Developers simply need to develop a game that is worthy of a large playerbase. It has nothing to do with the playerbase being patient as the company shouldn't release a buggy mess. Unfortunately no game is trying to be unique, they are all trying to be like WoW. You can't out WoW WoW itself.
It most certainly does matter.WOW had ZERO competition,players were tired of EQ,there really was only one other new game on the block.FFXI was not trying to be like WOW and frankly is a lot better game than WOW,but had zero marketing,heck the only reason i ever heard of the FF series was through a friend who told me to check out FFVII.
At the same time WOW was released during the Christmas season "good timing" the majority of new gamers hit an all time high as most households now had DSL,instead of 56k therefor they were finally able to play MMO's online.
This all adds up to WOW being a benfactor of great timing/marketing.Once that factor kicked in,then it built off of itself,meaning everyone wanted in weather they knew ANYTHING of the game at all,just because it had a large base to interact with.
Now a days MOST players already have a high toon on some game some where,so if a game comes out that doesnt grab the player 100% they up and run back to their old game.There is not even close to a decent player base that is actually looking for a new game,for any new game to get players.The most you will see is maybe 500k then many will return to their old game.
This all adds up to WOW not being any kind of great game,just a LUCKY game,i doubt there will ever be an insurgent of "NEW" gamers to hit the market allowing for another game to garner high numbers ever again,it is mathematically impossible.It would take a game 500x better than any game on the market to actually,slowly,continually grab players from all other games to that "ONE"game,in other words it wont happen,because realitically it cant happen.
Soooooo WOW gets bragging rioghts for having a bunch of FOLLOWERS to hype up their player base,the game it self has no justification for greatness as a matter of fact is nothing more than an EQ CLONE,and a game that offers nothing to the MMORPG genre,this gives WOW an actual AVERAGE rating,subs dont make a game ,the "GAME "makes the game.Unless of course you are going to tell me the CIVIC is the best car of all time because it has been the number one seller for several years?
It is nothing new to say Quality >quantity ANYDAY,yet WOW fanbois still cling to their quantity>quality theory lmao .
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
It's a single player game that you happen to need 25 other players at max level to compete for an endless grind that will never actually end.
WoW requires as much intuitive and thought as a Myspace Account. The only class in WoW that requires any thought is a Healer and most healers in WoW are made up of some pretty intelligent people.
I never had any attachment to WoW past spending time with my girlfriend. It's a great form of entertainment when her and I could play together during nights and talk about the game. Eventually, the poor community and extremely easy gameplay got the best of me and I could not continue the grindfest. WoW never gave me any sense of accomplishment and it eventually got to the point where I'd pass epics along because I couldn't care less about them and I only ever logged on to be with the girlfriend.
I'd prefer her to jump in and play a little more difficult game with some competitive PvP but that never works out because she likes the relaxed and easy nature of WoW.
So I play my game and she plays hers.
What I'm trying to say is. People play WoW because it's easy and uncompetitive. . . great for the casual and has a decent grind for the hardcore. For people like me, who have been playing competitive games since I was 2 years old. . . it does nothing but bore me to tears. The ever-so-popular "Don't stand in the fire" form of skill only kept me entertained for a few months and the PvP is lackluster. . . Who can do the most DPS got old fast.
Glad to know that mcdonald is the best food, lil wayne the best singer and the bus is the greatest mean of transportation.
Ignorant wow fanboys changed my life, we are all sheeps.
O and are you gonna tell me that blizzard also doesnt count the subs of the gold sellers. THose guys have basements that are filled with pcs all conected to a couple of screens. An average gold selling website has at least 20 accoutns, between the storage ones, bot ones and delivery ones.
Now lil wow kid go back to your super duper game and polish your epeen some more.
I'm not a no life that sits in front of his computer all day long, I'm an intern that sits in front of his computer all day long.
Dont think so. Its more because WoW offer most simplistic gameplay in MMO acceptable for everyone.
There is no conflict between being best and being simple. You never heard of the KISS principle? Complex is NOT necessarily good.
And WOW is complex enough. Have you tried some of the more complex boss fight? For example, trying to do Sarth with 3 Drakes up is impossible with a PUG group. Don't tell me it is not complex to coordinate all the tanking (sarth, drakes, adds), healing, avoiding fire wall and stuff like that. And that is an EASY raid compared to the one coming in 3.1.
It's not hard. The raids in WoW are gear based. If you're 5 of whatever stat away from the cap, the roll system will simply win. It has nothing to do with strategy, WoW is one big mathematical equation.
Overlord Mata Muram, from EQ. That was a HARD boss fight.
Science flies people to the moon. Religion flies people into buildings.
really, get over it. you hurt, we understand. do you want us to buy you lube for the next game? If we have togo down this road, yes, the ipod IS the best mp3 player, sorry cant you afford one? Iphone? great until you cant fix it, pretty shit after they break however no-one who takes care of theirs has had it break. cant remember what else you talked about. oh soulja boy. no really the only reason he is popular is spongebob soldier boy. what you think his video has so many views because they like it? Not because its so hilariously bad? No, couldnt enjoy the comedy of a bad video now, can we?
Jeez lighten up, maybe if you relax it wont hurt so much next time as you wont be so damned excited over how Game XYD is going to KKND wow. props if you recognize that btw. Now then im off to get my head filled with wow-o-rays so i can carry on being so damn satisfied by my game. must suck for you
Playing polished, lag free, feature complete games is carebear. Whining about a game you hate but still play is hardcore man!
The ipod is the best mp3 player if you dont care about sound quality?
O boy, try cowon mp3 players and you'll see the difference. Hell even try the sansa clip or fuze 10 times cheaper than ipods and still better sound. Most people that care about music spend more money on their headphones than on their mp3 so the whole cant afford one argument doesnt really make sense.
I'm not a no life that sits in front of his computer all day long, I'm an intern that sits in front of his computer all day long.
here we go, taking it offtopic because you cant win.
wow can be accused of many things, most of this thread and more may well be true. however it needs no justification for itself nor its players find what you say to be relevant. we enjoy the game, you dont. tough shit.
anyway i must be like some kind of noob carebear that has only played one mmo ever hell i probably dont even play wow have you considered that option ^_^ you guys are so prepared, so ready to jump on any possible bandwagon just to attack wow like you cant even handle people not agreeing with you so badly that you actually are driving yourselves slowly insane. youcan carry on babbling about this or that but at the end of the day, you havnt changed anything, you arnt going to convince anyone that the game they enjoy they actually secretly dont enjoy and the angrier your replies the more these people think
'thank fuck i dont play their game'
they sound like ruddy dickheads i think ill just stick with this one where i know the level of intelligence is low, but hell, not that low. cant you see this?
btw i put a cow on my mp3 player it just broke it so so much for good sound quality
Playing polished, lag free, feature complete games is carebear. Whining about a game you hate but still play is hardcore man!
Well WOW is a good game it is very well polished and well Blizzard makes some good games. I have always thought of them as a Gaming Company that makes computer games instead of a software company that makes games. They have a huge following and its very easy to see why they have 11million subs.
With that said I also hate there fanboys that call everything a failure!! if it does not hit 11mill subs. Even though these games are active and create a good revenue for there companies.
I've even seen some of there fans come in and call EQ a failure becuase it had only 500k! Even though broadband and online gaming has changed alot since eq was released of course they don't think about that.
So I ask to the rabid WOW fanboi's who scream "11 million and all else are failures?" DO you really think when Blizzard set out to make WOW they thought well lets try it even though EQ failed with its mere 500k.....No they thought damn thats some good cash lets see what piece of the pie we can get! 500k people paying 15 dollars a month is good cash do the math!
And kudos for them they did very well but don't come in here and act like "MMO's didn't start till Blizzard blessed us with WOW" shit.
Dont think so. Its more because WoW offer most simplistic gameplay in MMO acceptable for everyone.
There is no conflict between being best and being simple. You never heard of the KISS principle? Complex is NOT necessarily good.
And WOW is complex enough. Have you tried some of the more complex boss fight? For example, trying to do Sarth with 3 Drakes up is impossible with a PUG group. Don't tell me it is not complex to coordinate all the tanking (sarth, drakes, adds), healing, avoiding fire wall and stuff like that. And that is an EASY raid compared to the one coming in 3.1.
It's not hard. The raids in WoW are gear based. If you're 5 of whatever stat away from the cap, the roll system will simply win. It has nothing to do with strategy, WoW is one big mathematical equation.
Overlord Mata Muram, from EQ. That was a HARD boss fight.
Considering most people can't complete most of the raids until someone else has written an FAQ, I'd say thats the pure definition of something being NOT easy. If it was easy, you wouldn't need an FAQ. Everyone would finish every raid. Everyone would have all those accomplishments in the armory. But they don't. You wouldn't need to raid a whole bunch of times to get it right if it was easy. WOW is EASY to level up in. No argument there. But not ALL of WOW is easy. Saying so makes you ignorant and childish and there's a lot of it in this thread.
If WOW is just a simple mathematical equation and therefor EASY, every MMO is easy because they're all just equations. Eve is very easy too. You can play just fine hardly leaving the space dock, trading crap in the market and doing mindless jumps back and forth. You level up without even being behind the keyboard. Someone can just keep handing you ISK and your character can be just as powerful as anyone else without EVER getting into a single fight. But I'd be stupid to say Eve is easy. Parts are yes. Leveling up in Eve is the easiest thing to do in any MMO. ZERO effort needed. Is Eve easy? Nope. Is WOW easy? Nope. Both games have some things that are and some things that aren't, just like every MMO out there.
Thats why WOW is succesful. You can play it the easy way OR you can challenge yourself. Its not forced upon you like other MMOs. KISS is a very important term and you'd have to be out there working for a living to understand it. I imagine there are plenty of people here who really don't understand the concept yet. Give it time. You'll grow up soon enough;)
Most Companys seem to be to afraid to think outside of the box and come out with an origional idea, so instead we have a market filled with WoW clones or games with no true content or substance.
WoW took the best Ideas from the Golden age of of MMP's (Ultima, Asheron's Call and Everquest) they did not do it better but atleast they put time and effort behind the blending of what made other games succesful.
Personally it took Me only 2 weeks to get bored with Wow when it 1st launched, after 5 years of playing (Asherons Call) Wow was really nothing special for Me.
City of Hero's may not be the best MMP ever made but some how I have lasted almost 3 1/2 years in it.
here we go, taking it offtopic because you cant win.
wow can be accused of many things, most of this thread and more may well be true. however it needs no justification for itself nor its players find what you say to be relevant. we enjoy the game, you dont. tough shit.
anyway i must be like some kind of noob carebear that has only played one mmo ever hell i probably dont even play wow have you considered that option ^_^ you guys are so prepared, so ready to jump on any possible bandwagon just to attack wow like you cant even handle people not agreeing with you so badly that you actually are driving yourselves slowly insane. youcan carry on babbling about this or that but at the end of the day, you havnt changed anything, you arnt going to convince anyone that the game they enjoy they actually secretly dont enjoy and the angrier your replies the more these people think 'thank fuck i dont play their game' they sound like ruddy dickheads i think ill just stick with this one where i know the level of intelligence is low, but hell, not that low. cant you see this?
btw i put a cow on my mp3 player it just broke it so so much for good sound quality
Are you truly retarded?
Where have I said wow is a shitty game? I just said its not the best game like alll you kids do. Now you say Ipod is the best mp3 player when you clearly dont know anything about mp3 players, and no its not because you mommy gave you an ipod shuffle that you know anything about mp3. The same way you dont know anything about mmos since you have most likely tried a couple and then stayed with wow because alll the kids at your school were playing it.
I dont care if you enjoy the game or not, its jsut that seeing people say that this game is the best thing that ever happened to hunmanity is total BS, most people that play wow know it too.
I'm not a no life that sits in front of his computer all day long, I'm an intern that sits in front of his computer all day long.
HhusskCity of Heroes CorrespondentMemberPosts: 219
I didn't read through the entire thread, just pieces here and there.
Blizzard has succeeded because of their Warcraft/Starcraft/Diable Franchises. They built the Warcraft product line with Warcraft, Warcraft II, and Warcraft III. Their original player base came from the players of their software.
The ability to retain their subscribers, that's the real question. I believe it may have something to do with being early in the MMO industry and having software that was relatively easy to install and low on computer requirements. Plus, the game continues to expand, and therefore, the character you invested in has other new things to do.
----------------------------- Blog -Transcendent''s Tomb - Reviews, Polls, and tortured opinions from the minions of MMORPGS
Dont think so. Its more because WoW offer most simplistic gameplay in MMO acceptable for everyone.
There is no conflict between being best and being simple. You never heard of the KISS principle? Complex is NOT necessarily good.
And WOW is complex enough. Have you tried some of the more complex boss fight? For example, trying to do Sarth with 3 Drakes up is impossible with a PUG group. Don't tell me it is not complex to coordinate all the tanking (sarth, drakes, adds), healing, avoiding fire wall and stuff like that. And that is an EASY raid compared to the one coming in 3.1.
It's not hard. The raids in WoW are gear based. If you're 5 of whatever stat away from the cap, the roll system will simply win. It has nothing to do with strategy, WoW is one big mathematical equation.
Overlord Mata Muram, from EQ. That was a HARD boss fight.
Considering most people can't complete most of the raids until someone else has written an FAQ, I'd say thats the pure definition of something being NOT easy. If it was easy, you wouldn't need an FAQ. Everyone would finish every raid. Everyone would have all those accomplishments in the armory. But they don't. You wouldn't need to raid a whole bunch of times to get it right if it was easy. WOW is EASY to level up in. No argument there. But not ALL of WOW is easy. Saying so makes you ignorant and childish and there's a lot of it in this thread.
If WOW is just a simple mathematical equation and therefor EASY, every MMO is easy because they're all just equations. Eve is very easy too. You can play just fine hardly leaving the space dock, trading crap in the market and doing mindless jumps back and forth. You level up without even being behind the keyboard. Someone can just keep handing you ISK and your character can be just as powerful as anyone else without EVER getting into a single fight. But I'd be stupid to say Eve is easy. Parts are yes. Leveling up in Eve is the easiest thing to do in any MMO. ZERO effort needed. Is Eve easy? Nope. Is WOW easy? Nope. Both games have some things that are and some things that aren't, just like every MMO out there.
Thats why WOW is succesful. You can play it the easy way OR you can challenge yourself. Its not forced upon you like other MMOs. KISS is a very important term and you'd have to be out there working for a living to understand it. I imagine there are plenty of people here who really don't understand the concept yet. Give it time. You'll grow up soon enough;)
Most of this was good solid intelligent debate material, but then you lost my attention once you made personal attacks on me, somebody you've never met, the lowest form of flaming.
Science flies people to the moon. Religion flies people into buildings.
I read alot of people saying WOW is boring. My stepson is 16 and he said the same thing. However he played it twelve hours a day for two years plus because everyone else was doing it and at the time he couldn't drive anywhere and it was easy to just plop down for another raid with friends. The game would run on a Commodore 64, it advertises nationally, and other kids at school talk about it. I hate to say it but many early teens would shave their heads and then rub them with rubbing alcohol if "Joe Cool" did the same. The teens complain and moan and groan and talk horribly about WOW in the forums and then turn around and play from sundown to sunup. WoW caught that demigraphic and kept it because it was the "cool game on the block". Most teens I've met never heard of EQ1 or 2 or Vanguard. By time they heard about AoC or WAR they were knee deep in a game they were bored by and not willing to start over when they could be completely apathetic where they are at without a major graphics upgrade.
For me, I am currently playing EQ2 but my desire at age 37 is to go back to WOW. Why? Because of that "boring" simplicity. EQ2 takes time to get stuff done. With kids and real-life, I have too much going on to sit four to eight hours waiting on a spawn like the original EQ days or to travel for 30 minutes to get somewhere like in Vanguard. I loved the big sandbox world vibe but sadly WOW appeals to an adult demi-graphic who still want to play MMORPGs but whose raid schedule is now like five hours a week instead of 50.
That's two big demi-graphics that for whatever reasons find it easier to play WOW. The game is probably the most polished and finished of the bunch but aside from that, it had alot going for it that it might not have even realized.
Anyone remember when it and EQ2 released very close together. EQ2 was going for that hardcore, longterm, blood sweat and tears experience but the public was all testing out WOW saying "Hey! Look this is fun. MMORPGs can actually not feel like pulling teeth." Those same people call it boring now but the point is it did several things right and several things just lined up perfectly.
Add in the fact that most newer games are ten to twenty times more buggy with missing content, premature release, etc. and you can see why WOW is king.
I'd personally love to see something a little more realistic with a larger feel but EA, Funcom, SOE have all thrown their competition into the ring and Microsoft has thrown away more cash in MMORPG development than WOW makes. Sadly it will be a while before we see competition
First, I am so tired of how bashing something that is successful is so "cool" and popular to do these days. WoW bashing, Microsoft bashing, iPod bashing. If something is successful and becomes mainstream then now it sucks and only un-cool people like it. Then all gamers, geeks, and music fans who consider themselves "hardcore", scramble to distance themselves from it. Get over it people. It's popular, LOTS of people like it. It's successful. Why can't people deal with that?
Enough of that. I happen to really like WoW and I have tried a LOT of other MMORPG games. I think the reason for it's success is difficult to nail down to one or two things. Hell, many other companies employing all kinds of professional designers and developers have been trying to figure it out for a few years now. They haven't figured out WoW's success formula, so I don't know that us gamers ever will. But, for what it's worth, here are the reasons why I like WoW.
1. Primary reason is the lore, the story, the characters, etc. My opinion is they have developed an interesting world filled with interesting characters. One thing to remember is that they have been developing this land and it's lore since before WoW existed. It all started with their early games like Warcraft. Some MMO's feel like they made a game first, and then tried to cram some story in there.
2. Art direction. People complain about WoW's graphics all the time. But I love them. Sure they could be higher poly count, but I always think the textures and design are awesome. Their npc's and locations have character. It has it's own style. I like how it is a fusion of realistic and cartoony. I have tried alot of other games. Lots have good graphics, but they don't separate themselves much. They are either ultra realistic, grungy, and dark or they are super cartoony, anime looking. Shoot, alot of them seem like they ripped each others graphics engine. I don't know how many I have tried that look just like Lineage II. I'm gald there are some out there that are trying different looks, cell-shading, etc. I have not tried it yet, but TCOS seems to have a different look from the screenshots I have seen. I tried the Dragonica valentine preview and it seemed cool. It was different and unique.
3. There's a lot of options without being overly complicated. One thing that ties in to this somewhat is the fact that the character customization just works. There are not a ton of options, but I hardly ever see any two characters running around that look exactly the same. There have been planty of new MMO's that I have tried where every warrior looks just like every other warrior. I hate that. It's role playing, I want to feel like my character is unique, even if it is only an illusion.
4. Sounds crazy probably, but I love the soundtrack. It has high production value and was thought out. It fits and sets the mood. it's not an afterthought.
Anyway, these are just some of the things that draw me to WoW. I know I will get slammed and flamed for being a WoW fan. So be it. Flame away. No amount of flaming is ever going to change the fact that I like it and Blizzard is still raking in the cash from it.
I read alot of people saying WOW is boring. My stepson is 16 and he said the same thing. However he played it twelve hours a day for two years plus because everyone else was doing it and at the time he couldn't drive anywhere and it was easy to just plop down for another raid with friends. The game would run on a Commodore 64, it advertises nationally, and other kids at school talk about it. I hate to say it but many early teens would shave their heads and then rub them with rubbing alcohol if "Joe Cool" did the same. The teens complain and moan and groan and talk horribly about WOW in the forums and then turn around and play from sundown to sunup. WoW caught that demigraphic and kept it because it was the "cool game on the block". Most teens I've met never heard of EQ1 or 2 or Vanguard. By time they heard about AoC or WAR they were knee deep in a game they were bored by and not willing to start over when they could be completely apathetic where they are at without a major graphics upgrade. For me, I am currently playing EQ2 but my desire at age 37 is to go back to WOW. Why? Because of that "boring" simplicity. EQ2 takes time to get stuff done. With kids and real-life, I have too much going on to sit four to eight hours waiting on a spawn like the original EQ days or to travel for 30 minutes to get somewhere like in Vanguard. I loved the big sandbox world vibe but sadly WOW appeals to an adult demi-graphic who still want to play MMORPGs but whose raid schedule is now like five hours a week instead of 50. That's two big demi-graphics that for whatever reasons find it easier to play WOW. The game is probably the most polished and finished of the bunch but aside from that, it had alot going for it that it might not have even realized. Anyone remember when it and EQ2 released very close together. EQ2 was going for that hardcore, longterm, blood sweat and tears experience but the public was all testing out WOW saying "Hey! Look this is fun. MMORPGs can actually not feel like pulling teeth." Those same people call it boring now but the point is it did several things right and several things just lined up perfectly. Add in the fact that most newer games are ten to twenty times more buggy with missing content, premature release, etc. and you can see why WOW is king. I'd personally love to see something a little more realistic with a larger feel but EA, Funcom, SOE have all thrown their competition into the ring and Microsoft has thrown away more cash in MMORPG development than WOW makes. Sadly it will be a while before we see competition
That's a good post, and mostly true.
During my WoW time, I've played with alot of Father/Mother/Kid combinations, most of them very cool people. I don't think anybody will deny that it's the ultimate family MMO.
I've never had a problem with WoW, as a game. it's easy, and accesible, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's not my thing *now* but it was my thing in 2004 when I started playing it, all the way untl February of this year, when that model lost its appeal to me.
I had (have I guess, since Blizzard keeps all your toons, another cool feature) a level 80 DK, and a level 80 Hunter, both in end-game raids. I definitely had fun leveling both of them up, and I have many fond memories of WoW.
When I bash WoW in these forums, it's almost never bashing the game (unless somebody comes up with some fairytale reasons on how the game is "hard.") but the community I have no problem bashing. All you need to do is go read any 10 random threads on the forums outside of "Welcome to WoW" (and even some of those) and you'll see what I mean. Never has there been a more malicious and hateful group of people gathered together in one place. And I'm not stupid enough to claim every player is like that. But when you have 11 million people playing, and about 8 million people are certified jackasses that only play to tell others to Die in a Fire, well then excuse me for generalizing.
Science flies people to the moon. Religion flies people into buildings.
Hmm... Why has no game managed to compete with WoW as of yet? Because the players will not let them compete..
I think I understand exactly where you are coming from and I totally agree. I think that because Blizzard has managed to commercialize their game, making WoW Worldwide known, that it ends up being many players' first MMO. People that don't even game have very possibly heard of WoW. So if you tell your friends, "I play MMORPG's," they're like, "....huh?" If you say, "Yea, I play WoW," they're like, "Oh yea, I've seen that Mr. T commercial! Is that any good?"
There are so many other media outlets for WoW, such as forums, and books, comics, and (possibly) soon, even a movie. It's fun to go back and play Warcraft I, II, and III or read the books and see how your favorite NPC's started out and came to be who they are today. ...Then go make history with them in the game.
Take all that and then add human nature; the fear of the unknown, and the comfortability of home, you have a lot of people not even willing to try anything else out---even if it is almost a guarantee that it will be a better, more satisfying game. As my wife would say, "I don't like gaming, I like playing WoW."
Wow was popular before it was "commercialized" to the rest of the world. What you are describing is the result of its success and not the cause of it.
Many people started playing many other mmos prior to wow being released. Many of them migrated to wow. Many of them were migrating to other mmos before wow. The question is why don't other games attract wow players away from wow or recruit them once they are ready to move to a new game. Why was there so much migration 5 years ago, but not today? I think it boils down to one word: polish. All of these other "great" games are really lacking in comparison to warcrafts polish, attention to detail and overall experience.
You say people are not willing to try new games, but this last year alone sales records for new mmos was broken not once, but twice. That is more momentum that warcraft had, but somehow people dismiss that.
People are in fact trying other mmos. The numbers tell the truth.
People are not sticking with other mmos. The number tell the truth.
While I don't think 11 million people are going to rush out to try every new mmo in the first month, free trials or win back promotion for other mmos, it is fairly obvious that there is a very large population looking for a new game.
I think the flaw in your conclusion is based on other games not getting large populations which means people are not trying them.
I think the truth is that many people are indeed trying many other mmos after wow, but other mmos are not competitve in the experience they offer and are failing to retain those players. It is so common to hear people talk about how many times they quit wow and swore to never return, but after mulling around the market for a few months they almost always come back. There is a reason for that and it is not rooted in the players.
My take on WoW's success first and foremost rests on the fact that it was developed by Blizzard. I think that fact along brought a hefty share of players into the MMO fold that before hand wouldn't touch the genre. I say that coming from personnal experience as well as I've seen many relatives and friends put in a lot of time playing WoW, but who cringed at the thought of playing a MMO before it's release.
That's not to say that pre-WoW MMO veterans haven't or don't play WoW. I just think that a rather large number of WoW's subscriber base are people that wouldn't play MMOs before it's release. Being a veteran of way too many MMOs (EQ, WW2 Online, SWG, EQ2, AO, etc), I still keep in touch with a lot of people that I used to be in guilds with, and I don't even need my second hand to count the number of people from that list who play WoW on anything even remotely resembling a consistent basis.
For instance, I have 2 people that I play EQ2 with who at times would announce a break from the game so they could play WoW for a month or two with their RL friends. Then on queue, they would be back in EQ2 in under 2 months raiding with the guild wondering why the hell they left to go play WoW.
Now don't take this as I'm saying WoW is MMO-lite. I better analogy I think is that WoW is the lower levels of a recently released MMO. Packed zones with people having a good time learning the ropes of the game. And like the devs of the game would hope, we should all hope that those players level up and move up and out into the higher levels (or in this analogy, other MMOs). Ok... maybe it's a bad analogy. LOL
One last thing, like any true first love, it is always hard to let go and memories are always the fondest when thinking of them (no matter how bad the experience was ultimately). Unlike personal relationships, a first love with a MMO is really hard to break away from since you can simply re-up your subscription. So like myself in years past with EQ1, I think this is why we don't see a large exodus away from WoW to other MMOs.
Guess I see it differently. While, I readily see WoW's success as phenominal, I try not use that success as the litmus test for other games. I believe in the bell curve theory can be applied here. WoW is the heigth of the bell curve. On the left are games that are far worse. On the right are games that are far better. In the middle, where WoW is, is the highest population. As the quality of the game goes down, so does its population, but on the other hand, games that are 'better' than WoW,( i.e. more complex combat, or catering to specific desires such as pvp or crafting or sandbox or graphics, etc*) you again start to see a drop in population.
Now right now, I beleive because the game genre is in its infancy, the spike of WoW and the steep difference between it and other populations hasn't settled. Just as television of the 50s looks nothing like the television of today.
*On my graph the 'games far worse' and 'games far better' are totally subjective dependent upon personal opinion. For example, I believe EQ2 to be FAR worse than WoW, where someone else may think it is FAR better. In either person's graph however, WoW still spikes in the middle and EQ drops off on one side or the other, opinion dependent
You Sir, are in my eyes on the bang-on-target-track!
Sticks and stones can hurt my bones but words can never kill me...errr unless they are spells and incantations...
for one most games offer some challenge, WOW is a cakewalk they lead you by the hand to the top levels , when your gear doesn't do well for so and so encounter they add either pvp gear/ quest gear/ craft gear thats far superior just to appease the masses. they go out of their way to make the MMO experience as pain free as possible.....
now granted, this is a good thing. WOW is like MMO light, for the hardcore, even the casual hardcore main stream MMO'r... WOW is boring and not very fun we like a little challenge. at the same time though look at wow's playerbase, children and MMO noobs. what WOW does is what our parents say Weed does... its like a gateway MMO i've seen many many people join other MMO's from WOW and they are like you mean i can really do this... or wow this is hard but fun. the problem isn't WOW its companies not having enough faith in their game, or halfa$$ programming that kills the industry, one thing wow can say over every game out there it runs, install it click the icon and bam you are in game...... i've seen games that patch day is basicly game closed... its happened in wow as well, but not nearly as much as most of the others.
WOW caters to its public, most other games cater to the few whining the loudest. prime example of this SWG, possibly the easiest space mmo franchise yet sony screwed the pooch by listening to a few whining people that wanted to be uber jedi now... its a shadow of what it could have been. hell its a shadow of an MMO.
EQII vanguard, AOC, WAR all these games are fantastic in their own right, they all have somthing to offer, yet they can't compeat with WOW because of one thing... for the most part ... they require thought. thats what it really boils down to boys an girls heh wow is easy ... and we humans are incredibly lazy and want as much for as little as we can get.
Eagles may soar, But Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
what WOW offers is that the game is very easy i mean the fact that someone wrote a program that played the game for you is an example of how easy the game is.
The other thing is the game is stylised and it keeps this style from level 1 to level 80 (or whatever they are up to yet) it provides enough of a catch for people to continue playing long after hitting the cap. by providing loot and high end raids. however i think that what WOW does badly is it provides too much of a crutch to people. When they go from WOW to any other mmo the first thing they realise is that other mmos are a lot more complex and engaging. the crutch they had in wow is gone and because of that they recent it.
and so they rush back to wow to its cosey easy to play game mechanics. and that is why wow has so many players its easy its consistant and it has a carrot that blizzard keep movign further and further away with each new patch or expansion.
I discovered that after level 63 the game was effectivly the same and that no matter what i did it was the same quests in different zones, the mobs were uninteresting the quests were dull and the dungeon runs that i had done were not really much of a challenge. you could go from group to group to group and never meet the same people.
I would like to add to the list of why no-one has managed to compete with WOW unrealistic expectations of us the consumers. A game that has just been released especially an MMO is going to feel clunky and laggy and buggy compared to WOW simply because those things take time to iron out. WOW has had over a decade to get the game to the level of smoothness and responsiveness they have today. At release WOW wasn't evan a quarter of the game they have now in terms of content, class balance and smoothness of play. Most games are releasing with way more content than WOW had at launch and better class balance. They arn't perfect by a long shot but they are much better games than WOW was 12 months after WOW released.
Unfortunatly new games don't get compared to WOW of yesteryear they don't evan get compared to WOW pre BC which most just released pay to play games match easily. They get compared to WOW as it is now with 2 expansions and years of polishing. Something no matter how much Beta testing you do you cannot match as a just developed game.
The lesser of two evils is still evil.
There is nothing more dangerous than a true believer.
plenty of mmorpg's can compete with wow its just personal preference like 40% of wow is children any ways its like when EQ came out but modern day and wow had money to back them up
I would like to add to the list of why no-one has managed to compete with WOW unrealistic expectations of us the consumers. A game that has just been released especially an MMO is going to feel clunky and laggy and buggy compared to WOW simply because those things take time to iron out. WOW has had over a decade to get the game to the level of smoothness and responsiveness they have today. At release WOW wasn't evan a quarter of the game they have now in terms of content, class balance and smoothness of play. Most games are releasing with way more content than WOW had at launch and better class balance. They arn't perfect by a long shot but they are much better games than WOW was 12 months after WOW released. Unfortunatly new games don't get compared to WOW of yesteryear they don't evan get compared to WOW pre BC which most just released pay to play games match easily. They get compared to WOW as it is now with 2 expansions and years of polishing. Something no matter how much Beta testing you do you cannot match as a just developed game.
So when WOW first came out and had to compete with all the greatest MMOs ever with years of polish and content under their belts, why did every MMO besides maybe EVE, have a massive exodus? Not a single one recovered. NO one went back. I don't recall people comparing WOW with UO circa 1997 or EQ 1998, unless it was a joke. WOW felt more polished in beta than all of them. By a long shot.
I think the new game on MMORPG.com is to figure out the best theories and excuses as to why WOW is successful, instead of admitting the obvious. This is all done to try to sound smart and inciteful. Instead it comes off as bitter and hateful.
Its also funny how people mention how the hardcore "think" this or that is better. You guys do know the hardcore are completely insignifant now, right? You think developers are pounding the doors down to appease YOU? Considering you're the toughest to please, due to unrealistic and whacked out expectations, I don't think any AAA developer gives a damn about your opinions anymore. Why should they? You can hardly support a game on your own and when you do, you do everything in your power to destroy it, discredit it or drag the developers through the mud. With customers like that, is it any wonder the genre has taken the direction it has? You're like the freakin plague=)
Comments
It most certainly does matter.WOW had ZERO competition,players were tired of EQ,there really was only one other new game on the block.FFXI was not trying to be like WOW and frankly is a lot better game than WOW,but had zero marketing,heck the only reason i ever heard of the FF series was through a friend who told me to check out FFVII.
At the same time WOW was released during the Christmas season "good timing" the majority of new gamers hit an all time high as most households now had DSL,instead of 56k therefor they were finally able to play MMO's online.
This all adds up to WOW being a benfactor of great timing/marketing.Once that factor kicked in,then it built off of itself,meaning everyone wanted in weather they knew ANYTHING of the game at all,just because it had a large base to interact with.
Now a days MOST players already have a high toon on some game some where,so if a game comes out that doesnt grab the player 100% they up and run back to their old game.There is not even close to a decent player base that is actually looking for a new game,for any new game to get players.The most you will see is maybe 500k then many will return to their old game.
This all adds up to WOW not being any kind of great game,just a LUCKY game,i doubt there will ever be an insurgent of "NEW" gamers to hit the market allowing for another game to garner high numbers ever again,it is mathematically impossible.It would take a game 500x better than any game on the market to actually,slowly,continually grab players from all other games to that "ONE"game,in other words it wont happen,because realitically it cant happen.
Soooooo WOW gets bragging rioghts for having a bunch of FOLLOWERS to hype up their player base,the game it self has no justification for greatness as a matter of fact is nothing more than an EQ CLONE,and a game that offers nothing to the MMORPG genre,this gives WOW an actual AVERAGE rating,subs dont make a game ,the "GAME "makes the game.Unless of course you are going to tell me the CIVIC is the best car of all time because it has been the number one seller for several years?
It is nothing new to say Quality >quantity ANYDAY,yet WOW fanbois still cling to their quantity>quality theory lmao .
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
It's a single player game that you happen to need 25 other players at max level to compete for an endless grind that will never actually end.
WoW requires as much intuitive and thought as a Myspace Account. The only class in WoW that requires any thought is a Healer and most healers in WoW are made up of some pretty intelligent people.
I never had any attachment to WoW past spending time with my girlfriend. It's a great form of entertainment when her and I could play together during nights and talk about the game. Eventually, the poor community and extremely easy gameplay got the best of me and I could not continue the grindfest. WoW never gave me any sense of accomplishment and it eventually got to the point where I'd pass epics along because I couldn't care less about them and I only ever logged on to be with the girlfriend.
I'd prefer her to jump in and play a little more difficult game with some competitive PvP but that never works out because she likes the relaxed and easy nature of WoW.
So I play my game and she plays hers.
What I'm trying to say is. People play WoW because it's easy and uncompetitive. . . great for the casual and has a decent grind for the hardcore. For people like me, who have been playing competitive games since I was 2 years old. . . it does nothing but bore me to tears. The ever-so-popular "Don't stand in the fire" form of skill only kept me entertained for a few months and the PvP is lackluster. . . Who can do the most DPS got old fast.
Gaming is serious business.
Glad to know that mcdonald is the best food, lil wayne the best singer and the bus is the greatest mean of transportation.
Ignorant wow fanboys changed my life, we are all sheeps.
O and are you gonna tell me that blizzard also doesnt count the subs of the gold sellers. THose guys have basements that are filled with pcs all conected to a couple of screens. An average gold selling website has at least 20 accoutns, between the storage ones, bot ones and delivery ones.
Now lil wow kid go back to your super duper game and polish your epeen some more.
I'm not a no life that sits in front of his computer all day long, I'm an intern that sits in front of his computer all day long.
Dont think so. Its more because WoW offer most simplistic gameplay in MMO acceptable for everyone.
There is no conflict between being best and being simple. You never heard of the KISS principle? Complex is NOT necessarily good.
And WOW is complex enough. Have you tried some of the more complex boss fight? For example, trying to do Sarth with 3 Drakes up is impossible with a PUG group. Don't tell me it is not complex to coordinate all the tanking (sarth, drakes, adds), healing, avoiding fire wall and stuff like that. And that is an EASY raid compared to the one coming in 3.1.
It's not hard. The raids in WoW are gear based. If you're 5 of whatever stat away from the cap, the roll system will simply win. It has nothing to do with strategy, WoW is one big mathematical equation.
Overlord Mata Muram, from EQ. That was a HARD boss fight.
Science flies people to the moon. Religion flies people into buildings.
wheres that dude with the irrelavant analogy sig.
really, get over it. you hurt, we understand. do you want us to buy you lube for the next game? If we have togo down this road, yes, the ipod IS the best mp3 player, sorry cant you afford one? Iphone? great until you cant fix it, pretty shit after they break however no-one who takes care of theirs has had it break. cant remember what else you talked about. oh soulja boy. no really the only reason he is popular is spongebob soldier boy. what you think his video has so many views because they like it? Not because its so hilariously bad? No, couldnt enjoy the comedy of a bad video now, can we?
Jeez lighten up, maybe if you relax it wont hurt so much next time as you wont be so damned excited over how Game XYD is going to KKND wow. props if you recognize that btw. Now then im off to get my head filled with wow-o-rays so i can carry on being so damn satisfied by my game. must suck for you
Playing polished, lag free, feature complete games is carebear. Whining about a game you hate but still play is hardcore man!
The ipod is the best mp3 player if you dont care about sound quality?
O boy, try cowon mp3 players and you'll see the difference. Hell even try the sansa clip or fuze 10 times cheaper than ipods and still better sound. Most people that care about music spend more money on their headphones than on their mp3 so the whole cant afford one argument doesnt really make sense.
I'm not a no life that sits in front of his computer all day long, I'm an intern that sits in front of his computer all day long.
here we go, taking it offtopic because you cant win.
wow can be accused of many things, most of this thread and more may well be true. however it needs no justification for itself nor its players find what you say to be relevant. we enjoy the game, you dont. tough shit.
anyway i must be like some kind of noob carebear that has only played one mmo ever hell i probably dont even play wow have you considered that option ^_^ you guys are so prepared, so ready to jump on any possible bandwagon just to attack wow like you cant even handle people not agreeing with you so badly that you actually are driving yourselves slowly insane. youcan carry on babbling about this or that but at the end of the day, you havnt changed anything, you arnt going to convince anyone that the game they enjoy they actually secretly dont enjoy and the angrier your replies the more these people think
'thank fuck i dont play their game'
they sound like ruddy dickheads i think ill just stick with this one where i know the level of intelligence is low, but hell, not that low. cant you see this?
btw i put a cow on my mp3 player it just broke it so so much for good sound quality
Playing polished, lag free, feature complete games is carebear. Whining about a game you hate but still play is hardcore man!
Well WOW is a good game it is very well polished and well Blizzard makes some good games. I have always thought of them as a Gaming Company that makes computer games instead of a software company that makes games. They have a huge following and its very easy to see why they have 11million subs.
With that said I also hate there fanboys that call everything a failure!! if it does not hit 11mill subs. Even though these games are active and create a good revenue for there companies.
I've even seen some of there fans come in and call EQ a failure becuase it had only 500k! Even though broadband and online gaming has changed alot since eq was released of course they don't think about that.
So I ask to the rabid WOW fanboi's who scream "11 million and all else are failures?" DO you really think when Blizzard set out to make WOW they thought well lets try it even though EQ failed with its mere 500k.....No they thought damn thats some good cash lets see what piece of the pie we can get! 500k people paying 15 dollars a month is good cash do the math!
And kudos for them they did very well but don't come in here and act like "MMO's didn't start till Blizzard blessed us with WOW" shit.
Dont think so. Its more because WoW offer most simplistic gameplay in MMO acceptable for everyone.
There is no conflict between being best and being simple. You never heard of the KISS principle? Complex is NOT necessarily good.
And WOW is complex enough. Have you tried some of the more complex boss fight? For example, trying to do Sarth with 3 Drakes up is impossible with a PUG group. Don't tell me it is not complex to coordinate all the tanking (sarth, drakes, adds), healing, avoiding fire wall and stuff like that. And that is an EASY raid compared to the one coming in 3.1.
It's not hard. The raids in WoW are gear based. If you're 5 of whatever stat away from the cap, the roll system will simply win. It has nothing to do with strategy, WoW is one big mathematical equation.
Overlord Mata Muram, from EQ. That was a HARD boss fight.
Considering most people can't complete most of the raids until someone else has written an FAQ, I'd say thats the pure definition of something being NOT easy. If it was easy, you wouldn't need an FAQ. Everyone would finish every raid. Everyone would have all those accomplishments in the armory. But they don't. You wouldn't need to raid a whole bunch of times to get it right if it was easy. WOW is EASY to level up in. No argument there. But not ALL of WOW is easy. Saying so makes you ignorant and childish and there's a lot of it in this thread.
If WOW is just a simple mathematical equation and therefor EASY, every MMO is easy because they're all just equations. Eve is very easy too. You can play just fine hardly leaving the space dock, trading crap in the market and doing mindless jumps back and forth. You level up without even being behind the keyboard. Someone can just keep handing you ISK and your character can be just as powerful as anyone else without EVER getting into a single fight. But I'd be stupid to say Eve is easy. Parts are yes. Leveling up in Eve is the easiest thing to do in any MMO. ZERO effort needed. Is Eve easy? Nope. Is WOW easy? Nope. Both games have some things that are and some things that aren't, just like every MMO out there.
Thats why WOW is succesful. You can play it the easy way OR you can challenge yourself. Its not forced upon you like other MMOs. KISS is a very important term and you'd have to be out there working for a living to understand it. I imagine there are plenty of people here who really don't understand the concept yet. Give it time. You'll grow up soon enough;)
Most Companys seem to be to afraid to think outside of the box and come out with an origional idea, so instead we have a market filled with WoW clones or games with no true content or substance.
WoW took the best Ideas from the Golden age of of MMP's (Ultima, Asheron's Call and Everquest) they did not do it better but atleast they put time and effort behind the blending of what made other games succesful.
Personally it took Me only 2 weeks to get bored with Wow when it 1st launched, after 5 years of playing (Asherons Call) Wow was really nothing special for Me.
City of Hero's may not be the best MMP ever made but some how I have lasted almost 3 1/2 years in it.
Are you truly retarded?
Where have I said wow is a shitty game? I just said its not the best game like alll you kids do. Now you say Ipod is the best mp3 player when you clearly dont know anything about mp3 players, and no its not because you mommy gave you an ipod shuffle that you know anything about mp3. The same way you dont know anything about mmos since you have most likely tried a couple and then stayed with wow because alll the kids at your school were playing it.
I dont care if you enjoy the game or not, its jsut that seeing people say that this game is the best thing that ever happened to hunmanity is total BS, most people that play wow know it too.
I'm not a no life that sits in front of his computer all day long, I'm an intern that sits in front of his computer all day long.
I didn't read through the entire thread, just pieces here and there.
Blizzard has succeeded because of their Warcraft/Starcraft/Diable Franchises. They built the Warcraft product line with Warcraft, Warcraft II, and Warcraft III. Their original player base came from the players of their software.
The ability to retain their subscribers, that's the real question. I believe it may have something to do with being early in the MMO industry and having software that was relatively easy to install and low on computer requirements. Plus, the game continues to expand, and therefore, the character you invested in has other new things to do.
-----------------------------
Blog -Transcendent''s Tomb - Reviews, Polls, and tortured opinions from the minions of MMORPGS
http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/Hhussk
Dont think so. Its more because WoW offer most simplistic gameplay in MMO acceptable for everyone.
There is no conflict between being best and being simple. You never heard of the KISS principle? Complex is NOT necessarily good.
And WOW is complex enough. Have you tried some of the more complex boss fight? For example, trying to do Sarth with 3 Drakes up is impossible with a PUG group. Don't tell me it is not complex to coordinate all the tanking (sarth, drakes, adds), healing, avoiding fire wall and stuff like that. And that is an EASY raid compared to the one coming in 3.1.
It's not hard. The raids in WoW are gear based. If you're 5 of whatever stat away from the cap, the roll system will simply win. It has nothing to do with strategy, WoW is one big mathematical equation.
Overlord Mata Muram, from EQ. That was a HARD boss fight.
Considering most people can't complete most of the raids until someone else has written an FAQ, I'd say thats the pure definition of something being NOT easy. If it was easy, you wouldn't need an FAQ. Everyone would finish every raid. Everyone would have all those accomplishments in the armory. But they don't. You wouldn't need to raid a whole bunch of times to get it right if it was easy. WOW is EASY to level up in. No argument there. But not ALL of WOW is easy. Saying so makes you ignorant and childish and there's a lot of it in this thread.
If WOW is just a simple mathematical equation and therefor EASY, every MMO is easy because they're all just equations. Eve is very easy too. You can play just fine hardly leaving the space dock, trading crap in the market and doing mindless jumps back and forth. You level up without even being behind the keyboard. Someone can just keep handing you ISK and your character can be just as powerful as anyone else without EVER getting into a single fight. But I'd be stupid to say Eve is easy. Parts are yes. Leveling up in Eve is the easiest thing to do in any MMO. ZERO effort needed. Is Eve easy? Nope. Is WOW easy? Nope. Both games have some things that are and some things that aren't, just like every MMO out there.
Thats why WOW is succesful. You can play it the easy way OR you can challenge yourself. Its not forced upon you like other MMOs. KISS is a very important term and you'd have to be out there working for a living to understand it. I imagine there are plenty of people here who really don't understand the concept yet. Give it time. You'll grow up soon enough;)
Most of this was good solid intelligent debate material, but then you lost my attention once you made personal attacks on me, somebody you've never met, the lowest form of flaming.
Science flies people to the moon. Religion flies people into buildings.
I read alot of people saying WOW is boring. My stepson is 16 and he said the same thing. However he played it twelve hours a day for two years plus because everyone else was doing it and at the time he couldn't drive anywhere and it was easy to just plop down for another raid with friends. The game would run on a Commodore 64, it advertises nationally, and other kids at school talk about it. I hate to say it but many early teens would shave their heads and then rub them with rubbing alcohol if "Joe Cool" did the same. The teens complain and moan and groan and talk horribly about WOW in the forums and then turn around and play from sundown to sunup. WoW caught that demigraphic and kept it because it was the "cool game on the block". Most teens I've met never heard of EQ1 or 2 or Vanguard. By time they heard about AoC or WAR they were knee deep in a game they were bored by and not willing to start over when they could be completely apathetic where they are at without a major graphics upgrade.
For me, I am currently playing EQ2 but my desire at age 37 is to go back to WOW. Why? Because of that "boring" simplicity. EQ2 takes time to get stuff done. With kids and real-life, I have too much going on to sit four to eight hours waiting on a spawn like the original EQ days or to travel for 30 minutes to get somewhere like in Vanguard. I loved the big sandbox world vibe but sadly WOW appeals to an adult demi-graphic who still want to play MMORPGs but whose raid schedule is now like five hours a week instead of 50.
That's two big demi-graphics that for whatever reasons find it easier to play WOW. The game is probably the most polished and finished of the bunch but aside from that, it had alot going for it that it might not have even realized.
Anyone remember when it and EQ2 released very close together. EQ2 was going for that hardcore, longterm, blood sweat and tears experience but the public was all testing out WOW saying "Hey! Look this is fun. MMORPGs can actually not feel like pulling teeth." Those same people call it boring now but the point is it did several things right and several things just lined up perfectly.
Add in the fact that most newer games are ten to twenty times more buggy with missing content, premature release, etc. and you can see why WOW is king.
I'd personally love to see something a little more realistic with a larger feel but EA, Funcom, SOE have all thrown their competition into the ring and Microsoft has thrown away more cash in MMORPG development than WOW makes. Sadly it will be a while before we see competition
First, I am so tired of how bashing something that is successful is so "cool" and popular to do these days. WoW bashing, Microsoft bashing, iPod bashing. If something is successful and becomes mainstream then now it sucks and only un-cool people like it. Then all gamers, geeks, and music fans who consider themselves "hardcore", scramble to distance themselves from it. Get over it people. It's popular, LOTS of people like it. It's successful. Why can't people deal with that?
Enough of that. I happen to really like WoW and I have tried a LOT of other MMORPG games. I think the reason for it's success is difficult to nail down to one or two things. Hell, many other companies employing all kinds of professional designers and developers have been trying to figure it out for a few years now. They haven't figured out WoW's success formula, so I don't know that us gamers ever will. But, for what it's worth, here are the reasons why I like WoW.
1. Primary reason is the lore, the story, the characters, etc. My opinion is they have developed an interesting world filled with interesting characters. One thing to remember is that they have been developing this land and it's lore since before WoW existed. It all started with their early games like Warcraft. Some MMO's feel like they made a game first, and then tried to cram some story in there.
2. Art direction. People complain about WoW's graphics all the time. But I love them. Sure they could be higher poly count, but I always think the textures and design are awesome. Their npc's and locations have character. It has it's own style. I like how it is a fusion of realistic and cartoony. I have tried alot of other games. Lots have good graphics, but they don't separate themselves much. They are either ultra realistic, grungy, and dark or they are super cartoony, anime looking. Shoot, alot of them seem like they ripped each others graphics engine. I don't know how many I have tried that look just like Lineage II. I'm gald there are some out there that are trying different looks, cell-shading, etc. I have not tried it yet, but TCOS seems to have a different look from the screenshots I have seen. I tried the Dragonica valentine preview and it seemed cool. It was different and unique.
3. There's a lot of options without being overly complicated. One thing that ties in to this somewhat is the fact that the character customization just works. There are not a ton of options, but I hardly ever see any two characters running around that look exactly the same. There have been planty of new MMO's that I have tried where every warrior looks just like every other warrior. I hate that. It's role playing, I want to feel like my character is unique, even if it is only an illusion.
4. Sounds crazy probably, but I love the soundtrack. It has high production value and was thought out. It fits and sets the mood. it's not an afterthought.
Anyway, these are just some of the things that draw me to WoW. I know I will get slammed and flamed for being a WoW fan. So be it. Flame away. No amount of flaming is ever going to change the fact that I like it and Blizzard is still raking in the cash from it.
That's a good post, and mostly true.
During my WoW time, I've played with alot of Father/Mother/Kid combinations, most of them very cool people. I don't think anybody will deny that it's the ultimate family MMO.
I've never had a problem with WoW, as a game. it's easy, and accesible, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's not my thing *now* but it was my thing in 2004 when I started playing it, all the way untl February of this year, when that model lost its appeal to me.
I had (have I guess, since Blizzard keeps all your toons, another cool feature) a level 80 DK, and a level 80 Hunter, both in end-game raids. I definitely had fun leveling both of them up, and I have many fond memories of WoW.
When I bash WoW in these forums, it's almost never bashing the game (unless somebody comes up with some fairytale reasons on how the game is "hard.") but the community I have no problem bashing. All you need to do is go read any 10 random threads on the forums outside of "Welcome to WoW" (and even some of those) and you'll see what I mean. Never has there been a more malicious and hateful group of people gathered together in one place. And I'm not stupid enough to claim every player is like that. But when you have 11 million people playing, and about 8 million people are certified jackasses that only play to tell others to Die in a Fire, well then excuse me for generalizing.
Science flies people to the moon. Religion flies people into buildings.
I think I understand exactly where you are coming from and I totally agree. I think that because Blizzard has managed to commercialize their game, making WoW Worldwide known, that it ends up being many players' first MMO. People that don't even game have very possibly heard of WoW. So if you tell your friends, "I play MMORPG's," they're like, "....huh?" If you say, "Yea, I play WoW," they're like, "Oh yea, I've seen that Mr. T commercial! Is that any good?"
There are so many other media outlets for WoW, such as forums, and books, comics, and (possibly) soon, even a movie. It's fun to go back and play Warcraft I, II, and III or read the books and see how your favorite NPC's started out and came to be who they are today. ...Then go make history with them in the game.
Take all that and then add human nature; the fear of the unknown, and the comfortability of home, you have a lot of people not even willing to try anything else out---even if it is almost a guarantee that it will be a better, more satisfying game. As my wife would say, "I don't like gaming, I like playing WoW."
Wow was popular before it was "commercialized" to the rest of the world. What you are describing is the result of its success and not the cause of it.
Many people started playing many other mmos prior to wow being released. Many of them migrated to wow. Many of them were migrating to other mmos before wow. The question is why don't other games attract wow players away from wow or recruit them once they are ready to move to a new game. Why was there so much migration 5 years ago, but not today? I think it boils down to one word: polish. All of these other "great" games are really lacking in comparison to warcrafts polish, attention to detail and overall experience.
You say people are not willing to try new games, but this last year alone sales records for new mmos was broken not once, but twice. That is more momentum that warcraft had, but somehow people dismiss that.
People are in fact trying other mmos. The numbers tell the truth.
People are not sticking with other mmos. The number tell the truth.
While I don't think 11 million people are going to rush out to try every new mmo in the first month, free trials or win back promotion for other mmos, it is fairly obvious that there is a very large population looking for a new game.
I think the flaw in your conclusion is based on other games not getting large populations which means people are not trying them.
I think the truth is that many people are indeed trying many other mmos after wow, but other mmos are not competitve in the experience they offer and are failing to retain those players. It is so common to hear people talk about how many times they quit wow and swore to never return, but after mulling around the market for a few months they almost always come back. There is a reason for that and it is not rooted in the players.
My take on WoW's success first and foremost rests on the fact that it was developed by Blizzard. I think that fact along brought a hefty share of players into the MMO fold that before hand wouldn't touch the genre. I say that coming from personnal experience as well as I've seen many relatives and friends put in a lot of time playing WoW, but who cringed at the thought of playing a MMO before it's release.
That's not to say that pre-WoW MMO veterans haven't or don't play WoW. I just think that a rather large number of WoW's subscriber base are people that wouldn't play MMOs before it's release. Being a veteran of way too many MMOs (EQ, WW2 Online, SWG, EQ2, AO, etc), I still keep in touch with a lot of people that I used to be in guilds with, and I don't even need my second hand to count the number of people from that list who play WoW on anything even remotely resembling a consistent basis.
For instance, I have 2 people that I play EQ2 with who at times would announce a break from the game so they could play WoW for a month or two with their RL friends. Then on queue, they would be back in EQ2 in under 2 months raiding with the guild wondering why the hell they left to go play WoW.
Now don't take this as I'm saying WoW is MMO-lite. I better analogy I think is that WoW is the lower levels of a recently released MMO. Packed zones with people having a good time learning the ropes of the game. And like the devs of the game would hope, we should all hope that those players level up and move up and out into the higher levels (or in this analogy, other MMOs). Ok... maybe it's a bad analogy. LOL
One last thing, like any true first love, it is always hard to let go and memories are always the fondest when thinking of them (no matter how bad the experience was ultimately). Unlike personal relationships, a first love with a MMO is really hard to break away from since you can simply re-up your subscription. So like myself in years past with EQ1, I think this is why we don't see a large exodus away from WoW to other MMOs.
You Sir, are in my eyes on the bang-on-target-track!
Sticks and stones can hurt my bones but words can never kill me...errr unless they are spells and incantations...
for one most games offer some challenge, WOW is a cakewalk they lead you by the hand to the top levels , when your gear doesn't do well for so and so encounter they add either pvp gear/ quest gear/ craft gear thats far superior just to appease the masses. they go out of their way to make the MMO experience as pain free as possible.....
now granted, this is a good thing. WOW is like MMO light, for the hardcore, even the casual hardcore main stream MMO'r... WOW is boring and not very fun we like a little challenge. at the same time though look at wow's playerbase, children and MMO noobs. what WOW does is what our parents say Weed does... its like a gateway MMO i've seen many many people join other MMO's from WOW and they are like you mean i can really do this... or wow this is hard but fun. the problem isn't WOW its companies not having enough faith in their game, or halfa$$ programming that kills the industry, one thing wow can say over every game out there it runs, install it click the icon and bam you are in game...... i've seen games that patch day is basicly game closed... its happened in wow as well, but not nearly as much as most of the others.
WOW caters to its public, most other games cater to the few whining the loudest. prime example of this SWG, possibly the easiest space mmo franchise yet sony screwed the pooch by listening to a few whining people that wanted to be uber jedi now... its a shadow of what it could have been. hell its a shadow of an MMO.
EQII vanguard, AOC, WAR all these games are fantastic in their own right, they all have somthing to offer, yet they can't compeat with WOW because of one thing... for the most part ... they require thought. thats what it really boils down to boys an girls heh wow is easy ... and we humans are incredibly lazy and want as much for as little as we can get.
Eagles may soar, But Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
what WOW offers is that the game is very easy i mean the fact that someone wrote a program that played the game for you is an example of how easy the game is.
The other thing is the game is stylised and it keeps this style from level 1 to level 80 (or whatever they are up to yet) it provides enough of a catch for people to continue playing long after hitting the cap. by providing loot and high end raids. however i think that what WOW does badly is it provides too much of a crutch to people. When they go from WOW to any other mmo the first thing they realise is that other mmos are a lot more complex and engaging. the crutch they had in wow is gone and because of that they recent it.
and so they rush back to wow to its cosey easy to play game mechanics. and that is why wow has so many players its easy its consistant and it has a carrot that blizzard keep movign further and further away with each new patch or expansion.
I discovered that after level 63 the game was effectivly the same and that no matter what i did it was the same quests in different zones, the mobs were uninteresting the quests were dull and the dungeon runs that i had done were not really much of a challenge. you could go from group to group to group and never meet the same people.
I would like to add to the list of why no-one has managed to compete with WOW unrealistic expectations of us the consumers. A game that has just been released especially an MMO is going to feel clunky and laggy and buggy compared to WOW simply because those things take time to iron out. WOW has had over a decade to get the game to the level of smoothness and responsiveness they have today. At release WOW wasn't evan a quarter of the game they have now in terms of content, class balance and smoothness of play. Most games are releasing with way more content than WOW had at launch and better class balance. They arn't perfect by a long shot but they are much better games than WOW was 12 months after WOW released.
Unfortunatly new games don't get compared to WOW of yesteryear they don't evan get compared to WOW pre BC which most just released pay to play games match easily. They get compared to WOW as it is now with 2 expansions and years of polishing. Something no matter how much Beta testing you do you cannot match as a just developed game.
The lesser of two evils is still evil.
There is nothing more dangerous than a true believer.
Well, that's the big question isn't it?
Personally I don't think it can be done. Too many first time MMO players who don't want to level up again on other MMO - ever.
plenty of mmorpg's can compete with wow its just personal preference like 40% of wow is children any ways its like when EQ came out but modern day and wow had money to back them up
EVGA FTW-3 MOBO X58
EVGA GTX 580
G.SKILL RIPJAW 12GB
INTEL I7 950
CORSAIR H70 CPU COOLER
CORSAIR 1200W 80+GOLD
So when WOW first came out and had to compete with all the greatest MMOs ever with years of polish and content under their belts, why did every MMO besides maybe EVE, have a massive exodus? Not a single one recovered. NO one went back. I don't recall people comparing WOW with UO circa 1997 or EQ 1998, unless it was a joke. WOW felt more polished in beta than all of them. By a long shot.
I think the new game on MMORPG.com is to figure out the best theories and excuses as to why WOW is successful, instead of admitting the obvious. This is all done to try to sound smart and inciteful. Instead it comes off as bitter and hateful.
Its also funny how people mention how the hardcore "think" this or that is better. You guys do know the hardcore are completely insignifant now, right? You think developers are pounding the doors down to appease YOU? Considering you're the toughest to please, due to unrealistic and whacked out expectations, I don't think any AAA developer gives a damn about your opinions anymore. Why should they? You can hardly support a game on your own and when you do, you do everything in your power to destroy it, discredit it or drag the developers through the mud. With customers like that, is it any wonder the genre has taken the direction it has? You're like the freakin plague=)