1. The trailer is unusually slapdash.
Using old footage from classic, BC, Wrath and Cataclysm, plus a little new stuff stapled on, I feel like this trailer was put together as a convincing part of the joke of MoP expac. The new stuff isn't even that well done, compared to Cataclysm's reveal trailer two years ago.
2. The way the trailer was played.
Epic battle after epic battle. Classic's Blackwing and Ragnaros, BC's Illidan and KJ, Wrath's Lich King and Cata's Deathwing, then it cuts to... pandas. I can't take this seriously.
3. Blizzard's trademark of 'Mists of Pandaria'.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/warcraft3reignofchaos/news/6326987/blizzard-trademarks-mists-of-pandaria
Not long ago, someone pointed out that Blizzard trademarked the expac title - which, as someone else pointed out, they've never done before. This seems like something they did to add kindling to the fire.
4. Pandaren 'lore'.
"The pandaren started as a creation of the Blizzard artist Samwise Didier and an April Fool's joke, but they got a massive response from Warcraft fans. In the first BlizzCast episode launched on Jan. 10, 2008, Samwise recalled the process to the creation of the Pandaren April Fool's page: "But so we put that up in there and everyone was like ?Oh my God! A PANDA RACE? That?s kind of cool!? And I?m like ?Are you kidding me, really? You want to see pandas in Warcraft III or whatever??" Soon, they were included in the Warcraft III expansion and Chris Metzen began to write them into the game lore. Due to this popularity, pandaren were rumored to be the new playable Alliance race to be introduced in the Burning Crusade expansion."
tl;dr - Pandaren was an April Fool's joke WC fanboys took way too seriously, they got a small role in WC3, then Chris started writing about them in response to their fandom.
All Warcraft lore is made up, but the Pandaren stuff is just fished out of the ether in response to fandom.
5. It's too stupid.
Referring to 2., I really can't take the expansion seriously. Pandas, a race spawned by a bad joke that people took way too seriously, either our of raging fandom or irony, fighting off mantis-men on an island near Kalimdor that's never been discovered before, with their denizens and culture having no real place in WoW lore before.
I can put up with Deathwing and Garrosh's appallingly written characters, and Metzen's author-insert fanfiction with Thrall, but this is too much. I'm holding off my rage and subscription cancellation until I can be presented with evidence that this is something other than an elaborate prank.
I suspect something will happen at Blizzcon with N'zoth appearing and devouring the Pandas or something like that, so we turn our attention to him.
That'd actually be a pretty epic twist. Do that.
Using old footage from classic, BC, Wrath and Cataclysm, plus a little new stuff stapled on, I feel like this trailer was put together as a convincing part of the joke of MoP expac. The new stuff isn't even that well done, compared to Cataclysm's reveal trailer two years ago.
2. The way the trailer was played.
Epic battle after epic battle. Classic's Blackwing and Ragnaros, BC's Illidan and KJ, Wrath's Lich King and Cata's Deathwing, then it cuts to... pandas. I can't take this seriously.
3. Blizzard's trademark of 'Mists of Pandaria'.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/warcraft3reignofchaos/news/6326987/blizzard-trademarks-mists-of-pandaria
Not long ago, someone pointed out that Blizzard trademarked the expac title - which, as someone else pointed out, they've never done before. This seems like something they did to add kindling to the fire.
4. Pandaren 'lore'.
"The pandaren started as a creation of the Blizzard artist Samwise Didier and an April Fool's joke, but they got a massive response from Warcraft fans. In the first BlizzCast episode launched on Jan. 10, 2008, Samwise recalled the process to the creation of the Pandaren April Fool's page: "But so we put that up in there and everyone was like ?Oh my God! A PANDA RACE? That?s kind of cool!? And I?m like ?Are you kidding me, really? You want to see pandas in Warcraft III or whatever??" Soon, they were included in the Warcraft III expansion and Chris Metzen began to write them into the game lore. Due to this popularity, pandaren were rumored to be the new playable Alliance race to be introduced in the Burning Crusade expansion."
tl;dr - Pandaren was an April Fool's joke WC fanboys took way too seriously, they got a small role in WC3, then Chris started writing about them in response to their fandom.
All Warcraft lore is made up, but the Pandaren stuff is just fished out of the ether in response to fandom.
5. It's too stupid.
Referring to 2., I really can't take the expansion seriously. Pandas, a race spawned by a bad joke that people took way too seriously, either our of raging fandom or irony, fighting off mantis-men on an island near Kalimdor that's never been discovered before, with their denizens and culture having no real place in WoW lore before.
I can put up with Deathwing and Garrosh's appallingly written characters, and Metzen's author-insert fanfiction with Thrall, but this is too much. I'm holding off my rage and subscription cancellation until I can be presented with evidence that this is something other than an elaborate prank.
I suspect something will happen at Blizzcon with N'zoth appearing and devouring the Pandas or something like that, so we turn our attention to him.
That'd actually be a pretty epic twist. Do that.