The fact that its made by Blizzard Entertainment is what made it successful.
No, because then a lot of people I know would have known who they are long before WoW. Warcraft fans are many, but a fraction compared to the clueless others. It's one of those things "you had to be there for". If you weren't big on gaming during Warcraft 1 and 2, then it will mean jack to you these days.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4 Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
What WoW did that no other game did before or since was lets noobs become uber. No other games lets dumb players become successful like WoW does. That is what made WoW successful and is why most MMO enthusists hate WoW with a passion.
In WoW servers are stuffed with bad Leeroy Jenkins type players who are idiots but celebrated to celebrity status. Oh look he wiped the raid everyone laugh that he wiped us because this WoW where there is zero penalty for failling. No deleveling, no corpse runs, no shared XP debt, no obligitory guild kick for being dumb. WoW coddles these people and then doles out epic rewards for taking no risk of failing. Lowest common denominator gaming is what is.
In WoW servers are stuffed with bad Leeroy Jenkins type players who are idiots but celebrated to celebrity status. Oh look he wiped the raid everyone laugh that he wiped us because this WoW where there is zero penalty for failling. No deleveling, no corpse runs, no shared XP debt, no obligitory guild kick for being dumb. WoW coddles these people and then doles out epic rewards for taking no risk of failing. Lowest common denominator gaming is what is.
...
We both know that nobody cries over a wipe more than a WoW player. There's no setback, but it's still the end of the world for them. God forbid they lose in a game that would actually take them down a peg.
In fact, WoW is one of the few games where players will rush an instance with zero tactics, without speaking a word to others, and still blow up when they fail.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4 Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
what did WoW do, that other EQ clones didnt do, which made WoW so Successful?
There has to be something that other EQ clones are doing different from what WoW did,,, right,,,,,
It is not what WoW did, but what Blizzard had. They already had a huge customer base from Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo that were used to the game lobby mentality that WoW offers. If they did not have all those players, there would not have been anything special about WoW.
But that same excuse would apply to Warhammer which had DAoC and Warhammer fanbase behind them, yet it flopped. Same for other strong IP MMO.
need I point out
AoC and LoTRO for debuging this age old excuse?
PS: your MMO was Exposed!!!!
The fanboi asking for obvious answer he already know most will deliver.
AoC maybe a themepark and casual gameplay but its alot different from WoW so dont understand why you think its copy from eq and WoW.
Most failed mainly becouse WoW already had a huge fans base plus game was so easy and fun for themepark players that it was succes for MASS before it even started.
After WoW was launched most other mmo's made mistake trying to implement featers WoW have or copy it with was no reason for most WoW fans not to switch to there game.
And if you get millions of new mmo players after 2005 who only know WoW or all those copys its harder and harder to come up with new mmo that try to be different and sandbox is mainly just WAY to DIFFICULT for majority of themeparks players and they just want fluff ezmode themepark with no thinking involded and play with whole family 8 to80 and chat wholeday:)
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009..... In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
What WoW did that no other game did before or since was lets noobs become uber. No other games lets dumb players become successful like WoW does. That is what made WoW successful and is why most MMO enthusists hate WoW with a passion.
In WoW servers are stuffed with bad Leeroy Jenkins type players who are idiots but celebrated to celebrity status. Oh look he wiped the raid everyone laugh that he wiped us because this WoW where there is zero penalty for failling. No deleveling, no corpse runs, no shared XP debt, no obligitory guild kick for being dumb. WoW coddles these people and then doles out epic rewards for taking no risk of failing. Lowest common denominator gaming is what is.
And clearly you didnt play Vanilla WoW.
Lvling was slower, and most of the player base didnt even reach last tier.
AQ 40 aka the Guild Destroyer.
it didnt get that title for nothing. Dieing in WoW was a harsh enough penalty. Walking back through a long ass dungon, full of respawns, and gear damage, was a pain in the ass. BRD?
Plus you needed PvP titles for the Gear. So I dont know hat game you played, but WoW was anything but easy, unless you are only referring to solo fighting a single npc....../roleeyes.
It's funny. I play MMOs a lot. But I have a ton of friends who don't. BUT, when WoW hit, they were drawn in by their friends etc. And the talk of the time was how much FUN WoW was. Nothing to do with how easy, or shallow or how well marketed or how Blizzard has always blown them away(since they never heard of Blizzard until WoW hit as it is)
Even I was wary about playing it. I didn't like the look of it in videos but a friend of mine from FFXI pulled me into it. I wasn't a fan of the early warcraft games, I had heard of them but barely. So I wasn't a Blizzard fanboi by any stretch. I got hooked immediately in my first month.
The game felt smooth, it was fun, and immersive(sounds and music and controls that made the graphics better than they are). The seamless world, the nuances of pvp play and talent tree builds. It was the first I had seen of anything like it. But at the end of the day, it was just plain fun to log in and do pve or pvp and just explore and get rewarded for it. On top of having friends, at the time, to experience it with as well.
THAT is the reason I think it hasn't been "copied" accurately yet. Every developer keeps trying to copy certain aspects, but they never get the important stuff. Although I think 2011 is going to surprise us.
Blizzard just set out to make a fun game and they accomplished that. Most other companies get bogged down in trying to recreate the atmosphere; like in LotRO or WAR, and fail because they aren't focusing on being fun.
Originally posted by Amathe Let everyone win.
You've obviously never got into high rated arena matches or heroic raids. They definitely do not let everyone "win" in those cases. Sure, most people can get into the low end content and have fun being casuals. But WoW definitely has it's hardcore crowd which are often much more hardcore about WoW then people are about other MMOs.
"World of Warcraft is the perfect implementation of this genre." - Hilmar Petursson. CEO of CCP.
What WoW did that no other game did before or since was lets noobs become uber. No other games lets dumb players become successful like WoW does. That is what made WoW successful and is why most MMO enthusists hate WoW with a passion.
In WoW servers are stuffed with bad Leeroy Jenkins type players who are idiots but celebrated to celebrity status. Oh look he wiped the raid everyone laugh that he wiped us because this WoW where there is zero penalty for failling. No deleveling, no corpse runs, no shared XP debt, no obligitory guild kick for being dumb. WoW coddles these people and then doles out epic rewards for taking no risk of failing. Lowest common denominator gaming is what is.
And clearly you didnt play Vanilla WoW.
Lvling was slower, and most of the player base didnt even reach last tier.
AQ 40 aka the Guild Destroyer.
it didnt get that title for nothing. Dieing in WoW was a harsh enough penalty. Walking back through a long ass dungon, full of respawns, and gear damage, was a pain in the ass. BRD?
Plus you needed PvP titles for the Gear. So I dont know hat game you played, but WoW was anything but easy, unless you are only referring to solo fighting a single npc....../roleeyes.
Even though I don't really agree with Novusod's post (only partially), I think your post is pretty much wrong in many ways. I feel inclined to ask you if you played Vanilla WoW by yourself. Leveling was slower but it was do-able in 3~4 weeks (I myself got to 40 before my first free month ended, and I started playing on day 1). Also dying in WoW was never a big deal, maybe you should try games like Final Fantasy XI, Ultima Online, Darkfall, etc and check out their death penalties(I assume your past MMO experiences is pretty limited according to your post).
Also you didn't need PvP titles for gear before open-world pvp got raped.
I don't see how anyone who has tried more than at least 5 MMOs can say that WoW isn't easy.
Ultima Online 98~04 Dark Age of Camelot 03~07 Final Fantasy XI 04~06 Guild Wars 05~08 World of Warcraft 04~05 Unsuccessful Tries: DFO/EQ2/DRaja/Rag/Req/RYL/9D/Cabal/KO/PSU/RF/GE/TO/TR/DDO/EVE/LoTRO/L2/RZ/SWG/VG
#1: Successfull Compagnie with title serie sof Wracraft, Diablo and Starcraft that built a huge player base.
#2: The Lore of the world fo warcraft.
#3: Easy to play, Even If I hate this point, it a bit why it's succesfull as well.
#4: Intsnaced Pvp in battleground for playerwho want to pvp/not pvp. Even the "Pvp" server are not full pvp.
#5: Mass Content added, That's one of the big reason the game is still alive and kicking.
~~~
Most MMO being created now, are lacking lore, gameplay and challenge. Everquest, Pre-Plane of power, was the best game on the market till now. PoP ruined the immersion with plane of knowledge boook teleport and overpowered item.
TO sucess as a MMO, you need 3 critical point.
Lore, Gameplay and Immersion. If you lack one of these, ou're losing a big chunk of player base.
To believe I still listen to EQ1 soundtrack now and then...
#1: Successfull Compagnie with title serie sof Wracraft, Diablo and Starcraft that built a huge player base.
#2: The Lore of the world fo warcraft.
#3: Easy to play, Even If I hate this point, it a bit why it's succesfull as well.
#4: Intsnaced Pvp in battleground for playerwho want to pvp/not pvp. Even the "Pvp" server are not full pvp.
#5: Mass Content added, That's one of the big reason the game is still alive and kicking.
~~~
Most MMO being created now, are lacking lore, gameplay and challenge. Everquest, Pre-Plane of power, was the best game on the market till now. PoP ruined the immersion with plane of knowledge boook teleport and overpowered item.
TO sucess as a MMO, you need 3 critical point.
Lore, Gameplay and Immersion. If you lack one of these, ou're losing a big chunk of player base.
To believe I still listen to EQ1 soundtrack now and then...
lore? WoW/Wc 3 made the warcraft world, the old good brutal lore into a disney production. Its just a bunch of cartooned freaks jumping around in a more ugly animated world.
Wows success relies on achivements, a good amounts of items and of course the big raids which drops shiny items, but in the end its all the same crap over and over again. But I guess thats what people like so...
#1: Successfull Compagnie with title serie sof Wracraft, Diablo and Starcraft that built a huge player base.
#2: The Lore of the world fo warcraft.
#3: Easy to play, Even If I hate this point, it a bit why it's succesfull as well.
#4: Intsnaced Pvp in battleground for playerwho want to pvp/not pvp. Even the "Pvp" server are not full pvp.
#5: Mass Content added, That's one of the big reason the game is still alive and kicking.
~~~
Most MMO being created now, are lacking lore, gameplay and challenge. Everquest, Pre-Plane of power, was the best game on the market till now. PoP ruined the immersion with plane of knowledge boook teleport and overpowered item.
TO sucess as a MMO, you need 3 critical point.
Lore, Gameplay and Immersion. If you lack one of these, ou're losing a big chunk of player base.
To believe I still listen to EQ1 soundtrack now and then...
lore? WoW/Wc 3 made the warcraft world, the old good brutal lore into a disney production. Its just a bunch of cartooned freaks jumping around in a more ugly animated world.
Wows success relies on achivements, a good amounts of items and of course the big raids which drops shiny items, but in the end its all the same crap over and over again. But I guess thats what people like so...
That's where you fail to understand. They made it cartoony because they used the graphic of Wc3 with more polygon to give the player ht efeel on being in the game of warcraft, which is what we call Immersion, and so far it was a success, if ti failed for you, it succeded for alot of people.
Achievement, Items, and raid are all part of gameplay. Wow has the 3 critical point for a success and it was a success and still is right now, which is why WoW is dominating the market like EQ was in the old day. Sony failed to continue and keep EQ has it was and just turned it into a grind feast ruining the immersion.
the best answer has already been posted several times worded differently, of course.
mr t, ozzy, and shatner didnt make wow great. blizzard (for being blizzard) didnt make it great.
it was all of these things combined, along with simplicity of controls, it looks and runs great on low end pcs. you can do just about anything you want ingame. you feel like cliff-diving....go ahead, i can even recommend a few good locales to dive from, lol. you want to start an ingame church in stormwind, there are completely empty buildings that would be perfect for that sort of gathering. if you want to just stay close to the starting area and kill cows, just for grins and giggles....totally cool. in fact, my 6 year old nephew used to do just that along with stand in the middle of town dancing. he got a kick out of it.
personally, i was kinda fond of reading the ingame lore. i would sit in the homes and read by the fire, not alot of games let you have that much freedom......not ffxi, try to even sit down or jump in that game, lol......you could in eq2, but the controls and crafting and lore was all so very complicated. you practically had to know BASIC, just to set an macro (slight exaggeration, sorry).
in wow, you can almost lvl up everything you do, not quite as much as runescape, lol. but enough that it held your attention, and made it seem worth it.
word of mouth definitely gets people to try a game, but its the game that keeps their attention. wow is so addicting, i havent played the game in almost a year, and i still go through withdraws,lol, sometimes. especially when i talk or write about it. i liked the exploration you could do, i was an explorer. getting rewarded for finding new areas was always welcome.
im just listing all the factors that i can think of as to why it was so very successful compared to other games like it. this is by no means a complete list. i just dont think you can say that wows success is due to just one thing like, "let everyone win." thats a great answer, and kinda true, but its not the whole answer. btw, wow was NOT bug-free at launch, lol, not even close. but blizzard was great and quick, and i think that made a difference too.
the neverending stream of expansions that are coming out certainly dont hurt either.....sorry, i could go on and on, ill shut up now.
Nobody knows because no one else came close and I don't see anything coming soon.
My 2 cents: the competition cut corners and frankly have no clue either. Investing millions in voice overs is the latest trend, just as if this means something in a video game.
It is clear putting question marks above heads and kill things to level is not enough.
In my opinion they basically streamlined EQ. They took many of the features that worked, and changed the ones that didn't. The interface, the questing, xp, item gain; everything was expedited.
Blizzard took all the things people hated about EQ and either changed them to make them more user friendly or ditched them altogether. Then they wrapped theier game up in an established world that people already liked, slapped a whole lot of polish on top of it, and hit the jackpot. It also helps that Blizzard had a longstanding reputation for quality games.
WoW is the logical end of the EQ game design. There's a reason why the games that have truly been successful since WoW's release are either connected to major franchises (e.g., FFXI) or are different enough from WoW and EQ to offer a unique gaming experience for players (e.g., EVE).
I still say it's because it's the "entry level" MMO that brought literally millions of people into the genre in the first place, but yeah, there is no denying they streamlined everything to the point of being gold, or at least gold-plated.
WoW's quest to leveling ratio pretty much completely eschews having to grind without a legible goal, ever, and that's something a lot of people look for in any other game because of the standard it's set there.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4 Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
what did WoW do, that other EQ clones didnt do, which made WoW so Successful?
There has to be something that other EQ clones are doing different from what WoW did,,, right,,,,,
It is not what WoW did, but what Blizzard had. They already had a huge customer base from Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo that were used to the game lobby mentality that WoW offers. If they did not have all those players, there would not have been anything special about WoW.
But that same excuse would apply to Warhammer which had DAoC and Warhammer fanbase behind them, yet it flopped. Same for other strong IP MMO.
need I point out
AoC and LoTRO for debuging this age old excuse?
PS: your MMO was Exposed!!!!
DAoC had what 200k at it's peak? This is a pathetically small number when compared to the diablo/warcraft/starcraft fanbase. Warhammer's issue is the same that DDO had: Significant game changes which took the IP from what is known to the fanbase and replacing it with something that only remotely resembles its lineage. If one looks at the Warhammer 40k RTS games from THQ you see what you get when you stay closer to your source material. I am pretty sure that those games have sold several million copies, FAR and AWAY more than ever went to Mythic's Warhammer Online.
The first thing Blizzard did was perfect the idea of the virtual slot machine with Diablo. You run around, story is thin at best and not at all important, and kill stuff for the possible chance that it might drop something purty. It worked magnificently for them so well in fact you cannot go 5 minutes in World of Warcraft trade channels without someone chomping at the bit to get their hands on Diablo III. As a side note I still do not know why they didnt go with Diablo online instead of WoW. Maybe because there wasn't enough seperation between what people got for $50.00 and no sub when compared to WoW and by using Warcraft they were able to put enough of a distance that the vast majority of people could not connect the two? Anyhow, I digress.
The next thing Blizzard did was to not demand bleeding edge computer specs to enjoy their game. AOC and Warhammer and a plethora of games out there are not nearly coded well enough to scale well and the vast majority of people out there do not spend $10k every 6 months to be on the cutting edge of tech. By keeping the game playable even on mom's solitaire computer you are able to get mom, dad, granny, little suzie, and everyone in between to give it a shot.
Third, they have pretty damn good marketing, seen the commercials recently? Never seen a WAR commercial on TV nor an AOC, Aion, EQ, EQ2, UO, anything apart from the SWG commercials right before the NGE hit. Hell I am pretty sure I have heard a WOW commercial on the radio, plus all of the product placement in movies and sitcoms. Shit, I bet 200k people signed up after the Warcraft southpark episode lol.
Finally, accessibility and a semblance of depth. Say what you will, but WOW is probably one of the easiest games to get into and play while making steady forward progress. Then comes the depth, and there is depth there. It takes some amount of skill to be a quality player in wow and to learn how to manage threat, keep everyone alive etc etc etc. The fact that you can get shiny purple gear that everyone thinks is really important with a minimal amount of effort keeps far more people playing, but the real good purple gear that looks the same but is far heavier with stat mods requires more time and a reasonable amount of skill to acquire.
I believe that it is all of the above which made WoW the most successful western mmo and really is not that hard of a formula to emulate. But, leave out any one or two of the aforementioned and you get AOC, WAR, POTBS, etc etc
OP sounds suspiciously much as a trolling/gloating post - MMOExposed, MMO_Doubter, what's in a name, eh? - and the subject has been done to death in gazillion threads, but ok, here we go again:
Polish, accessibility, enough fun things to do.
Polish: it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you do it well, and your game that people will play feels as a finished product. Bugs or rushed aspects of the game people will notice, also care for detail people will notice. Responsive controls is another element that makes a huge difference.
Accessibility: ease of access, other MMO's had a higher learning curve, with WoW you are helped along right from the start, knowing what to do and where to go. WoW introduced the 'themepark concept' and removed any harsh penalties (xp loss with dying) and annoyances that could get you out of the 'zone'. Add to that good GUI, easily identifiable quests etc and you have a smooth rollercoaster ride with enough micro gratifications along the way to make you keep going.
Enough fun things to do: we play MMO's to have fun and keep us entertained. For that to happen, there has to be enough content and enough different things to do to suit our different moods. WoW had that. A large, seamless and rich world also adds to the immersion and fun.
These 3 plus Warcraft's recognizability gave WoW it's great liftoff. After a while came another 4th aspect in the mix:
Popularity and herd behaviour: (many) people like to follow success and be part of something successful, subconsciously hoping it'll rub off to them. Successful soccer teams, successful politician, popularly hyped trends. WoW was successful and kept growing, it got mainstream media attention that made people take notice and curious. Also, people want to join interests and hobbies that preferrably their friends and family are part of too, being part of a large active community is one of the key things we're looking for in a MMO. WoW offers that, a LOT of all kinds of people are playing WoW.
Of course, a great wellknown IP will help a LOT too as well as a (artifically?) peaking hype before launch, but a MMO that manages to get those first three aspects right and offers something distinctive enough from other MMO's is a LONG way towards having potential enough to be really successful.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
i absolutely love how this question has been answered the same way several times now, and this thread just keeps growing and growing. all of these answers are good, though. just sayin'
i absolutely love how this question has been answered the same way several times now, and this thread just keeps growing and growing. all of these answers are good, though. just sayin'
I'll be honest. I was too lazy to read anything of this thread but the OP
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I would say the Largest factor was how they advertised and where they advertised. WHat Blizzard did with WOW was not only brought their player base from their already successful games, they brought in many Non gamers through their advertising that no other game has done. They advertised everywhere from beauty chic flick magazines to non stop commercials. They advertised on a scope that I have never seen before in the gaming industry , and targeted so many different audiences via Celebrity endorsement. What other game has had endosrements from everyone from Mr.T & Captain Kirk, to Mila Kunis & Ozzy Osbourne? They created a " cool " factor that had not previously existed in the " gaming geek" world of MMORPGS.
i absolutely love how this question has been answered the same way several times now, and this thread just keeps growing and growing. all of these answers are good, though. just sayin'
I'll be honest. I was too lazy to read anything of this thread but the OP
i tried to read all of them, but got bored after the 3rd time the question was answered well, lol, about 2 pages in.;)
Polish: The combat is smooth, no hiccups, the game engine runs great on computers from 8 years ago, it is just very well made and performs better than any other MMO. That is the biggest reason it initially sold well and still attracts new players.
Progression: The game keeps people interested with constantly expanding content. A new dungeon and new gear to get, or new pvp gear to get. What other game out there has the same rate of progression updates to keep people interested? There just isn't any other MMO in the same class. The old EQ was on that level as well, constantly adding new challenges to expand the end game. WoW does that really well I think.
To understand the phenominon that is World of Warcraft you have to first stop thinking of it as a game. You have to think of it as a utility or a technology in itself. Think of it as an iPod. Essentially it took two technologies and put into one and then it took off and now if you don't have an iPod you're probably dead.
World of Warcraft came into the genre at the perfect time and was equipped with the right tools to use as a launchpad. The genre was ready to be legitimate to gamers around the world, all they needed was a push. The Warcraft IP was that push, and so the game did well at launch. It had the built in audience that every developer wants (which is why every IP is bought up). But they did it first. By the time the other developers caught on it was far too late. World of Warcraft is no longer a game. It's something everyone knows about - not just the gamers. It's something you can say to anyone and they either scowl or grin - either way they know exactly what you are talking about. There are thousands of people in World of Warcraft that don't play a single additional game.
In addition as time went on they began to cater to their CHANGING demographic. Which is why it went from semi-hardcore at the core game to easier and easier as the expansions came out. Because their demographic had changed from the MMO gamer and the RTS gamer to the ... 40 year olds and their 10 year old son. They have a mediocre game - its completely cookie cutter and 95 percent of their new ideas released each expansion are almost always taken as "inspiration" from other games. But, they know thier customers and they do a great job meeting their expectations and knowing what thye need and want as subscribers (not gamers).
The simple answer is... luck. They were lucky they came onto the scene when they did. They are lucky that they fixed all of the launch-flaws the game had by the time the wave of talk went past their fans and into the hands of the general masses. The one thing they did right was that they took every little thing from other MMO's that people liked and somehow manages to mesh it together so it all still feels like one gaming entity. The Koreans still farm for gold, the raiders still raid, the PVP'ers still PVP and at the end of the day its all still WoW. There aren't cliques. And that is a cool thing...
I play WoW but I've come to terms with the fact that it isn't a great game, its just an addictive game that always comes up. When I'm bored I ask my friends what they are playing and at least one is always playing WoW. So I end up going back.
One thing is for sure - and developers would do well to know this and model their business model accordingly... no game will ever hit the type of peak WoW has. Ever. When WoW 2 comes out... it will do great, but it will not meet those benchmarks.
Comments
The fact that its made by Blizzard Entertainment is what made it successful.
No, because then a lot of people I know would have known who they are long before WoW. Warcraft fans are many, but a fraction compared to the clueless others. It's one of those things "you had to be there for". If you weren't big on gaming during Warcraft 1 and 2, then it will mean jack to you these days.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
What WoW did that no other game did before or since was lets noobs become uber. No other games lets dumb players become successful like WoW does. That is what made WoW successful and is why most MMO enthusists hate WoW with a passion.
In WoW servers are stuffed with bad Leeroy Jenkins type players who are idiots but celebrated to celebrity status. Oh look he wiped the raid everyone laugh that he wiped us because this WoW where there is zero penalty for failling. No deleveling, no corpse runs, no shared XP debt, no obligitory guild kick for being dumb. WoW coddles these people and then doles out epic rewards for taking no risk of failing. Lowest common denominator gaming is what is.
...
We both know that nobody cries over a wipe more than a WoW player. There's no setback, but it's still the end of the world for them. God forbid they lose in a game that would actually take them down a peg.
In fact, WoW is one of the few games where players will rush an instance with zero tactics, without speaking a word to others, and still blow up when they fail.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
The fanboi asking for obvious answer he already know most will deliver.
AoC maybe a themepark and casual gameplay but its alot different from WoW so dont understand why you think its copy from eq and WoW.
Most failed mainly becouse WoW already had a huge fans base plus game was so easy and fun for themepark players that it was succes for MASS before it even started.
After WoW was launched most other mmo's made mistake trying to implement featers WoW have or copy it with was no reason for most WoW fans not to switch to there game.
And if you get millions of new mmo players after 2005 who only know WoW or all those copys its harder and harder to come up with new mmo that try to be different and sandbox is mainly just WAY to DIFFICULT for majority of themeparks players and they just want fluff ezmode themepark with no thinking involded and play with whole family 8 to80 and chat wholeday:)
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009.....
In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
And clearly you didnt play Vanilla WoW.
Lvling was slower, and most of the player base didnt even reach last tier.
AQ 40 aka the Guild Destroyer.
it didnt get that title for nothing. Dieing in WoW was a harsh enough penalty. Walking back through a long ass dungon, full of respawns, and gear damage, was a pain in the ass. BRD?
Plus you needed PvP titles for the Gear. So I dont know hat game you played, but WoW was anything but easy, unless you are only referring to solo fighting a single npc....../roleeyes.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
It's funny. I play MMOs a lot. But I have a ton of friends who don't. BUT, when WoW hit, they were drawn in by their friends etc. And the talk of the time was how much FUN WoW was. Nothing to do with how easy, or shallow or how well marketed or how Blizzard has always blown them away(since they never heard of Blizzard until WoW hit as it is)
Even I was wary about playing it. I didn't like the look of it in videos but a friend of mine from FFXI pulled me into it. I wasn't a fan of the early warcraft games, I had heard of them but barely. So I wasn't a Blizzard fanboi by any stretch. I got hooked immediately in my first month.
The game felt smooth, it was fun, and immersive(sounds and music and controls that made the graphics better than they are). The seamless world, the nuances of pvp play and talent tree builds. It was the first I had seen of anything like it. But at the end of the day, it was just plain fun to log in and do pve or pvp and just explore and get rewarded for it. On top of having friends, at the time, to experience it with as well.
THAT is the reason I think it hasn't been "copied" accurately yet. Every developer keeps trying to copy certain aspects, but they never get the important stuff. Although I think 2011 is going to surprise us.
Blizzard just set out to make a fun game and they accomplished that. Most other companies get bogged down in trying to recreate the atmosphere; like in LotRO or WAR, and fail because they aren't focusing on being fun.
You've obviously never got into high rated arena matches or heroic raids. They definitely do not let everyone "win" in those cases. Sure, most people can get into the low end content and have fun being casuals. But WoW definitely has it's hardcore crowd which are often much more hardcore about WoW then people are about other MMOs.
"World of Warcraft is the perfect implementation of this genre." - Hilmar Petursson. CEO of CCP.
Even though I don't really agree with Novusod's post (only partially), I think your post is pretty much wrong in many ways. I feel inclined to ask you if you played Vanilla WoW by yourself. Leveling was slower but it was do-able in 3~4 weeks (I myself got to 40 before my first free month ended, and I started playing on day 1). Also dying in WoW was never a big deal, maybe you should try games like Final Fantasy XI, Ultima Online, Darkfall, etc and check out their death penalties(I assume your past MMO experiences is pretty limited according to your post).
Also you didn't need PvP titles for gear before open-world pvp got raped.
I don't see how anyone who has tried more than at least 5 MMOs can say that WoW isn't easy.
Ultima Online 98~04
Dark Age of Camelot 03~07
Final Fantasy XI 04~06
Guild Wars 05~08
World of Warcraft 04~05
Unsuccessful Tries: DFO/EQ2/DRaja/Rag/Req/RYL/9D/Cabal/KO/PSU/RF/GE/TO/TR/DDO/EVE/LoTRO/L2/RZ/SWG/VG
Reason for WoW Success.
#1: Successfull Compagnie with title serie sof Wracraft, Diablo and Starcraft that built a huge player base.
#2: The Lore of the world fo warcraft.
#3: Easy to play, Even If I hate this point, it a bit why it's succesfull as well.
#4: Intsnaced Pvp in battleground for playerwho want to pvp/not pvp. Even the "Pvp" server are not full pvp.
#5: Mass Content added, That's one of the big reason the game is still alive and kicking.
~~~
Most MMO being created now, are lacking lore, gameplay and challenge. Everquest, Pre-Plane of power, was the best game on the market till now. PoP ruined the immersion with plane of knowledge boook teleport and overpowered item.
TO sucess as a MMO, you need 3 critical point.
Lore, Gameplay and Immersion. If you lack one of these, ou're losing a big chunk of player base.
To believe I still listen to EQ1 soundtrack now and then...
lore? WoW/Wc 3 made the warcraft world, the old good brutal lore into a disney production. Its just a bunch of cartooned freaks jumping around in a more ugly animated world.
Wows success relies on achivements, a good amounts of items and of course the big raids which drops shiny items, but in the end its all the same crap over and over again. But I guess thats what people like so...
That's where you fail to understand. They made it cartoony because they used the graphic of Wc3 with more polygon to give the player ht efeel on being in the game of warcraft, which is what we call Immersion, and so far it was a success, if ti failed for you, it succeded for alot of people.
Achievement, Items, and raid are all part of gameplay. Wow has the 3 critical point for a success and it was a success and still is right now, which is why WoW is dominating the market like EQ was in the old day. Sony failed to continue and keep EQ has it was and just turned it into a grind feast ruining the immersion.
the best answer has already been posted several times worded differently, of course.
mr t, ozzy, and shatner didnt make wow great. blizzard (for being blizzard) didnt make it great.
it was all of these things combined, along with simplicity of controls, it looks and runs great on low end pcs. you can do just about anything you want ingame. you feel like cliff-diving....go ahead, i can even recommend a few good locales to dive from, lol. you want to start an ingame church in stormwind, there are completely empty buildings that would be perfect for that sort of gathering. if you want to just stay close to the starting area and kill cows, just for grins and giggles....totally cool. in fact, my 6 year old nephew used to do just that along with stand in the middle of town dancing. he got a kick out of it.
personally, i was kinda fond of reading the ingame lore. i would sit in the homes and read by the fire, not alot of games let you have that much freedom......not ffxi, try to even sit down or jump in that game, lol......you could in eq2, but the controls and crafting and lore was all so very complicated. you practically had to know BASIC, just to set an macro (slight exaggeration, sorry).
in wow, you can almost lvl up everything you do, not quite as much as runescape, lol. but enough that it held your attention, and made it seem worth it.
word of mouth definitely gets people to try a game, but its the game that keeps their attention. wow is so addicting, i havent played the game in almost a year, and i still go through withdraws,lol, sometimes. especially when i talk or write about it. i liked the exploration you could do, i was an explorer. getting rewarded for finding new areas was always welcome.
im just listing all the factors that i can think of as to why it was so very successful compared to other games like it. this is by no means a complete list. i just dont think you can say that wows success is due to just one thing like, "let everyone win." thats a great answer, and kinda true, but its not the whole answer. btw, wow was NOT bug-free at launch, lol, not even close. but blizzard was great and quick, and i think that made a difference too.
the neverending stream of expansions that are coming out certainly dont hurt either.....sorry, i could go on and on, ill shut up now.
______________________________
what did WoW do, that other EQ clones didnt do, which made WoW so Successful?
Nobody knows because no one else came close and I don't see anything coming soon.
My 2 cents: the competition cut corners and frankly have no clue either. Investing millions in voice overs is the latest trend, just as if this means something in a video game.
It is clear putting question marks above heads and kill things to level is not enough.
The room has been taken.
Blizzard took all the things people hated about EQ and either changed them to make them more user friendly or ditched them altogether. Then they wrapped theier game up in an established world that people already liked, slapped a whole lot of polish on top of it, and hit the jackpot. It also helps that Blizzard had a longstanding reputation for quality games.
WoW is the logical end of the EQ game design. There's a reason why the games that have truly been successful since WoW's release are either connected to major franchises (e.g., FFXI) or are different enough from WoW and EQ to offer a unique gaming experience for players (e.g., EVE).
I still say it's because it's the "entry level" MMO that brought literally millions of people into the genre in the first place, but yeah, there is no denying they streamlined everything to the point of being gold, or at least gold-plated.
WoW's quest to leveling ratio pretty much completely eschews having to grind without a legible goal, ever, and that's something a lot of people look for in any other game because of the standard it's set there.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
DAoC had what 200k at it's peak? This is a pathetically small number when compared to the diablo/warcraft/starcraft fanbase. Warhammer's issue is the same that DDO had: Significant game changes which took the IP from what is known to the fanbase and replacing it with something that only remotely resembles its lineage. If one looks at the Warhammer 40k RTS games from THQ you see what you get when you stay closer to your source material. I am pretty sure that those games have sold several million copies, FAR and AWAY more than ever went to Mythic's Warhammer Online.
The first thing Blizzard did was perfect the idea of the virtual slot machine with Diablo. You run around, story is thin at best and not at all important, and kill stuff for the possible chance that it might drop something purty. It worked magnificently for them so well in fact you cannot go 5 minutes in World of Warcraft trade channels without someone chomping at the bit to get their hands on Diablo III. As a side note I still do not know why they didnt go with Diablo online instead of WoW. Maybe because there wasn't enough seperation between what people got for $50.00 and no sub when compared to WoW and by using Warcraft they were able to put enough of a distance that the vast majority of people could not connect the two? Anyhow, I digress.
The next thing Blizzard did was to not demand bleeding edge computer specs to enjoy their game. AOC and Warhammer and a plethora of games out there are not nearly coded well enough to scale well and the vast majority of people out there do not spend $10k every 6 months to be on the cutting edge of tech. By keeping the game playable even on mom's solitaire computer you are able to get mom, dad, granny, little suzie, and everyone in between to give it a shot.
Third, they have pretty damn good marketing, seen the commercials recently? Never seen a WAR commercial on TV nor an AOC, Aion, EQ, EQ2, UO, anything apart from the SWG commercials right before the NGE hit. Hell I am pretty sure I have heard a WOW commercial on the radio, plus all of the product placement in movies and sitcoms. Shit, I bet 200k people signed up after the Warcraft southpark episode lol.
Finally, accessibility and a semblance of depth. Say what you will, but WOW is probably one of the easiest games to get into and play while making steady forward progress. Then comes the depth, and there is depth there. It takes some amount of skill to be a quality player in wow and to learn how to manage threat, keep everyone alive etc etc etc. The fact that you can get shiny purple gear that everyone thinks is really important with a minimal amount of effort keeps far more people playing, but the real good purple gear that looks the same but is far heavier with stat mods requires more time and a reasonable amount of skill to acquire.
I believe that it is all of the above which made WoW the most successful western mmo and really is not that hard of a formula to emulate. But, leave out any one or two of the aforementioned and you get AOC, WAR, POTBS, etc etc
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
OP sounds suspiciously much as a trolling/gloating post - MMOExposed, MMO_Doubter, what's in a name, eh? - and the subject has been done to death in gazillion threads, but ok, here we go again:
Polish, accessibility, enough fun things to do.
Polish: it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you do it well, and your game that people will play feels as a finished product. Bugs or rushed aspects of the game people will notice, also care for detail people will notice. Responsive controls is another element that makes a huge difference.
Accessibility: ease of access, other MMO's had a higher learning curve, with WoW you are helped along right from the start, knowing what to do and where to go. WoW introduced the 'themepark concept' and removed any harsh penalties (xp loss with dying) and annoyances that could get you out of the 'zone'. Add to that good GUI, easily identifiable quests etc and you have a smooth rollercoaster ride with enough micro gratifications along the way to make you keep going.
Enough fun things to do: we play MMO's to have fun and keep us entertained. For that to happen, there has to be enough content and enough different things to do to suit our different moods. WoW had that. A large, seamless and rich world also adds to the immersion and fun.
These 3 plus Warcraft's recognizability gave WoW it's great liftoff. After a while came another 4th aspect in the mix:
Popularity and herd behaviour: (many) people like to follow success and be part of something successful, subconsciously hoping it'll rub off to them. Successful soccer teams, successful politician, popularly hyped trends. WoW was successful and kept growing, it got mainstream media attention that made people take notice and curious. Also, people want to join interests and hobbies that preferrably their friends and family are part of too, being part of a large active community is one of the key things we're looking for in a MMO. WoW offers that, a LOT of all kinds of people are playing WoW.
Of course, a great wellknown IP will help a LOT too as well as a (artifically?) peaking hype before launch, but a MMO that manages to get those first three aspects right and offers something distinctive enough from other MMO's is a LONG way towards having potential enough to be really successful.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
i absolutely love how this question has been answered the same way several times now, and this thread just keeps growing and growing. all of these answers are good, though. just sayin'
______________________________
I like the graphics.
Eleanor Rigby.
I'll be honest. I was too lazy to read anything of this thread but the OP
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I would say the Largest factor was how they advertised and where they advertised. WHat Blizzard did with WOW was not only brought their player base from their already successful games, they brought in many Non gamers through their advertising that no other game has done. They advertised everywhere from beauty chic flick magazines to non stop commercials. They advertised on a scope that I have never seen before in the gaming industry , and targeted so many different audiences via Celebrity endorsement. What other game has had endosrements from everyone from Mr.T & Captain Kirk, to Mila Kunis & Ozzy Osbourne? They created a " cool " factor that had not previously existed in the " gaming geek" world of MMORPGS.
i tried to read all of them, but got bored after the 3rd time the question was answered well, lol, about 2 pages in.;)
______________________________
Two words: Polish and Progression
Polish: The combat is smooth, no hiccups, the game engine runs great on computers from 8 years ago, it is just very well made and performs better than any other MMO. That is the biggest reason it initially sold well and still attracts new players.
Progression: The game keeps people interested with constantly expanding content. A new dungeon and new gear to get, or new pvp gear to get. What other game out there has the same rate of progression updates to keep people interested? There just isn't any other MMO in the same class. The old EQ was on that level as well, constantly adding new challenges to expand the end game. WoW does that really well I think.
To understand the phenominon that is World of Warcraft you have to first stop thinking of it as a game. You have to think of it as a utility or a technology in itself. Think of it as an iPod. Essentially it took two technologies and put into one and then it took off and now if you don't have an iPod you're probably dead.
World of Warcraft came into the genre at the perfect time and was equipped with the right tools to use as a launchpad. The genre was ready to be legitimate to gamers around the world, all they needed was a push. The Warcraft IP was that push, and so the game did well at launch. It had the built in audience that every developer wants (which is why every IP is bought up). But they did it first. By the time the other developers caught on it was far too late. World of Warcraft is no longer a game. It's something everyone knows about - not just the gamers. It's something you can say to anyone and they either scowl or grin - either way they know exactly what you are talking about. There are thousands of people in World of Warcraft that don't play a single additional game.
In addition as time went on they began to cater to their CHANGING demographic. Which is why it went from semi-hardcore at the core game to easier and easier as the expansions came out. Because their demographic had changed from the MMO gamer and the RTS gamer to the ... 40 year olds and their 10 year old son. They have a mediocre game - its completely cookie cutter and 95 percent of their new ideas released each expansion are almost always taken as "inspiration" from other games. But, they know thier customers and they do a great job meeting their expectations and knowing what thye need and want as subscribers (not gamers).
The simple answer is... luck. They were lucky they came onto the scene when they did. They are lucky that they fixed all of the launch-flaws the game had by the time the wave of talk went past their fans and into the hands of the general masses. The one thing they did right was that they took every little thing from other MMO's that people liked and somehow manages to mesh it together so it all still feels like one gaming entity. The Koreans still farm for gold, the raiders still raid, the PVP'ers still PVP and at the end of the day its all still WoW. There aren't cliques. And that is a cool thing...
I play WoW but I've come to terms with the fact that it isn't a great game, its just an addictive game that always comes up. When I'm bored I ask my friends what they are playing and at least one is always playing WoW. So I end up going back.
One thing is for sure - and developers would do well to know this and model their business model accordingly... no game will ever hit the type of peak WoW has. Ever. When WoW 2 comes out... it will do great, but it will not meet those benchmarks.