The #1 thing that WoW did to make it a success(actually it is what Blizzard did but same thing): Is to make a MMO based off a hugely successful game franchise. This brought 100s of thousands of players into the MMO genre that never played a MMO before. WoW probably had the largest population of any MMO the day it went live because of this.
#2: They made the game very easy to get into. Call it EZMode if you want to (I do) but it made it very easy for people who have played MMOs and for people who have not played MMOs to log in and have a short learning curve time to figure out what to do.
I started playing WoW about a week after the EU launch.. and it was from a friend recommending it and nothing to do with advertising BTW. So no I dont play something because it popular.... I tried it.. loved it... and still play it... the fact its becomes the biggest subscription MMO does not effect my choice to continue playing it or not.
I do however have an IPOD like the masses do.. im sure you dont cus you dont do what the masses do.. what do you have a "Sinjitsu MP3 player" (made up product) just because its not popular and not becuase it a better product than an IPOD?
You do BTW follow masses on these forum posting when ever possible your hatred (lets face it.. its evay and geliously) for WoW and the typical "WoW stole/copied" comments. I am sorry AC2 flopped (never played it) but it was obviously not a good game.
Those are another bunch of very strong arguments ehm.
I don't know nothing about ipods and I don't care so I picked the most popular one yeh. It may not be the best one but surely the best one for a user that knows nothing about ipods. Same goes for WoW and MMORPG. Same applies to 99% of things and products.
I don't enjoy overpopular movies as well, because I used to work as a movie reviewer and I think know a lot about those. So my tastes in movies are very different than what masses do. Same goes for music.
I go along with masses in those areas where i'm not an expert which is 99% cases. Actually the only two areas where I can consider myself a professional (those that I got payed for it) are video games and movies.
I am sorry AC2 flopped (never played it) but it was obviously not a good game.
No, it was the same game as WoW.
If you read some of the old "professional" reviewers (sorry I can't stop laughing everytime when i say that), they dragged it down, because AC2 was too easy. No XP death that sucks, too much solo content! Freaking silly game.
Then 2 years later those aspects were all praised in WoW. That's a fact just read them if you have time. You will get a good laugh.
Makes me wonder, how they copied something that doesnt exist. And those other listed AC2 "similarities", if you would take a little look at them you would realize how stupid they sound.
"Very easy gameplay...copied"...come on!
Not really. AC2 was first one with very easy gameplay. No xp penalty on death. In AC2 when you died your body moved to nearest graveyard and that was it. It was first one that was very solo-friendly. Until AC2 games were very group oriented, AC2 had tons of solo quests and had those very modern quest hubs. Those were all ideas in AC2 that are used in modern games wow including. And it died, so im sure people are NOT playing WoW for only those factors. They are playing it, mainly simply because its Blizzard printed on it and because of the HUGE adv campaign before release.
Advertising does not make millions pay every month to play the game.. it gets people interested but if the game stinks they wont resub no matter how much adversiting is going on... so this point that Wow is only as big as it is due to advertising is a joke.. I tried marmite once cus of an ad on TV.. and I WONT TRY IT AGAIN. Yuck. Look at LOTRO.. loads of advertising (far more than I ever noticed for WoW) and its not pulling in the numbers WoW did (not even close).. so does advertising = huge subs.. absolutly not... does a good game = huge subs... Yes!. Ofc you dont agree because you honesly beleive WoW stinks but thats just 1 opinion there are 8 million other opinions that are the complete opposite to you.
The truth is that Blizard or WoW doesnt need advertising.It promotes it self well enough, despite this you are wrong..
WoW had/has the biggest advertising campaign ever seen for a game, but most of the campaign came from its fans, making it spread lika a virus..
In every gamestore you can pick up a DVD with WoW trial, I even got a DVD un-ordered in my mail with Burning Crusade Demo to try out, this is the most costly advertising ever made for a game, this for a game that already has 8-9 Mil subs..Can you tell me why they did this when you can download a trial everywhere of the net, simply because they can afford such an hillarious campaign..
Try this..Walk into any game store and have a look..How many things in there has the label Blizzard or WoW..
In my town WoW stuff takes up half the game store....There is T-shirts, Boardgames, Cardgames, baseball caps and ofcourse the actual game..All these items work in a way as advertising and at the same time beeing a product of it's own...
Yes, LOTRO online have had this TV add..but thats nothing compared to Blizzard drowning the market with their stupid product..
WoW had it success based on people, people and kids that doesn't know any better, everyone talks about WoW.. And most of these people in your surrounding has never heard of another MMORPG like WoW, even thou 99% of WoW is copied from other previous games..WoW is currently the WoWs't Virus in the world infecting everyone...This is the truth, the only truth..
And yes it's was in good shape when it was released, but so..
Originally posted by Thillian Originally posted by cupertino I am sorry AC2 flopped (never played it) but it was obviously not a good game.
No, it was the same game as WoW. If you read some of the old "professional" reviewers (sorry I can't stop laughing everytime when i say that), they dragged it down, because AC2 was too easy. No XP death that sucks, too much solo content! Freaking silly game. Then 2 years later those aspects were all praised in WoW. That's a fact just read them if you have time. You will get a good laugh.
I agree with this, AC2 should have been successful as it's basically the same game ...But it doesnt have the same name, so it flopped..It also flopped due to fans of AC..And once getting a bad name, well you know..
I am sorry AC2 flopped (never played it) but it was obviously not a good game.
No, it was the same game as WoW.
If you read some of the old "professional" reviewers (sorry I can't stop laughing everytime when i say that), they dragged it down, because AC2 was too easy. No XP death that sucks, too much solo content! Freaking silly game.
Then 2 years later those aspects were all praised in WoW. That's a fact just read them if you have time. You will get a good laugh.
I agree with this, AC2 should have been successful as it's basically the same game ...But it doesnt have the same name, so it flopped..It also flopped due to fans of AC..And once getting a bad name, well you know..
/thark
I did some research because I was curious (This is not the first time I've heard that AC2 was very much like WoW) and actually AC2 got a very respectable 83.2 from the critics. That's opposed to the 91.8 that WoW got. It's actually listed as the 8th best Fantasy MMO for the PC from Gamerankings.com. If you're not familiar with Gamerankings.com, they don't rank games themselves (actually they do sometimes, but that's not where the score comes from) they average all the rankings that all the major reviewers (Gamespot, IGN, Gamespy etc) and a lot of the minor reviewers give it. It's an excellent source of information if you considering buying a game.
So actually the reviewers gave it very respectable scores. I read a few of the reviews and most praised the things you listed as problems, no death penalty, the fact that it was easy and soloable. Where they downgraded it was the fact there were absolutely no non monster NPC's. There were no towns, no gathering places. And there really was no reason to have towns since you could sell anything by just dragging it from your inventory to your gold bag. All crafted items could be crafted right on the spot, there was no need for a forge or anything like that. They don't mention any sort of auction house or a mail system either. No PvP either from what I gather. In fact all the reviews I read said there's really nothing to do except kill mobs over and over. Oh and they also mentioned that while the graphics were stunning, you needed a pretty hefty PC and graphics card to get smooth play. So it sounds like there were some basic differences between WoW and AC2 and it wasn't the things it had in common with WoW that were it's downfall, but rather the things it didn't have in common with WoW.
Sorry about the poor color scheme below, but it was cut and pasted and not much I could do with it.
WoW has by far the best emotes. "Do you ever feel like you're not in charge of your own destiny, like...you're being controlled by an invisible hand?" ...or for all the jokes go /silly
WoW's emote system is primitive compared to SWGs.
Too bad everything else about WoW is superior...like relatively bug free game play and polish.
CH, Jedi, Commando, Smuggler, BH, Scout, Doctor, Chef, BE...yeah, lots of SWG time invested.
It's way more simple then all this speculation. It's like the line "If you build it, they will come." They built a really well polished and fun game.
It caters to casual and hardcore, PVE and PVP. It's style is appealing to many and it runs on almost every machine ever made. They constantly update the way classes work to mix it up. They constantly release updates for new content to keep it somewhat fresh. They started to lose players because the end game was too hard core so they made an alternative with PVP/Arena gear and 10 mans. They are constantly molding to what is needed to pull in players. They have tons of money. They have great marketing. They had huge hype and they delivered.
I find it quite funny how most people who hate WoW are the ones who dedicated massive portions of their life to it. You'll see people who say "I have 3 level 70's! I think I'm qualified to tell you whether it's ok or not!". If WoW's user base wasn't impressive enough, it's the massive amount of irony it bleeds day in day out.
People hate WoW, not because it's a crap game...it's actually pretty damn good! They hate it because it came to an end.
We all remember those magical moments, the first time reaching level 60. It felt pretty damn good didn't it! All those raids, those uber items...you felt like you accomplished something. Yet in the cold reality you gained nothing while life was merely passing you by.
Instead of people facing the harsh reality 'It was fun while it lasted', they bash a game that did nothing but stimulate and cater for their needs. The games only fault is that it ran out of steam, not because it's a bad game, but because all has been given.
I wish people could simply look back at the times they enjoyed and cherish them, rather than get upset at loosing their regular fix. But that says a lot about the user base doesn't it, which many people see as the problem in the first place...lol the irony.
To wank, or not to wank. The ultimate MMO sacrifice.
One thing WoW did right was they made a game about Warcraft... But yet there is no War in it. A name that best describes WoW is World of Warcrap. Because War in WoW is Crap!!!
Not really. AC2 was first one with very easy gameplay. No xp penalty on death.
AC2 had a death penalty with it's vitae system.
Oh and they also mentioned that while the graphics were stunning, you needed a pretty hefty PC and graphics card to get smooth play.
It needed about the same specs as WoW does now. The problem was it being back then when mmo specs previous to that were much lower- see EQ, DAoC and AC system requirements.
er things WoW has done right to make it a success.
1) Allowed more casual gaming 2) Went very solo emphasized(unfortunately) 3) Copied some of the best ideas from the other mmos 4) Managed their game right(*this is quite key and I'll come back to this) 5) Strong marketing 6) Stretched the appeal so that kids and older were enticed alike. (you could argue that its graphic style is meant to appeal the young but the old are enticed grown up with the Blizzard name and the other games) 7) Strong brandname and gameplay brand -everyone knows what to expect from Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft in terms of some of it's gameplay 8) Gamecards-so people who didn't have access to credit cards could pay 9) TIMING, at a time when more and more people taking up broadband, when older mmos were dieing, when the computer specs were in the reachability of most computer owners.
*Managed their game right. -When they nerf, they don't nerf as they know it annoys people so they do it very subtly and add maybe a perk in the process. -The game works right.(AC2 alienated many of it's subscribers when its chat system didn't work for months- that generally isn't a very good idea) -And when they did have problems like downtimes- they compensated players with free days.
Comments
The #1 thing that WoW did to make it a success(actually it is what Blizzard did but same thing): Is to make a MMO based off a hugely successful game franchise. This brought 100s of thousands of players into the MMO genre that never played a MMO before. WoW probably had the largest population of any MMO the day it went live because of this.
#2: They made the game very easy to get into. Call it EZMode if you want to (I do) but it made it very easy for people who have played MMOs and for people who have not played MMOs to log in and have a short learning curve time to figure out what to do.
#3: The Hunter.
I don't know nothing about ipods and I don't care so I picked the most popular one yeh. It may not be the best one but surely the best one for a user that knows nothing about ipods. Same goes for WoW and MMORPG. Same applies to 99% of things and products.
I don't enjoy overpopular movies as well, because I used to work as a movie reviewer and I think know a lot about those. So my tastes in movies are very different than what masses do. Same goes for music.
I go along with masses in those areas where i'm not an expert which is 99% cases. Actually the only two areas where I can consider myself a professional (those that I got payed for it) are video games and movies.
REALITY CHECK
If you read some of the old "professional" reviewers (sorry I can't stop laughing everytime when i say that), they dragged it down, because AC2 was too easy. No XP death that sucks, too much solo content! Freaking silly game.
Then 2 years later those aspects were all praised in WoW. That's a fact just read them if you have time. You will get a good laugh.
REALITY CHECK
The truth is that Blizard or WoW doesnt need advertising.It promotes it self well enough, despite this you are wrong..
WoW had/has the biggest advertising campaign ever seen for a game, but most of the campaign came from its fans, making it spread lika a virus..
In every gamestore you can pick up a DVD with WoW trial, I even got a DVD un-ordered in my mail with Burning Crusade Demo to try out, this is the most costly advertising ever made for a game, this for a game that already has 8-9 Mil subs..Can you tell me why they did this when you can download a trial everywhere of the net, simply because they can afford such an hillarious campaign..
Try this..Walk into any game store and have a look..How many things in there has the label Blizzard or WoW..
In my town WoW stuff takes up half the game store....There is T-shirts, Boardgames, Cardgames, baseball caps and ofcourse the actual game..All these items work in a way as advertising and at the same time beeing a product of it's own...
Yes, LOTRO online have had this TV add..but thats nothing compared to Blizzard drowning the market with their stupid product..
WoW had it success based on people, people and kids that doesn't know any better, everyone talks about WoW..
And most of these people in your surrounding has never heard of another MMORPG like WoW, even thou 99% of WoW is copied from other previous games..WoW is currently the WoWs't Virus in the world infecting everyone...This is the truth, the only truth..
And yes it's was in good shape when it was released, but so..
/JUnker
If you read some of the old "professional" reviewers (sorry I can't stop laughing everytime when i say that), they dragged it down, because AC2 was too easy. No XP death that sucks, too much solo content! Freaking silly game.
Then 2 years later those aspects were all praised in WoW. That's a fact just read them if you have time. You will get a good laugh.
I agree with this, AC2 should have been successful as it's basically the same game ...But it doesnt have the same name, so it flopped..It also flopped due to fans of AC..And once getting a bad name, well you know..
/thark
If you read some of the old "professional" reviewers (sorry I can't stop laughing everytime when i say that), they dragged it down, because AC2 was too easy. No XP death that sucks, too much solo content! Freaking silly game.
Then 2 years later those aspects were all praised in WoW. That's a fact just read them if you have time. You will get a good laugh.
I agree with this, AC2 should have been successful as it's basically the same game ...But it doesnt have the same name, so it flopped..It also flopped due to fans of AC..And once getting a bad name, well you know..
/thark
I did some research because I was curious (This is not the first time I've heard that AC2 was very much like WoW) and actually AC2 got a very respectable 83.2 from the critics. That's opposed to the 91.8 that WoW got. It's actually listed as the 8th best Fantasy MMO for the PC from Gamerankings.com. If you're not familiar with Gamerankings.com, they don't rank games themselves (actually they do sometimes, but that's not where the score comes from) they average all the rankings that all the major reviewers (Gamespot, IGN, Gamespy etc) and a lot of the minor reviewers give it. It's an excellent source of information if you considering buying a game.
So actually the reviewers gave it very respectable scores. I read a few of the reviews and most praised the things you listed as problems, no death penalty, the fact that it was easy and soloable. Where they downgraded it was the fact there were absolutely no non monster NPC's. There were no towns, no gathering places. And there really was no reason to have towns since you could sell anything by just dragging it from your inventory to your gold bag. All crafted items could be crafted right on the spot, there was no need for a forge or anything like that. They don't mention any sort of auction house or a mail system either. No PvP either from what I gather. In fact all the reviews I read said there's really nothing to do except kill mobs over and over. Oh and they also mentioned that while the graphics were stunning, you needed a pretty hefty PC and graphics card to get smooth play. So it sounds like there were some basic differences between WoW and AC2 and it wasn't the things it had in common with WoW that were it's downfall, but rather the things it didn't have in common with WoW.
Sorry about the poor color scheme below, but it was cut and pasted and not much I could do with it.
Vote
Score
WoW has by far the best emotes.
"Do you ever feel like you're not in charge of your own destiny, like...you're being controlled by an invisible hand?"
...or for all the jokes go /silly
WoW's emote system is primitive compared to SWGs.
Too bad everything else about WoW is superior...like relatively bug free game play and polish.
CH, Jedi, Commando, Smuggler, BH, Scout, Doctor, Chef, BE...yeah, lots of SWG time invested.
Once a denizen of Ahazi
It's way more simple then all this speculation. It's like the line "If you build it, they will come." They built a really well polished and fun game.
It caters to casual and hardcore, PVE and PVP. It's style is appealing to many and it runs on almost every machine ever made. They constantly update the way classes work to mix it up. They constantly release updates for new content to keep it somewhat fresh. They started to lose players because the end game was too hard core so they made an alternative with PVP/Arena gear and 10 mans. They are constantly molding to what is needed to pull in players. They have tons of money. They have great marketing. They had huge hype and they delivered.
I find it quite funny how most people who hate WoW are the ones who dedicated massive portions of their life to it. You'll see people who say "I have 3 level 70's! I think I'm qualified to tell you whether it's ok or not!". If WoW's user base wasn't impressive enough, it's the massive amount of irony it bleeds day in day out.
People hate WoW, not because it's a crap game...it's actually pretty damn good! They hate it because it came to an end.
We all remember those magical moments, the first time reaching level 60. It felt pretty damn good didn't it! All those raids, those uber items...you felt like you accomplished something. Yet in the cold reality you gained nothing while life was merely passing you by.
Instead of people facing the harsh reality 'It was fun while it lasted', they bash a game that did nothing but stimulate and cater for their needs. The games only fault is that it ran out of steam, not because it's a bad game, but because all has been given.
I wish people could simply look back at the times they enjoyed and cherish them, rather than get upset at loosing their regular fix. But that says a lot about the user base doesn't it, which many people see as the problem in the first place...lol the irony.
To wank, or not to wank. The ultimate MMO sacrifice.
One thing WoW did right was they made a game about Warcraft... But yet there is no War in it. A name that best describes WoW is World of Warcrap. Because War in WoW is Crap!!!
AC2 had a death penalty with it's vitae system.
It needed about the same specs as WoW does now. The problem was it being back then when mmo specs previous to that were much lower- see EQ, DAoC and AC system requirements.
er things WoW has done right to make it a success.
1) Allowed more casual gaming
2) Went very solo emphasized(unfortunately)
3) Copied some of the best ideas from the other mmos
4) Managed their game right(*this is quite key and I'll come back to this)
5) Strong marketing
6) Stretched the appeal so that kids and older were enticed alike.
(you could argue that its graphic style is meant to appeal the young but the old are enticed grown up with the Blizzard name and the other games)
7) Strong brandname and gameplay brand
-everyone knows what to expect from Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft in terms of some of it's gameplay
8) Gamecards-so people who didn't have access to credit cards could pay
9) TIMING, at a time when more and more people taking up broadband, when older mmos were dieing, when the computer specs were in the reachability of most computer owners.
*Managed their game right.
-When they nerf, they don't nerf as they know it annoys people so they do it very subtly and add maybe a perk in the process.
-The game works right.(AC2 alienated many of it's subscribers when its chat system didn't work for months- that generally isn't a very good idea)
-And when they did have problems like downtimes- they compensated players with free days.