Industry CEO Says WoW Too Strong to Compete With
by Mike D'Anna 
Jun 20th 2006 at 12:00PM
With over six million gamers playing World of Warcraft, you wouldn't think there would be too awful many gamers left over to play anything else....and the gaming industry apparently thinks so, too.As reported over on Gamespot today, at a recent breakfast event for investors, game developer THQ's president & CEO Brian Farrell was asked why none of the major publishers are trying to crack the stranglehold Blizzard has on the online gaming market. Farrell's response was, basically, that there simply may not be enough room on the block for another contender. In his words:
"I think what you will not [Farrell's emphasis] see THQ do is come out with another fantasy-type game. The other thing we're thinking is these things tend to have a window. Right now that product is World of Warcraft, so the idea would be to time something for when that product is going to be on its downward slope. To come out with something competitive now I think would be misguided for anyone, including THQ."
So, basically, the big strategy now is for the other game companies to just take their ball & go home? Wait until Blizzard is laying bloody on the battlefield? I can see what they're thinking from a numbers standpoint, but have a little faith in your own industry, people. There are untold scores of great online game ideas, just ripe for the developing (do I even have to mention my lifelong dream of a western MMO again?). Fantasy has been done; stop looking to the past & sideways at the competition and innovate, dammit! The next big MMO idea is out there somewhere....
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Blizzard, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
joey Jun 20th 2006 12:19PM
Brian Farrell's comments are pathetic. They show what is really wrong with the games industry today. Total lack of creativity and the vision and drive to make something better.
This is the exact reason that every damn MMORPG that comes out seems to ALWAYS be set in some kind of Dungeons and Dragons-esque setting.
I don't believe for a second that a company couldn't make an Commercial Quality Sci-Fi, Western, Egyptian, Alien, or whatever themed game.
Fact is WoW has cornered the "Dungeons and Dragons style" mmorpg corner of the market. They did it by making the 1-59 game fast paced and more fun than the competition and by having better artwork, animations and UI than the other games out there. It is a "quality" experience.
I think these games companies are more worried that they will be unable to provide a "QUALITY" mmorpg experience that can match that of blizzard.
I'm bored with WoW myself. It was great while it lasted. But after playing every class practically to 60 and what with the 60+ game being a big yawn-fest, i'm ready with my cash for the "next big thing".
Sadly everyone seems to have packed their bags and gone home. So what is left? Waiting for Blizzard to make World of Starcraft some day? A product I hear wistfully on gamer's lips everywhere I look these days. One Blizzard supposedly isn't really even seriously thinking about making.
The door is wide open. Why some games company doesn't just start making their own "World of Starcraft" sci-fi game is beyond me. It would be ready to ship in 3-4 years right about when WoW's game engine is looking thin and old and everyone in the world has had about all they can take of WoW (heck I'm already at that point).
Don't let people like Brian Farrell fool you. The opportunity is ready and waiting. WoW as good as it is isn't even the best MMORPG that *can be made* it's just the best one made so far. There is miles of room for improvement. There is room for faster and more "diablo like" loot, more fun, faster combat, quicker game play. New innovations, everything under the sun.
The problem is that the MMORPG space is full of morons like the people developing SOE games who have their heads in the past and wouldn't know a fresh idea if it smacked them in the face with a two-by-four.
Zigbee Jun 20th 2006 1:17PM
While innovation is the key, there's also time and money to look at. I bought Oblivion but I haven't touched it since I got it, because I'm too vested in WoW at the moment. I've been playing since last Sept, and since then I've canceled my GameFly subscription, purchased no other games since Oblivion and played no other games than WoW except at LAN parties. Until I've had my fill of WoW, my money and my time aren't going anywhere else...and THAT's the problem. There's too many of us who aren't done with WoW yet.
Urlic Jun 20th 2006 1:26PM
The one MMO I am highly looking forward to (and may even draw me away from WoW) is the upcoming Stargate Worlds. Obviously it is based on the universe created in the long running TV show Stargate SG:1 and Stargate: Atlantis. They have pages up of concept drawings as well as a pretty lively forum where people are posting all sorts of ideas as to what they want to see in an MMO and unlike some companies (we are all lookin at you SOE), the devs seem genuinely concerned with everyone's suggestions. Granted, a concept like SG:W could crash and burn if not done properly, but the concept of traveling to other worlds doesn't get old, it could be pretty popular.
Other than that, the comments by the exec are definitely why the games coming out now seem to be rehashes of prior games. No imagination or innovation. All it seems to be anymore is companies trying to one up the other with a shinier product.
joey Jun 20th 2006 2:04PM
"There's too many of us who aren't done with WoW yet."
Which is exactly why someome needs to start working on a WoW killer now. Waiting until you are done with WoW to begin development on the next big WoW killer will only insure a missed opportunity for getting into that "sweet spot". Since the creation of a great MMORPG does not happen in a single day.
Gillian Jun 20th 2006 2:06PM
I agree -- MMO developers have a lot of room to grow in terms of genre. I want a "Firefly" MMO (c'mon, that would be KILLER), I want a post-zombie-apocalypse MMO where I have to kill zombies and gather supplies. I wanna be a cowboy. Developers HAVE the opportunity there.
Max Calhoun Jun 20th 2006 2:56PM
Come on developers. Get busy. MMORPG's are big bucks. I think the first to create one that has combat gameplay like Counter-Strike will own the market forever. Imagine combining aspects of two of the most popular games ever played on the internet into one. CS, best gameplay ever with Wow's never ending content/purpose. I like the Western idea mentioned earlier.
Cort Jun 20th 2006 5:57PM
There have been sci-fi based MMOs... Anarchy Online? EVE Online? Earth & Beyond (that's the name right?)? The problem isn't that they're not making them... It's that there's not as high of demand for them as there is for the fantasy-themed MMO. I always thought it'd be cool to see a Battlefield-style persistent world MMO, where the landscape of the battle depends on the frontlines.
MMOs are big bucks... But they also cost big bucks. Some companies think that the barriers to entry into this genre are too high... And right now, I'd tend to agree with them. The big test will be when Vanguard comes out. Will it be a big hit, or just a niche market?
Franky Digital Jun 20th 2006 7:51PM
"There is miles of room for improvement. There is room for faster and more "diablo like" loot, more fun, faster combat, quicker game play. New innovations, everything under the sun."
Sounds like you just want Diablo. Hardly an all-encompassing innovation.
senterio Jun 21st 2006 10:15AM
Yes... next big MMO to come...
DIABLO X!