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Beating WoW?
Andurin
Member UncommonPosts: 125
Why do I always see posts about "the next game that can beat WoW'? Obviously companies want to make money on the MMORPG's that they release but there objective isn't to defeat WoW. What do you guys want to happen, you want the WoW servers to be brought down or something? Think about how many subscribers EQ1 had and that game is still up and running. Wow has 9 million so the game isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
I'll also mention this. I see posts all the time about how WoW sucks, the graphics are horrible etc. Why can't you guys just say you don't like the game? Would releive a lot of the stupid bickering that goes on between different player bases on which game is better. No game is necessarily better than the other it's just the tastes of the person that is playing.
I haven't played WoW in a long time and I haven't been able to find another game that I can get into since WoW but I don't go around saying WoW is the best game ever.
I'm sure all this has been said before but honestly it gets pretty annoying when you goto any given MMORPG site and see nothing but little bastard kids hating on everything.
Comments
Saying WoW sucks is our way to try and make the potential (indie?) developers who come to these forums understand they need to make something very different... for us...
... who think WoW is garbage.*
Cheers
* sorry, couldn't help it
---
Waiting for: GW2
*thumbs up*: GW, Eve(, WoW)
*thumbs down*: MO, GA, FE
I prefer my line of thought. WoW is awesome...but after 3 years I really am quite sick of its gameplay and its in the best interests of ANY company trying to break into this genre to do something different. Most of us have already been through this sort of game 3 times or more (EQ, WoW, ect...). We're done with it. Offer me something new, or Blizzard will get my money again on PRINCIPLE.
I can understand that but thats not what I'm referring to. Wanting something different is good but I'm talking about the blatant "WoW sucks" threads. Thats not going to make game companies make something different.
There are new games comming out that are different than the usual cookie cutter model like darkfall but like I said I'm talking about the blatant hate for world of warcraft.
I would offer a couple of potential reasons:
1) Constructive criticism. Some threads reflect the "wow beater" in anticipation of what franchise will be the next giant killer amongst the plethora of smaller offerings that seem to be legion. WOW broke the mould for this genre and excited both a dormant fan base and the industry in general as to what can be achieved. Many gamers are hungry to see, and be part of, what comes next to take this genre to the next level.
2) Tribal Nature. Gaming is like sport. Support for your local team, or in this case - game, becomes a badge of honour. When you invest so much of your personal time, enthusiasm and energy into a MMO it becomes part of your gaming identity. If you happen to feel this passionatly about a game other than WOW, the tribal aspect is seen by mocking or belittling the opposition.
3) Anti-globalisation. Some gamers reflect a view that the domineering aspect of WOW, especially as it is a game that is not popular for pushing graphical boundries or for breaking too far from the fantasy traditions, that this all encompassing beast is harmful for the industry and instead motivates other developers to copy its model rather than encourage innovation and risk taking.
4) Pillocks. These are typical mockers who are either awful at expressing their posts in a literate and constructive manner or who flame cos it makes them feel good.
Options 1,2 and 3 are equally valid as views and opinions - whose to say which is right. option 4 deserves your contempt until mummy tells em to turn the light off and go to sleep.
To err is human....to play is divine
People want a "WoW-beater" because they're afraid of devoting a considerable chunk of their life to a game that might die. There's an element of denial in it, since all MMOs will eventually die (WoW included).
I'm currently playing LOTRO; it's not the biggest MMO in the world, but it's fun, fairly well established and seems to have enough players to maintain it for a good long while 'til something new comes along and grabs my interest.
cant beat wow, sorry
Honestly, the next WoW-killer won't be a WoW-killer at all. At least, not in the typical sense. I predict the next "WoW-killer" will be something like Diablo online; another Blizzard-developed game. If any game could have killed WoW, it would have been Dungeons and Dragons Online. That failed, though.
Why do I think D&D Online? Because Dungeons and Dragons has a rich history of both table-top tradition and software gaming tradition. Dungeons and Dragons games were some of the first PC-based RPG games to hit the market. Part of the reason why WoW is so successful is because it has a rich storyline with crossover characters from previous games and an in-depth backstory. Every Warcraft game has always built upon, and developed upon, the past games. All their games have also remained consistent in their styling, presentation and "lore". They've developed a consistent style that has been carrying over through the years. Dungeons and Dragons has that kind of attraction, as well, but has had poor execution with its online component. Blizzard hasn't had the same problem.
Lord of the Rings Online *could* be a potential WoW killer, but there's only so much content you can develop there because its based on a DEFINITIVE trilogy of books. Turbine has to satisfy a hardcore group of Tolkein-ites while also delivering fresh content that will appeal to non-Tolkein-ites who may have never even read the books. Lets not mention that there IS a population of people who have never read LoTR at all. Including me!
However, I HAVE played Warcraft, Warcraft 2, Warcraft 3, Diablo 1, Diablo 2 and Starcraft, sooo... yea. Why have I played those games? Cuz I'm a gamer, that's why. Why is that important? I'll tell you why!
I transitioned from playing a single-person experience based on the Warcraft world by playing WC, WC2 and WC3 to an online persistent world with all those characters I remember from my single person experience. And I can INTERACT with them! Talking to Thrall in-game is like talking to Abraham Lincoln ... uuhh... if Abraham Lincoln was a bunch of pixels and a few one-liners. At least he's not a statue? Anyway, hopefully you get my point.
The next Wow-killer won't come anytime soon. The only way for a developer to produce a game that can kill WoW is to create a good story. Otherwise, no one's going to feel attached to their virtual counterparts which means no one will care about their boring toons which means no one will PLAY.
Those are my thoughts, anywho.
Oh my hell, a semi intelligent discussion fairly absent and void of flames! I am impressed (?) or something.
Anyway, I think most "older" gamers have become somewhat jaded with gaming in general. It is human nature to look for something bigger and better. As humans we are in a constant pursuit of accomplishment. Whether our personal accomplishments and achievements be "phat lewts" or exploring new places. There comes a time in every game where you have "Been there and done that" so we move on. We sub to new games, and in time either make short work of their content, or find it to be lacking for something we wish to "achieve" anything in. Out of boredom, or neccesity we return to that which we are familiar with... or maybe the old games we have played have had enough updates that we go back to them long enough to update our bragging lists. Whatever our personal reasons, we find ourselves in a perpetual downward spiral, due to lack of fresh content or ideas. I personally do not wish to see WoW fail. I enjoyed the game when I played it. I simply can not justify investing more money into it considering it will only take me a week or two to "Beat" its new additions... with every toon/alt I have. If more games had gone the way of games like LOTRO and given some lifetime Subs, I may have even found myself returning to WoW more frequently, and even promoting it more to people. I am smart enough to see it for the value it DOES have... to someone other than myself. And there are DAYS (Or maybe only hours) that I find myself chatting with friends and conversation makes me wish to check out something they are talking about. Again, I can not justify paying a monthly fee for something I am only interested in playing for that day however, knowing that is all I would get out of it.
I think it is positions like that, I believe, that make people long for a "WoW killer." Not so much because they want to see WoW dead, but because it is already a dead horse, and people long for beef... or at least fresh meat.
Although I wouldn't call myself an "older" gamer (I'm only 24), I would call myself an experienced gamer which meeaaannss.... I agree that more experienced gamers are definitely a lot more jaded.
Just take a look at all of the reviews on IGN. They don't give ANYTHING a score of 8+ unless its backed by one of the more "seasoned" game developers (with a rare exception here and there). Why? Because they're either 1) "Older/more experienced" gamers and jaded 2) They get paid off to give games like Halo 3 a good review (probably very true) 3) They're writers, not gamers, and make gross assumptions in order to sound "knowledgeable" when they've only had minimal gaming experience. Why is this important?
IGN is a huge entity in the gaming world. The gaming world, in general, is now a multi-billion dollar affair. We're not talking about little Timmy's mommy who bought him a brand new Famicon/NES because its considered the same thing as a GI Joe. We're talking about 20-something year olds and professionals who take gaming seriously and who spend serious money. Oh ya, we still have the fucktards like the narbs in WoW who still have mommy paying their subscription every month. But, ya. Touche, I guess.
Never the less, its not those idiot narbs who are making the next "Wow-killer". Its gunna be the jaded 20-somethings. And its the jaded 20-somethings that are driving the market right now. What do jaded 20-somethings like? The games from the 80's and 90's, more than likely. If you take a look at what was big then you're going to find its big NOW. Just like the Sims has a million games flooding the market all because of SIMCITY ON THE MACINTOSH.
Who's the next WoW-killer? Why, Blizzard is the next WoW-killer! And if not Blizzard, then maybe the ultimate MMORPG to kill them all:
FALLOUT ONLINE.
If Fallout was to go online in an MMORPG, WoW would be in trouble. Its the nuclear bomb waiting to drop. Companies are already scrambling and trying to combine the FPS experience with the roleplay experience to create the ultimate action MMORPG. PlanetSide failed. Will Huxley succeed? Will the new Fallout 3 game restore the cult classic status of Fallout 2 and blast the franchise head-first out of the smoking barrel of a cannon set to discharge a whopping load? Who knows?!?! BUT.... I can wager this:
The reason why Huxley is being made is to reach the jaded 20-somethings that want something fresh, who also play quite a few FPS games it turns out. Why? Because we're competitive bastards. WoW has made a cashcow out of exploiting that competitive nature, too. Don't get things confused. WoW is extremely competitive by nature and that has gone a LONG way to drive it forward and make it successful. And I'm not talking about just the PvP elements, either. PvE is JUST as competitive between rival guilds constantly one-upping one another for that spot of superiority, for that phatty lewtz and those l33t drops.
So, the next time I go to EB games I hope I see FALLOUT ONLINE sitting on the shelf, because I'd pick it up in 2 seconds flat.
Mmmm, fallout online. I have been hoping for something similar since the days of UO and EQ. "Back in the day" I was playing the original Ultima series, and the fallout series, and those that followed in their ilk. I can almost promise that if Fallout made an online game even remotely with the quality their older titles had, I would be the first in line to pick it up. It is such a hope that had games like Fallen Earth garner some of my attention.
It is as you say largely, and another point I left out of my previous post due to TRYING to not ramble on... as much as the kids play the games now, a majority of the multi billion dollar gaming community are the 20+ working professionals who grew up on the games of the 80's and 90's. What games and movies are popular right now? Lord of the Rings, Transformers, <Insert name of OLD comic book super hero>, and so on. Blizzard made a killing in the market because they had a well established market already in place. A name that people would relate to. Games like Everquest did not, and they paved the way. SWG made an attempt to capitalize, but without turning this into an anti-SoE thread it failed. WoW did it right. Now people are latching onto other popular IP's that have somewhat of a following and trying to turn the same dime that blizzard did. Be it the two "big contenders" Warhammer and AoC, or the disney production Pirates of the Carribean (Not to be confused with Pirates of the Burning Sea) Sadly, the trend continues with people... well, Devs, I dare not call some of them "People", bastardize popular intellectual properties, be it from my childhood, or the present day fad and try to turn a buck. Such is the way of big business. I wish some of them would go back to business school tho and leave my "second childhood" alone.
ageofconan.com and warhammeronline.com have about same amount of traffic as worldofwarcraft.com had back when wow was new...
alexa.com traffic report
To me its not about "beating' WoW..its about having a viable alternative. Currently there is no MMORPG of WoW's calibre. I expect WAR and AoC will do well when they are released, they will take some of the 'burnt out on WoW' crowd. But WoW itself will be around for a long time
Torrential
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
I enjoyed reading everyones responses. I thought I might get a load of the wall stupid remarks but was pleasntly surprised with all the well thought out posts!
Then there are those who mainly wish for WoW's downfall. Those are the people who simply can't accept that someone else - who are intelligent, mature and experienced with MMOGs - can possibly find enjoyment somewhere they themselves are unable to. ;-)
people falsely predicted EQ killers for 4 years until WOW
nothing new
people like seeing the reigning champ get dethroned
EQ2 fan sites
Maybe ppl are tired of wow and dont want to be the only ones quitting. Ppl like conformity.
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