Sometimes...they come back
Updated Wed, Dec 03, 2008 by Coyote
When we play an MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Game), we become to a degree, invested.
Unlike a normal video game where you follow a storyline and go from point A) to point B) in order to finish a quest or a level, MMOG's allow us to develop a unique character with his or her own personality. They allow you to take nearly an infinite amount of time and invest it in your character and in the game itself crafting and tailoring the gaming experience to meet and satisfy your own personal needs.
And sometimes, this bores the piss out of us.
While these games may seem to have nearly endless replay value, the truth is - after a year or two of the same world, the same models and the same scenery, you start to crave change. Sure you're the biggest and the baddest but other than pwnin' n00bs, what do you have to look forward to? You've done it all, seen it all, and while you could start again on a new character...
...chances are that your eye begins to wander.
You start looking at other MMOG's in search of that feeling of excitement, enjoyment and adventure that your current game once supplied. You might notice theplump round backside of some hot new title, and with heavy heart you may denounce your game of choice and leave for another...
Unless you play World of Warcraft. Then your ass isn't going anywhere.
When new games spring up, they have to get their population from somewhere, and that somewhere is mostly made up of the CURRENT games that are on the market. So when Age of Conan, and (most recently) Warhammer Online were released, World of Warcraft saw a huge dip in numbers as their players ran off to try new worlds and games.
And then 64% of them CAME BACK.
Which just goes to prove: You don't quit WoW, WoW quits YOU!
Like junkies crawling through broken glass to grovel at the feet of a back alley dealer, the flood of gamers leaving World of Warcraft have started to trickle back, and now that trickle has become a flood. And while I never cared for the game personally, (My mage shouldn't look like Hulk Hogan. Of course, in argument, Hulk Hogan shouldn't look like Hulk Hogan. NO ONE should look like Hulk Hogan. His skin is the color of an old leather recliner, and his handle bar mustache looks like it should sprout eyes and latch angrily onto the face of anyone who defies his Hulkamania. But I digress, bruther.) I have to respect the fact that their numbers simply do not lie.
WoW is a good game.
It HAS to be.
It is still the top grossing MMOG on the market, it is to date one of the most successful MMOG's *ever* to launch, and even though I think that it pales in comparison to my beloved EverQuest II, I have to admit that it IS a good game.
Nine BILLION people can't be wrong.
Well, they can. I mean, that's roughly the number of people in the world who think that it's acceptable for men to wear "Crocs". I mean come on people, big plastic shoes with holes in them that come in Day-Glo colors? How is THIS a socially acceptable fashion statement?
When did it become acceptable for grown MEN to dress like seven year old girls? Who buys their footwear off of a hanger in the SUPERMARKET?
See? People can be wrong. But in terms of World of Warcraft, if that many people are playing, that many left, and that many came back, the drug HAS to be good, right? I'm not sure how I dodged drinking the brightly colored cartoon Kool-aid of WoW, but in retrospect, I'm glad that I did.
Because I'm starting to suspect that if you're a WoW player, you may not be so by choice. Like a plot to a bad movie, you might have stumbled into something and are now being forced to play. Like some sort of skinny, pasty, doughy geek hostage.
If I'm right, blink twice. Don't say anything. Blink twice.
-Coyote
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Wrong! I played WOW, all the way to the BC raids too, so not very casual at all, and I quit, with no yearning to return either!
Hah!
I, and my witch, are seriously enjoying plodding slowing through WAR. Partly cos its a good game, partly cos it looks nice and plays nice but mostly cos when the daft witch clicks my char, he has a good chance of telling her to piss off. In a yorkshire accent. S'beautiful that *sniff*.
The only game I really had a problem quitting was EQ1. Maybe because it was the first real one, the one with the addiction factor, I played all the way through the night quite a few times, my guild became more important to me than it should have been, raiding was the ultimate buzz, forums were my flaming play thing, etc etc.
I left EQ1 for Horizons, SWG, DAOC....a few others I am not admitting to....but always got lured back to EQ1. The first time I truly left it was EQ2. I never thought Id play any other franchise, I tried WOW twice before I "got it" then it was almost that first EQ1 feeling but the force is strong in me (even tho the witch has now HIDDEN my lightsaber ffs, HIDDEN!!!! I ask you, I earn all the cash, she should show me some respect dammit)
I think the first game like this you get really hooked by, thats the one thats hard to quit, for a lot of people WOW is their first, the noobs, so I think this is a factor in their returning like this, they dont actually know any better. Yet. They will tho.
I envisioned Sandor in gay shirts because he's american, so I kinda envision all you guys on here from the other side of the pond in gay shirts. Alma of course I picture in a tartan skirt. Which isnt gay at all. Much.
*giggle*
PS Nice post today mofo, you shizzled my nizzle bro. Word.
Good read today Coyote.
And yet, Activision/Blizzad lost money Q3.....
*blink*
*blink*
I tried WoW for a couple of hours. Within 10 minutes of logging in some doofus wanted to duel me. Where is the challenge in that? A newly created character with no gear, no spells, no experience and you want to beat him into the ground? These are the same sort of jerks that beat up women and children. Does it make you feel like a big man there Sporto?
I uninstalled it that same day.
Oh, and crocs shouldn't be worn by ANYONE, unless you are still wearing pigtails and into Dora the Explorer.
Hello, everyone; good write up Coyote I tried WOW played till level 20 before i could not take it anymore. I could deal with the cartoonish quality of the graphics but not all the idiots playing the game. I was constantly challenged to a dual from level 5 and had to duel a level 50 moron so he would tell me where I could find the quest location I needed. You level to fast in WOW it’s all about the end game there I ma not into raiding or PVP so totally lost interest. I just hope that SOE does not mess EQII up since they have made leveling faster and are making things a lot easier in the game. All I want from SOE is for then to show the poor Warlock some love.
PS. My wife wears crocks but then she works in an ambulatory surgical center so it goes with the outfit. Other than that I agree no one out of pigtails needs to wear them as a fashion choice.
Nine million, man. Nine million. If nine billion people are playing WoW, there's another planet involved.
Anyway, I can attest to the fact that WoW is a captivating game. It's simply fun at all levels of play; if you're a casual player who predominantly solos, there's plenty for you to do. If you're semi-casual and enjoy grouping with just your friends, there's plenty for you to do. And if you're a hardcore player who likes being part of a huge guild and going on massive raids, there is plenty for you to do. Plus the crafting/secondary skills are both straightforward and useful, and Blizzard keeps things interesting with holiday events, quests, battlegrounds, etc. Basically, WoW is an MMO with something for everyone. That's the secret to their success.
Now all that said, anything will wear thin after awhile. I'm currently on a long break from WoW; I just don't have the desire to play any MMO right now. But that desire will probably come back sooner or later, and when it does I'll be back in Azeroth.
S
Sandor Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 10:09 am e
Nine million, man. Nine million. If nine billion people are playing WoW, there’s another planet involved.
******************************************************************
For correcting my obvious drastic exaggeration, Sandor officially (and in an epic moment, for the first time ever) LOSES the blog for the day.
How dare you sir.
How DARE you.
I know exactly how many people are on this planet.
One. And it is me. The rest of you are figments of my imagination and will die the moment that *I* cease to exist.
Even if you don't belief it, and think you are real, and think that you have lives outside of MY imagination. Like Kurt Russell in that Vanilla Sky remake.
Which is why I envision you in the gay shirts that you wear Sandor. Because you are mine to toy with.
Correction: 64% of people who filled in the exit survey and checked off "going to play AoC/WAR" returned. Which is probably pretty close to the same return rate that every established MMO sees when a new game is released.
Coyote Sharptongue Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 10:29 am
I know exactly how many people are on this planet.
One. And it is me. The rest of you are figments of my imagination and will die the moment that *I* cease to exist.
__________
The last guy who thought like this got his eyeball sucked out by a flying leech.
S
I've been WoW clean for almost a year again. I had a slip up when a "friend" sent me a ten day pass. It was bad the girlfriend at the time went out and found said friend and I haven't heard from him again. Something about a flight of stairs. They tried to get me back with a Witch King beta invite. They almost got me to.
Ya know... I managed to quit WoW once...
but it got me back once EQ2 got boring again...
But I did eventually quit WoW for good. Even though it took me roughly quitting it 3 times haha
=(
WAR ftw!
I've been on WoW for about 2 years. After hitting 70 I took a long break and I now only play occassionally. I aslo have 5 alts ranging from lvl 5 to 42. However, with the Lich King expansion coming out in less than a week, I have to say that I'm getting a little excited about it.
As for the caliber of players in WoW, I've found that certain servers seem to attract certain calibers of players. I'm on the Hydraxis server and I hate going to a large city because the chat channels are FULL of what appears to be 10-year-old involved in flame wars. It's aweful. PUGs are also very hard to do on my server.
However, a friend on my server recently left and moved his toon to another server (I forget the name.) He's says the players all seem "older" and that PUGs are very easy to get into. Odd, huh?
Have quite WoW a couple of times and even though they're sending me offers to love me big time multi ficky fick, I'm not going back. Nope.
Why? Because WoW IS the Crocs of gaming. It was the picture of the multicoloured footwear that made me realise that. Ghastly super saturated candy coloured everything with giant handed mutants who run like they're suffering from terminal piles.
WAR on the other hand is JUST this side of restrained. So, y'know, Madhog's right for once. ;)
WAAAAGH!!!
WoW still has me, and still has me good. That's mainly because Mr Morvy doesn't have a lot of time for MMOs anymore, but when he does, he's still happy with WoW. And doesn't want to expend the effort learning something new when he only gets to play once or twice a week. Where Mr Morvy is, there I stay.
Like Loolee and others, I tried a WoW demo and didn't get very far. I started a character, quested around, and headed to the nearest city to try and figure out how to craft. When I got there, Lolaturface started yelling DUEL ME!!!!1!! and Pwndjurmom was selling stuff in chat. Kind of indicated that I was in the wrong game.
Hi, I'm a WoW'r. I've been WoW'd for about 5 years now. I also suffer from Altoholism, where I have 9 characters on my current server and the highest is level 64. I have yet to achieve the top level (in any of the MMO's I have ever played (shush, leave me be, I'm having fun)) and I don't see that ever changing anytime soon.
My kids play WoW with me, and I think my daughter who is 13 will get a level 70 toon long before me. My 16 year old son has at least one.
People ask me, why do you play WoW. I simply answer.. Cause, Coyote doesn't. (and neither does Madhog, thank goodness)
...
Oi! Cheeky git Tigger!
I loved WOW, possibly more than any other game, even EQ1, I just realised a long time ago, there is no one game, there is just games.
Alma, what server you on, and which side? Our guild kinda fell apart and we're lonely!
Welcome Tigger Too, to our collective.
WoW....this game stole 2 years of my life. I played hours and HOURS a day to get the next quest done, or the next BG completed...or the next dungeon beaten or the next raid boss downed for my epic loot, but god have mercy, the day i pulled away from that game the sun was bright and i had a 3 month old baby....
WoW is beyond addicting, and the quests are designed to take time, whether it is travel or it is multi-tiered, it takes time to complete things, and that goal oriented architecture has been a winning formula, better than the free play of some games...
I've tried to play WoW more times than Coyote has naked Potter pics, and as such I feel I'm fully qualified to say this...
WoW blows goat. To the Nth degree. This game was NEVER good and it won't be when WotLK releases either. A game that is so focused on end content that it lacks meaningful mid level content? A game who very dependence on gear to be any good is so entrenched that people don't want to grind it out, they HAVE to grind it out? A game who's look is taken entirely from an already established tabletop game to the point that it's not even questionable? WoW is a spoon fed game designed to induce a feeling of instant gratification and easy goals in order to keep you coming back.
Blizzard didn't make a great game. They brilliantly MARKETED a crappy game aimed solely at the ultra casual players who didn't want to take the time to play a regular MMOG. And in the process, managed to inadvertently cause the dumbing down of every other game out there so that it's harder to play a console game of Super Mario than it is to level now. At no time should you be able to level a character to 30 in a single day, let alone 70 in 4 days (and yes, seen it done). WoW sucks, plain and simple. Always has, and always will.
That must be why after all this time its still got the most subscribers and is still the most successful eh Brok??
*rolls eyes*
People once thought the same thing about EQ1. The same pattern was shown here as well...a new game would come out and a bunch of people would rush to try it. Then they would all come back to EQ1 and bring a few with them. Each new game grew the market and no one really knew how big the market for MMO's was. Right before WoW the industry started to speculate that we had saturated the MMO market, because with the release of each new game, EQ1's numbers dipped closely to the same number of people that bought that new game. Then WoW came out and completely shattered every speculation or theory about just how large the market is.
The MMO universe is different after WoW. The competition just got much tougher and the bar has been raised. Similar to other markets, it is going to be hard to compete directly with Blizzard on this. If you want to succeed you should be thinking Niche. That being said, I think WoW will not always be king yet it won't ever fall from grace as far as some would like. I DO think that have to share its place on the podium with at least one or two other games though.