"WoW Holding Back PC Industry"

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DigiQ8

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"For retail PC games, I think the biggest problem is World of Warcraft," he says. "It is such a compelling MMO game that it sucks up a lot of money and time that would normally be spent on other retail PC games."

Don't take his comments the wrong way - he isn't really criticizing World of Warcraft so much as the industry's movement towards subscription-based computer games that encourage players to stick with a single game for an extended period of time, rather than conquering the available gameplay and moving on. "I hugely admire the work Blizzard has been doing," he continued.
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More..


what do you think ?
 
Hm, i never actually looked at it that way ... i can get where he's coming from and what would bring him to that conclusion but i don't agree with it, any Gamer with the least bit of Self Control can play WoW, but then buy a new game and drop WoW for a bit while getting the best experience possible out of their new game, I and so many other people have done it.
 
Makes sense but I don't think it's holding back the PC industry...I think the speed were moving at now is just fine anyway. Though it kinda feels like were going through a little break before the next wave of awesome games are released.
 
WoW doesnt have that much control. Please.

The addicts who solely play WoW might not, but other people who maybe play a lot will put it down for a bit if another great game comes out. The problem since WoW came out, and even moreso recently, is that nothing really great has been released.

Seriously, for the past 4 months, I have been playing DOD:S and Rome: Total War... with the only new game being the Hitman: Blood Money.

Bad games are not going to sell when people can still play their good games.
 
There are many good games coming (NWN 2, Crysis, Spore) but there has not been any recent release I am hugely intrested in. WoW is overated anyway, and I bet blizzard picked the name world of warcraft just so they could abberate it WoW.
 
The funny thing is, most people who're into a game tend to stick with it for years, regardless of if it has a subscription-based model or not. Especially with multiplayer games, the comment "conquering the available gameplay and moving on" doesn't factor in, because multiplayer games consistently have new things to learn; new tricks, new techniques, and there's always room for improvement on the player's part even if he/she has learned all the technical aspects of the game. And the human element means that there is no set difficulty to conquer; it's always shifting, and thus players stick around because they can be challenged by someone new.

This obviously hasn't set games back, and I fail to see how Warcraft would either. It's a flawed argument in both the gameplay aspect, and also the monetary aspect. Like Krynn said, nobody's going to play bad games when they can still play their good games. It's not like if there was no WoW (or any other challenging games) people would get up and start spending money on every new release. That's a silly opinion.

Furthermore, what about people who don't play WoW, or even like the MMO genre? Or people who like both genres? They're obviously going to be buying FPS games they like, and maybe even other MMOs. What about other genres? The point is, it's not like this MMO is consuming all demographics of PC gaming. People will buy what they will regardless of World of Warcraft.
 
I think "tr00 'ardkore" gamers will always move to different pastures. Casual gamers tend to stick with the same thing for long periods of time, once they've found something they like they want to make sure they get their money's worth out of it. We don't need those damn casuals god damnit.
 
mortiz said:
I think "tr00 'ardkore" gamers will always move to different pastures. Casual gamers tend to stick with the same thing for long periods of time, once they've found something they like they want to make sure they get their money's worth out of it. We don't need those damn casuals god damnit.
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My experience is the opposite. The most keen pc gamers I know stick to the same game for years. Some of them were still playing Quake 2 untill a year or so ago. Others have been playing rtcw since the day it came out.
 
Yeah, I definately think it's the opposite. A "casual gamer" is just that; someone who plays games for fun and leisure. A "hardcore" gamer is one that is really into games, and more often than not they focus on one, or a handful of games at which they can become really adept.

Casual gamers spend time playing for fun, maybe a bit of a challenge, and although casual gamers can learn the ins-and-outs of a game they never take it to the next level.

Hardcore gamers will spend years on a game just figuring out every little nuance about it, every trick, every exploit, every advantage. They'll practice and practice and practice on it, trying to get better and better at that game even when competition dwindles and leaves "for different pastures." In fact with certain games, depending on how old they are, you might find that the entire community for that game is made up of experts, those few who stuck with the game. That's just their mindset...get better, constantly, and be rooted in one thing. Casual gamers, on the other hand, are much more likely to stop playing after awhile and pick up something new that will hold their interest for awhile until the next thing comes out.
 
The definition of hardcore needs to split. There are hardcores who will stick with the one game for years and become masters of it. There are other hardcores who constantly buy and play new games never becoming a master, but they play a lot so they can't be referred to as casual. How about we name them ...morons, for the purpose of this thread.

Then there's the casual guy who sometimes buys games, plays on the weekend maybe.

Anyway..

Too many developers want the game industry to emulate the movie industry. Huge blockbuster games ever 6-12 months that everyone should buy and love, then do it all over again 6-12 months later.

Problem is the games are usually just a slight variation on the same "blockbuster" from the year before maybe people see no reason to get the new one and they're sticking with the old one? After 10 years i'm still playing starcraft, diablo 2, counter-strike, day of defeat? I've tried dozens of other fps, strategy and rpgs but at the core it's basically the same formula being used over and over. Even starcraft and diablo were unoriginal in the truest sense of the word.

blah blah blah blah blah blah

Something....
 
I mostly play WoW with some DoDS and CSS on the side.

Why? Obviously because they're the best games for me at this time, if the game industry would put out something better, then I would play that naturally.

So this thread should really be called "Game industry fails to bring out new quality games".
 
i think it's true to a certain extent; i mean im sure all the people out there that are addicted to WoW can hardly find the time to eat and sleep let alone invest in and play other games
i doubt its hurting the industry as much as he implies though
 
CS 1.6 is holding everything back.
 
Ummm, no

I played plenty of other games whilst addicted to WoW/EverQuest and upgraded my computer as well, it's not like WoW is a money pit where it drives people homeless, it's $10 a month.
 
Well, I've certainly gone out and played a lot more games since I quit WoW, so I think in an odd way that article may be kind of on the spot. Still, with a whole new batch of MMOs coming out, stuff may change.
 
WoW is an awesome game no doubt, but there are still people out there like me who hate it because quite simply and quite needlessly imo takes up alot of valuable life time and brain cells needed for proper english, i.e it can make you talk in l33t speak (as has happened to my sister), oh and say kek instead of lol. Sorry but for that reason WoW should just die.
 
Wow's not a good enough game in my opinion...

No worse than any other mmorpg though, in regards to the player base it sucks in. Just because people play one game doesn't mean they don't spend on others.

If they don't... well, those aren't the people keeping the gaming industry alive anyways like the rest of us who buy often.
 
WoW is basically every other crappy teidious MMO grind out there but with spiffier graphics, combat, and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun game, and it does what every MMO tries to do a lot better, but it's nothing original.
 
I see what he means by that statement but i don't agree with him. I'm one of those people he's refering to. I haven't bought a new PC game since Febuary 2005 (with the exception of FEAR) but that isn't because i'm so addicted to WoW i can't drop it for another game..more like WoW has so much to offer that i don't need a new game for £30 that will last 1/100 of the fraction WoW gives if you get me. With WoW i get the sense that i'm actually responsible for my character and every bit of progression is down to me as a player.

To me, it seems as if what he's trying to say is that people not in the line-of-money Blizzard rake in are loosing out therefore the industry is collapsing, but in reality Blizzard just conquered a massive chunk of the PC industry. Hats of to them. We need decent game companies to stick around like Blizzard for the PC industry to stay an industry.
 
If you think wow has good character development you need to play more RPGs...
 
HunterSeeker said:
If you think wow has good character development you need to play more RPGs...
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It's good because you don't need to spend a billion hours maxing out your stats, it's basic and straight-forward, and most gamers like that. I personally perfer more "hardcore" stats-based character development as well, but I like it more in single-player RPGs, not Online ones.
 
Meh. WoW is up to what, 6 mil. subscribers now? Half-Life has sold 8 mil. and people are still playing free of subscriptions (save for buying mods on Steam, of course :)).

Oh, and yeah WoW is nothing new, it's just done alot simpler and more straight-forward, and that's it's draw. It's what I like to call a gateway MMO :P
 
Erm, I'm sorry, but I fail to see how someone that considers themself a hardcore gamer could resist new games. If you're a hardcore gamer it signifys that you love playing. As one myself I can testify that I can't just play the same game (notice the singular) for long periods of time. Though saying that I too can stick with the same game for a long period of time, such as when I was a CS addict, but that didn't stop me buying and playing other games. If a game comes out that you want as a hardcore gamer your first thought won't be "Oh yeah, I really want that game, but I'm still playing WOW so I won't buy it". Most will actually go out and buy the game that they want. Assuming they have the cash. Thus why many people on this forum, the vast majority of which are hardcore gamers, can play WOW, Battlefield 2, CS, the Half-Life 2 episodes, F.E.A.R. and lots more all in the same time frame.

It doesn't mean that you'll stop playing WOW or anything, just that your pallate is a bit more varied. The casual gamer on the other hand will say "Well, what's the point in spending another £30 on a game when I'm still playing this one?".

The definition of hardcore needs to split. There are hardcores who will stick with the one game for years and become masters of it. There are other hardcores who constantly buy and play new games never becoming a master, but they play a lot so they can't be referred to as casual. How about we name them ...morons, for the purpose of this thread.
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It seems that you're the only moron here. So what if someone wants to spend their money on buying new games? Personally I buy a game, complete it, then look to buy another one. I'm not the kind of guy who'll try for months on end to get the best speed run or no damage run because it doesn't interest me. I have disposible income and I want to buy games with it, just like someone else may collect swords, or someone else may paintball. Who are you to judge? With a game like WOW (which I don't own by the way), sure, I'd play it over a long period of time but it certainly wouldn't stop me trying other games. Fortunately I can keep this up because it's becoming quite rare that a game comes out that I want to play.
 
I don't think WOW is 100% responsible, but I do think that MMO's are a waste in the gaming industry. They rake in money but not creativity.

I refuse to buy any game that you charge a monthly fee for. No game is worth that, and no game ever will be.

I would rather an MMO be divided equally among its players, and as more players buy the game, there are more areas to explore- ie, every time a player logs in, a new plot of land becomes open to the public, and its sort of a P2P relationship, with public grounds and wide open spaces being run by a few people with dedicated servers, and private property being run by individual users. Payment for real estate would be handled in bandwidth, not in money, and if you have a more powerful server that can afford more bandwidth, you get more space.
 
This is garbage. I can see his point but its a pretty stupid one. I personally don't care for MMOs but I don't think they're holding back PC gaming--lack of original ideas is.
 
I quit WoW to play other games. I'm having more fun playing Titan Quest. Once some awsome games start comming out it's going to be hard to resist. Seriously... would you continue playing WoW once Medieval 2: Total War comes out? AT least take a good break. :cheers:
 
WoW was on BBC news 24's 'CLICK' because of the numerous cases of gaming addicition surrounding it.

This one guy was so bad he didn't want to leave his comp.. so when nature called he would pee in a bottle D:
 
I think the problem is that computer games are easy to get pirate copy's and developers arnt making enough money off them.
 
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