World of StarCraft

Welcome back Matt! Our "real news" fans have been asking about you.

In anyones wildest estimates did they predict that World of Warcraft would have 6.5 million subscribers and still be the #1 selling game in the United States nearly two years after its release? It sells more new copies than games without monthly fees. Guild Wars, I'm looking at you.

I have always downplayed the doom-mongers who railed that WoW was destroying the MMOG industry; making it impossible for independent companies to deliver a product that was profitable enough to result in acceptable technical support and acceptable expansions.

An announcement made yesterday has me rethinking the situation. During a Wall Street presentation a Vivendi representation said,

"All Blizzard franchises will become MMOGs."

That means World of Starcraft and World of Diablo will become massively multiplayer persistent worlds. I have often voiced my opinion that World of Starcraft would actually be a more entertaining backdrop than World of Warcraft and that the science fiction genre was lacking a true champion. I had hoped for Tabula Rasa to be the early leader with Star Trek Online and StarGate Worlds muscling in a year later. It appears that there is a new contender though how innovative the game can be is in doubt given the following quote from F13.net,

"They claim they have a model now to develop an MMOG in 3 years for $50 million. WoW cost 50 million euros and took 4 1/2 years."

I haven't had enough time to really mull over the implications of this announcement, but if games like Hero's Journey, The Chronicles of Spellborn and Pirates of the Burning Sea can get enough subscribers it seems to simply mean more choices for players and that is never a bad thing.

How do you feel about the World of Starcraft announcement?

Make your mark. Mark your territory. Post a comment. If are shy you can E-Mail me.

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