The problem isn't if Blizzard is nervous or threatened or not.
The problem is that Blizzard has not acted to improve their game much for PvP until WAR started to gain hype. Now, suddenly, they decide to try and salvage their system. (They haven't worked to improve their PvE game much either, for that matter... just added new dungeons/raids.)
If WAR wasn't coming out, all Blizzard would probably give us for PvP next expansion is one more arena and one more battleground, and -Resilience +Resilience talents smattered through the talent tress.
Thanks to the competition, Blizzard is finally getting off their rear and doing something.
Too late for me. I"ll be moving to AoC or WAR. I don't support companies that rest on their laurels. They've had enough time to wow us, TBC was disappointing, and they can't even make WotLK look exciting to me anymore.
WoW was good for it's time, but choosing to ignore their own world and borrow from Everquest was a huge mistake. I can't tell you how much more exciting the game would have been with a race/class approach to careers like WAR is doing. And their current approach to "Hero Classes" doesn't even come close to filling the void. 1 new race and 1 new class in like... 3 to 4 years of service?
The only game that will get me away from WOW is a game with more open ended gameplay. So far i am subscribed to lineage II and vg and wow. All those games in unison offer me everything i need in terms of freedom. If there could be a game that had pvp anywhere, building anywhere, mobility everywhere then I would play that game and switch from the three listed above. Because of htis, and because I represent the casual gamer from wow, I doubt that many people will be playing war since it only offers more of what wow has and nothing new. I get headaches from playing wow too long. Why would i play a game taht is virtualy the same to me, since I know nothing about warhammer lore, for more headaches? I'm already max level in wow. Why not just stick there. The graphics are similar, gameplay similar - but in war it's more limited aka the bottle neck syndrome....
and mythic already screwed us over in daoc with item leveling and what not.
so why would i play a game taht is the exact same but slightly more annoying is the question?
Now aoc, that might be a different story, but based on funcoms previous trackrecord probably not. I think if blizzard releases another mmorpg in the next five years, all these games comming out now will shrivel up and die, because blizzard has done one thing right. That's higher programmers that actually know what kind of mechanics constitute a fun game. In wow when you push forward you move forward. In all these other games it's a finicky pattern at best.
Anyways...this is just my opinion and i'm not flaming anyone or anything so please don't flame me.
Mythic did mess up DAOC, but they fixed that mess up not long after they removed their heads from their $#%^. Sadly their player base had left by then. Mythic knows when they have made a mistake (unlike Sony). They will not make the same mistake with WAR, not with EA backing them up with cash.
The only worries I have with WAR are animations and character models. Mythic was not the best in animation and forming complete smooth gameplay. I feel WAR willl have it's gameplay but animationwise it will still look like it is in beta.
WoW, CoX, and Eve are the only MMOs that looked and felt complete on launch. This is another strong point Blizzard will have in keeping customers.
Sorry, but OP==Clueless WAR will be successfull. But not so much as to put a dent in WoW numbers. Remember, MMORPGs limp along with 20,000 subscribers (DAoC) for years. Some never even get close to 100,000 (EVE) and are considered 'strong' AAA titles. Old dogs like EQ and AO are still going. WoW has nearly 10 MILLION paying subscribers ! To think that any title is going to take that away (except maybe World of Starcraft) would be just plain silly.
Last time I checked games like DAOC and EVE didn't count every account they had actived and closed they only counted the accounts they got active at that time. Because they didn't care about stuff like that so they could have reached the millions but no one knows . But Blizzard counted every subscriber even if they are not active read between the lines.
IRVINE, Calif. – July 24, 2007 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has reached a new milestone, with a player base now totaling more than 9 million subscribers worldwide.
9 Million Subscribers not active subscribers.
That makes no sense, blizzard count active accounts (defind by wether they have any play time left) they dont count accounts with no game time (they are not counted as subscribers), accounts that are expired, banned or canceled they also dont count trial accounts.
If an account has no game time they are not defind as a subscriber.
Now sure 1-2% of their numbers could be players who have quit yet have game time left on their subscription.. but unless they cancel their account how does blizzard know that? should blizzard call up every subcriber to ask them?
Hate WoW/Blizzard all you like but do not make a fool of yourself with pointless posts like that. You ask us to read between the lines.. i ask you to read the press release in full.
A Subscriber is an individual or company that is uniquely identified within the system as a user of services.
A Subscriber a person who has paid to receive a periodical
A Subscriber is an individual or company entity that pays for service provided by Ascend on a period basis which varies dependant on the service
Now don't kid yourself unless you work for blizzard A. you don't know their numbers only what they say to you. B. Companies do lie point blank. C. If Blizzard say they seen a pig fly by their office would you believe it. Sure you would because it’s Blizzard they wouldn't lie to you. D. If they don't show the proof why should I believe it. Oh yeah they don't show how many people they have on each server. But DAOC do that’s the only way we know that the game is not doing so hot that’s proof. Also for subscribers even if a person is not active, banned or whatever that person is still counted as a subscriber to that game or company. Because they purchased that company product or services. As I say again read between the lines.
PS. You can go to any website any news article and not one of them says active subscribers.
Sorry but you're mistaken. Look at the press release and you'll see they count only active subscribers.
World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition
World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules.
LOL, look, most game dev's can figure out that kids are expendable, their money comes and goes, but adult gamers are more consistant. For instances, lets say half of WoW's population are kids under 13, guess who pays for WoW, not the kids, the Adults do .
So, imho, adults such as "mommy" matter more then the punk little kid lol
o and for the blizzard nervous thing, nah i think they don't give a care in the world , they made thier fortune, if WoW died they'll just spend 5 years makeing another MMO
It is smart business to look at what others in your industry are doing successfully and completely rip it off to make sure you get to the top and stay there. In software the first company to pioneer a type of software almost never stays on top because a new company comes in and writes new code with a fresher product and they come in and take it to the top. The most successful companies in the world see a successful product with little competition, come in and do it better, and make a ton of money. The only way to stay on top is too cut off any competition by stealing anything they do successfully.
Anyway I think WoW will remain the most popular as much as it pisses so many gamers off, and then just as it starts to even out with some other titles Blizzard will release their 'Secret Next-Gen MMO' and take the top again. The problem is that they have set the standard so high that only companies with ridiculously huge budgets will be able to compete and only the companies that release a ridiculously successful MMORPG will have the kind of code base, fan following, and assets to make something to compete so you get left with one to three companies making the big time MMO's that house most of the gaming populous.
It is smart business to look at what others in your industry are doing successfully and completely rip it off to make sure you get to the top and stay there. In software the first company to pioneer a type of software almost never stays on top because a new company comes in and writes new code with a fresher product and they come in and take it to the top. The most successful companies in the world see a successful product with little competition, come in and do it better, and make a ton of money. The only way to stay on top is too cut off any competition by stealing anything they do successfully. Anyway I think WoW will remain the most popular as much as it pisses so many gamers off, and then just as it starts to even out with some other titles Blizzard will release their 'Secret Next-Gen MMO' and take the top again. The problem is that they have set the standard so high that only companies with ridiculously huge budgets will be able to compete and only the companies that release a ridiculously successful MMORPG will have the kind of code base, fan following, and assets to make something to compete so you get left with one to three companies making the big time MMO's that house most of the gaming populous.
Blizzard didn't set the standard too high. Actually, they set it too low.
Let me clarify, I don't mean quality-wise, I mean in-game wise. From computer-requirements, to accessibility, they took existing things and made them easier, lowered them until even an absolute rookie could get into the game quickly and have fun.
That's their accomplishment. They opened up the MMORPG market to everyone who didn't have time or fun for these kind of games before and that is also the reason why no game that comes out these days will be able to scratch at WoW's subscribers. Why play another game that makes me do the same things just with a different paint? That's what most of the WoW players ask themselves and in a way they are right. So, until something truly innovative comes along, WoW will stay on top and games using the WoW model will fail at least fail in gaining the numbers WoW is achieving.
I agree, that may even out eventually, but with the release of the next Blizzard title, it might see a return, since many of those players that were introduced to the genre by WoW will say, "Wow, Blizzard is making a new one, had so much fun in WoW, let's go there!".
These are of course only my thoughts on the subject, but I tend to think it's a rather logical explanation why it seems no one can grab a piece of WoW's success.
Is Blizzard nervous? No, they havn't logged out and crawled out from under their rock yet.
WAR will be fantastic, who cares about WoW and how much they make. WoW will keep the kids away hopefully, Mythic doesn't want mommy's credit card.
It's funny, I'm 30 years old and this kind of pathetic generalizing behavior to me is exactly the type of behavior you guys are trying to pretend you're better than ^^
Is Blizzard nervous? No, they havn't logged out and crawled out from under their rock yet.
WAR will be fantastic, who cares about WoW and how much they make. WoW will keep the kids away hopefully, Mythic doesn't want mommy's credit card.
Blizz is not nervous...no reason to be. With over 9 million subs would you be nervous.
WAR will be great, that much is true...but every game developer and company cares about how much WoW makes.
WAR will have just as many kids...and despite your assumption...Mythic want's every credit card it can get...yes, even Mommy's.
Begin to realize that games are made for one reason...to make money. The larger the audience you appeal to the more money you can make. Mythic does not who buys WAR...only how many will buy WAR...and how can they continue WAR and it's sales.
WoW of course will be effected by the release of WAR...but they will not feel it as much as other games will.
I no longer play WoW...waiting on AoC and WAR...regardless if you play WoW, love it or hate...there is no denying it is a Juggernaught that has and will continue to dominate not only in it's money making abilities but in it's ability to shape the future of MMOs.
They now have their own "Blizz Cast" podcast, like EA Mythic's. I wonder if they have any developers as entertaining as Paul Barnett. Doubtful.
The concept of pod casting is NOT an indication that Blizzard is upset or bothered by any of the new game out there. It is my contention that Blizzard actually welcomes these new games. This help create a healthy competition and drives Blizzard developers to create new content.
A pod cast has nothing to do with panic. Once again, we can see that folks have not been online playing their games and instead are thinking up gossip and rumors for us to comment on....
sighs..this WoW hating gets rather juvenile at times, doesn't it?
All I want is the truth Just gimme some truth John Lennon
Is Blizzard nervous? No, they havn't logged out and crawled out from under their rock yet.
WAR will be fantastic, who cares about WoW and how much they make. WoW will keep the kids away hopefully, Mythic doesn't want mommy's credit card.
It's funny, I'm 30 years old and this kind of pathetic generalizing behavior to me is exactly the type of behavior you guys are trying to pretend you're better than ^^
Havnt got a clue what you mean & to be honest i care even less, when War comes out " ill play it , i will become it, & i will be war " & as far as im concerned i will be under WAR'S rock for a few years just as i was under WoW's.
Is Blizzard nervous? No, they havn't logged out and crawled out from under their rock yet.
WAR will be fantastic, who cares about WoW and how much they make. WoW will keep the kids away hopefully, Mythic doesn't want mommy's credit card.
It's funny, I'm 30 years old and this kind of pathetic generalizing behavior to me is exactly the type of behavior you guys are trying to pretend you're better than ^^
Does that mean that each new thing that comes to their game is in direct response or as a result of those 'new games'? No.
...
I think both games will have their markets. Unfortunately, I do see a mass number of (as others have put it) mom's credit cards getting used on both WoW and potentially WAR.
If WAR featured maturity filters (not to be confused with profanity filters) then that would be the biggest feather in their hat. I'm afraid that WAR is going to feature 'Barren's Chat' 2.0. And that's something WAR shouldn't try to copy from Blizz, but will probably do so without intention.
WAR is going to be a decent game, go by their beta application numbers. However I believe perhaps a third of the beta applications are multiples of the same person. Closed Beta accounts sell, and they are free to apply for.
It's hard to boast that it will even come near to rivaling WoW's numbers. A better game does not mean you will move people from WoW. It's success is due to friends telling their friends to join, people I would never have imagined to play games are playing WoW.
The exception is that I don't know many people talking about WAR. Everyone I know who plays WoW is content with it, they aren't waiting to hop ship and join a new game. They just seem completely satisfied, I'm talking about casual gamers. I'm sure the hardcore crowd wants to jump ship and hop to the newest game, but it doesn't necessarily mean the herd will follow.
I'm also concerned on System specs, these are a huge concern, because WoW can run on any computer you can buy for $500 now. If you need a $2,000 machine to get an edge in WAR, then I seriously doubt WAR will hit 2 million subs worldwide. People buy high end gaming machines for games, not for MMO's.
Truth is pretty much every gaming company will want everyones credit card and dont care less of whos it is as long as it brings in the money.
Why would Blizzard give a crap about AOC,WAR or any other games that's going to come out soon? they're going to have like 30 million with starcraft 2 coming out, so even if WoW drops to like 3 million they seriously wouldnt care.
This may be true but Blizzard will bounce back. They're already getting ready to make another MMO (can you say Starcraft Online...I hope). Blizzard is smart, they see all these other possible hits coming along and they're going to cover their bases. Even if 40%+ of the players of WOW leave when another game their interested comes out, when they come out with the new MMO a lot of them are going to jump back (especially if its SO), because Blizzard is known to make good games.
WAR is going to be a decent game, go by their beta application numbers. However I believe perhaps a third of the beta applications are multiples of the same person. Closed Beta accounts sell, and they are free to apply for. It's hard to boast that it will even come near to rivaling WoW's numbers. A better game does not mean you will move people from WoW. It's success is due to friends telling their friends to join, people I would never have imagined to play games are playing WoW. The exception is that I don't know many people talking about WAR. Everyone I know who plays WoW is content with it, they aren't waiting to hop ship and join a new game. They just seem completely satisfied, I'm talking about casual gamers. I'm sure the hardcore crowd wants to jump ship and hop to the newest game, but it doesn't necessarily mean the herd will follow. I'm also concerned on System specs, these are a huge concern, because WoW can run on any computer you can buy for $500 now. If you need a $2,000 machine to get an edge in WAR, then I seriously doubt WAR will hit 2 million subs worldwide. People buy high end gaming machines for games, not for MMO's.
Who says people don't upgrade for MMOs? I certainly do. And it's just another form of "games."
And as for this nonsense that you have to spend $2000 to play it, that's BS. In case you haven't realized, hardware is dirt cheap these days. I put the following together myself for about $500:
AMD Dual Core 3.0GHz w/ motherboard
GeForce 8600 (plan to upgrade this to an Ultra 8800 in the future)
4 GB of memory
Creative ExtremeGamer Sound Card
Windows Vista (64bit) - not included in price
I built this all in WAR's honor. I'm sure it's going to be overkill for WAR, but oh well. I figure with the badass video card and memory, I can handle many characters on screen. And I only spent about $500 on this rig.
Also, since I was feeling generous to myself, I added in another 24" flat screen monitor ($400) and $200 5.1 channel speakers. I'm set, baby! So in conclusion, no, you don't need a $2000 rig to run today's games. It's most likely going to be overkill for WAR. I say bring on the awesome graphics!!!!!!
This whole post makes me laugh. I really hope the blizzard crowd stays with blizzard. The easy game play style is great for some people and if they try and move on they will have a hard time. A game has got to have a good population but by no means does it need a huge one with millions and millions of players. Its not like you even notice in WoW with their what 300 servers? So yeah Blizzard people stay with WoW and wait for SC2 please.
They now have their own "Blizz Cast" podcast, like EA Mythic's. I wonder if they have any developers as entertaining as Paul Barnett. Doubtful.
So I guess EA/Mythic is nervous about someone.. since WAR wasn't the first MMO to have .. podcasts..
*ponders*
Ya that has to be it.. obviously.
There's no other big budget, soon to be released mmo games out there that even come close to WAR. WAR has the triple threat: Best pvp MMO company in the biz (mythic), great fantasy IP (Warhammer), and marketing muscle (EA). Sure, AoC is a great IP, but it's being pushed by a tiny company who has a track record of dismal failures like Anarchy Online. All flash, no substance. You can bet your ass that Blizzard is looking nervously in its rearview mirror at WAR. Not necessarily because WAR will beat its' subscriber numbers (that's unrealistic in the near term), but that WAR will take a big bite into their profits. Especially from that pvp crowd disillusioned by WoW's Instanced Special Olympics style pvp. The number of PvP servers in WoW rival the PvE servers. WAR is building an mmo from the ground up to focus on pvp and make it fun. Rest assured, Blizzard is watching closely. Which is why they are all of a sudden trying to put the focus more on pvp in their next expansion.
lol this thread has been going for ages now, way too long.... cant a mod lock it or something, its just pointless reiteration of the same things over and over, enough now please
lol this thread has been going for ages now, way too long.... cant a mod lock it or something, its just pointless reiteration of the same things over and over, enough now please
Does the truth hurt much? Go back to the AoC/WoW board, troll.
Comments
The problem isn't if Blizzard is nervous or threatened or not.
The problem is that Blizzard has not acted to improve their game much for PvP until WAR started to gain hype. Now, suddenly, they decide to try and salvage their system. (They haven't worked to improve their PvE game much either, for that matter... just added new dungeons/raids.)
If WAR wasn't coming out, all Blizzard would probably give us for PvP next expansion is one more arena and one more battleground, and -Resilience +Resilience talents smattered through the talent tress.
Thanks to the competition, Blizzard is finally getting off their rear and doing something.
Too late for me. I"ll be moving to AoC or WAR. I don't support companies that rest on their laurels. They've had enough time to wow us, TBC was disappointing, and they can't even make WotLK look exciting to me anymore.
WoW was good for it's time, but choosing to ignore their own world and borrow from Everquest was a huge mistake. I can't tell you how much more exciting the game would have been with a race/class approach to careers like WAR is doing. And their current approach to "Hero Classes" doesn't even come close to filling the void. 1 new race and 1 new class in like... 3 to 4 years of service?
The only worries I have with WAR are animations and character models. Mythic was not the best in animation and forming complete smooth gameplay. I feel WAR willl have it's gameplay but animationwise it will still look like it is in beta.
WoW, CoX, and Eve are the only MMOs that looked and felt complete on launch. This is another strong point Blizzard will have in keeping customers.
Last time I checked games like DAOC and EVE didn't count every account they had actived and closed they only counted the accounts they got active at that time. Because they didn't care about stuff like that so they could have reached the millions but no one knows . But Blizzard counted every subscriber even if they are not active read between the lines.IRVINE, Calif. – July 24, 2007 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has reached a new milestone, with a player base now totaling more than 9 million subscribers worldwide.
9 Million Subscribers not active subscribers.
That makes no sense, blizzard count active accounts (defind by wether they have any play time left) they dont count accounts with no game time (they are not counted as subscribers), accounts that are expired, banned or canceled they also dont count trial accounts.
If an account has no game time they are not defind as a subscriber.
Now sure 1-2% of their numbers could be players who have quit yet have game time left on their subscription.. but unless they cancel their account how does blizzard know that? should blizzard call up every subcriber to ask them?
Hate WoW/Blizzard all you like but do not make a fool of yourself with pointless posts like that. You ask us to read between the lines.. i ask you to read the press release in full.
A Subscriber is an individual or company that is uniquely identified within the system as a user of services.
A Subscriber a person who has paid to receive a periodical
A Subscriber is an individual or company entity that pays for service provided by Ascend on a period basis which varies dependant on the service
Now don't kid yourself unless you work for blizzard A. you don't know their numbers only what they say to you. B. Companies do lie point blank. C. If Blizzard say they seen a pig fly by their office would you believe it. Sure you would because it’s Blizzard they wouldn't lie to you. D. If they don't show the proof why should I believe it. Oh yeah they don't show how many people they have on each server. But DAOC do that’s the only way we know that the game is not doing so hot that’s proof. Also for subscribers even if a person is not active, banned or whatever that person is still counted as a subscriber to that game or company. Because they purchased that company product or services. As I say again read between the lines.
PS. You can go to any website any news article and not one of them says active subscribers.
Sorry but you're mistaken. Look at the press release and you'll see they count only active subscribers.
http://www.blizzard.com/press/070724.shtml
Is Blizzard nervous?
No, they havn't logged out and crawled out from under their rock yet.
WAR will be fantastic, who cares about WoW and how much they make.
WoW will keep the kids away hopefully, Mythic doesn't want mommy's credit card.
LOL, look, most game dev's can figure out that kids are expendable, their money comes and goes, but adult gamers are more consistant. For instances, lets say half of WoW's population are kids under 13, guess who pays for WoW, not the kids, the Adults do
.
So, imho, adults such as "mommy" matter more then the punk little kid lol
o and for the blizzard nervous thing, nah i think they don't give a care in the world
, they made thier fortune, if WoW died they'll just spend 5 years makeing another MMO 
The New England PAtriots are nervous too.
It is smart business to look at what others in your industry are doing successfully and completely rip it off to make sure you get to the top and stay there. In software the first company to pioneer a type of software almost never stays on top because a new company comes in and writes new code with a fresher product and they come in and take it to the top. The most successful companies in the world see a successful product with little competition, come in and do it better, and make a ton of money. The only way to stay on top is too cut off any competition by stealing anything they do successfully.
Anyway I think WoW will remain the most popular as much as it pisses so many gamers off, and then just as it starts to even out with some other titles Blizzard will release their 'Secret Next-Gen MMO' and take the top again. The problem is that they have set the standard so high that only companies with ridiculously huge budgets will be able to compete and only the companies that release a ridiculously successful MMORPG will have the kind of code base, fan following, and assets to make something to compete so you get left with one to three companies making the big time MMO's that house most of the gaming populous.
Let me clarify, I don't mean quality-wise, I mean in-game wise. From computer-requirements, to accessibility, they took existing things and made them easier, lowered them until even an absolute rookie could get into the game quickly and have fun.
That's their accomplishment. They opened up the MMORPG market to everyone who didn't have time or fun for these kind of games before and that is also the reason why no game that comes out these days will be able to scratch at WoW's subscribers. Why play another game that makes me do the same things just with a different paint? That's what most of the WoW players ask themselves and in a way they are right. So, until something truly innovative comes along, WoW will stay on top and games using the WoW model will fail at least fail in gaining the numbers WoW is achieving.
I agree, that may even out eventually, but with the release of the next Blizzard title, it might see a return, since many of those players that were introduced to the genre by WoW will say, "Wow, Blizzard is making a new one, had so much fun in WoW, let's go there!".
These are of course only my thoughts on the subject, but I tend to think it's a rather logical explanation why it seems no one can grab a piece of WoW's success.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Totally agree with ya
It's funny, I'm 30 years old and this kind of pathetic generalizing behavior to me is exactly the type of behavior you guys are trying to pretend you're better than ^^
WAR will be great, that much is true...but every game developer and company cares about how much WoW makes.
WAR will have just as many kids...and despite your assumption...Mythic want's every credit card it can get...yes, even Mommy's.
Begin to realize that games are made for one reason...to make money. The larger the audience you appeal to the more money you can make. Mythic does not who buys WAR...only how many will buy WAR...and how can they continue WAR and it's sales.
WoW of course will be effected by the release of WAR...but they will not feel it as much as other games will.
I no longer play WoW...waiting on AoC and WAR...regardless if you play WoW, love it or hate...there is no denying it is a Juggernaught that has and will continue to dominate not only in it's money making abilities but in it's ability to shape the future of MMOs.
A pod cast has nothing to do with panic. Once again, we can see that folks have not been online playing their games and instead are thinking up gossip and rumors for us to comment on....
sighs..this WoW hating gets rather juvenile at times, doesn't it?
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
John Lennon
It's funny, I'm 30 years old and this kind of pathetic generalizing behavior to me is exactly the type of behavior you guys are trying to pretend you're better than ^^
Havnt got a clue what you mean & to be honest i care even less, when War comes out " ill play it , i will become it, & i will be war " & as far as im concerned i will be under WAR'S rock for a few years just as i was under WoW's.WAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH
It's funny, I'm 30 years old and this kind of pathetic generalizing behavior to me is exactly the type of behavior you guys are trying to pretend you're better than ^^
I think everyone but Decre misunderstood my post.
obiously NO.
Blizzard got other projects than wow
Blizz knows that new games are coming.
Does that mean that each new thing that comes to their game is in direct response or as a result of those 'new games'? No.
...
I think both games will have their markets. Unfortunately, I do see a mass number of (as others have put it) mom's credit cards getting used on both WoW and potentially WAR.
If WAR featured maturity filters (not to be confused with profanity filters) then that would be the biggest feather in their hat. I'm afraid that WAR is going to feature 'Barren's Chat' 2.0. And that's something WAR shouldn't try to copy from Blizz, but will probably do so without intention.
WAR is going to be a decent game, go by their beta application numbers. However I believe perhaps a third of the beta applications are multiples of the same person. Closed Beta accounts sell, and they are free to apply for.
It's hard to boast that it will even come near to rivaling WoW's numbers. A better game does not mean you will move people from WoW. It's success is due to friends telling their friends to join, people I would never have imagined to play games are playing WoW.
The exception is that I don't know many people talking about WAR. Everyone I know who plays WoW is content with it, they aren't waiting to hop ship and join a new game. They just seem completely satisfied, I'm talking about casual gamers. I'm sure the hardcore crowd wants to jump ship and hop to the newest game, but it doesn't necessarily mean the herd will follow.
I'm also concerned on System specs, these are a huge concern, because WoW can run on any computer you can buy for $500 now. If you need a $2,000 machine to get an edge in WAR, then I seriously doubt WAR will hit 2 million subs worldwide. People buy high end gaming machines for games, not for MMO's.
Truth is pretty much every gaming company will want everyones credit card and dont care less of whos it is as long as it brings in the money.
Why would Blizzard give a crap about AOC,WAR or any other games that's going to come out soon? they're going to have like 30 million with starcraft 2 coming out, so even if WoW drops to like 3 million they seriously wouldnt care.
This may be true but Blizzard will bounce back. They're already getting ready to make another MMO (can you say Starcraft Online...I hope). Blizzard is smart, they see all these other possible hits coming along and they're going to cover their bases. Even if 40%+ of the players of WOW leave when another game their interested comes out, when they come out with the new MMO a lot of them are going to jump back (especially if its SO), because Blizzard is known to make good games.
And as for this nonsense that you have to spend $2000 to play it, that's BS. In case you haven't realized, hardware is dirt cheap these days. I put the following together myself for about $500:
AMD Dual Core 3.0GHz w/ motherboard
GeForce 8600 (plan to upgrade this to an Ultra 8800 in the future)
4 GB of memory
Creative ExtremeGamer Sound Card
Windows Vista (64bit) - not included in price
I built this all in WAR's honor. I'm sure it's going to be overkill for WAR, but oh well. I figure with the badass video card and memory, I can handle many characters on screen. And I only spent about $500 on this rig.
Also, since I was feeling generous to myself, I added in another 24" flat screen monitor ($400) and $200 5.1 channel speakers. I'm set, baby! So in conclusion, no, you don't need a $2000 rig to run today's games. It's most likely going to be overkill for WAR. I say bring on the awesome graphics!!!!!!
This whole post makes me laugh. I really hope the blizzard crowd stays with blizzard. The easy game play style is great for some people and if they try and move on they will have a hard time. A game has got to have a good population but by no means does it need a huge one with millions and millions of players. Its not like you even notice in WoW with their what 300 servers? So yeah Blizzard people stay with WoW and wait for SC2 please.
Sig by WhiskeyJack1
*ponders*
Ya that has to be it.. obviously.
*ponders*
Ya that has to be it.. obviously.
There's no other big budget, soon to be released mmo games out there that even come close to WAR. WAR has the triple threat: Best pvp MMO company in the biz (mythic), great fantasy IP (Warhammer), and marketing muscle (EA). Sure, AoC is a great IP, but it's being pushed by a tiny company who has a track record of dismal failures like Anarchy Online. All flash, no substance. You can bet your ass that Blizzard is looking nervously in its rearview mirror at WAR. Not necessarily because WAR will beat its' subscriber numbers (that's unrealistic in the near term), but that WAR will take a big bite into their profits. Especially from that pvp crowd disillusioned by WoW's Instanced Special Olympics style pvp. The number of PvP servers in WoW rival the PvE servers. WAR is building an mmo from the ground up to focus on pvp and make it fun. Rest assured, Blizzard is watching closely. Which is why they are all of a sudden trying to put the focus more on pvp in their next expansion.
lol this thread has been going for ages now, way too long.... cant a mod lock it or something, its just pointless reiteration of the same things over and over, enough now please
Does the truth hurt much? Go back to the AoC/WoW board, troll.