Poll: MMO "Extended Experience", your thoughts?

[2xDouble]

Recently, ArenaNet has announced the Extended Experience project/team wherein players can use a Smartphone (iPhone, iPad, Android, etc...) or a PC to access in-game features, such as chat, auction house(s), friend and event tracking (in-game), etc. No, it's not the same as the WoW Auction House app. (More information here [http://www.arena.net/blog/gaming-outside-the-game-rick-ellis-talks-the-guild-wars-2-extended-experience], here [http://www.arena.net/blog/rick-ellis-answers-your-extended-experience-questions], and here [http://www.arena.net/blog/link-roundup-guild-wars-2-extended-experience], follow the internal links for additional info).

Some have said this is a great step in interactivity and community, others that it can only increase addiction, and still more saying it is a turnoff due to too much immersion. What do you, fellow Escapists, think about this idea?

 

[Wolfram23]

Interesting... but also don't really care that much. I probably would have had the WoW auction house app if it was available when I played, because for the last several months I was making a ton of gold through blacksmithing lol. I think that would have been fun.

However, MMOs are very time demanding and I simply can't sink that much time into gaming anymore. So for me it's useless and irrelevant...

 

[AugustFall]

I like AreaNet a lot, I think this is a great idea. People in Guilds know that it is a commitment, but not one you maybe want to make into a real life thing. Maybe they don't want to exchange e-mails with essentially strangers. This gives people a way to get into contact with some one if they need to but not outside of the game.
It could be really good for larger guilds too which make it difficult to keep track of members.

 

[Fusionxl]

I don't see anything special about that. EVE Online has a site where you can check your mails and give twitter-like updates. Our EVE corporation hosts private out-of-game forums everyone regularly use and we have a TeamSpeak server. I am constantly in touch with my corpies.

 

[whooshiwoo]

I think it can be a good thing for people who just see things like WoW as what it's supposed to be: a game. It could, however, also enforce things like severe gaming addiction ... just think of school kids even hanging out in MMOs in school breaks, on the train, family meetings, etc ... aweful.

I'm pro the possibility in general since I believe possibilities in general are a good thing, but I doubt whether such things are really necessary ... if you don't have the time to properly log on to a game then maybe you should just be alright with not playing it till you do have that time ...

 

[2xDouble]

I think it can be a good thing for people who just see things like WoW as what it's supposed to be: a game. It could, however, also enforce things like severe gaming addiction ... just think of school kids even hanging out in MMOs in school breaks, on the train, family meetings, etc ... aweful.

I'm pro the possibility in general since I believe possibilities in general are a good thing, but I doubt whether such things are really necessary ... if you don't have the time to properly log on to a game then maybe you should just be alright with not playing it till you do have that time ...

But consider this: (as brought up in one of the linked articles) the people who might use such an app would spend that time texting or chatting with other friends if not for this thing. Is it really any different than people's regular messaging addictions?