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What will it take to kill WoW?
jingfoxx
Member Posts: 54
We've all heard the term WoW Killer. It's a very common term in the world of MMO's and it's heard everytime a major game is being built. "Oh, this'll be the one, this'll be the WoW Killer" It's said about a lot of games.
And all this talk about killing WoW got me thinking.
I see threads about whether or not people think it's possible, or which games they think will do it, but I never see any threads talking about what people think it would take for a game to take down an MMO heavyweight such as World of Warcraft.
So that is the question I would like to pose to you. If a game were to take down World of Warcraft, and be the perpetual WoW Killer, what would it need? The criteria is endless. Genre? Gameplay? Character Creation? Anything.... What would a game need to be a WoW Killer?
And if you don't think that such a game can be made, and that it is truly impossible to kill WoW, please tell us why you think that is. What characteristics of World of Warcraft make it un-killable?
My Answer:
I'm not sure whether or not it is possible to kill World of Warcraft and I won't know until it is done, but I do have a few ideas about any potential game that could.
First, I would say that any game that is going to kill World of Warcraft has to be a Fantasy game. I don't believe that any Sci-Fi, Superhero, Historical, or Sports game could kill WoW, particularly because such a game would have to appeal to the fanbase of WoW.
Such a game would have to appeal to all of WoW's fanbase, and the fanbase must enjoy Fantasy games, because it's playing one.
Secondly, the story has to be as good. The story for World of Warcraft is amazing. The history that is within the world of Azeroth is amazing. We know about the Night Elves losing their immortality and a few Druids trying to regain it, blasphemously.
We know about the Lich King and Illidan Stormrage. The Scourge, the Horde, the Alliance. All of the important characters have a story that we can come to know and even be apart of in several of WoW's quests.
Any game that is going to perpetually kill WoW will have to monopolize on this trait that WoW holds. They will have to give the world life, which WoW has successfully been able to do.
Lastly. From my personal experience playing WoW, the main reason that I stuck with the game was because I had friends who played it along with me. That's something that I've never had playing other MMO's. From LOTRO to City of Heroes, Star Trek Online to Dungeons & Dragons Online, no game has supplied me with that other than WoW.
Being me, I personally have a hard time making friends, especially when I can't see them face-to-face. World of Warcraft holds that for me.
The game will have to be able to "steal" WoW's fanbase and make it easier for people to interact. The system used in APB: All Point's Bulletin comes to mind where people could chat through the game. Having a different take on guilds and friendship, grouping up may help.
I personally don't know if it's possible, but we'll never know until it happens.
Ignorance may be Bliss, but Knowledge is Power
Comments
/1 Barrens
Chuck norris will have to fight his clone in order for the universe to explode. Thats the only true way that World of Warcraft will die.
Stop making threads like this it will die.
Really.. stop...
UUGGHH! *facepalm* another one of these threads again, nothing will be a WOW killer ever. The amount of advertising they have done and how easy the game is to learn ensures it will remain the top dog for years to come.
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You've created the one-millionth thread on WoW-killing speculation. I'm sure this one will be unique!
Meh, I have random musings on the toilet too. Most of the time I refrain from posting them...err...
I think you are creating a false dichotomy. Why must something die to become less important?
Drop the next-gen marketing and people will argue if the game itself has merit.
First, congratulations. All Five people who posted were able to complain, but only one out of five was able to complain and answer the question. Thank you for being able to multi-task, DevilXaphan.
And to Terroni, I only use the word kill because that is what everyone assumes and really where the word WoW Killer derives. The term assumes only that it will make WoW obsolete, not that it will surpass it in fame or prosperity, although that would be a logical assumption. But if we lived in a logical world with logical people.... well, let's not get off subject.
I accept the possibility that WoW could just become less popular and still survive, like many games do. As I said in my post, I'm not even sure if it is possible. From my experience with the game, I would say no, but to make a definite answer would be ridiculous. Thank you for bringing up the matter.
So far, I've done three seperate threads, one here in The Pub at MMORPG.COM (being the one I'm posting to now), one in the APB Game Forum (talking about an incedent at my local Wal-Mart with copies of the game being sold, even after announcement of the closing of the company), and one in the Off-Topic Discussion Forum (about the American Market for Anime being pointed towards children, causing Anime, even with adult-esque themes, to be edited down to fit the dumbed down American system of entertainment).
With all three, I have only tried to start an intelligent discussion or debate.
Ignorance may be Bliss, but Knowledge is Power
WoW won't be "dead" anytime soon. However, WoW's population will slowly diminish over time just like all MMOs do. No single game is going to steal more than half of WoW's subscribers.
There will always be hardcore fans that will stick with it forever. Ultima online isn't dead yet...neither is Everquest or Asheron's Call.
Even though I'm very tired of that game, I don't want it to die nor do I think anything will "kill" it.
It's a very well established game and will maintain fans even when it's past it's hay day.
What I do hope is that a game comes out that does as well as wow did and actually provides competition.
Only 1 thing will kill wow, and thats Blizzard themselves.
Not anytime soon
People get alittle upset when you bring up a topic thats been debated over and over on this site for many, many years. And it has been, since i became a member. So, my take on the topic. May it be the last time i state it. In its shortest form,
The idea that a game will come out and kill WoW is a childish one at best. What game did WoW kill? None. No service was forced to shut down because of WoW. EQ is still going today and has plenty of subscribers. People say that there will be one, or its only a matter of time. I still shake my head. Though i understand there are alot of kids around here.
Can a game come out and drop the number of subscribers that WoW has, Yes. But i say that they wont drop under 15 servers for a looong time to come. But this will happen. Eventually. Like it happened in EQ.
So to the real question, what will it take to deflate WoW's sub numbers and dethrone the king? A good game. Polished, fun, plenty of lore and a pvp system thats more than decent. An endgame that people enjoy and is accessable. Everyone here is sure its going to be next gen. Id rather wait and see what game does it. Though i dont expect that game to be released anytime in the next few years.
I agree, it would probably have to be a fantasy setting. But only say probably because who knows. In reality any background could be successful if they get the elements correct.
To end, i know the term WoW killer and the idea is so appealing to people who for some reason have come to hate wow. But the logic behind that line of thinking is something ive never understood. I say childish because its use has become more like asking, What will it take to kill Santa Clause and save christmas? Than seriously asking a real question about the MMORPG landscape. I know, my analogys sucks.. eheh!
No offenses to the OP, if you have a question you should ask it. Alot of people would say search first though. You can find tons of opinions on the topic in other threads. And if im right about this one, you'll find plenty here soon enough.
Time and lots of it.
He who keeps his cool best wins.
This, and bad patches. Well... no that won't kill WoW. People wouldn't know any better, they can't tell a good patch from bad in WoW, because they know no world outside WoW.
I really don't care about deflating WoW's subscribers. But I do want to see at least one game that is as successful - or more, perhaps - as World of Warcraft in each of the MMO's genres: Superhero, Historical, Sci-Fi (especially Sci-Fi).
I wouldn't want to see WoW "killed" or even lose it's fanbase and drop down under the radar into living the rest of it's existence as a seond rate game, or worse. I have a lot of good friends who enjoy World of Warcraft and I personally enjoy the game. It will always hold a special place as the first MMO I played.
Ignorance may be Bliss, but Knowledge is Power
I doubt anything will kill it, to me killing wow means getting more subscribers, its just not going to happen I don't think. There are ltos of better mmo's than wow out there most likely, but none even come close to 3-6% of wow's sub numbers.
For one: it'd have to not be a fantasy mmorpg, WAY to many out there, needs to be sci-fi or steampunk, just something diffrent from the old fashioned swords and sorcery crap thats spewed out every other month in the mmorpg world.
WoW focused more on gameplay than graphics, Dev's take note here: your game can be pretty as a diamond but can still suck if the gameplay is lacking (which is the case with alot of mmo's). WoW has done something right. No matter all the flaws the game has its still growing.
Also if your designing a wow killer, the second you say "its simmlar to wow" you have already lost, people do not want yet another wow clone, they want something that feels fresh, which is remarkably hard to do.
"An MMORPG could be completely diffirent from WoW. Just look at games like Dofus, Wizard101 or EVE. But as it is, most of the Western MMOs are trying to succeed by out-WoWing WoW. It's like an army of 10 sports games made about same sports, and barely none about other sports. WoW clone is an accurate description of those games, it manages to convey much information with only two words."
-Poster on mmorpg.com
Rift: World of Warcraft clone #9321 Nothing special to see here move along.
Kill the internets. That's the only way.
An honest review of SW:TOR 6/10 (Danny Wojcicki)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7HJH0IH3dc
EQ1 isn't dead.
WOW will probably be EQ1 in 10 more years. Not dead. Not killed. But no longer top dog as people shift to other games.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
Wow could be killed. But, it would take an object from outerspace crashing into Earth and killing everything on the planet including that mmo. No other way possible.
Blizzard will continue to kill off the WoW that some love, but in doing so will continue to build the WoW that new players will love. The game is continuing to evolve more and more into a game lobby. Cata introduces more game lobby features - while other features were dropped.
So the WoW you know may have died, may be dying, or the like - but WoW itself will continue on until Blizzard goobers... either moving too slow or too quick.
I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?
Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%
I do not like WoW, which isn't hate, just the truth.
I hope WoW lives on, and stays popular, and people that make newer games will make games that are different.
I dislike the direction WoW pushed general MMORPGs, which was a continuation of where things were being pushed...I want a good rollback game, that will not appeal to the core WoW fan, so I can be happy, and people that love WoW can stay happy too...
Time kills everything, they are making so much money, they can reskin WoW comepletely and make it a new game within itself....If they decide to make WoW2, they will in effect probably kill WoW1 for the most part and start their demise a little early....But as long as they just retool WoW, they have the cash to keep it going for a long time.
I honestly don't believe that it's going to be another game that kills WoW. I think only Blizzard (Activision) has the power to do that. As long as they continue to do right by their playerbase they shouldn't have a problem.
But if they keep screwing around with different payment models (too much focus on cash shop items, for example), or prove unable to keep their players' account information secure (too many accounts being hacked by goldspammers), or prove that they've lost touch with reality (forcing players to use their real names when posting on public forums), then they'll end up turning a lot of people away. And they'll have nobody to blame but themselves.
The future of WoW can't really be predicted, because there are too many unknown variables. To answer the OP's question, "What will it take to kill WoW?":
1. Blizzard (Activision) will have to screw up really badly. (see above examples)
2. Another game developer will have to step up and exhibit the same level of professionalism that Blizzard has. (prior to the aforementioned hypothetical screw up)
Insofar as what genre the "WoW-killer" will be (i.e. fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, etc.) it will probably be fantasy. Fantasy based MMOs like WoW have more subscribers than all other MMO genres combined. (Hell, WoW has more subscribers than all other MMO genres combined.)
I wish the people who made these WoW killer posts ended up getting their fingers "killed". Or their pet goldfish or something.
I do not have a need to kill WoW. I just want a sandbox to play in that is different from WoW. There are enough people out there like me that I think such a game could survive and prosper.
Please someone...develop a clever and complex (maybe Sci Fi) game and I will come.
Kat
-Kat
AoC currently, but have played most others at some time.
Vanguard is still alive. What does that tell you
The question you need to ask is:
Why would anyone want to kill WoW?
If everyone stopped playing WoW tomorrow, would anything improve? Would gaming suddenly get better? Would it change anything at all? The answer is No.
WoW was the right game, for the right time, in the right place. There is no 'killing' it, only beating it.... and that has already happened. Farmville was the WoW killer. It took gaming to the next level (50M from 11M). It brought in a whole new crowd to gaming, and showed that gaming had evolved. This is the exact same thing that WoW did, years before.
So, the question is, if WoW has already been topped (and heartily). Who is going to top FarmVille?