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Welcome to the Vault Network
forum archive.
This is not a complete archive, time didn't allot us the
opportunity to properly backup the majority of the boards
deemed "expendable". Most boards on this list have at least
20-40 pages archived (non-logged in pages, 15 topics per
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Please enjoy the archive.
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Topic: News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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Auenwing
Title: straightface
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News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/153-six-years-on-why-is-world-of-warcraft-so-enduring
Looking back over the fifteen-year history of online role-playing games, one thing's obvious: World of Warcraft changed everything. Releasing in 2004 to massive acclaim, it doubled the size of the massively-multiplayer market in just a year, forced many of its competitors to release their games for free to compete, and even made television history along the way.
It's hard to believe developer Blizzard's massive MMO has been with us for more than six years -- and while it was a big hit at its 2004 launch, its real success has been in the gradual (and continuing) growth of its subscriber base over the intervening years. Next month, it launches its third expansion -- Cataclysm -- which will dramatically reshape the game's world and is predicted by just about everyone to be the year's best-selling computer game.
A week might be a long time in politics, and the high-tech world of video games moves nearly as fast. Major consoles can typically expect about a five-year run before being superseded. Six years qualifies as several lifetimes, at least. World of Warcraft has weathered huge, seismic shifts in the market forces that drive the games industry; it has survived everything from the coming of the casual-friendly Wii and Nintendo DS to the more recent explosion of the online shooter genre among young males. And yet Warcraft continues to grow, topping the 12 million subscriber mark in early October.
Blizzard's ranks have expanded along with the game: as of last September, it employed nearly 5,000 people around the world. Even the recent economic downturn couldn't stymie its rise; it cannily merged with mega-publishers Activision and Vivendi in a series of intricate deals that preserved its management independence. Not only are all three Blizzard co-founders still with the firm, they all carry top-level development credits on World of Warcraft.
With that experience come the smart decisions that keep fans paying the game's $15 monthly subscription. Most six-year-old games look hopelessly dated, and although Warcraft's starting to look a little shabby 'round the edges, its cartoony ethos leans more on talented artists than flashy special effects, keeping it from aging as badly as its peers. And since it was built to run on a mid-range PC six years ago, it's a breeze for just about any reasonably modern computer to play.
Like a TV show laying down plot threads for a planned spin-off, Blizzard is already working to invest its players in Cataclysm's forthcoming launch. Strolling around its cities, you'll see doomsayers prophesying the apocalypse it'll introduce. New quest lines (for all players, experienced and casual) are already acquainting players with its storyline concepts. Whether you buy the expansion or not -- it's not compulsory, though most players will likely pick it up -- the world's still going to be shattered, and you're going to be a part of it.
Building compelling storylines like these isn't easy for an online role-playing game. Players are used to being the heroes -- but how do you build a story with 12 million individual stars? Fortunately, Warcraft's rich history (it was a successful series of strategy games long before online RPGs were invented) means there's a wealth of background characters and themes for the game's writers to draw on -- and plenty of super-committed fans who'll call them on even the slightest of slip-ups.
Warcraft's real success, though, hasn't been in engaging these hardcore gamers. Instead, it provides an experience that just about anyone can sit down and learn in a few half-hour sessions, regardless of previous experience. The Blizzard brand -- in the same way as Apple's, say, or that of Bejeweled creator Popcap -- means user-interfaces that are easy to learn and satisfying to use, and you can see that same philosophy echoed across nearly two decades of Blizzard hits. Little in World of Warcraft was innovative upon its release; much of its concepts were familiar to players of early MMOs like Everquest and Ultima Online. But Warcraft simply did them better.
So how long can it stay on top? Nothing lasts forever, and although the game's total subscription figures indeed continue to creep ever higher, its growth is widely thought to be a result of increased uptake in newer Asian markets -- a phenomenon which may mask declines in more lucrative Western territories. Warcraft's days are inevitably numbered, and the famously-secretive (and largely leak-proof) Blizzard is well known to be working on its next online world.
It won't be another Warcraft game, though. In fact, it's set to be the company's first original project in over a decade. Described by Blizzard reps as "next-gen" and "casual-friendly," rumor has it being anything from a massive sci-fi shooter to a social game inspired by the likes of Farmville.
Don't expect to hear more about it for at least a year. Blizzard's attention to detail -- and its deep pockets, courtesy of six years of vast Warcraft profits -- means the company isn't in any rush. Whatever the game ends up being, it'll be out when it's done, and Warcraft players don't seem to be in any hurry to move on.
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Okra
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Subject:
News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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Blizzard is well known to be working on its next online world. [i]
===
I"m still wondering what it will be.
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Malachi256
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Subject:
News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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6 years of other MMOs that are total crap =)
It's sad that Eve online is the only other MMO (at least that I can think of) that has had steady increases in subscribers, but on a several orders of magnitude smaller scale.
-----signature-----
Explorer / Soloer+Small groups / Some PvP
MMOin' since UO beta, still waiting for UO 2.0 done right
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--Syrus--
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I think it is going to be very interesting to see Blizzard try and topple its own giant. I'm not saying they'll be completing with itself, but will the next Blizzard MMO last six years? Will the next Blizzard MMO reach 12 million? I'm as skeptical as I am hopeful.
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Common Sense is a myth..
Its Hub. 10 week ban for anybody who disagrees. -Mithan-
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jojo263
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News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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"Warcraft's real success, though, hasn't been in engaging these hardcore gamers. Instead, it provides an experience that just about anyone can sit down and learn in a few half-hour sessions"
which is why any kind of CC or challenge will be nerfed to nothing shortly after Cata comes out.
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-Mithan-
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News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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You could write books on why WoW succeeds, but for me, it all boils down to the fact that it is fun and I know people here who keep playing, so it keeps me playing.
-----signature-----
I survived to the end and got nothing out of it, but hey.
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huldu
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They revamp the game because subs were dropping. Smart move as it will take the old content and refresh it. Along with making the game even easier to play, not in content wise but as in easy ie fun. The truth is people these days want to complete something, not to fail doing it. Blizzard has always been great at adapting quickly. This is why they stay on top year after year. There arent any developers out there that can compete with WoW. Blizzard has a huge team of pro's working on the game. They know what players want. If something isnt working right they change it. You're not playing a buggy beta with WoW.
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"Boy, the next word that comes out of your mouth better be some brilliant *****' Mark Twain ****. 'Cause it's definitely getting chiseled on your tombstone."
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Rill_of_WE
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Subject:
News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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Okra posted:
Blizzard is well known to be working on its next online world. [i]
===
I"m still wondering what it will be.
At BlizzCon they said they'd be annoucning something about it in 2012. Can't remember who said it but it was on the stream and I tweeted about it...
http://twitter.com/WoWVault/status/28532003797
Shoulda put a name to it. Ah well. 20/20 hindsight ^_^
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Dums
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The mystery flavor
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Subject:
News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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-Mithan- posted:
You could write books on why WoW succeeds, but for me, it all boils down to the fact that it is fun and I know people here who keep playing, so it keeps me playing.
with 12 million subscribers, that's probably the reason for a lot of people
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Elmador_MoK
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Subject:
News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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-Mithan- posted:
You could write books on why WoW succeeds, but for me, it all boils down to the fact that it is fun and I know people here who keep playing, so it keeps me playing.
Snowball effect is huge. Sometimes things take on a life of their own and grow, even if something else is just as good, that is where the interest lies.
Despite all the things you can nitpick too, Blizzard makes quality stuff (4.0.1 is still giving my a lot of grief) but in the end it always gets fixed. Accessibility is huge too, like that article and so many that came before have pointed out. We could pretend Age of Conan was good (I know--lol--dont taze me, its a hypothetical), and its easy to understand why it still wouldn't be successful. Its one thing to shell 50 big ones for a game plus a sub, but a whole different thing entirely to have to upgrade your PC to buy a game that might just be marginally better.
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Ardenwolfe
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Subject:
News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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Easy.
No competition.
This is what kept DAoC alive for so long.
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Renegade.
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Subject:
News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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6 years of muddling around creating the next e-sport. Just kidding Blizzard. 
I just hope they haven 't set the "formula" for MMORPG's.
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Auenwing
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Subject:
News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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Renegade. posted:
6 years of muddling around creating the next e-sport. Just kidding Blizzard.
I just hope they haven 't set the "formula" for MMORPG's.
Agreed!
-----signature-----
There are those who play tank classes, and those that tank.
The weapon is only as good as the person wielding it.
Free advice is often worth what you pay for it: nothing.
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Pheace
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News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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I still think that no matter how much people whine and gripe about losing their 'progress', clearing it every expansion has done wonders for WoW's long lasting appeal.
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4 scor & 7yrs ago: nu nation, all men =! Now civil war  But! Not die in vain. Gr8 task b4 us: Gvt of-by4-ppl not perish frm earth! -- Honest_Abe << Euro Player (  ) >>
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Shenron_
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News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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its the polish. finally a mmo, 6 years ago, that had a smooth combat system and world navigation and pretty graphics that run nice and fluid. its amazing that since then there has not been a single mmo with that kind of polish.
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Foojo
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News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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Not only is it enduring, but in every other MMO, the players can't stop talking about WoW, and how much they hate it. So you take a break from WoW, then in the other game, players talk non-stop about WoW. 
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...
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Elkabong08
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Foojo posted:
Not only is it enduring, but in every other MMO, the players can't stop talking about WoW, and how much they hate it. So you take a break from WoW, then in the other game, players talk non-stop about WoW.
Yeah, it's crazy. LotRo, EQ2, AoC (gawd), Vanguard, Aion. Played every one of them, and G chat is filled with people dissing WoW. Wanna irritate the hell out of 'em? Imply that in 6 months they will be resubbing, lol. I know I did  .
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Auenwing
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Foojo posted:
Not only is it enduring, but in every other MMO, the players can't stop talking about WoW, and how much they hate it. So you take a break from WoW, then in the other game, players talk non-stop about WoW.
That was irritating in Warhammer (and some comparisons WERE valid there as some things were copied), but funny as all get out in Champion's Online. I mean, really?, what? 
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The weapon is only as good as the person wielding it.
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Ardenwolfe
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True enough. In every, single MMO, I tried, the channels were filled with WoW love or hatred.
Strange thing.
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--Syrus--
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Lol that is funny I did dabble in Dungeons and Dragons online for a little while and if you did so much as mention Wow even indirectly it would start a flame fest like you never seen before.
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Its Hub. 10 week ban for anybody who disagrees. -Mithan-
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Foojo
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It's hilarious. You only have to say something as simple as "I like how WoW does <pick anything>", then watch the war begin.
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--Syrus--
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"This mail system works like WoW"
*Explosion*
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Common Sense is a myth..
Its Hub. 10 week ban for anybody who disagrees. -Mithan-
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Pheace
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-----signature-----
4 scor & 7yrs ago: nu nation, all men =! Now civil war But! Not die in vain. Gr8 task b4 us: Gvt of-by4-ppl not perish frm earth! -- Honest_Abe << Euro Player ( ) >>
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TinMan52
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Malachi256 posted:
6 years of other MMOs that are total crap =)
It's sad that Eve online is the only other MMO (at least that I can think of) that has had steady increases in subscribers, but on a several orders of magnitude smaller scale.
WoW's subscriber numbers are global, which wasn't the case with past MMOs. Now, there's nothing wrong with saying that WoW has been very successful ... it's just that the numbers are very misleading unless you understand the individual components that make up the whole.
Also, as much as I've enjoyed WoW, it was a mediocre game when it launched and survived a number of catastrophes through out the 1.x patch cycle. I know that I've received more than a few free days form Blizzard for server downtime.
Over simplified, but WoW survived based on a strong brand and good, but not great gameplay.
Auenwing posted:
Renegade. posted:
6 years of muddling around creating the next e-sport. Just kidding Blizzard.
I just hope they haven 't set the "formula" for MMORPG's.
Agreed!
Too late. They've set the formula for most new games. CoD/MW is a good example of a game outside the MMO genre using a mindless carrot-on-a-stick reward system where time=accomplishment. Farmville is obviously the WoW game design paradigm to the extreme.
Personally, I think that there's a difference between being rewarded to play and playing for the reward. I would consider questing and achievements (generally) as being rewarded to play and PvP/Dailies/Raiding as playing for the reward. The big question is, are you playing because the game play is fun or because getting virtual rewards are fun? If it's the latter, I suggest you re-evaluate your life.
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Auenwing
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Realize it is too late for some games. But there's always hope that somebody, somewhere will stop the trend and come out with something fresh that adds to the genre. Won't somebody think of the women and children!
If the game wasn't intrinsically fun, what is the point of playing? It's rather cheap entertainment (with the added benefit of years and years of stories and complaining.) 
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There are those who play tank classes, and those that tank.
The weapon is only as good as the person wielding it.
Free advice is often worth what you pay for it: nothing.
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Malachi256
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All you have to do is look at the relatively wild success of single-player sandbox games like Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress to realize that there's still a huge untapped market in MMOs... it just turns out that every sandbox MMO to come out, with the one exception of Eve Online (which still manages to occupy a fairly small niche), has sucked horribly in virtually all regards. It's not the concept that is failing, it's the execution.
Nonetheless, people keep flocking to new MMOs (and then abandoning them a month or two later), HOPING that they'll provide more depth than WoW... but they ultimately don't even live up to basic standards of polish that Blizzard has made their mantra.
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MMOin' since UO beta, still waiting for UO 2.0 done right
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-Mithan-
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Eventually, within the next year or two or even three, something will come out that will blow us away.
That is how it works.
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I survived to the end and got nothing out of it, but hey.
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Ardenwolfe
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Unfortunately, it appears like more Blizzard products like Diablo III. But, it's all good to me.
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Exodus_The_Mage
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i will say a good 80% of the players that I have played with since Day 1 have quitted the game for good. But kudos to Blizzard, they are still able to constantly attract new players into the game.
In my current raiding guild, there are 6-7 players that only picked up the game in WOTLK, and a good chunk that only started in TBC.
Personally, I felt that one reason WoW is successful is because it provides sufficient challenge to all kind of players.
For the casual, it is to complete a previous tier armor set from doing just 1-2 heroic per evening.
For the raiders, it is to work with 10/25 other people to gain enough gear to clear through the hard mode encounter
For the super-hardcore, there is always the 11.6K achievement points and 78 feat of strength for them to grind.
The other reason is that you can be moderately successful in WoW without investing too much time in the game.
My previous raiding guild only raid 3 days per week at 3 to 3.5 hours each. And yet they are able to "beat" WOTLK by clearing Heroic LK25 before the 4.0 patch.
My current raiding guild does full clear of ICC25 and RS25 HM in one 4 hours session for many weeks now. Majority of the raiders will just AFK for the rest of week, with a handful of hardcore continue to grind their achievement.
In many other MMO, you will feel that you are dropping out from the "competition" if you do not login and clock at least 8-hours a day of grinding.
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Darcry
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Exodus_The_Mage posted:
i will say a good 80% of the players that I have played with since Day 1 have quitted the game for good. But kudos to Blizzard, they are still able to constantly attract new players into the game.
In my current raiding guild, there are 6-7 players that only picked up the game in WOTLK, and a good chunk that only started in TBC.
Personally, I felt that one reason WoW is successful is because it provides sufficient challenge to all kind of players.
For the casual, it is to complete a previous tier armor set from doing just 1-2 heroic per evening.
For the raiders, it is to work with 10/25 other people to gain enough gear to clear through the hard mode encounter
For the super-hardcore, there is always the 11.6K achievement points and 78 feat of strength for them to grind.
The other reason is that you can be moderately successful in WoW without investing too much time in the game.
My previous raiding guild only raid 3 days per week at 3 to 3.5 hours each. And yet they are able to "beat" WOTLK by clearing Heroic LK25 before the 4.0 patch.
My current raiding guild does full clear of ICC25 and RS25 HM in one 4 hours session for many weeks now. Majority of the raiders will just AFK for the rest of week, with a handful of hardcore continue to grind their achievement.
In many other MMO, you will feel that you are dropping out from the "competition" if you do not login and clock at least 8-hours a day of grinding.
Its more then just the various challenges and raiding though I think. I played DAoC for 3 years after jumping from mmo to mmo trying to find the niche that I liked. I loved DAoC as soon as I had my first taste of thid. DAoC has many of those acheivement grinding raids and a very big after game in the form of a very well thought out world realm vs realm world. Here's the problem with it though, and the reason that most quit and it continues to slowly die. Bugs, horrible, came changing and unbalancing bugs. Almost every game that has come out has dealt with horrible bugs that make most unplayable or just infuriating to do so. Blizzard has been fast in squashing these bugs. Sure there may be a small amount out there, but they are usually far from game breaking. There patches generally are well done and any bugs are fixed quickly. There are bugs in DAoC that have been around since the game began. Not small bugs either, game inbalancing, breaking bugs.
Next is, as mentioned, hardware. WoW plays on most any machine (within reason) so it more appeals to the masses since they don't have to upgrade. I remember when WoW came out and I was still in DAoC, I had just built an all new computer. A very good computer, not very top of the line but pretty close. Yet, I still had lag even in PvE, and the latest expansion (TOA) had been out for a year already. The next expansion, which came out a month after WoW, was even worse and introduced more bugs. The next year, after having the same lag, I tried out WoW. It played glass smooth at highest settings, in DAoC, I had to go med/high and there were some setting no one was able to turn on because of lag. I shouldn't even have to talk about AoC, though its graphics were amazing.
The openness of the world should probably be discussed as well. Unless I'm the minority, I don't like feeling "closed in" our restrained in an mmo. Most of supposed "WoW killers" that have been released have had unneeded world restraint. AoC has small zones (though some of those are bigger now) but its constant zoning. WAR has the stupid teir thing, which makes the zones feel small. Especially since the zones are longer then they are wide, forcing you down a constraining feeling hallways of a zone. On top of that, there really isn't any raiding to do per say unless you do city raids which are pvp based. Since not everyone wants to be forced to do pvp, that brings the subs way down.
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Arcilite_I
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News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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Pheace posted:
I felt like Walker Boh in the Hall of Kings reading that...terrified and laughing maniacally...
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PvPing since 1977
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Pheace
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News Article: WoW at 6 years, 12 million ... why has it endured
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-Mithan- posted:
Eventually, within the next year or two or even three, something will come out that will blow us away.
That is how it works.
I certainly hope so ^^
Sidenote: Damn that 'Epic Mickey' Advertisement annoys the hell out of me >.< It keeps reminding me of Luffy from one Piece and there's no way whatsoever someone as epic as him should be connected to Mickey :E
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4 scor & 7yrs ago: nu nation, all men =! Now civil war But! Not die in vain. Gr8 task b4 us: Gvt of-by4-ppl not perish frm earth! -- Honest_Abe << Euro Player ( ) >>
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The_Korrigan
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Adblock plus does wonders against "epic mickey" ads (and other ads too).
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SWTOR: 50 Jedi Shadow (Tank), 50 Sith Marauder (Annihilation).
LOTRO: Lifetime account, playing very casually.
WoW: Both accounts canceled for now.
GW2: Future Warrior.
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Pheace
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The_Korrigan posted:
Adblock plus does wonders against "epic mickey" ads (and other ads too).
Yeah managed to install it on this public computer. Me is yay! xD
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4 scor & 7yrs ago: nu nation, all men =! Now civil war But! Not die in vain. Gr8 task b4 us: Gvt of-by4-ppl not perish frm earth! -- Honest_Abe << Euro Player ( ) >>
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stealthninjax2
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WoW is just that amazing.
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