Tabula Rasa Translates To “Only Ten Bucks”
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Hib in
Tabula Rasa, features on
March 25th, 2008
Tabula Rasa is currently holding the number 35 slot on Amazon’s “Bestsellers In Video Games” chart, which makes it the highest-ranked MMORPG on the list.
That’s right…it’s number one.
I’ll save the “That’s not that hot of a showing for the genré” discussion for another time for many reasons (not the least of which is the fact that this particular list encompasses everything connected to gaming…the top-selling “Bestseller in Video Games” item is the Wii Nunchuk, for example), because I want to look at a potential reason why Tabula Rasa is outselling all other MMORPGs at Amazon.
Innovative gameplay? A likely guess, since there are some new wrinkles in the usual
MMO formula inside TR, but I don’t think that’s it. Again, if being different could propel an MMO to sales glory, Eve Online would be a best-seller to rival World of Warcraft (which wouldn’t be a best-seller, since “innovative” isn’t a word used that often to describe WoW’s reasons for success; “well done” would be my choice), and Vanguard…well, would still be Vanguard.
Positive Buzz? Ummmm…while TR has received some positive reviews and comments, it’s had more than its share of negatives hurled at it’s head (which, to be fair, is the case with almost all MMOs). But at best, you could say the positives haven’t been an overwhelming presence…at least not enough to lift it to the top of the heap.
Lack of Competition? Let’s face it…in the last twelve months, we haven’t exactly been bowled over with a multitude of fantastic MMO launches. In fact, the two games that most view as the “saving grace” of the next generation (Age of Conan and Warhammer Online) have both been pushed back repeatedly, it could be simply enjoying the status of “the best thing to come along in a while”.
If none of those are the reason, let’s look at something else at Amazon:
- Hellgate London - $39.99
- Vanguard - $30.99
- World of Warcraft - $19.99
- Tabula Rasa - $9.99
Could it be that simple? Could the price of a game at Amazon determine its place on the Amazon sales charts?
Nah.
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March 26th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
NCSoft hasn’t made Tabula Rasa available for download. Most MMORPG players, when given a choice, would rather spend a few hours downloading a game for free (the service is free, that is; the game often isn’t) than wait for days or weeks and pay shipping & handling.