The9: If You Can't Have WoW, Have A WoW Knockoff

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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The9: If You Can't Have WoW, Have A WoW Knockoff



The9, the former WoW operator in China, has struck back at Blizzard by announcing its new MMO, World of Fight - apparently a cheap imitation of WoW, with a pinch of Warhammer thrown in.

You know, I kind of understand where The9 is coming from. First, you're the operator of the world's most popular mega-MMO in its largest market, and probably raking in cash hand over fist. Then, back in April [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/91007-Blizzard-Ditches-The9-For-WoW-China], Blizzard announces that it was moving to sign a contract with The9's competitor NetEase, who would be the game's new operator. Understandably, The9 might be feeling kind of slighted, hurt in their pride as well as in their pocketbook.

If you can't beat 'em, make a cheap knockoff. Enter World of Fight [http://www.wofchina.com/]. Incidentally, the new game's official site is "wofchina.com" - just one letter removed from the official WoW China site, "wowchina.com." Yes, The9, we see what you did there.

There aren't any real screenshots yet, so it's hard to make assumptions about whether or not the rest of the game will follow suit in, er, drawing inspiration from Blizzard. Judging by the familiar font [http://www.3dxi.com/images/wow-logo-01.jpg] of the logo, though? Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Interestingly enough, fans have pointed out that the structure portrayed on the official site bears more than a passing resemblance to a Chaos Gate [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/Svartmetall/Misc/Burzum_001.jpg] from Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Now, hold on a minute: EA owns shares in The9, and EA also owns Mythic - and publishes WAR. It's likely just a coincidence, and one would hope that The9 would have enough confidence in the Warhammer brand name to not have to shamelessly rebrand it over there (though Warhammer probably doesn't have the pull in Asian markets as it does in the West). Still, it's an odd little tidbit that makes one go "hmmm..."

In all likelihood, though, this is just The9 creating a knockoff - or shanzai - of World of Warcraft in order to try and keep the WoW players who would otherwise be jumping ship. This wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened: After Shanda Interactive Entertainment lost the license for South Korean MMO Legend of Mir 2 in 2003, they fired back by launching World of Legend.

(Kotaku [http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/04/29/world-of-warcraft-meet-world-of-fight/])

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InProgress

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Feb 15, 2008
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That doesn't resemble a Choas gate. That is a Chaos Gate. The only difference is that the one from WoF is slightly tilted.
 

Tech Team FTW!

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Apr 1, 2009
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The infamous SCAMola said:
Shoes, clothes, cars, and now MMOs? What are the Chinese gonna make a cheap knock-off of next?
Communism.
It has been carefully re-branded as "Chinese Democracy".
 

Ranooth

BEHIND YOU!!
Mar 26, 2008
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CantFaketheFunk said:
imitation of WoW, with a pinch of Warhammer thrown in.
Isnt that the greatest MMO idea ever in the history of mankind?!

Plus when did china know about the Old World?
 

S.H.A.R.P.

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Mar 4, 2009
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Heh.. Hehe... Hehehehe.. Nice, I wonder how this will turn out, the fake clothing usually wears out after a couple of uses. Will your character in game slowly deteriorate in strength the longer you use it too?
 

skribb

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Sep 3, 2008
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There's another WoW knockoff called Runes of Magic. Let's just say it's similar to WoW. Comically similar. Case in point: http://www.fz.se/bilder/arkiv/m/ma3hkysqd8xv9geiunwfo5t6j47lpz0b.jpg

I wonder on what scale World of Fight will rip WoW off. Will they topple Runes? Time will tell.
 
Mar 26, 2009
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skribb said:
There's another WoW knockoff called Runes of Magic. Let's just say it's similar to WoW. Comically similar. Case in point: http://www.fz.se/bilder/arkiv/m/ma3hkysqd8xv9geiunwfo5t6j47lpz0b.jpg

I wonder on what scale World of Fight will rip WoW off. Will they topple Runes? Time will tell.
What?! I don't see any similarity between them!

/Sarcasm

Well I think this is taking "WoW rip off" to a brand new level. I mean making the interface look slightly similar fair enough, but copying the graphics style and locations is just plain lazy.
 

Sevre

Old Hands
Apr 6, 2009
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I don't think they'll make the money though, not unless it's free to play. Because why pay the same amount of money for a knock-off when you can have the real thing?
 

Cid Silverwing

Paladin of The Light
Jul 27, 2008
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skribb said:
There's another WoW knockoff called Runes of Magic. Let's just say it's similar to WoW. Comically similar. Case in point: http://www.fz.se/bilder/arkiv/m/ma3hkysqd8xv9geiunwfo5t6j47lpz0b.jpg

I wonder on what scale World of Fight will rip WoW off. Will they topple Runes? Time will tell.
Strange. I'm playing that game right now and I feel it's better in every way, not counting the snailmail-y response time and unbelievably unfluid clicking and maneuvering.
 

Undead Dragon King

Evil Spacefaring Mantis
Apr 25, 2008
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Since Chinese players are a large chunk of WoW subsribers, I think we should see WoW taken down a couple pegs. WOFFTW!
 

Asehujiko

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Feb 25, 2008
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Undead Dragon King said:
Since Chinese players are a large chunk of WoW subsribers, I think we should see WoW taken down a couple pegs. WOFFTW!
And since when did gamers care more about who's hosting the servers instead of who's making the game?
 

Undead Dragon King

Evil Spacefaring Mantis
Apr 25, 2008
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Asehujiko said:
Undead Dragon King said:
Since Chinese players are a large chunk of WoW subsribers, I think we should see WoW taken down a couple pegs. WOFFTW!
And since when did gamers care more about who's hosting the servers instead of who's making the game?
You can't comprehend Chinese nationalism.
 

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Undead Dragon King said:
Asehujiko said:
Undead Dragon King said:
Since Chinese players are a large chunk of WoW subsribers, I think we should see WoW taken down a couple pegs. WOFFTW!
And since when did gamers care more about who's hosting the servers instead of who's making the game?
You can't comprehend Chinese nationalism.
NetEase is Chinese too.

Cid SilverWing said:
skribb said:
There's another WoW knockoff called Runes of Magic. Let's just say it's similar to WoW. Comically similar. Case in point: http://www.fz.se/bilder/arkiv/m/ma3hkysqd8xv9geiunwfo5t6j47lpz0b.jpg

I wonder on what scale World of Fight will rip WoW off. Will they topple Runes? Time will tell.
Strange. I'm playing that game right now and I feel it's better in every way, not counting the snailmail-y response time and unbelievably unfluid clicking and maneuvering.
Runes is pretty solid for a F2P MMO, but ... well, it's a Free-to-play. It's literally WoW lite.
 

IrrelevantTangent

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Oct 4, 2008
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The infamous SCAMola said:
Shoes, clothes, cars, and now MMOs? What are the Chinese gonna make a cheap knock-off of next?
Dayyyyyyum. China, you just got burned. That said I don't endorse blatant plagiarism; looks like they're going to have a lawsuit on their hands soon enough.
 

Eric the Orange

Gone Gonzo
Apr 29, 2008
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The infamous SCAMola said:
Shoes, clothes, cars, and now MMOs? What are the Chinese gonna make a cheap knock-off of next?
You want Chinese knock-offs, this guy does videos specilizing in cheap (and I mean REALLY cheap)electronics knock-offs, almost all of which are from china.

this particular link is of the PSP (which in this case stands for pop station portable), a handheld that looks like a regular PSP but only plays one game thats in really terrible 80s LED.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvXleDSkB-g
 

Charli

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Nov 23, 2008
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Wow so this is what happens when chinese game developers throw tantrums...

Fun fact to know. =)