In my opinion, it's going to come down to technical issues.

[Desidus]

historically it has always been about amount of content present AT RELEASE, specially endgame content. Thats what makes or breaks an MMO 9 out of every 10 times

Depends on how often they are planning on having dlc... could be that at release there will be none but it will be released within a rather quick timeframe through dlc.

[Defy]

I'd rather gameplay and stuff be good and can take a few hiccups on launch as long as content is compelling

[Desidus]

I'd rather gameplay and stuff be good and can take a few hiccups on launch as long as content is compelling

On topic.. traitor.

[Dead_Phoenix]

judging about what people in the know have said, ie trion and the mysterious people who have seen behind the curtain at trion's studios, they are planing an rather tasty amount of dlc, free and paid

[Desidus]

judging about what people in the know have said, ie trion and the mysterious people who have seen behind the curtain at trion's studios, they are planing an rather tasty amount of dlc, free and paid

Yep should be good.. 5 dlc's for 9.99 a piece.. only thing we don't know is how often they will come out. I have a feeling that we won't be told because it will tie in with plot of the show..

[Kriegson]

historically it has always been about amount of content present AT RELEASE, specially endgame content. Thats what makes or breaks an MMO 9 out of every 10 times

Probably true but IMO it seems a bit of a misnomer. It's not necessarily the content, because people that truly enjoy the gameplay don't really care about content. Look at counterstrike.
But if the game is largely built around "Kill thing in area A move to area B kill things in area B move to area C" yeah people will get bored quickly.

And frankly, there's no way to compete in terms of sheer content with existing games, so you MUST set yourself apart with gameplay, theme and style.

[Rampermt]

IMO its not what issues present themselves but how they are handled by said developer, with Trion having Rift under their belt for 12 years (correct me if I'm wrong) I believe they are ready to smash those bugs as they show up.

[Pasha]

historically it has always been about amount of content present AT RELEASE, specially endgame content. Thats what makes or breaks an MMO 9 out of every 10 times

You shouldn't think in categories of past: those were subscription-based games. Without subscription fee you can release a carcass which will be barely enough to avoid refunds - and players will return few months later after couple of content patches.

P.S. I've played vanilla WoW for many months (4+) without any content which was considered "end-game" during golden age of "subscription era" (2006-2012). There was no PvP arenas, no raid instances, no PvP rewards - and it was fun.

[Dead_Phoenix]

You shouldn't think in categories of past: those were subscription-based games. Without subscription fee you can release a carcass which will be barely enough to avoid refunds - and players will return few months later after couple of content patches.

P.S. I've played vanilla WoW for many months (4+) without any content which was considered "end-game" during golden age of "subscription era" (2006-2012). There was no PvP arenas, no raid instances, no PvP rewards - and it was fun.

me to, what made that fun was the freedom, and players made their own storys.

I remember a brilliant one where me and my guild, being alliance held a tower in the barrens for q couple of hours before horde finally took us out.

For me what makes a brilliant mmo, is not what the devs give you, but what you can do when you got it. Imagionation, and freedom

[Exes]

I hope all goes smooth

They did good job with Rift so have confidence

Rift did not have such a fixed deadline as Defiance does, the series wont get delayed, so if the game is not ready it's going to release anyway.