansion. I bet at least 1 year this game is active.

[GT3000]

I think unless they fixed the issues of socializing (feels like I'm playing a solo game) and improving their carrots (other than loot) that it'll be on the way down but RIFT is fantastic since it first launched. So I'm optimistic.

[Defy]

I think it will be here for a long time, also because of the DLCs that will keep players interested