Opportunities online: fact or fantasy?
Jeremy S Sanders · IEEE Software · 1998
Countless ads, seminars, and publications describe the Web as a vast, untapped market for software vendors, both as a means to reach customers directly and as a venue for applications that require both an initial purchase and a monthly fee. The challenge thus far has been to provide content that people will pay for. Origin Systems, based in Austin, Texas, (USA) may have found a solution with its massively multiplayer role playing game, Ultima Online. Although UO's initial sales have outstripped any previous Origin title, the game has fallen prey to design, technical, and social problems that provide profound lessons for other online content providers.