Overwatch

[Tanner Glass]

Funny. During the zenith of OW's popularity, TF2 decided to take the game into a matchmaking competitive mode and it basically killed a lot of attention of the game, so much so that their latest string of updates are just a desperate attempt to bring the game back to relevancy. You'd think that the current OW devs would look at the mistakes of every single game within the industry that tried to compete with them and try to reiterate their game with learned lessons? But nah, they are turning into the same path that Meet Your Match-era TF2 did and this time, they won't survive, especially when Genshin, Apex and Fortnite are the unholy trinity of live-service games.

I wouldn't even compare OW favorably to TF2 - because TF2 released a number of updates for like ~8 years that added stuff to the game (MvM, Payload, PLR) and has a community that can add whatever they want (maps, weapons, etc). You can play TF2's "official" 6v6 ranked mode, the "unofficial" 9v9 mode, the "standard" 12v12 mode or some other custom nonsense on a custom server (16 v 16 chaos mode).

Ironically, it's not like Blizzard doesn't know better - because their previous games all have some degree of multiple game modes and the ability to have players play how they want. Hearthstone has more options than OW1 does (and OW2 does) - and has more singleplayer content and updates as well - and it's a fucking card game.

Overwatch shipped in 2016 with a single mode of play (split into Ranked and Unranked) and really thought that players would never get sick of it and also charged for it for years. Warzone, Fortnite, Apex, Genshin, Warframe, etc are all free and offer more play-ability options than what OW2 is limping to the barn with.

 

[FatalTater]

You know, aren't there credit card numbers also linked to accounts if you've made any purchases before?

It reeks of the chink overlords and their invasive social credit shit and it also stinks of harvesting data to sell. And it looks like a major opportunity for anyone willing to breach their data.

Game killed days before it releases wow.

Artist Richard Serra once said, "If something is free, you are the product."
He was, I think, referring to TV shows being free but with commercial advertisements.

Online stuff is free, just give us your personal information.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

it's heartbreaking to see good games built around having fun slowly lose that fun aspect to appeal to hardcore gamers and tournament players.

Isn't it appealing to eSports? Modern game companies wouldn't piss on hardcore gamers if they were on fire, they just, in this particular case, want to chase that sweet eSports cashflow and sell more merchandise.

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

damn, those are some ugly skins. i cant be the only one who think overwatch 2 looks worse graphic vice right?

someone going through everything.

 

[mandatorylurk]

With Overwatch League being dead, the game could survive. And with how half the teams are the esport equivalent of being liquidated and run on the barest income required by an OWL contract, it might happen. Supposedly the current meta in OWL is so bad in being a rush type with Junker Queen, that it makes GOATs have variety.

All Blizzard had to do was balance the game regularly and it would have thrived. How hard is it really to fiddle with numbers, even during mandated dilating time for the staff it can be a weekly thing.

 

[The Last Stand]

At least I unlocked all original achievements before OW1's inevitable shutdown. I swear that Zenyetta discord achievement is broken or very strict with timing.

 

[StutterBox]

So.

Overwatch 1 is going to be taken down forever on October 2.

Overwatch 2 is to be going up on October 4, whatever and however its supposed to work.

When I clicked on BattleNet just now, I got a message saying

To prevent account abuse, we are requiring users to
register a unique mobile phone number to play this
game for free. This requirement will help to reduce
disruptive behavior and ensure a positive community
experience for all players.

With money from my own pocket I purchased this game. I just want to shoot other players to death. Why is this too much to ask?

They are not getting my phone number.

Same thing just happened to me, I just clicked "I already added my number" and it let me in the game even though I hadn't actually added a number. Maybe they're just testing the pop up for OW2 release.

 

[Tanner Glass]

Isn't it appealing to eSports? Modern game companies wouldn't piss on hardcore gamers if they were on fire, they just, in this particular case, want to chase that sweet eSports cashflow and sell more merchandise.

In a word - No.

It's why Overwatch has such a shit esports scene. "Professional Esports Players" don't suddenly appear from nowhere - you'll get crossovers from other games initally, but most of your esports teams are made of up hardcore fans who really like the game they play. If the game isn't fun or exciting on a "casual" level - those players will never go on to become pro players in your scene. Meaning that newer blood is harder to come by and teams will eventually suffer or die outright - not to mention the entire average skill being lowered.

There's also the issue of what skill can translate into in OW currently - there isn't a ton of high level decision making to be had. Ultimates are extremely powerful (and can never be negated), there's only ever a single objective, almost all characters have an extremely (for a pro game) low skill ceiling, and there's no dynamic hero bans that would change a round or match. There's only one game mode and the maps aren't different enough to drastically alter the meta in any real way.

Pros play for money - but it's really hard to stay playing a bad game when basically every other game has some kind of league that you can get paid in, and typically better than OW. Overwatch has a smaller prize pool than DOTA, Fortnite, and Apex - just off the top of my head. A lower skill ceiling means less ways to differentiate the "good" players from the "great" ones - which is boring for players, viewers, and advertisers.

There's also the issue of who is chasing that sweet sweet eSports money - Blizzard has earned a reputation of being hard to work with and greedy, which is something that advertisers want no part of, coming all the way from the Starcraft 2 days. Blizzard has absolutely ruined their reputation further over the last decade making them even less appealing for advertisers (and making Blizz tournaments less appealing for potential Tournament Organizers to consider).

TL;DR - fun games make for a deeper player pool and a deeper player pool makes for a much better (and organic) esports scene. Overwatch does not have this.

 

[UnknownCloser]

I haven't played Overwatch since 2017 (back when it was relatively fun) but i was considering installing OW2 just to check out if they'd add anything of worth but with this absolutely cancerous pre-release period it's very clear they have no fucking idea of what they're doing, even as a F2P title this game isn't worth shit, i wonder how many people feel the same.
Guess i'll just stick to Gundam Evo for my Hero-shooter MP kicks, even as cancerous and jewish as that game's monetization is, it somehow manages to be better than whatever Blizzard is shitting out.

 

[Takodachi]

It has to be some kind of chink money laundering scheme, this feel too retarded to not be done on purpose.

 

[FatalTater]

When even Stylosa can't muster some excitement for a thing, you know it's shit.

Expensive shit by the sound of it.

 

[DuranceVile]

When even Stylosa can't muster some excitement for a thing, you know it's shit.

Expensive shit by the sound of it.

Sty has been one of Overwatch's biggest cheerleaders since pre-beta. He's been pretty soft on some of the most egregious stuff like launch Brig or GOATs cancer. So for his videos to lately show him struggling to justify the predatory changes in OW2, that's saying something for how indefensible it is.

 

[Tanner Glass]

It has to be some kind of chink money laundering scheme, this feel too retarded to not be done on purpose.

It's likely some senior execs want OW2 to launch (and make money) before the Microsoft acquisition - probably tied to a lot of bonuses and payouts this year.

See also - the absolute rush job on WoW : Dragonflight.

 

[StutterBox]

When even Stylosa can't muster some excitement for a thing, you know it's shit.

Expensive shit by the sound of it.

Whatever tweaks they did to the art style make the game look like absolute shit. It looks/feels like a mobile game now.

 

[WULULULULU]

In a word - No.

It's why Overwatch has such a shit esports scene. "Professional Esports Players" don't suddenly appear from nowhere - you'll get crossovers from other games initally, but most of your esports teams are made of up hardcore fans who really like the game they play. If the game isn't fun or exciting on a "casual" level - those players will never go on to become pro players in your scene. Meaning that newer blood is harder to come by and teams will eventually suffer or die outright - not to mention the entire average skill being lowered.

There's also the issue of what skill can translate into in OW currently - there isn't a ton of high level decision making to be had. Ultimates are extremely powerful (and can never be negated), there's only ever a single objective, almost all characters have an extremely (for a pro game) low skill ceiling, and there's no dynamic hero bans that would change a round or match. There's only one game mode and the maps aren't different enough to drastically alter the meta in any real way.

Pros play for money - but it's really hard to stay playing a bad game when basically every other game has some kind of league that you can get paid in, and typically better than OW. Overwatch has a smaller prize pool than DOTA, Fortnite, and Apex - just off the top of my head. A lower skill ceiling means less ways to differentiate the "good" players from the "great" ones - which is boring for players, viewers, and advertisers.

There's also the issue of who is chasing that sweet sweet eSports money - Blizzard has earned a reputation of being hard to work with and greedy, which is something that advertisers want no part of, coming all the way from the Starcraft 2 days. Blizzard has absolutely ruined their reputation further over the last decade making them even less appealing for advertisers (and making Blizz tournaments less appealing for potential Tournament Organizers to consider).

TL;DR - fun games make for a deeper player pool and a deeper player pool makes for a much better (and organic) esports scene. Overwatch does not have this.

The game also should be fun to watch if it were to appeal to eSports. Its why Counter-Strike remains one of the kings of eSports, it has a ton of moments that differ from others, be it LANs and org teams shittalking and beating each other up, to even the tiniest of shit like like Gob b saying fak. Money talks but not when the audience has no fucking idea what they are watching in the first place.

 

[ZMOT]

The game also should be fun to watch if it were to appeal to eSports. Its why Counter-Strike remains one of the kings of eSports, it has a ton of moments that differ from others, be it LANs and org teams shittalking and beating each other up, to even the tiniest of shit like like Gob b saying fak. Money talks but not when the audience has no fucking idea what they are watching in the first place.

this. there's a reason you got millions of people watching some dudes kick a ball around in huge ass stadiums and no one gives a shit about chess. it needs to be exciting and simple enough the plebs - who are supposed to buy all that merch and other shit - want to watch it, no amount of money is gonna do that unless it happens organically.

 

[The Last Stand]

Ashe is quite fun to use. Part sniper, part DMR. Way more useful in any range than Widowmaker. At least she isn't hitscan.

 

[FatalTater]

It was fun to watch youtubers play Overwatch. They would do interesting things with the game and the banter was amusing.

Overwatch as a Sooper-Seerious Esport? No.

 

[FIetchling]

When even Stylosa can't muster some excitement for a thing, you know it's shit.

Expensive shit by the sound of it.

Tfw the Black Cat D.Va skin in Overwatch 2 costs more than my student loans...

On a more serious note you're a sucker for buying all this. This shit looks ugly.

 

[Ghost of Wesley Willis]

Watching the decline of overwatch wasn't a car crash in slow motion, it was a trail derailment.