Blizzard hasn't really copied anything. It's like saying CoD 4 copied Doom. Sure, you could technically make a case to support that notion, but it's not necessarily true. If you guys worked in the upper echelon of industry (entertainment or otherwise), you would realize that ideas, whether new or old, are still just that: ideas. And ideas mean absolutely nothing in the real world.
If that's true, then what is the purpose of copyrights, trademarks, and the concept of intellectual property?
Blizzard's IPs are built upon a foundation of ripping off ideas from other IPs. They haven't come up with an original idea since the 90s, and even then, Warcraft was a direct ripoff of warhammer, because Warcraft was built off of a prototype game that was supposed to be a warhammer game.
Blizzard hasn't really copied anything. It's like saying CoD 4 copied Doom. Sure, you could technically make a case to support that notion, but it's not necessarily true. If you guys worked in the upper echelon of industry (entertainment or otherwise), you would realize that ideas, whether new or old, are still just that: ideas. And ideas mean absolutely nothing in the real world.
If that's true, then what is the purpose of copyrights, trademarks, and the concept of intellectual property?
Blizzard's IPs are built upon a foundation of ripping off ideas from other IPs. They haven't come up with an original idea since the 90s, and even then, Warcraft was a direct ripoff of warhammer, because Warcraft was built off of a prototype game that was supposed to be a warhammer game.
You think the myriad of Warcraft players care that they're playing a quasi version of Warhammer? No, because no one gives a damn about Warhammer. If any of this truly mattered, Blizzard would have gone under years ago. Again, in the real world, it doesn't matter who had the idea first. Warhammer itself isn't a bastion of originality either. Everything in it is derived from sword and sorcery/Tolkien elements, which are in turn based on mythological concepts.
Blizzard hasn't really copied anything. It's like saying CoD 4 copied Doom. Sure, you could technically make a case to support that notion, but it's not necessarily true. If you guys worked in the upper echelon of industry (entertainment or otherwise), you would realize that ideas, whether new or old, are still just that: ideas. And ideas mean absolutely nothing in the real world.
If that's true, then what is the purpose of copyrights, trademarks, and the concept of intellectual property?
Blizzard's IPs are built upon a foundation of ripping off ideas from other IPs. They haven't come up with an original idea since the 90s, and even then, Warcraft was a direct ripoff of warhammer, because Warcraft was built off of a prototype game that was supposed to be a warhammer game.
You think the myriad of Warcraft players care that they're playing a quasi version of Warhammer? No, because no one gives a damn about Warhammer. If any of this truly mattered, Blizzard would have gone under years ago. Again, in the real world, it doesn't matter who had the idea first. Warhammer itself isn't a bastion of originality either. Everything in it is derived from sword and sorcery/Tolkien elements, which are in turn based on mythological concepts.
And?
I never said Warhammer was completely original, but at least it created it's own concepts that were original aside from the Tolkein universe.
Warcraft draws directly from Warhammer and several other existing IPs. Any of the Warcraft lore that's actually original is extremely poorly done, such as one dimensional mary sue characters, one of which is has an army of sentient raptors at his command. The rest of Warcraft's lore is a myriad of clumsy grasps at endless pop culture references and poorly written dialogue.
The game mechanics themselves are not at all original at all either. Blizzard has done nothing innovative in a decade, and relies solely upon picking and choosign game mechanics, mashing them together, and dumbing them down to be more pallatable to cram down the throats of the mass market.
So from a business perspective, yeah Blizzard does a great job at making a buck. From an actual artistic or contribution to the progression of the industry, Blizzard has done no more than create a product that appeals to a broader audience. Praising Blizzard and it's accomplishments for making such broadly 'enjoyed' games like WoW is like praising a producer of boxed wine for outselling vintage wine.
Honestly I wouldn't expect WoW players to care that WoW is nothing more than a cheap mashup a several fantasy IPs that are actually decent, unlike WoW itself. They're too busy trying to increase their gear score.
I am going to mention one word that really sums up what blizzard brough to the mmo genre. It represents a far greater contribution to innovation and whatever it is your generalizations try to make out.
Polish.
That was a word that was never used in reference to mmos before wow released. Mmos were defined by the "release and fix it later, if ever" business model that almost every single developer followed. Push out an incomplete product, that wasn't tested well and filled with features that most players found annoying and nothing more than roadblocks to having fun. It is no small wonder that prior to the release of wow, most developers thought the mmo market had reached its peak and would not continue to grow.
That really is the lesson developers should be taking from blizzard and pushing the genre forward, quality. Yet it seems to be the single thing that most developers just fail to grasp and why game after game suffer such terrible backlash from their release.
Lets just say everything you said is true and blizzard did not do a single thing on their own. That means blizzard picked up the same exact tools that every other developer has used and created a better game than the "innovators" of those mechanics have.
I am going to mention one word that really sums up what blizzard brough to the mmo genre. It represents a far greater contribution to innovation and whatever it is your generalizations try to make out.
Polish.
That was a word that was never used in reference to mmos before wow released. Mmos were defined by the "release and fix it later, if ever" business model that almost every single developer followed. Push out an incomplete product, that wasn't tested well and filled with features that most players found annoying and nothing more than roadblocks to having fun. It is no small wonder that prior to the release of wow, most developers thought the mmo market had reached its peak and would not continue to grow.
That really is the lesson developers should be taking from blizzard and pushing the genre forward, quality. Yet it seems to be the single thing that most developers just fail to grasp and why game after game suffer such terrible backlash from their release.
Lets just say everything you said is true and blizzard did not do a single thing on their own. That means blizzard picked up the same exact tools that every other developer has used and created a better game than the "innovators" of those mechanics have.
Which as I've mentioned before, the only reason why Blizzard is able to do that is because they have the assets and ability to self publish, and to repeatedly push back release dates. The majority of other developers are not able to do such, it is abnormal in the industry to be able to do this. If you actually look at most MMOs that fail to be received at release due to what can best be described as a lack of polish, are actually pretty decent a year or so down the road -- if they survive that long.
It's not a lesson for developers to learn. They don't want to release an unpulished, or otherwise incomplete or buggy product. They simply run out of time and/or money, and are forced by their publisher to release, whether they want to or not. Rather, it's a lesson for publisher to learn.
Blizzard makes good games. But their games are getting a bit stale.
Important facts: 1. Free to Play games are poorly made. 2. Casuals are not all idiots, but idiots call themselves casuals. 3. Great solo and group content are not mutually exclusive, but they suffer when one is shoved into the mold of the other. The same is true of PvP and PvE. 4. Community is more important than you think.
Which as I've mentioned before, the only reason why Blizzard is able to do that is because they have the assets and ability to self publish, and to repeatedly push back release dates. The majority of other developers are not able to do such, it is abnormal in the industry to be able to do this. If you actually look at most MMOs that fail to be received at release due to what can best be described as a lack of polish, are actually pretty decent a year or so down the road -- if they survive that long.
It's not a lesson for developers to learn. They don't want to release an unpulished, or otherwise incomplete or buggy product. They simply run out of time and/or money, and are forced by their publisher to release, whether they want to or not. Rather, it's a lesson for publisher to learn.
I guess SOE didn't have the assets or ability to set their own release date with EQ2? Funcom, Turbine, NCSoft, Square Enix, etc.
There sure seem to be a fair numer of developers with access to the same abnomral set of tools that feel are exclusive to blizzard. Just like there are a lot of developers who have to answer to publishers. They all seem to suffer similar problems with mmo releases would you not agree?
Is that really the only reason blizzard found success where others did not?
Comments
If that's true, then what is the purpose of copyrights, trademarks, and the concept of intellectual property?
Blizzard's IPs are built upon a foundation of ripping off ideas from other IPs. They haven't come up with an original idea since the 90s, and even then, Warcraft was a direct ripoff of warhammer, because Warcraft was built off of a prototype game that was supposed to be a warhammer game.
You think the myriad of Warcraft players care that they're playing a quasi version of Warhammer? No, because no one gives a damn about Warhammer. If any of this truly mattered, Blizzard would have gone under years ago. Again, in the real world, it doesn't matter who had the idea first. Warhammer itself isn't a bastion of originality either. Everything in it is derived from sword and sorcery/Tolkien elements, which are in turn based on mythological concepts.
And?
I never said Warhammer was completely original, but at least it created it's own concepts that were original aside from the Tolkein universe.
Warcraft draws directly from Warhammer and several other existing IPs. Any of the Warcraft lore that's actually original is extremely poorly done, such as one dimensional mary sue characters, one of which is has an army of sentient raptors at his command. The rest of Warcraft's lore is a myriad of clumsy grasps at endless pop culture references and poorly written dialogue.
The game mechanics themselves are not at all original at all either. Blizzard has done nothing innovative in a decade, and relies solely upon picking and choosign game mechanics, mashing them together, and dumbing them down to be more pallatable to cram down the throats of the mass market.
So from a business perspective, yeah Blizzard does a great job at making a buck. From an actual artistic or contribution to the progression of the industry, Blizzard has done no more than create a product that appeals to a broader audience. Praising Blizzard and it's accomplishments for making such broadly 'enjoyed' games like WoW is like praising a producer of boxed wine for outselling vintage wine.
Honestly I wouldn't expect WoW players to care that WoW is nothing more than a cheap mashup a several fantasy IPs that are actually decent, unlike WoW itself. They're too busy trying to increase their gear score.
@Ceridith
I am going to mention one word that really sums up what blizzard brough to the mmo genre. It represents a far greater contribution to innovation and whatever it is your generalizations try to make out.
Polish.
That was a word that was never used in reference to mmos before wow released. Mmos were defined by the "release and fix it later, if ever" business model that almost every single developer followed. Push out an incomplete product, that wasn't tested well and filled with features that most players found annoying and nothing more than roadblocks to having fun. It is no small wonder that prior to the release of wow, most developers thought the mmo market had reached its peak and would not continue to grow.
That really is the lesson developers should be taking from blizzard and pushing the genre forward, quality. Yet it seems to be the single thing that most developers just fail to grasp and why game after game suffer such terrible backlash from their release.
Lets just say everything you said is true and blizzard did not do a single thing on their own. That means blizzard picked up the same exact tools that every other developer has used and created a better game than the "innovators" of those mechanics have.
Which as I've mentioned before, the only reason why Blizzard is able to do that is because they have the assets and ability to self publish, and to repeatedly push back release dates. The majority of other developers are not able to do such, it is abnormal in the industry to be able to do this. If you actually look at most MMOs that fail to be received at release due to what can best be described as a lack of polish, are actually pretty decent a year or so down the road -- if they survive that long.
It's not a lesson for developers to learn. They don't want to release an unpulished, or otherwise incomplete or buggy product. They simply run out of time and/or money, and are forced by their publisher to release, whether they want to or not. Rather, it's a lesson for publisher to learn.
Blizzard makes good games. But their games are getting a bit stale.
Important facts:
1. Free to Play games are poorly made.
2. Casuals are not all idiots, but idiots call themselves casuals.
3. Great solo and group content are not mutually exclusive, but they suffer when one is shoved into the mold of the other. The same is true of PvP and PvE.
4. Community is more important than you think.
I guess SOE didn't have the assets or ability to set their own release date with EQ2? Funcom, Turbine, NCSoft, Square Enix, etc.
There sure seem to be a fair numer of developers with access to the same abnomral set of tools that feel are exclusive to blizzard. Just like there are a lot of developers who have to answer to publishers. They all seem to suffer similar problems with mmo releases would you not agree?
Is that really the only reason blizzard found success where others did not?