I stand by that statement completely.j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
Part of it is the world. I remember playing FFXII and being disappointed that I'd be blocked off from exploring areas by invisible barriers, and it was such a change from what I'd been used to. The world in WoW is gigantic, and superbly crafted - to paraphrase Oli Welsh at Eurogamer, Blizzard's artists and world-builders are simply unparalleled. There's such care put into the world, even in the little touches like exploring Outland and finding a small orphanage nestled into the foothills of a mountain range. There aren't any questgivers there, it's just a little bit of the world. Granted, I think they've gotten BETTER at this going on - after WotLK, a lot of the old-world zones definitely look dated, but they're still heads and shoulders above most of the rest of the competition.
There's also so much content in the game that it's literally staggering. Earlier this year, I started replaying GTA San Andreas - a fantastic game in its own right. After about three weeks or a month with the game, I was finished. I'd done everything there was to do. Three weeks in WoW is barely scratching the surface. There are SO many quests, storylines, etc that I've been playing for four years and I still haven't done them all. What's more, everything that's there... though a lot of it is the standard MMO fare, that too has only gotten better as the game has evolved. What IS there is just cleverly implemented and never felt too grindy. Not only is there a ton of it, but there's a pretty good range for whatever MMO playstyle you want, especially nowadays.
The endgame PvE is just stellar, with some of the coolest and most creative boss fights I've ever seen in a game. The production quality is absolutely top-notch, and the little touches in the game (whether serious or for laughs - like the rat surrounded by four turtles in the Dalaran sewers) that you'll just stumble upon. There are other games that do this, and do it well, of course.
The social aspect is wonderful, if you get a good guild. Yes, the PvE content is great, but the fun of it is just chatting on Ventrilo with my guildies and drinking a cold beer as we slaughter baddies. I won't lie, it's the people I've known that have made the long-term experience in WoW so enjoyable.
WoW is simply just a triumph of Massive game design, and it doesn't hurt that the traditional Blizzard polish simply makes it a blast to play through instead of a chore. The game feels like more than the sum of its parts. Sure, it's not for everyone, and MMOs aren't for everyone, but I feel that from a truly objective nature, it's one of the best put-together games ever made.
It could be. But... well, let me tell you a story from Blizzcon.
After the first day with the community summit, I'm in the lobby of the hotel I'm staying in, having a few drinks and chatting with a guy who's been at Blizzard for seven or eight years now as part of their community team. He tells me a story about how he'd seen his boss come in and yell at the person he shared an office with - not because of lost money, or anything like that, but because people weren't going to be having the best experience possible at Blizzcon. He was truly, genuinely upset at this.
This is the same company that twice canned games that would have been surefire hits - SC Ghost and WC Adventures - because they weren't up to snuff. Yes, they're a company. At the end of the day, they have families that need to be fed, mortgages that need to be paid off, and employees that need a salary. Do they like money? That's like asking "Are they human?"
My visit to Irvine gave me more of a respect for Blizzard than I ever had before, and that's saying quite a bit
