Re: Trackmania² Stadium
Posted: 23 Jun 2013, 13:50
I feel like this has all happened before. I wasn't here the last time it happened, but it's my understanding that a number of players held back from getting TrackMania United when it was released at the end of 2006. Why? Because they already owned TMO and TMS, and they could play Stadium for free in TMN ESWC. They had all the environments of United already, albeit in separate games.
Did players fear that TrackMania United would hurt the communities that had developed around those other games? Quite possibly. Was the new dirt blocks and arena blocks in United enough to pull Stadium players away from TMN ESWC? I don't know. For a few, maybe. For others, they may have stayed with TMN until TMNF's release in 2008. Did most TMO and TMS players stay with those games or did they move to United? It's my understanding that mostly they moved to United. I'm sure there were many cries of "splitting the community" to be heard in those days.
But now we have the benefit of experience. We can look back and ask: Did TrackMania suffer in the long run because United was released? In my experience, it was quite the contrary. United went on to become one of the best TrackMania games Nadeo has made. The huge community in United over the years has experienced a wonderfully rich competitive side and year after year after year of diversity and innovation on the creative side. The longevity of the community is also truly staggering. There's players there that have been mainstays of the community for 5+ years. That says not only a lot about the community, but a lot about the game, that it's been able to hold their interest for so long.
Now it's happening again. We have a new game that for all intents and purposes is meant to replace the old one. Will players make the switch? We have an old game (a free one) and a new game (a paid one). The new one has more features and is really the future, just as United was all those years ago.
I think it's quite natural that a paid game will have less players than a free game. This only makes sense. But how many players do you really need? From a community and competitive perspective, you only need enough players for those aspects of the game to be vibrant. United had far less players than TMNF ever did, but it still had a vibrant and active community. TM2S can enjoy the same type of community in the long run.
People need to stop looking at numbers and trying to determine whether the game is successful or not. In the long run, the success of the game (from a community perspective) will not be measured in the number of players, but in the commitment and level of community interaction that players have.
Let's put it this way. Today is the first day in the future of the Stadium community. Those that have bought the game, are making tracks, hosting server, setting up competitions, etc... they are laying the groundwork for a new future. It may not look the same as TMNF did in its heyday, but it will not be any less interesting. I have faith in the tenacity and resourcefulness of the Stadium community to create this new future.
I understand there's other issues at play. But sometimes I think we can have this tunnel vision while we're in the moment. Some have a vision of TM2S having as many players as TMNF has amassed over the years. I think that ship has sailed. Will it ever have 10 million players? Quite unlikely. Will it have enough players to be fun? Definitely.
Don't forget that Stadium is now part of ManiaPlanet, along with Canyon and soon to be Valley. Once multi-environment servers are introduced again (and I do believe they're coming), Stadium will see a spike in players as Canyon and Valley players play more Stadium again. This will increase exposure of Stadium tracks for authors who upload to MX.
Let history be my judge. But I think everything will work out in the end. If Stadium players are positive and optimistic about their future in TM2S, other players will pick up on that optimism and want to check out the game themselves. The future starts with you.
Did players fear that TrackMania United would hurt the communities that had developed around those other games? Quite possibly. Was the new dirt blocks and arena blocks in United enough to pull Stadium players away from TMN ESWC? I don't know. For a few, maybe. For others, they may have stayed with TMN until TMNF's release in 2008. Did most TMO and TMS players stay with those games or did they move to United? It's my understanding that mostly they moved to United. I'm sure there were many cries of "splitting the community" to be heard in those days.
But now we have the benefit of experience. We can look back and ask: Did TrackMania suffer in the long run because United was released? In my experience, it was quite the contrary. United went on to become one of the best TrackMania games Nadeo has made. The huge community in United over the years has experienced a wonderfully rich competitive side and year after year after year of diversity and innovation on the creative side. The longevity of the community is also truly staggering. There's players there that have been mainstays of the community for 5+ years. That says not only a lot about the community, but a lot about the game, that it's been able to hold their interest for so long.
Now it's happening again. We have a new game that for all intents and purposes is meant to replace the old one. Will players make the switch? We have an old game (a free one) and a new game (a paid one). The new one has more features and is really the future, just as United was all those years ago.
I think it's quite natural that a paid game will have less players than a free game. This only makes sense. But how many players do you really need? From a community and competitive perspective, you only need enough players for those aspects of the game to be vibrant. United had far less players than TMNF ever did, but it still had a vibrant and active community. TM2S can enjoy the same type of community in the long run.
People need to stop looking at numbers and trying to determine whether the game is successful or not. In the long run, the success of the game (from a community perspective) will not be measured in the number of players, but in the commitment and level of community interaction that players have.
Let's put it this way. Today is the first day in the future of the Stadium community. Those that have bought the game, are making tracks, hosting server, setting up competitions, etc... they are laying the groundwork for a new future. It may not look the same as TMNF did in its heyday, but it will not be any less interesting. I have faith in the tenacity and resourcefulness of the Stadium community to create this new future.
I understand there's other issues at play. But sometimes I think we can have this tunnel vision while we're in the moment. Some have a vision of TM2S having as many players as TMNF has amassed over the years. I think that ship has sailed. Will it ever have 10 million players? Quite unlikely. Will it have enough players to be fun? Definitely.
Don't forget that Stadium is now part of ManiaPlanet, along with Canyon and soon to be Valley. Once multi-environment servers are introduced again (and I do believe they're coming), Stadium will see a spike in players as Canyon and Valley players play more Stadium again. This will increase exposure of Stadium tracks for authors who upload to MX.
Let history be my judge. But I think everything will work out in the end. If Stadium players are positive and optimistic about their future in TM2S, other players will pick up on that optimism and want to check out the game themselves. The future starts with you.
