Android:Netrunner Online

[Uncle_Jonno 0]

This software needs to exist for the survival of the game. I think Magic: The Gathering Online accounts for half of Magic's revenue?

[Schuster 3]

I'm not so sure that this must exist for the survival of the game.  M:tG and A:NR run on two very different business models.

 

OCTGN has an A:NR plugin that you may be interested in if you're looking for online play: http://octgn.gamersjudgement.com/viewforum.php?f=52 .

[AnesthesiaCat 8]

I don't think it is going to hurt the game to not have an online version per se.

However,

I would absolutely love it if there was one.

Octgn is cool and all but I would really like a smooth dedicated online version with a dedicated UI.

I would love it so much.

So so much.

[radioactivemouse 9]

While there are programs that can facilitate A:N, I don't think any kind of digital format will be able to recreate a true A:N experience. 

 

A big part of A:N is bluffing. Watching the opponent's movements, reading their moves, looking into their eyes when they play a card…all part of the game and makes victory/defeat that much more enjoyable. You're always learning something in a true one-on-one match.

 

With that said, although you do get to experiment with card combos, get familiar with strategies, and see how different people play, digital A:N just…takes the real fun out of the game. 

 

At leasr in my opinion. 

[Zap Rowsdower2 0]

I would enjoy a digital version to play when I don't have the option to play in person.

I do, however, agree with radioactivemouse that a lot of the game play can only be appreciated in person with bluffing, etc. Having said that, I enjoy online and in-person poker and it is a similar situation.

[Wimpgod 0]

I think an online version would be very inviting.

Although the physical tells would be compromised, bluffing from chat is still there:

Advance  a Junebug and chat: " Don't even think about it…my Junebug needs feeding.."

I think FFG should give online play some thought.

[Tridus 0]

I'd love an online version. My best friend lives too far away to play in person and he'd love this game.

[Ken on Cape 263]

I tryed OCTGN. The interface is VERY clunky. It could be ALOT more user friendly. I was having such a hard time trying to remember how to do stuff I could'nt concentrate on game strategy. Could be alot more user friendly.

[KGB 3]

This software needs to exist for the survival of the game. I think Magic: The Gathering Online accounts for half of Magic's revenue?

 

Magic is a different beast.  The have 10's of millions of players that pay the cost that is MTGO.  It's not a simple matter to create and maintain something like MTGO.  

One of the main reasons why LCG's exist is because these games have a fairly small player base, one that isn't large enough to support random distribution.  With LCG's, you can print a small or large number of sets, and if sets sell out and there's a demand, it's much easier to do another print run.

 

Basically, as much as people love A:NR, the numbers are not there to warrant the investment and maintenance cost that would be required for an online component. 

[Rince 36]

While I do not agree with the MtG:O analogy and would certainly not play Netrunner on OCTGN, I do believe that a digital version could be beneficial if executed right. I am thinking along the lines of Duels of the Planeswalkers not Magic Online. You could have a game made of pre-constructed decks with little to no customization, an interesting storyline, and all the fluff that would make it compelling to the average video game folk while not cannibalizing the core Netrunner player base. A limited game like that would be enough to get people hooked on the core mechanics, but not enough to provide competition to the phisical distribution. I have people among my firends who actually got into Magic through DotP. They tried the game on Xbox, loved it, and eventually switched to the real thing where they had access to a vastly larger card base and could construct their own decks. But they would have never touched Magic if it was not for DotP first. I myself got into Magic (again) because of Duels of the Planeswalkers, however briefly.

 

On the other hand, developing even a "simple" game like that could be very risky. To make any kind of impact you would have to release it on all available gaming platforms, making the development very costly. Then you would have pay the royalties to the platform holders, pay for the servers for multiplayer, customer support, etc. They might not even have a licese to go digital, as Netrunner is still the intellectual property of Wizards of the Cost.

 

I think an official Netrunner video game is just unrealistic at the moment. FFG is way too small to take such a huge risk.