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Rational analysis of why WoW is so successful
Pappy13
Member Posts: 2,138
It's been debated back and forth many times by those who love WoW and those that hate it why WoW is so successful, but I think to really understand it's popularity you have to take a good look at the genre itself.
Prior to WoW, MMORPG's were primarily designed for those who had grown up playing MUD's or RPG's and they didn't really pull in the much larger audience of just general game players. Things like role playing, group dynamics and strategic gameplay were what the designers had in mind when creating their games. Blizzard changed all that. Blizzard didn't set out to make the next great MMORPG, they set out to make the next great video game.
They knew they wanted it to be an online game of massive proportions, something that Blizzard hadn't done before, but they also wanted it to embody many of the features they were already very familiar with like fast action, questing, character progression, skills and a large assortment of equipment and enemies to fight. They already had a game that had all these things in Diablo/Diablo II. Much of what you see today in WoW really had it's roots in Diablo which almost any RPG'er will tell you is NOT an RPG. But Blizzard didn't set out to make an MMORPG.
WoW bridges the gap between "game player" and "RPGer". A lot of veteran MMORPG players dislike the game because they say it's too easy or that it doesn't offer any real rewards and for them that's true, but what they fail to realize is that the very reason they dislike WoW, is the same reason it has become so popular with the masses. The masses aren't looking for great challenge or rewards, they are looking for entertainment and WoW delivers that in spades. It took your basic MMORPG premise and spruced it up and speeded it up. Combat is fast paced and exciting. Questing is quick and easy. Crafting is painless. Skills and talent point distribution is simplified. Anything that tended to slow things down or make things overly complex was removed or changed in such a way to keep things moving along. The RPG purists hate it for this reason, but the average gamer loves it, because he's not looking for an RPG experience, he's just looking for a fun video game he can enjoy with his friends.
I don't think anyone will argue that the pool of MMORPGers has grown substantially since WoW was launched. There's no way that WoW could have gotten the subscription numbers they have by merely pulling in the MMORPG player. Instead they went outside the MMORPG genre and pulled in players from a lot of other genres. This upsets a lot of the traditional MMORPG players because they perceive it as an intrusion on their turf, but really it's not, WoW isn't invading the realm of MMORPG, rather it's creating it's own new realm. Just like Diablo didn't really fit into the RPG's world, neither does WoW fit into the MMORPG world. Perhaps it's time for a new genre, something more in line with what WoW offers. MMOAG? Massive Multiplayer Online Action Game? I don't know the answer to that question, what I do know is that the people that love WoW and those that don't need to quit arguing over whether WoW is a good MMORPG, because the fact is it's not an MMORPG at all. It's something else. WoW is a breed apart and the sooner we just accept it for what it is rather than criticizing it for what it isn't, the sooner we can get back to doing what we really love, playing games.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Comments
sorry i did not read but i THINK it is a successful game because og the lore
I beg to differ. This is a "Poors mans MMO". Is essence I do not mean to say it is monatary value, just the skill it takes to play. Prior to SWG:NGE there was diversity, 30 plus classes, you could drop pick up skills, change proffesions all with out having to pay credits. There was a mystical side to the game. In World of Warcraft all the people play with only one intention in mind to reach the end, be powerful, raid BT (w/e new raid instance is going to be added in the exp), or be #1 in the Arena. (Can't finish this post now , just went brain dead)
You did a nice job on your analysis......Alot of us did come from other MMOs taht were much more demanding and we did find WoW to be a little too easy......Like you said WoW is more for entertainment than challenge...When I played WoW in beta I thought it was a nice game that Id play for a couple months and that would be about it....i never foresaw that millions of people would play it someday because it was just too simplistic......I dont hate WoW but I dont like what has happened to the MMO genre since WoW has come along......For alot of us vets we want challenge and risk/reward to be a driving force in our games.....
I agree whole heartedly
I think those factors are the major ones, probably 90% of the reason.
I grew up (MMO wise) on Asheron's Call and EQ1, played DAOC, AC2 (very briefly..), EQ2 for years, LOTRO, Vanguard, and tried a couple of other games.
Most of those were more demanding in many ways that WOW, and EQ1. The early games especially required a lot deeper knowledge of the game to get far at that time.
But that was then, and this is now. I no longer have the time to do deep research on which combination of weapon and armor stats will work best for me among the thousands of items available in games like EQ1. Nor do I have much inclination to spend long hours late into the night raiding.
So while in many ways I think other (mostly older) games are more challenging, right now I am not looking for a challenge, I am looking to have some casual fun - and WOW provides that, at least for now.
I agree whole heartedly
Same here, though I'm bit of a reverse lol
I started out on WoW, played on and off til I got my own account (my friend let me play on his), and after several months, got my first 70 and a bunch of 20+ alts
I managed to get into a guild, started tanking heroics and raiding a little. But eventually those two things stopped occuring, other 70s would be on to tank, and theyd take them instead of me, and we stopped raiding completely.
Those were the two reasons I stayed on, otherwise i was bored. I saw no fun in mindlessly grinding primals or gold, specially with Lich King in the horizon. So, as I contemplate quitting WoW, I've been looking for more interesting games. WoW was fun when all I wanted was to bash some things, and not really think too hard, but I find myself hungering for more than clicking three buttons in a row because it works 100% (the joy of a tankadin i assume).
You are not alone in that assesment.
I play a mage, and 95% of the time it is pushing the same 2 buttons, with an occasional 3rd one, over and over. Later on this year when I have more time I will probably move on, or go back to EQ2, depending on what new games look good.
WOW is fun, but I simply cannot see making a career out of it like so many have (I even hear of some with 6-7 accounts, each with 3-4 level 70's).
Pappy, I agree, particularly with your point that what WoW has done is expand, greatly, the audience for the MMO. I don't think a lot of the old line MMORPG outfits (particularly the insanely jealous SOE crowd) appreciate that WoW's numbers did not come so much at their expense but because people who never played an MMO before are playing WoW.
CH, Jedi, Commando, Smuggler, BH, Scout, Doctor, Chef, BE...yeah, lots of SWG time invested.
Once a denizen of Ahazi
Oh, I most definitely agree with you, Theocritus.
My fear, however, is that WoW's success has blinded the money men to anything but the "WoW model", which IS indeed much simpler than the model of its predecessors that appealed to a much narrower audience. If some publishers can be content with modest, long term profitablity, then there won't be a problem. However, I don't think many of them can. Investors see WoW's success, and demand that level of ROI.
Games with the depth that the "old school" MMORPG player craves do not fit in with the economic model the investors are interested in. Which means that the WoW model of mass entertainment will get the development dollars, and the model the oldline vets seek will be neglected.
CH, Jedi, Commando, Smuggler, BH, Scout, Doctor, Chef, BE...yeah, lots of SWG time invested.
Once a denizen of Ahazi
You are not alone in that assesment.
I play a mage, and 95% of the time it is pushing the same 2 buttons, with an occasional 3rd one, over and over. Later on this year when I have more time I will probably move on, or go back to EQ2, depending on what new games look good.
WOW is fun, but I simply cannot see making a career out of it like so many have (I even hear of some with 6-7 accounts, each with 3-4 level 70's).
Ahh, fortunately my mage is only in his recent 20s, and hasnt fallen victim to that. He's frost specced as well, so i dont exactly have massive damage going for me. Though I usually find myself in a similar cycle with him, frostbolt, fireball, magic mis-er... arcane missle, then a fireblast if they are still running lol.
I've heard about that as well, best examples would be the people who have several accounts, just to multi-box in arenas, I remember there being a 5v5 time, with one person playing 4 elemental shamans, and reached top spot for the end of season 3.
And in replay to Sio:
That may be one issue that has risen when WoW was released. It broke the stereotype that us MMO players lived in our basement, with our sole source of sustinance dorritoes, soda, and various greasy foods. That may of been nice, as it gotten rid of that stigma attatched to being an MMO player, yet it also had hasnt exactly furthered the market, only broadened it.
I remember reading about how SWG was a skill-based MMO, remaining that way till WoW hit, and was then hastely re-built to be a clone, as I've heard it called. They took what people loved, trashed it, and replaced it with classes, alienating their fanbase (thus the infamous SWG vets heh), and while the tactic worked, it didnt work quite exactly how SOE wanted it to. They replaced one fanbase with another.
Something I am looking foreward to, is a few Skill-based MMOs on the horizons, one of which I've been following since february, and honestly is the first MMO I've really taken a shine to, so I'm hoping to god it is released as it is described.
1. Because it won over the Asian gaming market which is a huge reason why WOW has so many subscribers.
2. Blizzard has won the respect/trust of gamers around the world even before WOW. Starcraft, Diablo and Warcraft all turned out to be legendary games that people loved and still do. They know Blizzard will make a great game each and everytime.
3. The game is simple, easy and even a caveman can do it and it plays on just about every pc you can think of these days.
To me it doesn't have anything to do with the game it self because WOW is nothing earth shattering at all. it is more about who do you trust and having that reputation of making great games. Just want to make note that if anyone is going to be able to compete with Blizzard it will be Bioware with their Kotor mmo. They run the same kind of success that Blizzard does. They make great games and people love to play.
Yes, I think OP is on the right track. But had it succeed the same way without the "Blizzard" label on the box? I mean, how many games have so many players even trying their game as WoW had the first weeks? SWG, for example, had about 1 million boxes sold after 3 years. How many days or weeks did it took for Blizzard to sell 1 million WoW copies? It is hard to succeed when people dont even buy the game to try it. The thing is, no matter what game Blizzard release. Everyone seems to know about their next game. I knew about WoW (not that it interested me, but I had still heard about it) before i started play SWG, and that was my first mmorpg. When they announced Diablo 3, and I told my friends at work about it the next day, they already knew. When i mention, for example, Vanguard, I get responses like "van what did you say?".
Just wanted to point out that the Asian market has nothing to do with it.
4.5 million paying western subscribers is proof.
www.xfire.com is proof (Wow outplays ALL other PAYED MMO's with a factor of ... 40(!);
present day USA PC sales at http://www.incgamers.com/Games/1935/News/US-NPD-Sales-Charts/13541
1. WoW: Battle Chest
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. World Of Warcraft
4. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice
5. Spore Creature Creator
For a PC game almost 4 years old to be in place 1 and 3 in August 2008, is proof the game is more than a MMORPG.
OP is correct: Wow is in a class of its own. It is no longer an MMORPG.
It's cult. You can't beat cult.
And no one knows HOW cult is created (Presley, Beatles, Disney, Stephen King...).
But they have ONE thing in common: they are being accepted as fantastic by a great number of people and got hyjacked by the masses.
All of them far surpass the things they stand for and the whole world knows them.
And cult never sucks btw for the general public, because it just became too big.
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The problem for other cult "copies" even is that the more they built the more they promote the original.
Every TR, LOTRO, AoC, WAR is building up the 1200lbs gorilla in the MMORPG field even more.
I am not far off in predicting that this winter you can add 12 to 14 million active subs coming up.
The more copies come out, the more Blizzard should make a big sign on their websites: try and download the latest MMORPG from the compettition. Success guaranteed for them.
Curious but true.
Imo.. WoW is mainly successful for 3 reasons.
The vast majority of WoW players do not raid or pvp. Those may be done well in some peoples opinions but it doesnt effect the majority of the playerbase which is younger and rarely gets to max level.
I am not a WoW fan but when I played I could recognise the quality of the work done. They took everything that had been done in mmo's before and tried to improve it. And for the most part they were successful. In some areas they failed miserably but those mistakes were not important to most people who play the game.
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There is no war in World of BoreCraft
While I agree with points 1 and 3, I'd have to disagree with point 2. It's been shown that the average age of MMO'ers is around 26 years old. WoW itself might be slightly lower than that, but it cannot be significantly lower than that or else that would show up in the average age itself seeing as how WoW is far and away the most popular MMO right now.
I'd also have to disagree that the vast majority do not raid or PvP. Approximately 1/2 the population in WoW is at max level according to Warcraft Realms.com. If they are not raiding or doing PvP, what are they doing?
http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_demographics.html
http://www.warcraftrealms.com/census.php?serverid=-1&factionid=-1&minlevel=70&maxlevel=70&servertypeid=-1
http://www.warcraftrealms.com/census.php?serverid=-1&factionid=-1&minlevel=10&maxlevel=69&servertypeid=-1
Many people who pay for WoW do not actually play the game, their kids do. WoW is a cheap babysitter for them. I know many parents who keep their kids occupied playing WoW. No other mmo's work as babysitters because the games are too complex and the subject matter is too adult.
Those numbers are scewed because they are based on the age of the card holder, not the player.
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There is no war in World of BoreCraft
What are you talking about? Those number as from surveys where people are asked their age. The numbers have nothing to do with credit card holders or who pays for the game. Did you actually visit the site or just make this up?
By the way, I play WoW, while my grand kids play City of Heroes...it's more their age.
What it boils down to is casual vs hardcore gamers. Most of those complaining about wow are hardcore gamers. To them, it's to simple. Casual players are just retards who cannot see it's flaws. It's too easy. It's not balanced or the community consists only of kids etc.
A true casual player only wants to have fun. When a game isn't fun anymore, they put it down and move on to the next. WoW caters to everything a casual player wants out of a game. Blizzard are one of the few companies that actually understand casual gamers.
Why aim for hardcore gamers, when you can get the casuals that is a much, much larger market? This is why a MMO aimed towards hardcore gamers will never be as successful. WoW is the ultimate casual-friendly MMO.
What are you talking about? Those number as from surveys where people are asked their age. The numbers have nothing to do with credit card holders or who pays for the game. Did you actually visit the site or just make this up?
By the way, I play WoW, while my grand kids play City of Heroes...it's more their age.
Children don't respond to surveys their parents do. Many of those parents themselves also play the game but with WoW very young children can play with minimal supervision. No other mmo can do that. CoH is another popular game for kids. Usually a couple years older than the wow kids though and not so much as a babysitter.
I think it's great that young kids can enjoy the game. It is a relatively safe environment like Disneyland or McDonalds. A very succesful business model also. Just not my cup of tea.
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There is no war in World of BoreCraft
www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp
What are you talking about? Those number as from surveys where people are asked their age. The numbers have nothing to do with credit card holders or who pays for the game. Did you actually visit the site or just make this up?
By the way, I play WoW, while my grand kids play City of Heroes...it's more their age.
Children don't respond to surveys their parents do. Many of those parents themselves also play the game but with WoW very young children can play with minimal supervision. No other mmo can do that. CoH is another popular game for kids. Usually a couple years older than the wow kids though and not so much as a babysitter.
I think it's great that young kids can enjoy the game. It is a relatively safe environment like Disneyland or McDonalds. A very succesful business model also. Just not my cup of tea.
Please cite your reference for this information.
To play WoW at the very least you would have to have about a 1st or 2nd grade reading level, so you're talking about 7 or 8 year old kids at the very least. Below that, they aren't really playing. My grand kids were playing City of Heroes at about 5 or 6 because they didn't need any reading skills to play it since there isn't any equipment and questing really isn't all that important. All they needed to be able to do was recognize colors. Red means hard to kill, Green means easy to kill, etc. Red power up means extra damage, green power up means extra health, blue power up means extra mana (or whatever it's called in City of Heroes). Yet even in that game I often had to help them because they would get into areas that they shouldn't be and get in over their head and I'd have to bail them out. Sorry, but no one under the age of 7 or 8 is playing WoW, at least not without help and not the way we think of playing. Certainly they could be given a high level character and run around and press buttons, my 8 year old grandson has done that when I'm away from the keyboard from time to time, but he's not playing by himself and honestly, even with my help, the game is too complex for him to understand. On the other hand he sits and plays Call of Duty on the Xbox for hours on end without any help whatsoever.
And if they are old enough to read and comprehend the game, they are certainly capable of taking a survey.
Eh, I'd claim myself as a casual gamer, and the "casual" part ends when you ding 70. All there is left to do at 70 is grind, yes grind, for new gear, and then there is the flying skill. The requisite 900g for the skill and mount was a grind for me, so I'm not even going to bother talking about the absurd 5200g epic flying skill.
I've tried raiding, and havent gotten past Karazhan because the guild quit suddenly. Not going to bother with Arena, and as for BGs, I'm already sick of AV. I've been staying on only cause of my friends who play the game, but they have started playing less and less. I'd give up on WoW, but the account is a family one, so my sisters play it as well so I'm stuck with it.
WotLK looks good, but honestly, I've started seeing it more as "more grind" and while they are working on making raids more casual friendly, they are also making gear more homogenous. While I understand why, it annoys me to an extent, because now instead of being able to claim a piece of plate because it has intellect, I'll now be stuck constantly going against warriors and now Deathknights to get it. Same with other classes. Healing and spell damage are now just spellpower, ranged/melee/magic crit is now just crit, and such just furthers it.
The way I see it, everyone is going to become more homogenous as well.
Tanks will all look the same because all tanks will be going for the same armor. Druids dont fit into this, but honestly, a druid is in bear form, so they already suffer this.
Clothies will in essence, look the same, with some pieces of gear being different simply because one has spirit instead of MP5 or Stam.
DPS will be the only ones who might escape this. Rogues, as well as elemental and resto shamans will be the most unique, since rogue and cat druids share gear (but said druid will be in cat form), and ele and resto shamans are the only ones who use spellpower mail.
If blizzard would implement a dye or outfit system, I wouldnt mind as much, but that is rather unlikely seeing as how they havent yet.
Eh, I'd claim myself as a casual gamer, and the "casual" part ends when you ding 70. All there is left to do at 70 is grind, yes grind, for new gear, and then there is the flying skill. The requisite 900g for the skill and mount was a grind for me, so I'm not even going to bother talking about the absurd 5200g epic flying skill.
I've tried raiding, and havent gotten past Karazhan because the guild quit suddenly. Not going to bother with Arena, and as for BGs, I'm already sick of AV. I've been staying on only cause of my friends who play the game, but they have started playing less and less. I'd give up on WoW, but the account is a family one, so my sisters play it as well so I'm stuck with it.
WotLK looks good, but honestly, I've started seeing it more as "more grind" and while they are working on making raids more casual friendly, they are also making gear more homogenous. While I understand why, it annoys me to an extent, because now instead of being able to claim a piece of plate because it has intellect, I'll now be stuck constantly going against warriors and now Deathknights to get it. Same with other classes. Healing and spell damage are now just spellpower, ranged/melee/magic crit is now just crit, and such just furthers it.
The way I see it, everyone is going to become more homogenous as well.
Tanks will all look the same because all tanks will be going for the same armor. Druids dont fit into this, but honestly, a druid is in bear form, so they already suffer this.
Clothies will in essence, look the same, with some pieces of gear being different simply because one has spirit instead of MP5 or Stam.
DPS will be the only ones who might escape this. Rogues, as well as elemental and resto shamans will be the most unique, since rogue and cat druids share gear (but said druid will be in cat form), and ele and resto shamans are the only ones who use spellpower mail.
If blizzard would implement a dye or outfit system, I wouldnt mind as much, but that is rather unlikely seeing as how they havent yet.
Yeah, you kinda proved my point. It seems to me you quit because you where not having fun anymore. I had pretty much the same experience as you. I leveled to 70 and got bored of grinding the battlegrounds for honor.
End game is something ever MMO has problems with. But if you look around you'll see that wow probably has more to offer at end game than most other MMOs.
Yes, wow revolves around gear. But honestly, what would you do in a MMO other than collect gear? PvP? Go play a pure player vs player game like counterstrike, quake, starcraft or something.
Kids dont' need to read to play, only to advance. At that age they just like to create characters and run around hitting things. They get bored around level 10 and start the process all over again.
However my point wasnt how low the age of the player could be but that the demographics of WoW are scewed very much to the younger crowd. That isn't to say older people don't play, much like Disneyland or Mcdonalds, WoW has become a family experience for many. For others it is just where all their friends from grade school hang out. That is the business advantage that WoW has over other mmo's. It is soft and unthreatening.
WoW also has raiding and PvP and they make sure they work well (at least the raiding does) so that the teen customer and above has something to do and grow into. But if WoW were not so friendly to the younger set it would never have reached the numbers it has now. Kiddie games sell extremely well.
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There is no war in World of BoreCraft
Kids dont' need to read to play, only to advance. At that age they just like to create characters and run around hitting things. They get bored around level 10 and start the process all over again.
However my point wasnt how low the age of the player could be but that the demographics of WoW are scewed very much to the younger crowd. That isn't to say older people don't play, much like Disneyland or Mcdonalds, WoW has become a family experience for many. For others it is just where all their friends from grade school hang out. That is the business advantage that WoW has over other mmo's. It is soft and unthreatening.
WoW also has raiding and PvP and they make sure they work well (at least the raiding does) so that the teen customer and above has something to do and grow into. But if WoW were not so friendly to the younger set it would never have reached the numbers it has now. Kiddie games sell extremely well.
So what your basicly saying is games that are easy to play are kiddie games? I think your way off. Just because a game was designed to be simple to play does not mean they are made for kids. According to the ESA the avarage age of gamers in america are 35 years old. Check the link I posted above. I'd trust their demographics more.