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I honestly don't understand WOW's success.
Nerf09
Member CommonPosts: 2,953
I thought the graphics were sub-par, the mechanics was just like Everquest I, and the lore was from a shallow RTS game.
and what the heck is Lineage?
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Comments
It's really simple actally it's the name 'Blizzard' and 'Warcraft' that started them off, the single player games from the ORIGINAL Blizzard (now Arena.net and Flagship) are cult classics, thow the names Diablo Starcraft or Warcraft at a group of older pc gamers they are more then likely to know what they are.
Secondary it's basically a pick up and play model it's really really simple, hell even my mother can play that (Lambzar on Aggamagan EU guve her a wave) TBH it's a really nice entry level game.
Thirdly it's the word of mouth popularity domino effect, it's gotta THAT popular that your now a 'geek' if you DON'T play WoW, it's like cool to play WoW these days so the youngsters HAVE to play it...
Shame the game is heavly flawed tho, but thats totally ignored cuz why do they care it's a huge cashcow and popular
Bring on the WARRRRGGHH!
Shame all the other MMOs out there are even more flawed than wow.
Shame u wow haters still keep beating the same dead donkey every week.
*Low system requirements
*Sales across the globe rather than one specific area like most mmos.
*Also to do with the higher internet and broadband ownership; more and more people have a PC than ever now and the internet.
*WoW's quality should be mentioned especially as something like the melee combat system is improved over its predecessers.
*Making the game single playable probably had a bit of an impact as well
*And it has managed to attract both a PvE and a PvP crowd. This is evidenced by the number of PvP servers it has, as well as its PvE servers.
There you go a thorough explanation, more indepth than the average WoW lover or hater:p
playing: darkfall
waiting: earthrise
Easy to play,playable on mostly any pc these days and lots of content to keep you busy for quite awhile. While I don't care for the company the game itself isn't that bad. While every other other company who is coming out with a MMO tries to reinvent the wheel usually fails. Keep it simple ,fun and keep giving your players alot to do seems to be the remedy for success.
yea its pretty bad when the Warcraft legacy just the name itself is enough to keep it up whether or not its good or bad.. you can pretty much tell the facts on that.. the game mechanics are so simple it doesnt require much skill to play, it doenst allow much room for character customazation or coarse they have those points you spent to improve stats every lvl but no where near on a basis where you could make a custom character based on multiple jobs/templates. and the pvp is well lets no go there its so pathetic, maybe they should take lessons from mythic entertainment on how to make a good pvp game, consitering their so supperior success with pvp witht heir RvR concept on Daoc in the past. lets just face it.. people dont pay to play wow because they like it, they play it because of the Warcraft name, and its so simple to play. its pretty much been proven fact time and time again.. take SWG for example, the NGE pretty much made a WoWclone game with SWG skin.. and SWG pretty much hit rock bottom. Also another example of a name based game is LOTRO, that game didnt live up to expectations to intense Mmorpg gamers.. but most of the people that stay are people just paying to play in a LOTRO world not by the game itself(Lord of the Rings has alot of history and legacy behind it maybe not in gaming, but movie/booklovers and its enough to make it successful)...
Bottom line.. Mmorpg's that are based after a long line of legacy and have that brand name are often successful.. some may ask why SWG failed to do this.. this is pretty much not the name of Star wars.. but the name of SOE and their history of destroying mmo's. and also the WoW style game wasnt originally implimented into SWG.. and players left because of the so dramastic change, if SWG was originally released with this design the outcome might/probally would of been a little bit of different.. its was SOE's fault that it wasnt as successful as WoW was... but lately alot of new Mmo's that are coming out are WoWclone with a new skin/mechanics and most of them arent successful as wow because they arent a name brand followed behind a gaming legacy.
Besides what everyone else mentioned, it's also like a single-player RPG that never ends. You're not so dependent on other players like in most other MMO's, so it allows those with busier schedules time to play. It offered NES generation professionals who never outgrew their game habit, a new game to play.
A few reasons why WoW is so huge--
1. You can effectively solo any class to max level, then respec over to a raiding build if that's your thing.
2. It doesn't take weeks, or even months to level. A person can play very casually and still see progress for their efforts. That appeals to the more casual players that Blizzard has hooked by the metric boatload.
3. Speaking of raids, in WoW, you're not stuck with raids as the only endgame. You can do the PvP battlegrounds, do dungeon crawls with friends, or roll a new alt.
4. The system requirements are easy enough that pretty much anyone can play the game. This is probably the single biggest factor in its success-- not everyone is a hardcore MMO gamer who upgrades their gear for the next new game. WoW reached out to the more casual masses with lower system specs and hit the jackpot.
5. The learning curve for the game is as low as the system specs, and it steps up accordingly. People can log in, find their way around and get the hang of things fairly easily, but the game isn't without its challenges. Despite the hate this game gets for being a child's game, WoW is surprisingly hard at the higher levels, especially when it comes to raids and the higher end dungeon content.
Blizzard took the old EQ model, got rid of all the tedium (XP loss on death, de-leveling, naked corpse runs, etc.), added in more casual features that would appeal to a wider audience, and wrapped it all up in a world that was already well-known and successful. And they ended up hitting a gold mine.
BTW, this is Lineage: www.lineage.com/
It is very simple. Even if you don't calculate in the existing customer base for other Warcraft/Starcraft titles, WoW appeals to the mass market audience. The lowest common denominator, etc, etc. It is simple, accessible, functional, enjoyable.
It's a standard fare genre game.
A fantasy MMO, where fantasy is the best selling theme.
It's from an existing successful franchise.
It's good humored stylish and fun. Technically innovative, high production quality and well maintained. It can be as deep or as shallow as you wish it to be, with any number of game activities catering to any number of different players.
There is (as yet) no competition on the market in it's league.
It's the same old formula poop, everyone loves, only vastly better programmed than all the others.
Simple games for simple people, there is no understanding if you aren't part of that mindset.
When was the last time you looked at the Billboard music chart of bestselling artists? Same people buying crappy music.
It's very simple. It had HUUUGE adv campaign. Blizzard had very high sales with diablo, starcraft, warcraft before so lots of people knew them. And majority of the btnet population started playing WoW when it was released. Plus it got high reviews from so called "reviewers" that never oppose to mass popularity with their ratings.
REALITY CHECK
While I agree with most of what you said, and what others have been saying in this thread, this, my friend, is simply untrue.
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Playing: Age of Conan Trial (trying to at least)
Played: Runescape, WoW, FFXI, Fury
Tried: LotRO, EVE, CoV, PotCO
I honestly don't understand the "crocs shoes" success.
In life you have to learn to accept a product's success. No matter how ridiculous it may seem.
By the way I played WoW and enjoyed it :P. It's got its flaws, but more pros than cons.
You can't say that its ArenaNet and Flagship that made the original Warcraft. Yes, some from ArenaNet was involved with Warcraft and especially battle.net but there are still people left at Blizzard that was with them then.
Flagship on the other hand has nothing to do with WoW or its inheritage. Flagship was founded mostly by people from Blizzard North, a company that before being bought by Blizzard was known under other names. It was they who did Diablo 1 & 2 and while to me as an old Diablo fan see them as old school Blizzard they aren't.
It's success is really simple. It take a successfull computer RTS and makes it into a MMO. RTS everyone has played + the most fun genre of Video games = success.
Simple games for simple people? Now talk about a stupid statement. And since I see you have a TCOS banner; now that is a game that tries to do things simple by removing every time sink there is like no grinding for gear, you get skills automatically without having to go see a trainer. No real end game like raiding, mostly arena style pvp (and while I think there is skill involved in that if it is balances, it is simple).
Now I'm looking forward to TCOS myself, but just because it tries to be simple... and to do things its own way.
Some people just have a hard time accepting when people and companies have success and need to bash at them. But lashing out on its playerbase like they were mentally ill is something else. Taste is different.
Perhaps the arguments against WoW are so grating, readers decide to buy a subscription just to spite the people that make them?
I can only agree with the OP, and I always felt the same. Ok, WOW was nice, I played it 2 or 3 months and then I had enough. Shallow is the way I felt it is. Either way, I think four factors contibuted to its success.
4. Simplistic Gameplay: WOW is a bit like Disney Land, you always know what to do and where to go. Always you get a little lead where the fun is. I like that, and tbh I HATE spending hours and hours SEEKING the fun.
3. Low specs: When WOW was new EVERYONE could play it. The price where those bulky, pixelated graphics which I dont like.
2. The names Blizzard and Warcraft, both had a great reputation, Blizzard with its killer games and Warcraft with its great legacy.
1. Most important IMO: its childish enough for the young and still playable for adults. I know many parents play it with their kids, its this concept making a game for the whole family with paid off. If it were only the above three, WOW would not have been the big success, and have only subscriptions as every other game.
For me, aspect number four is a lesson MMOs should learn. Its doesnt have to be Disneyland, but a VAST number of "average" MMO players (usually NOT active in forums!) want to know where to go to have fun FAST. The big problem for many MMO players who avoid WOW is likely the lack of complexity. Also the cartoony graphics is likely something you can only love or hate.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Playing WOW for a while now.
I am no hardcore Gamer, nor am i a raider oder pvp expert. I simply have fun exploring the world and comsume all the content i find. Books lying arount that tell more about the complex story Blizzard developed. Somtimes i find myself reading ig books for an hour or more. Humor. Well, the game is packed with humor and movie-related jokes that amuse and make it an experience even if you are a player like me who has not much of spare time a week.
The engine is rock solid, innovative and you step into the game without really having to make a diploma of it.
The look of the game is a matter of taste for sure. Wished for more capability to customise your charakter in the beginning. But as for the load of different items every charakter is somewhat unique in its look. Sure there could be more tweek here, another feature there.
But be honest. What game can you call up where you are not asking the question "why cant i do this, or that" or find yourself having the idea for new ingame features. Often i read that Blizzard is not taking care of the comunity. Thats not true. TheGame still evolves and features are, if implemented forming a rock solid update (exceppt for minor bugs that are sorted out really fast). Blizzard reads the forums and takes mentioned gamer-content and features and decides if it makes sense. I wish for a more ballanced IG-market and a bit more flexible crafting system. But i am sure they will tweek this also in the near future.
NPC and Charakter animations are just wonderfull and the overall game flow and performance just never spoil the fun.
In my opinion most of the companys out there focus on the money. They want to get a piece of the cake and just use instant backery from the supermarket. But one thing is for sure. All companys in the MMO business out there miss something that made all Blizzard games and espacialy WOW such a big "Bomb". Blizzards own identity and style is far from matched, by any company i know.
Blizzard does not only design games. They design everything. The forums, the internet pages etc. You simply feel home, whatever you do realted to their games. The keep an eye on details, overall quallity as well as rock solid games that simply make the time you spent on them enjoyable.
I understand that some people hate the raid system in WOW. But hell. Is it a must? Is the farming a must? Or the meaningless run for PVP honour-Points? No it isnt. If i get asked to join a raid on an instance i can take the offer or leave it. If i want to pvp i just line up to a match but its not a must to evolve my charakter. The Group Search function is a superb tool to line up for instances i have to quest in but it does not spoil my fun to take 2 houres to "shout" for a group. I simply line up and play on my own, Not to bother about spending my time with channel-spamming. My main Charakter is 70 now. I hardly explore all areas of BC and without farming this charakter makes enough gold to feed my twinks. Since i would never buy an Epic Drop in the AH for 500+ gold, i simply enjoy the world of this game.
I think the problem of most people disliking WOW is, because the feel like they MUST have that epic platemail or this epic sword. I don`t give a heck about those things just to be the unabeatable pvp overfiend. I simply ejoy the design and innovation in the WOW World and appreciate the offer Blizzard made to those people who have more important things in life to fill out, rather than to be a hunter for epic items or farming, getting bored from one game to another.
Since i am an Roleplayer, i feel comfortable on my WOW server. Sure Non-RPers are everywhere but since we know the guilds that are into RP, i had shiploads of fun and weekends that really relaxed me after switching of the PC.
you have no idea how to use a search engine to find out what Lineage is? And im sorry WOW is so popular.
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Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
A big reason IMO is there are alot of people playing. No one wants to sit LFG for hours on end and from what I have seen thats the case in alot of the other MMOs out there presently. The main reason I left VG was there just wasnt many folks there to group with and the bugs of course =p
Right now I'm enjoying the instances and the new content of BC. I log in and ussually within a few minutes of putting LFG up I have a group.
WOW's success in a nutshell.
-"Hey guys,Blizzard are making a MMORPG based off their best-selling RTS series; Warcraft!" "Sounds cool,let's hype the game everywhere! Everyone
's Warcraft,so more people will 
a MMORPG based off Warcraft!"
-'Wow,this game is easy to control/play and there's so many quests to do. There's no moments of 'boredom grinding' w/o quests involved." "Yeah,and there's no annoying stat allocation/skill allocation errors possible in WOW! Simple gameplay!"
-"I love how you can buy Gamecards from public gaming stores instead of having to use a credit card and such. So conveninent for my little 13-year old son! Or anyone without a credit/debit card!"
-"Some of these quests are actually interesting and involving. (TBC reason)"
-'8 million people can't be wrong,right?."
And that's how WOW became popular.
It's simple, there are a lot of guys who don't care of playing a repetitive game if its controls are easy to learn and you can get a uber character easily, to kill mobs and other players. And, over all, they are playing in the warcraft theme, so you can feel like a new hero in your favourite saga.
But other people wants a game with a sandbox style, where you can achieve your own goals, not to progress through the path that the developers have thought for you (and a lot of people like you). This game are so rare because they aren't a safe investment for the companys, so they don't develop them.
Wow is popular for the same reason Runescape manages to get 10 million players 10% of whom actually pay for the game at any given month. People have certain expectations for a game based on its price point and they both deliver.
When WoW first started it addressed many of the complaints people had with mmos while bringing together a set of features that attracted people who barely or never touched mmos until wow.
Since WoW lived up to the expectations of veteran mmo players any complaints newcomers to the genre had were muted because the arugment was the genre was a lot worse than this. This maintainence for enthusiasm for the game allowed people to ride out through the first month which was plagued with servers unable to handle so many people coming in.
After that brief period was passed everyone could see that wow was a great game for its time and word of mouth spread around the interest for the game. It's irrelevent that any of the early adopters may have found the game too shallow for their tastes. They contributed to wow's success by recommending it to people unfamiliar with the genre.
When I first got into mmos it was runescape and I thought that game was fantastic for what it was worth. I literally didn't stop playing until I hurt my hand seriously enough I had to give the game a break for months. I'm guessing this newness factor is what ultimately made wow so popular.
Other mmos and the proliferation of communications technology made prior to or around the same time as wow simply put up too many barriers to seriously consider playing those games.
Lineage is a series of mmos that is very poplar in East Asia. Just think of that game's popularity in the same way American football is well liked in the states but not so much anywhere else.