Star Trek Online to Become "More Casual"

Anach · Unread post by **Anach** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:26 pm

Shacknews has receieved a considerable amount of new information regarding today's Perpetual news from a source close to the company, who requested to remain anonymous. Some information was gleaned from a letter detailing various changes to the company and Star Trek Online, which was recently distributed to all Perpetual employees.
Perpetual has been acquired by new ownership, reportedly a media company looking to use Star Trek Online to make its first major inroads into the video game market. Along with the acquisition comes a partial retargeting of Star Trek Online to what our source describes as a "more casual" experience, one which may potentially eschew subscription fees in favor of the practice of charging real money for optional in-game items, a practice popularized by various Korean MMOs.

Though there do not appear to have been any significant layoffs with the change in management, a number of Perpetual employees have allegedly left the company due to a dissatisfaction with the new direction the game is said to be taking.

Perpetual Entertainment's assets have been acquired by newly-formed Perpetual, LLC. The liquidation and transfer of ownership is likely a move to "reset" Perpetual's slate of investors. The company recently announced that its in-development massively multiplayer game Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising had been canceled in order to more heavily focus on Star Trek Online

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50065

Jasno · Unread post by **Jasno** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 3:40 pm

Looks like Star Trek had a "NGE" before they even went gold. I love it. Yet again some brainiac in a boardroom who has never even played a video game before (let alone a MMO) saying "I think we need to make this easier for kids to play... I mean think of the christmas demographic"

A word to the bean counters... Its this simple you put out a dumbed down version of anything out, only dumb people will play it, that is until the next dumb thing comes along.

gelfling · Unread post by **gelfling** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 5:44 pm

I thought it was going to read "Players now allowed to wear jeans instead of the Star Trek Uniform"

"More Casual"... what will that actually mean? Occasionally a game maker can get the balance just right. Hopefully this is the case.

Toucan · Unread post by **Toucan** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:17 pm

i hope they don't break this before it comes out.
whats the point in aiming it at kids, you're average trekkie is 30+.
saying that, if they are aiming at that market, who are more likely to have families and less time to play, then having something that the occasional gamer can drop in and out of would be good as well

Jasno · Unread post by **Jasno** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:46 am

I agree

Molten Prominence · Unread post by **Molten Prominence** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 10:56 pm

Toucan wrote:i hope they don't break this before it comes out.
whats the point in aiming it at kids, you're average trekkie is 30+.
saying that, if they are aiming at that market, who are more likely to have families and less time to play, then having something that the occasional gamer can drop in and out of would be good as well

Agree. Casual sounds good to me too for pretty much for these reseasons.