Biggest Threat to Online Games

You might have though it was a sour world economy but it's actually the customer support many games have or lack that are bringing them down. There's a article here on gamesindustry.biz that talks about how some companies are producing big games but lose their customers due to poor customer support.

One quote from the article many people know about.

"Sometimes ignoring the infrastructure does make the news. Microsoft of all companies should be positioned to handle the infrastructure requirements of online game subscribers. Yet in December 2002, Microsoft announced it had excluded Australia from the initial release of Asheron's Call 2, leaving customers who purchased copies on the Internet high and dry. Reporter Caitlin Fitzsimmons writes that,

One wit has concluded this must be the first time that Microsoft has refused money. "

Yet MS made good albiet a few months later and by then they had missed the boat. As with the MMO industry timing is key and there is no forgiveness in this world. You either perform or sink and many publishers have found this to happen to them due in part of things they do that are perceived poorly by the consumer. I know of no better way to drive customers away than making it hard for them to become a customer. There's a limit many will go through to play a online game and a bigger factor is alternatives.

Yet when you read the whole story you'll find out the above statement is not really the all important factor but how you handle your problems in a satisfactory and timely manner to the customer.