Online Only Games
About 20 years ago, Diamond Mind Baseball was purchased by a young businessman named Dayne Meyers.
If you’ve been around this blog for a long time, you might remember this post:
You also might have seem my very old video on the subject:
After purchasing the company from Tom Tippett, Meyers’ original plan was to discontinue the PC version of the game and try to funnel all players into Diamond Mind Online, an online-only collection of draft leagues that became incredibly controversial in the community.
I’ve honestly never played Diamond Mind Online, and can’t tell you much about what the experience is like. I believe it was originally limited to drafting Diamond Mind’s famous All Time Greatest Players disks, though I presume that the game has since included the ability to draft specific seasons.
Now, the reason I bring all of this up again is because the latest trend in these games is actually towards online only play. However, I’m not convinced that this is a vindication of the Dayne Meyers approach.
During a recent Boxscores From The Basement live stream, we had an interesting discussion with Mike Cieslinski, CEO of Design Depot Inc. and the man who created Pursue the Pennant and Dynasty League Baseball. And the discussion we had with him was pretty interesting; in fact, it’s really worth watching the entire stream if you’ve got a few hours:
The Dynasty League Baseball board game still exists, and is actually better than ever, since the famous ballpark diagrams have returned:
However, it’s clear that most of the business is focused on the computer game, which is now strictly online only.
Cieslinski explained in our livestream that the company took the online approach in large part to cater to draft league players. And he’s correct: it’s a lot easier, faster, and more reliable to see the latest standings and statistics if you don’t have to worry about sending backup files back and forth after every single game.
Of course, the drawback is that you have to pay for a subscription to either play in a league or to complete a solo computer-based project, something that is more expensive than just buying a computer game.
This is part of a trend that is growing in the community. APBA Go might not necessarily be ready to do away with the now dated APBA Baseball For Windows, but it’s clearly the direction of the future for the company. And, while I haven’t played Strat-O-Matic Baseball Max quite yet, it’s clear that the company’s future development will also be centered on subscription based online play.
Now, there are significant benefits that come from the online only approach that we shouldn’t overlook. You can play these games on any device and under any operating system. In other words, if you’ve got a business trip or vacation coming up, you can use some of your down time to make progress in your replay even if you’re away from your central machine.
And the benefits for draft league play are simply amazing. There’s no need to send files in to the league’s commissioner, and there’s no need to use third party tools to connect to other IP addresses.
I mean, even a game like OOTP, which you’d think would be very well suited to draft leagues given its focus on the GM aspects of baseball, winds up requiring extra tools and a lot of hoops to jump through. This Reddit post is a pretty good explanation of what is involved. And, while it’s clear that at least part of OOTP’s team wants gamers to focus on its freemium Perfect Team game, the reality is that OOTP still has a very strong traditional draft league scene.
But, of course, OOTP’s draft leagues would be a lot easier to play if everything took place on a central server and you no longer had to email files back and forth to your Commissioner.
Anyway, what do you think? Are these online only modes the wave of the future? Does that vindicate Dayne Meyers, who we used to refer to as “He Who Shall Not Be Named” on the forums? Or is the subscription system an unfortunate trend that will do more harm than good?
Like anything, they say follow the money. I am not really talking about the publisher in this case, but more from the user end and whether it makes sense for someone.
If you are a draft league player, especially someone who is in more than one league using the same game, then the online subscription model might be cost effective. Depending on the game, of course.
If someone has to purchase the new version of the game every year, and maybe two to four seasons as well, they probably are not spending more on a subscription fee than they would otherwise. They might even be spending less, while getting all the benefits you outlined.
For the replay-minded gamer, it might not be as easy a choice. Unless you are a completist type and simply knowing you have access to any season brings you peace of mind, otherwise buying seasons ad hoc might still be financially advantageous. That is especially true if you only do one or two replays now and then with a particular game. Of course, that may be less advantageous for the publisher.
I think these are the way the business is going. It’s like when I used to access my work computer remotely. It’s easier for the business than to upload most software to your computer. I’ve actually gone back to Strat with cards and dice. Yes, I have to do stats work, but it’s more enjoyable (for me).