Editorial - The WoW Effect

WoW is the undisputed king of MMOGs, this we know. But what, apart from the subscriber numbers, will last? How will WoW make its mark upon the genre long after the very last player logs off? And the converse: what's going on in other MMOGs that players aren't seeing because they're playing WoW? These topics and more are the subects of this week's Op/Ed.

"For better or worse, looking only at the numbers, WoW is the MMOG industry. Take comfort, those of you who mourn; there was a time when EverQuest was the entire MMOG industry. Who's to say what another year or two could bring? But rather than just another hagiagraphic diatribe praising our robotic WoW overlords, this time I want to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of World of Warcraft. When a game pretty much defines a genre, it's too easy to get tunnel vision, forgetting that good things have happened and are happening outside of Azeroth."

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