Breakfast Topic: Life before WoW
by Jennie Lees 
Mar 9th 2006 at 7:00AM
I've been playing WoW since its release in Europe, and although I've had a few weeks without it, it's been a
more-or-less constant companion for over a year. So much so that a friend recently asked me "What did you do before
you started playing WoW?". Ignoring the you-know-you've-been-playing- too-much warnings implicit in that
statement, I found myself examining my gaming history--from days logged in a MUD to thousands of Halo 2
matches.Since playing WoW, a lot of my previously generalist gaming time has been focused on this one game--this isn't a new phenomenon for me, but what's surprising is the length of time it's lasted. I find myself looking at my Xbox 360 and counting the weeks since I last turned it on. I shun new releases, instead focusing on new content in WoW. All in all, it's a pretty dangerous trend if the six million other players are all doing the same thing.
Has your gaming habit changed since you got WoW?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
forzaq8 Mar 9th 2006 7:39AM
before WOW it was City of heroes
Before COH it was Everquest
Before EQ it was Quake & red alert
with some games inbetween
even before EQ i used to ingore a lot of game , i would say i played 10 games per year at most ( not counting demo )
PodMonkeys Mar 9th 2006 8:40AM
I used to play a lot of UO, then NWN. Now, its mostly WoW, with PSP and DS on my commute. I've been starting to cut back on WoW, partially due to massive lag, and partially to start doing more creative endevors.
Branislav Mar 9th 2006 8:54AM
1998/1999 : Age of Empires 1&2
1999 : UO
2000==>2003 : Everquest
2004 : SWG and Lineage2
I have always been focusing on 1 or 2 titles mostly.
MMORPGs are leeching my time since the first day in EQ and i found myself completely out of the console gaming titles and most of the single player games.
It is indeed a dangerous trend considering the success of WoW and the amount of people who tasted the addictive MMOG. Usually, when you start playing it, you simply cannot come back to the old style "me vs the machine".
shadow9600 Mar 9th 2006 10:45AM
Absolutely. I have a multitude of PS2 and Xbox games sitting on the DVD/Game rack which haven't been touched months, not days, not weeks, months. Previously I would have at least 1-3 games going that I could grab, play for a little while then do other things.
Now it's get home from work, login to check and scan auctions, find out if anything is going on that evening or confirm that I'll be attending raid x. Make some dinner, watch a little tv, log back on and play for a few hours (or more).
It's not just gaming that's taken a hit in my media rich life, it's tv, books, etc. I do still make time for real life social interactions and I'm no longer playing all weekend long (my main having hit 60), but it's still the one thing I do that compares to work in the amount of time/week I spend doing it. I'm down to about an hour or two of tv per night, sometimes less if my tivo doesn't have anything interesting to watch. I get about 15 minutes of book time in before falling asleep (if any at all).
Is it an addiction? That's hard to say, I think that if I wanted to I could quit at any point and just not go back to it. For now though I find it quite enjoyable and have a lot of fun interacting with the other players and the world itself. Once I've "done it all" then maybe I'll hang up the hat, but I've really had no desire to get any new games that have come out on the market (except for my DS games, great for the commute).
Mike Mar 9th 2006 12:20PM
Madden 06 was my game of choice before WoW. But I got Civ IV for Christmas and WoW shortly thereafter. I have never really played Civ IV because of WoW eating up all my computer time. I still find time to play Madden now and again when the computer is occupied or I only have an hour or so to devote to gaming .
Mrs.EB Mar 9th 2006 2:00PM
I first started playing WoW at the beginning of October,2005. It was also my first MMO. Before that, I would try anything and everything that was released on the 3 major consoles. A few games would catch and hold my attention now and then, but there wasn't one sole game that I would dedicate all of my time to. I put down WoW as of November to get in a lot of 360 time, I went through all the games on that console, dedicating much of my free time to beating Kameo and Condemed. That lasted until December at which time I picked WoW back up. Fast forward to this week, when I rented my first console games in 3 months! I'm splitting time between them equally though, but I'm sure once the rentals are due back that I will go back only to playing WoW.
obo Mar 10th 2006 5:25AM
I usually play one hour of Guitar Hero or Ace Combat for every hour of WoW. If I spend all night in an instance, I typically spend the next night in a dogfight, or trying to get a new high score on Cowboys from Hell on expert. The latter usually involves friends.