Why, specifically, do you think that World of Warcraft is the most successful MMORPG?

[LilithSlave]

Edit: Changed thread altogether.

I hear a lot of people criticize and hate it. I haven't actually played it. But I don't quite get the success, and why nobody has been able to dethrone it.

Why, exactly? And do you think anyone anytime soon can actually dethrone them. And do you think this success is in any way remotely deserved.

Probably another incredibly repeated thread. But maybe hopefully less obnoxiously so than what this thread was before.

 

[The_Lost_King]

They were the first and every one played it, and loved it. Some people tried the other muhmorpugahs(mmorpg's) but they missed the wow playing friends. thats what alot of people say and think about it all the mmo's are wow rip offs so would you rather play and original or a rip off that doesn't change or improve the formula.
EDITk i get it wow wasn't first you can stop quoting me now.

 

[ResonanceSD]

They were the first and every one played it, and loved it. Some people tried the other muhmorpugahs(mmorpg's) but they missed the wow playing friends. thats what alot of people say and think about it all the mmo's are wow rip offs so would you rather play and original or a rip off that doesn't change or improve the formula.

Wtf, tbey weren't first. They had a massive fanbase from wc3.

And i take it youve never heard of eq, ao or ultima onine.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Double post, meant to hit edit

 

[Nimcha]

They have a massive fanbase from the already established Warcraft games. They didn't try to dress it up too much and have a pc with crazy specs to run it. Those are my two guesses, they kept it accessible and used their already established fanbase to help spread the word.

Exactly that. And then when they were large enough they shifted focus to the more casual gamer crowd and grew even bigger.

 

[hazabaza1]

Dem Night Elf asses?
Honestly, I dunno. I played it a little bit with a few mates, got to level 20 in a day, but that's when the trial ran out. Never wanted to play it again since.

 

[Samechiel]

Because as much as people want to poop all over Blizzard, the fact remains that they're actually pretty good at what they do. That is, making solid, enjoyable games that appeal to a broad range of players.

Now, what they've done to Warcraft lore should rightfully be considered a war crime... but that's a topic for another thread perhaps.

 

[Popeman]

Likely just luck.

 

[Yureina]

Because the game has managed to maintain a massive subscription base due to releasing a stready stream of quality content. Only when that content started to decline (see Cataclysm) did those numbers start to fall.

I'd say that is enough.

 

[Promethax]

It came at a dry spell for MMO's.

To be honest, WoW is the most successful because it made the most money.

 

[Sangnz]

1) Existing fanbase, not just those from Warcraft but blizzard fans in general.
2) Timing, WoW released just as the high speed internet boom started so there were suddenly a lot more people looking for something like WoW
3) Advertising, blizzard advertised the crap out of WoW, they didn't limit themselves to PC/gaming areas, tv ads, trailer adds in movies etc
4) They made it simple and easy to get into a huge plus for people looking at getting into MMOs for the first time.
5) Graphically low end so a lot of people could play on mid/bottom end rigs but aesthetically pleasing so it was easy to overlook the graphical quality.

Basically a lot of reasons and due to this mix it means it is very unlikely we will see something like this happen again.

 

[Sixcess]

It's very well made.

If I compiled a top 5 of my favourite MMOs, WoW would come in 4th or 5th place. However if I rearranged that as a top 5 of the best made MMOs, then WoW would effortlessly take the number one spot.

Does it deserve its success? Yes, I think Blizzard have earned it. Other MMOs may do some things better than WoW, but none of them do everything better. Perhaps more importantly, it doesn't do anything out and out badly.

That said, I think their definition of 'accessible' has slipped all the way into 'easy mode', and as it is now is a shadow of its former self, but despite that it still does what it does better than any of its rivals.

 

[The_Lost_King]

They have a massive fanbase from the already established Warcraft games. They didn't try to dress it up too much and have a pc with crazy specs to run it. Those are my two guesses, they kept it accessible and used their already established fanbase to help spread the word.

They were the first and every one played it, and loved it. Some people tried the other muhmorpugahs(mmorpg's) but they missed the wow playing friends. thats what alot of people say and think about it all the mmo's are wow rip offs so would you rather play and original or a rip off that doesn't change or improve the formula.

I guess you've never heard of Ultima Online or Everquest.

very little in fact. well then they didn't have as much competition as every one does now. happy?

 

[Conza]

Edit: Changed thread altogether.

I hear a lot of people criticize and hate it. I haven't actually played it. But I don't quite get the success, and why nobody has been able to dethrone it.

Why, exactly? And do you think anyone anytime soon can actually dethrone them. And do you think this success is in any way remotely deserved.

Probably another incredibly repeated thread. But maybe hopefully less obnoxiously so than what this thread was before.

It is in no way deserved, WoW is a plauge upon the gaming community and a shameful scare we'll all have to be... well ashamed of.

Its addictive - that's why.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

The same reason that Steam is the top dog in the Digital Distribution market: They've had years to entrench themselves, to the point where anyone trying to beat them has adopted the very practices that made the game popular in the first place.

Why would you go for a new MMO if it is just going to do the exact same thing that WOW does better? Why would you use Origin to buy games online when Steam offers the same games for lower prices?

In order to compete with WOW, you don't want to copy it. You want to provide something new, an incentive to attract a user base that is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.

 

[The Abhorrent]

The biggest reason it gained popularity in the first place is because it was much more accessible than other MMORPGs on the market; far less demanding in terms of time-commitment, at least during the early phases of the game.

The reason for it's continued success, or at least why another MMORPG has taken it's place, is due to the fact it's an online-only game in genre where "starting anew" means potentially spending months to get back up to speed. Since the game is online-only, people aren't likely to leave the main cross-roads (in the case, MMORPG of choice) because everyone else is staying where they are; social interaction is a huge part of the genre, so the largest playerbase will have a tendency to stay the largest. With some players, they have been playing WoW for years; that means they're reluctant to move onto a different game and lose all their accumulated progress (even when moving to a new release where there's no real risk of "falling behind"), as well as the benefit of getting a head-start by hopping onto a game you where you already have some progress instead of starting completely from scratch.

Anyhow, that's how the genre works. Either a game is the big kid on the block, or it's more or less doomed to a quick demise (regardless of how good it actually is) simply because another game has already claimed the title.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Luck. They got a bunch of fans and eventually people got too involved to want to switch games. Those fans brought their friends who wanted to played games with them and there you go. At least that's my theory.

 

[loc978]

Perfect storm... they took the EverQuest formula and toned down the punishing mechanics to make it more appealing to the masses. More carrot, less stick at a time when there weren't any forgiving medieval MMOs... and at a time when Warcraft 3 was still quite popular among RTS players. Basically just a big name that entered into a niche market no real competition for the new gaming masses.