WoW killer? Blizzard management. But perhaps not as one might be thinking.
I think the transition process to a WoW 2.0 is already started. Speed runs of randoms over and over is now the fastest progression in the game. Once at cap, it's heroics then raids.
Given that Blizzard could nerf dungeon runs as the primary leveling choice, and has not, I can only assume that this as the optimal form of leveling is intentional.
Grind for XP is gone. Questing for XP is nearly gone*. WoW 2.0 is (or will be) a lobby based dungeon grinder.
disclaimed: gross generalizations are never absolutely true. Just my opinions based on what I've seen in game.
WoW was streamlined into one big framework for running instanced dungeons and battlegrounds. Alot of people play WoW only to do that and only because of that.
Sadly almost whole mmorpg genre followed.
It will backfire badly imo. Only then genre will see a change.
"WoW Killer" is simpely a label people attach to an upcoming game in a delusional thought that X game will surpass WoW in success who hate WoW or Blizz plain and simple.
Time. As time progresses there are more and more reasons to move on. No one game is going to do it, but as long as developers continue to march forward and work an creating new ideas, there will be a steady progression of people leaving the game. GW2 is going to change a lot of perspectives alongside other games like TERA, TSW, and F2P games. The market is flooding with options and people will find more and more virtual places they prefer to frequent.
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
Ghostcrawler's repetitive, lackluster, boring, soul-crushing, depressing, cut-and-paste, uninventive, mindless, spiritless, yawn-fest of a design is the real WoW killer. These days it's not so much jumping to a better game as it is realizing you're hanging with an old, dried-up whore who only says the same 5 things over and over.
The only question to me is whether WoW's dynesty will outlive the genre. No D&D killer ever emerged in the pencil and paper world - the entire genre eventually faded into the background first. Will the MMO industry eventually fade into the background as well, even as a plethora of niche games reach market?
Until the gaming industry gets it through their thick skulls that they can't keep giving us more than the same, there will be no wow killer. Next gen is NOT "more of the same with different graphics".
Sorry if I am disqualified as a member of "everyone" but I am not looking for a WoW killer. I have played a number of MMO's including WoW (and I enjoyed WoW for what it is) but my personal preference is the level field PvP of Guild Wars.
Played WoW to join some IRL friends and enjoyed the PvE, but to me WoW PvP was a geargrinding joke compared to GW. Some seem to enjoy that and by all means: More power to them.
Currently (in my country) stores have the Cataclysm expansion in their bargain bin (at 8-9 €). I picked it up and resubbed but uninstalled after a few days.
For a newcomer WoW seems expensive. "Battlechest" + "Wrath of the Lich King" (too old to be found in the bargain bin = OOP (online overpriced purchase). If anything is a "WoW killer" there is your suspect.
2004 graphics and gameplay does not warrant the online price of: Battlechest = €15 + WotLK = €20 and (for those not familiar with bargain bins) + Cataclysm = €30.
Thats €65 for 1 month of rather outdated gameplay and netbook class graphics... Upcoming "expansion" will add another €30-40 to that... WoW is not getting killed. It is ever so slowly committing suicide.
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!! (repeat ad infinitum)
I truly wish WoW could bring something more. Some of you said it up there - the management killed it for me as well. I don't want to see it dead. I want to see it improving in the future. On another note, maybe a killer would be some new mmorpg from Blizzard. Because they are good at it.
Music is the science of manipulating people trough sound.
EQ and Ultima Online are still around.. thus I'm left to think that WoW will probably exist and evolve until either MMOs die.. or I do. They do evolve the game (for better or worse) and really there's no reason to stop doing so.
Funny thing is.. if there is a WoW 'killer'.. it will probably come from Blizzard. Theres nothing coming out that I see that will single handedly take it down.
We are all going to die, and as our society matures away from religion, we are all starting to realize that when we die, we have nothing but an eternity of black nothingness to look forward to. This is depressing , and can consume you if you dont control it somehow. The best method of control, is to occupy your mind to ignore the truth of whats coming.
All mmorpg threads should be prefaced with this kind of bleak existentialism. A post after my own withered heart, bravo!
In my opinion nothing needs to kill WOW, because for me WOW was crap and dead to me from day one. I could careless what their subscriber numbers are. I play a game and stick with a game because I enjoy the game. Not just because its popular with the general public.
When we get back from where we are going, we will return to where we were. I know people there!
In my opinion nothing needs to kill WOW, because for me WOW was crap and dead to me from day one. I could careless what their subscriber numbers are. I play a game and stick with a game because I enjoy the game. Not just because its popular with the general public.
This is how i feel too.. and I still get "o.0" whenever I tell someone that I never once subbed to WoW (played Beta and that was it)
As much as people claim to hate the game though, it's too late.. We had our chance to determine the path for the industry.. We could have fed EQ tens of millions of subs, or even Ultima.. We could have even fed Anarchy Online millions of subs and created a different standard as to which mmo's are blueprinted these days..
But as a force, we have already spoken with our wallets (well not mine, but yours)..
Stop all the BS.. Nobody wants WoW to die.. Many of you spent years working on your characters and there is nothing they could release these days that would make you wanna give them up for good..
When Blizzard has taken enough sub dollars, they can transfer the game to F2P and once again rack in millions more dollars..
It's here to stay and so are all the games that want to be it..
I remember when WoW came out, everyone was looking for an EverQuest killer. WoW may have grown a lot larger than EQ ever was, but it still has not killed EQ. It is still out there kicking and screaming.
My point is that there is no game that will kill WoW. I really don't even think there is a combination of games that will do the job. Will there be a game bigger than WoW? Someday, but I have no clue what that game will be like.
Is next week's column going to try and disect the casual / hardcore arguement or try to put those terms to bed?
A more interesting discussion would be why people continue to use the term wow killer. For example, mmorpg.com tends to write a lot of words about current and past mmos and how they differ from WoW, yet each mmo is basically a clone or very small variation on WoW's general hotkey gameplay.
My personal opinion is that the community continues to use WoW killer in hopes of someone designing a non-hotkey mmo that is fun to play, has some depth to it and is polished at launch (AoC and DCUO being examples of good ideas and half baked games). I enjoyed WoW through TBC and played through LK. I played Rift to the level cap and it's all the same. I've enjoyed MMOs, but mind numbing, hotkey mashing, time = accomplishment has gotten very stale and it's been that way from almost 6 years for me and a lot longer for EQ veterans.
When is the MMO genre going to progress into something new and interesting?
This week's WoW Factor touches on a oft-discussed topic. Everyone is always looking for that game that will be a "WoW Killer" but what exactly does that mean? We take a look at the elusive "WoW Killer". See what we think and then weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments.
Last week’s article caused quite a stir in the comments section and many of you derided the piece as either a roundabout method of talking about SWTOR or just a bit of bait for the community to start fighting the good fight. While many of your comments and opinions were a bit depressing to me (as this is an editorial, i.e. an opinion piece, and the content of each article is subject to me and me alone) I am glad with the discussion that sprouted around the last WoW Factor, explicitly in the talk about what constitutes a “WoW Killer.” So this week I’m going to display my outline and framework for what this mythical being must be to fulfil all of our speculation.
When I think of a "WoW killer", I think of a game overtaking it with active players, not one taking WoW out behind the shed and putting a bullet in its brain. Basically, the "WoW killer" will be the next number 1, regardless of how WoW is doing.
WoW= pvp has no purpose other than for you...Make it so pvp reflects on your realm in benefits.
WoW = cartoony...Make this one more adult/medieval themed in imagery and aesthetics.
WoW= a lot of sillyness...Make this one very serious.i.e., no MC Hammer Orcs or Michael Jackson dancing elves.
WoW= pretemd RP servers where at best a name violation makes the server rp...make real rp servers where community can get warnings for public chat that is out of character. Don't like it? Don't roll on it.
WoW= World of WARcraft yet the war was really a joke...Make this one have actual territorial/castle takes. Make a battle map that really shows that something is being lost or gained in the battle between realms/factions.
WoW= classes are mirrors on both sides...Make this one have unique classes. Watch Spike TV's Deadliest Warrior show (very popular) and get some ideas.
WoW adds expansion packs that make your hard work for gear pointless by increasing level cap...Keep level cap at about 50 and instead of adding zones until the lower zones become skeletal, focus on adding on to what you have and increase the immersive quality and sense of depth.
WoW= you cannot change the world in any way, neither can you give to it or take from it...Make this one capable of building structures, towns, cities, castles, etc. (**Very hard to leave a game that you have put tangible change in).
Talks about something that everyone knows about, over-elaborates on the subject, and tries to use it as content for their dying colum section. The question, "What is a WoW killer?" - A game that will knock WoW out of the most played mmorpg slot.(?) bam, article done.
The subject itself is my complaint; for everyone else, It's like me saying, "What is a Bear killer?" - It sure as hell isn't The Grizzly Man. A decent hunting gun can take one down if you shoot it between the eyes. In the end, we all know this is true... but who the fuck cares?
Comments
WoW was streamlined into one big framework for running instanced dungeons and battlegrounds. Alot of people play WoW only to do that and only because of that.
Sadly almost whole mmorpg genre followed.
It will backfire badly imo. Only then genre will see a change.
"WoW Killer" is simpely a label people attach to an upcoming game in a delusional thought that X game will surpass WoW in success who hate WoW or Blizz plain and simple.
Time. As time progresses there are more and more reasons to move on. No one game is going to do it, but as long as developers continue to march forward and work an creating new ideas, there will be a steady progression of people leaving the game. GW2 is going to change a lot of perspectives alongside other games like TERA, TSW, and F2P games. The market is flooding with options and people will find more and more virtual places they prefer to frequent.
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.
Last Nail in WoW's coffin will be hammered in by: GW2
"My Fantasy is having two men at once...
One Cooking and One Cleaning!"
---------------------------
"A good man can make you feel sexy,
strong and able to take on the whole world...
oh sorry...that's wine...wine does that..."
The only question to me is whether WoW's dynesty will outlive the genre. No D&D killer ever emerged in the pencil and paper world - the entire genre eventually faded into the background first. Will the MMO industry eventually fade into the background as well, even as a plethora of niche games reach market?
Until the gaming industry gets it through their thick skulls that they can't keep giving us more than the same, there will be no wow killer. Next gen is NOT "more of the same with different graphics".
Hmm... WoW killer.
Sorry if I am disqualified as a member of "everyone" but I am not looking for a WoW killer. I have played a number of MMO's including WoW (and I enjoyed WoW for what it is) but my personal preference is the level field PvP of Guild Wars.
Played WoW to join some IRL friends and enjoyed the PvE, but to me WoW PvP was a geargrinding joke compared to GW. Some seem to enjoy that and by all means: More power to them.
Currently (in my country) stores have the Cataclysm expansion in their bargain bin (at 8-9 €). I picked it up and resubbed but uninstalled after a few days.
For a newcomer WoW seems expensive. "Battlechest" + "Wrath of the Lich King" (too old to be found in the bargain bin = OOP (online overpriced purchase). If anything is a "WoW killer" there is your suspect.
2004 graphics and gameplay does not warrant the online price of: Battlechest = €15 + WotLK = €20 and (for those not familiar with bargain bins) + Cataclysm = €30.
Thats €65 for 1 month of rather outdated gameplay and netbook class graphics... Upcoming "expansion" will add another €30-40 to that... WoW is not getting killed. It is ever so slowly committing suicide.
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!!
(repeat ad infinitum)
I truly wish WoW could bring something more. Some of you said it up there - the management killed it for me as well. I don't want to see it dead. I want to see it improving in the future. On another note, maybe a killer would be some new mmorpg from Blizzard. Because they are good at it.
Music is the science of manipulating people trough sound.
EQ and Ultima Online are still around.. thus I'm left to think that WoW will probably exist and evolve until either MMOs die.. or I do. They do evolve the game (for better or worse) and really there's no reason to stop doing so.
Funny thing is.. if there is a WoW 'killer'.. it will probably come from Blizzard. Theres nothing coming out that I see that will single handedly take it down.
All mmorpg threads should be prefaced with this kind of bleak existentialism. A post after my own withered heart, bravo!
I suspect a branding PR company came up with this idea.
waiting for next Blizzard MMO aka "Titan"; and still, I have my doubts that it will kill WoW lol
In my opinion nothing needs to kill WOW, because for me WOW was crap and dead to me from day one. I could careless what their subscriber numbers are. I play a game and stick with a game because I enjoy the game. Not just because its popular with the general public.
When we get back from where we are going, we will return to where we were. I know people there!
This is how i feel too.. and I still get "o.0" whenever I tell someone that I never once subbed to WoW (played Beta and that was it)
As much as people claim to hate the game though, it's too late.. We had our chance to determine the path for the industry.. We could have fed EQ tens of millions of subs, or even Ultima.. We could have even fed Anarchy Online millions of subs and created a different standard as to which mmo's are blueprinted these days..
But as a force, we have already spoken with our wallets (well not mine, but yours)..
Stop all the BS.. Nobody wants WoW to die.. Many of you spent years working on your characters and there is nothing they could release these days that would make you wanna give them up for good..
When Blizzard has taken enough sub dollars, they can transfer the game to F2P and once again rack in millions more dollars..
It's here to stay and so are all the games that want to be it..
I remember when WoW came out, everyone was looking for an EverQuest killer. WoW may have grown a lot larger than EQ ever was, but it still has not killed EQ. It is still out there kicking and screaming.
My point is that there is no game that will kill WoW. I really don't even think there is a combination of games that will do the job. Will there be a game bigger than WoW? Someday, but I have no clue what that game will be like.
I'm WoW killer. I killed my WoW folder for good
A wow-killer is not a game, it's a perspective. When players and developers realize what crap they're putting out and playing then it'll change. yay!
I never took the term "WoW killer" as something that would it shut down, just something that would beat it in subs.
Let's assume Blizzard is a woman. What would u do to her?
Is next week's column going to try and disect the casual / hardcore arguement or try to put those terms to bed?
A more interesting discussion would be why people continue to use the term wow killer. For example, mmorpg.com tends to write a lot of words about current and past mmos and how they differ from WoW, yet each mmo is basically a clone or very small variation on WoW's general hotkey gameplay.
My personal opinion is that the community continues to use WoW killer in hopes of someone designing a non-hotkey mmo that is fun to play, has some depth to it and is polished at launch (AoC and DCUO being examples of good ideas and half baked games). I enjoyed WoW through TBC and played through LK. I played Rift to the level cap and it's all the same. I've enjoyed MMOs, but mind numbing, hotkey mashing, time = accomplishment has gotten very stale and it's been that way from almost 6 years for me and a lot longer for EQ veterans.
When is the MMO genre going to progress into something new and interesting?
If you don't worry about it, it's not a problem.
There is a WoW killer and its called "Mists of Pandaria".... Can't be anymore direct than that
)))))))
I would give you a guest pass to SWOTR, but then I wouldn't be able to find a way to live with myself afterwards....
When I think of a "WoW killer", I think of a game overtaking it with active players, not one taking WoW out behind the shed and putting a bullet in its brain. Basically, the "WoW killer" will be the next number 1, regardless of how WoW is doing.
Oderint, dum metuant.
Wow = 2 realms...Make one with 3.
Wow = no housing...Make one with housing.
Wow = instanced pvp...Make persistant pvp.
WoW= pvp has no purpose other than for you...Make it so pvp reflects on your realm in benefits.
WoW = cartoony...Make this one more adult/medieval themed in imagery and aesthetics.
WoW= a lot of sillyness...Make this one very serious.i.e., no MC Hammer Orcs or Michael Jackson dancing elves.
WoW= pretemd RP servers where at best a name violation makes the server rp...make real rp servers where community can get warnings for public chat that is out of character. Don't like it? Don't roll on it.
WoW= World of WARcraft yet the war was really a joke...Make this one have actual territorial/castle takes. Make a battle map that really shows that something is being lost or gained in the battle between realms/factions.
WoW= classes are mirrors on both sides...Make this one have unique classes. Watch Spike TV's Deadliest Warrior show (very popular) and get some ideas.
WoW adds expansion packs that make your hard work for gear pointless by increasing level cap...Keep level cap at about 50 and instead of adding zones until the lower zones become skeletal, focus on adding on to what you have and increase the immersive quality and sense of depth.
WoW= you cannot change the world in any way, neither can you give to it or take from it...Make this one capable of building structures, towns, cities, castles, etc. (**Very hard to leave a game that you have put tangible change in).
---------------------------------THERE YOU GO.
Talks about something that everyone knows about, over-elaborates on the subject, and tries to use it as content for their dying colum section. The question, "What is a WoW killer?" - A game that will knock WoW out of the most played mmorpg slot.(?) bam, article done.
The subject itself is my complaint; for everyone else, It's like me saying, "What is a Bear killer?" - It sure as hell isn't The Grizzly Man. A decent hunting gun can take one down if you shoot it between the eyes. In the end, we all know this is true... but who the fuck cares?