Beckett Massive Online Gamer

There can be no question that the MMO category as a whole evolved and flourished in 2009. Within this encouraging context, two already important and overlapping trends gained even greater significance and moved to the forefront. One was the ongoing growth of the free-to-play business model. The other was the continuing internationalization of the genre, especially with respect to China, which became the world’s largest online game market in dollar value last year after taking the lead in number of Internet users in 2008.

Both these developments are reflected in the individuals chosen to appear on our 2009 list and also in their respective placements. You will see a number of entries comprising two people; this is due to the nature of specific situations where it was too simplistic to allocate full credit to just one. In some instances, it would have been possible to put more, but there had to be a limit.

Understandably, there are quite a few changes compared to only a year before. What’s more, the MMO category is at an inflection point where it’s reshaping itself to address a much broader audience. For instance, the browser-based sector seems to have enormous potential; the same can be said about social games. Indeed, both may already be far larger than many people might think. So, as you look at who was most influential in 2009, it’s also extremely interesting to wonder what the list will look like a year from now.

 

1. John Smedley - President, Sony Online Entertainment

Laralyn McWilliams - Lead Designer, Free Realms

The launch of Free Realms last spring may well have been 2009’s single most significant event or story in the North American MMO space in 2009. Taking this step allowed SOE to seize the industry lead in terms of a major western publisher developing a game for and entering the F2P sector.

What’s more, the game is notable in a number of other ways. For one thing, it’s browser-based. It’s also helping to broaden the category’s overall reach by primarily targeting younger users. With this audience segment in mind, both the gameplay and the design as a whole are particularly user-friendly. McWilliams obviously deserves much of the credit for her leadership in this regard. However, it would be remiss not to mention another important contribution. As Free Realms’ main spokesperson, a role she handled with unwavering enthusiasm, she was instrumental in building awareness, visibility, and interest.

While Smedley usually prefers to stay outside the media spotlight, he’s the person most responsible for SOE’s corporate direction. In 2009, this included not just Free Realms’ debut but also increased visibility for two other projects with the potential to broaden the MMO audience, DC Universe Online and The Agency.

2. Huateng Ma - Chairman and CEO, Tencent

China very likely became the largest dollar-value MMO market last year. According to figures released recently by that country’s Ministry of Culture, the online game industry grew 35.9%, reaching $3.78 billion (all figures USD). Although Tencent remains unknown to many observers in this hemisphere, it’s the leading publisher there. Total revenue rose 74% to $1.82 billion, with games representing approximately $800 million.

With these results, the company advanced into the top handful of the world’s largest game publishers. In all probability, it ranked as a strong number two in the global MMO space. This was achieved with multiple titles, more than two dozen in all. Although some are very popular, with at least three having surpassed a million peak concurrent users, none bring in World of Warcraft-like dollars. However, Tencent’s total online game revenue is now in the same ballpark. Considering China is building Internet infrastructure rapidly but has yet to reach 30% penetration, passing Blizzard as soon as this year isn’t out of the question.

Huateng Ma’s his overall responsibilities include setting the direction for strategic planning and product development, both of which were crucial to Tencent’s dramatic growth and its steep rise in significance in the MMO sector in 2009.

3. Mike Morhaime - President, Blizzard

Rob Pardo represented Blizzard and ranked at the top of the previous two years’ lists. This time, however, it seemed more appropriate to focus on the corporate side, with Morhaime the most obvious possibility. While World of Warcraft clearly remained highly influential in 2009, nothing happened to or in the game itself that was comparable to the release of Wrath of the Lich King the year prior. The announcement of the Cataclysm expansion in August was an important event, but not at a similar level.

The biggest story associated with WoW last year was a business one. In China, which is home to around half of the 10 million+ active accounts, Blizzard switched publishing partners to NetEase when its contract with The9 ended. This change was apparently used as a reason – and perhaps partly as an excuse – for the Chinese government to tighten its restrictions on imported MMOs.

There’s no indication Blizzard or NetEase expected this or even thought it might happen. Nonetheless, the result was the game being offline in its numerically largest market for about two months, then forced into beta status for another month and a half, during which time it didn’t generate revenue. The full repercussions of this situation have yet to be seen.

4. John Riccitiello - CEO, Electronic Arts

Although EA is one of the video-game-industry giants, running neck and neck with Activision Blizzard, its position within the MMO space simply doesn’t compare. It hasn’t held the leadership position since the days when Ultima Online engendered the category’s first surge in popularity. That was nearly 15 years ago; it’s hard to imagine that the corporation’s senior executives have been or are content with this situation.

Neither does it appear they’re especially satisfied with the 2006 purchase of Mythic Entertainment. If they were, the reshaping of EA’s approach to the MMO category that took place last summer would seem strange indeed. The company created a new RPG/MMO group reporting to Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk of BioWare, which was itself acquired in late 2007. This restructuring also included the departure of Mark Jacobs; whether this was of his own volition is unknown. In any case, Riccitiello, as CEO, bears the ultimate responsibility for these changes.

On a more positive note, BioWare Austin’s highly anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic started releasing information to build up toward launch, which now looks like it won’t happen until 2011. Nonetheless, it attracted a lot of attention to the category last year, not just among gamers but also the public at large. In addition, EA made 2009’s largest MMO-related acquisition by far, paying a reported $300 million for Playfish to move strongly into the social gaming sector.

5. Jack Emmert - Chief Creative Officer, Cryptic Studios

John Needham - CEO, Cryptic Studios

On the heels of being purchased by Atari the year before, 2009 was very eventful for Cryptic. September saw the launch of Champions Online in September. If that wasn’t a large-enough undertaking, the studio nearly finished preparing Star Trek Online for its release, which eventually happened early this February. The build-up periods preceding both brought increased visibility to the genre, especially the latter with its interest value for a much broader, non-gamer audience. In light of these mixed factors, plus the timing of the acquisition, which happened in December 2008, meaning many of the key implications weren’t fully felt until last year, it seemed only appropriate to list Emmert and Needham together.

With the benefit of several months’ hindsight, we can see that Champions Online has had a lukewarm reception by both gamers and the media; more recently, Star Trek Online did not boldly soar upon release like no MMO has soared before. Granted, living up to pre-release expectations is never an easy task, due to the unavoidably hype-inflated nature of the beast. It remains to be seen how well both titles will fare over time, but that does not detract from their impact and Cryptic’s last year.

6. Tianqiao Chen - Chairman, CEO and President, Shanda Entertainment

Even though it was unable to retain the leadership position in China, Shanda recorded significant growth in 2009. Its reported game revenue of $704 million was an increase of 42% and probably equated to the #3 ranking among all publishers in MMO dollars, trailing only Blizzard and Tencent. Like its domestic rival, the company offers a broad portfolio. As of January, it included 25 MMORPGs, with the most popular franchises being Woool and Mir2 – and  there were 23(!) more in the pipeline. This highly diversified approach has been successful enough to attract more than 10 million paying accounts.

Shanghai-based Shanda is also the Chinese publisher of Aion, which launched last summer and may have been the year’s most popular new release there. Soon after, Shanda Games was spun off; in September, its initial public offering of American Depository Shares on NASDAQ raised approximately $1 billion. Having headed the parent company since its inception in 1999, Tianqiao Chen definitely warrants his position on this list.

7. Taek Jin Kim - CEO, NCsoft

Yongchan Jee - Lead Designer, Aion

2009 marked a dramatic resurgence for NCsoft, which saw its global revenue increase 83% to $546 million. The largest contributor was the long-awaited Aion, which actually debuted in Korea in 2008 before launching in the west and China last year. Arguably the top new MMO in both hemispheres, it brought in $217 million, representing 43% of the total.

That said, the company wasn’t a one-trick pony. Lineage and Lineage II both showed they still have plenty of vigor, weighing in at 26% and 23% respectively. It’s also interesting to note that while City of Heroes/Villains and Guild Wars may have equal or even higher mind shares in this part of the world, they only generated a combined 7%. In light of this mix of factors, it seems appropriate to recognize Taek Jin Kim and Yongchan Gee together on this list.

8. Jim Crowley - President and CEO, Turbine

Turbine caused quite a stir last summer when it announced it would enter the free-to-play market with Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, the converted version of its 2006 subscription release. The revamped title launched in September, and the shift in direction appears to have been very successful. In February, it was announced that the game had attracted a million new players, more than doubled its subscriber base, and quintupled the franchise’s revenue.

Led by Crowley, the studio didn’t stop there. In November, it celebrated the 10th anniversary of the venerable, pioneering Asheron’s Call. December saw the release of The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood, which, like Mines of Moria the previous year, was widely rated as one of the year’s finest expansions. Looking forward, quite a few industry observers are watching Turbine closely in anticipation of something major in 2010.

9. Andreas Weidenhaupt - CEO, Frogster Online Gaming

Launched last March, Runes of Magic was and is at the forefront of the current new wave of polished F2P MMOs. As such, it won numerous commendations to rank among the notable releases of 2009, regardless of business model. In addition, it stood apart from most other non-subscription offerings by generating and maintaining a higher level of visibility. This helped it reach the three-million-registered-user mark in North America and Europe by its first anniversary.

Weidenhaupt is said to be responsible for finding the title, which comes from Taiwanese studio Runewaker Entertainment. As CEO, he also deserves much of the credit for Frogster’s approach to marketing and publicizing it. In August, the two companies announced that they will partner on another game. The projected release date is 2013, which speaks to the magnitude of the project.

10. James Ohlen - Lead Designer, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Studio Creative Director, BioWare Austin

Never one to seek out visibility or publicity, Ohlen has one of the game industry’s most distinguished track records over the past decade and a half, having served as lead designer on Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate II, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon Age: Origins. Furthermore, as BioWare’s director of writing and design from 1998 to 2006, he was also in charge of hiring, training and managing its designers and writers.

In his current role, which he took on in 2006, he’s the person most responsible for the story-related elements that are expected not just to be The Old Republic’s core differentiator, but also to elevate them to a level not yet seen in MMOs. So, while neither he nor his influence were especially visible to the public, his work during 2009 was critical to the game widely expected to be the category’s next western blockbuster.

11. Gordon Walton - Co-Studio Director, BioWare Austin

Rich Vogel - Co-Studio Director, BioWare Austin

Even though it appears unlikely to ship until next year, the significance of The Old Republic is such that it would be an egregious omission to exclude Vogel and Walton from a prominent position on this list. They are the primary builders of the team that bears the heavy weight of expectations associated with both the Star Wars property and BioWare Edmonton’s history of excellence, especially in the areas of storytelling and NPC character development.

Like Ohlen, perhaps even more so, the two respected industry veterans can be seen as responsible for significant aspects of the project’s foundation. As such, their efforts and contributions began well before last year and will continue to be felt through to launch and beyond.

12. Yoichi Wada - President and Representative Director, Square Enix

After being either a rumor or an open secret for a couple of years, depending on the source, Final Fantasy XIV was officially announced last summer. The second online iteration of the monster RPG property will available for PC and PS3 this summer. Like its predecessor, which remains a success, the fact that it’s a cross-platform offering will help set it apart and reach a larger audience.

Slated for worldwide launch sometime later this year, the game has yet to attain the same level of visibility as some others at a similar stage of development. This may largely be attributed to Square Enix’s controlled approach to the release of information and publicity in general. However, the relative lack of hype can seem refreshing, and it’s a very eagerly awaited title regardless.

13. Hilmar Petursson - CEO, CCP Games

Noah Ward - Lead Designer, EVE Online

From the very beginning of its development a decade or so ago, EVE Online had a highly distinctive vision, with a huge single-server universe and a player-driven economy at its core. After a rocky start that saw the company recover the game from its original publisher, it has become a notable success story. As of last May, it had a reported 300,000 subscribers plus another 45,000 trial accounts.

Petursson, who was formerly the CTO, and Ward are the current guardians of that initial vision on the business and design sides respectively. In 2009, they oversaw the additions of the Apocrypha and Dominion expansions as well as the Apocrypha 1.5 mini-expansion. In March, the game even returned to retail shelves via a boxed version distributed by Atari. What’s more, CCP is well worth watching to see if this will be the year its World of Darkness MMO project is finally unveiled.

14. Min Kim - Vice President, Nexon America

Once again, in 2009, Kim filled the role of the leading spokesman for the free-to-play sector within the western development industry. This is something of a thankless job that much of the public may not notice, but he has filled it gracefully, enthusiastically, and effectively for the past few years, including speaking at virtually every major North American trade event.

He has also played a significant role in positioning Nexon as a leading free-to-play publisher in the North American market. Among other duties, he has been the most frequent interviewee for titles such as MapleStory, Mabinogi, Combat Arms, and Dungeon Fighter Online, the last of which debuted here last year.

15. J. Todd Coleman - Vice President and Creative Director, KingsIsle Entertainment

Following a successful, if somewhat under-the-radar launch in the second half of 2008, Wizard101 continued to build visibility and gain momentum last year. Developed under Coleman’s stewardship as vision holder, it has been a key factor in opening up the still-budding North American youth and family market. At last report, the colorful title had surpassed five million accounts.

Furthermore, it’s among the few western MMOs to demonstrate that turn-based play is a far from obsolete. On the business side, it’s something of a trailblazer in implementing a business model that incorporates more than the “standard” subscription and micro-transaction options.

16. William Lei Ding - CEO, NetEase

With revenue of $494 million, NetEase ranked third among Chinese publishers in 2009, a position it may improve upon this year. The main factor in this regard is the WoW license, which was acquired last summer. However, due to regulatory issues, the game didn’t start to bring in money until around mid-October. By comparison, a full year might be worth around $250 million, or possibly more, depending on how much the market grows. This would be welcome news to Ding, who founded NetEase in 1997, even though he’s already one of the country’s richest men.

Interestingly, WoW isn’t Netease’s most-played MMO. That distinction belongs to Fantasy Westward Journey, which surpassed 2.5 million peak concurrent users last summer.

17. Steve Wadsworth - President, Disney Interactive Media Group

Disney’s online unit continued its leadership in the younger user sector last year with a diverse portfolio, including Pixie Hollow, Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Toontown Online, Club Penguin, and more. Although these titles can be regarded as lacking substantial share of mind among hardcore MMO players, their combined influence is unquestionable.

Perhaps most importantly, the company’s games have consistently demonstrated the great importance of accessibility for the youth and mass-market audiences, a lesson many others are only starting to understand and act upon.

18. Sergey Orlovskiy - CEO, Nival

Orlovskiy is the father of Allods Online, arguably the most anticipated free-to-play title of the moment. He founded its developer, Nival Online, and was the primary vision holder for the property he co-created more than a decade ago, until late last year when the studio and the IP were acquired by Mail.Ru.

In September of 2008, Orlovskiy started a new endeavor, Nival Network, which quickly became one of the leading online publishers in the Russia and perhaps the world’s second most important emerging market behind China. Now focused on social gaming and social networks, he may be the leading figure in his country’s development industry, and definitely deserving of a place on this list.

19. Klaas Kersting - former CEO, Gameforge

Gameforge is a major independent publisher of free-to-play browser- and client-based online games, perhaps ranking as the world leader in the former category. Based in Germany, it offers approximately 18 titles in more than 50 languages, generating total revenue in excess of $135 million. Kersting co-founded the company in 2003 and led it until his departure this March to pursue other opportunities; he will continue to serve as a consultant.

20. Mark Pincus - Founder and CEO, Zynga

While it only partly overlaps the MMO space, social gaming is significantly influencing the perceptions and design thinking of leading developers in the more traditional sectors. Pincus isn’t solely or directly responsible for this, but he’s the best single choice. A key reason is that it’s impossible to ignore the popularity of Mafia Wars, the company’s PHP MMOG that apparently has in the neighborhood of 20 million active users per month.

Honorable Mentions

Brian Farrell - CEO THQ

Sun Tao - CEO, ICE Entertainment

Their companies’ joint venture, THQ*ICE, brought THQ, a major western publisher, into both the MMO and F2P markets with Dragonica Online. The game also provides the opportunity to acquire some hands-on operating experience in preparation for Warhammer 40K Online.

Cho SeongWan - CEO, NDoors

NDoors is mainly recognized for the success of Atlantica Online, which has helped open quite a few eyes to the possibility that MMOGs outside the standard mold can be fun and successful. Its influence is more evident in Korea and China, where the number of announced and unannounced strategy and/or turn-based MMOs in development is on the rise.

Andrew Gower - Co-Founder, Jagex and Lead Developer, RuneScape

Still one of only two MMOs to reach a million subscribers, RuneScape is also significant for lessons that a good number of development teams are only starting to take to heart. The game is browser-based, and thus undemanding in terms of hardware requirements. Fittingly, the play is also very accessible, with a friendly learning curve.

Adam Bohn - CEO, Artix

Launched late in 2008, Artix’ Flash-based free-to-play browser MMO, AdventureQuest Worlds, rather quietly gained momentum in 2009, reaching approximately 12 million accounts. Notably, the game is updated with new content at least weekly, sometimes even daily. In addition, the company recently acquired the PvP-oriented EpicDuel.

James Hettinger - CEO, Icarus Studios

2009 saw the release of Fallen Earth, the post-apocalyptic MMO developed by the company’s similarly named studio. Mixing FPS and RPG elements, it didn’t shake up the entire genre, but did reconfirm that there’s room in the hardcore segment of the market for themes and designs that aren’t intended to appeal to everyone.