Why other MMOs remain the underdogs
by Elizabeth Harper 
May 29th 2007 at 9:15PM
Over at MMOG Nation Michael tries to answer the question of why Everquest 2 remains an underdog in the MMO market despite numerous updates and improvements to the game by SOE. And I've got to say I agree with his answer -- whether we're talking about Everquest 2, Lord of the Rings Online, or even Star Wars Galaxies (do people still play that game?). Despite how good other games may be, if all of your friends play World of Warcraft, I bet you're going to be playing World of Warcraft, too.
While MMOGCHART hasn't been updated in nearly a year now, their last set of data breaking down the number of active subscribers maintained by all of the major MMOs at the time showed World of Warcraft holding over 50% of the market, leaving a dozen games to split the remaining half of the market. And just looking at my circle of friends, all of them play World of Warcraft -- a couple of them play Everquest on the side, several of us play Lord of the Rings Online as well, and one dabbles in the world of Final Fantasy. But if I want to hang out with all of my friends, I've got to log on to World of Warcraft. So how's the next big thing going to break into the market when all of my friends -- and probably yours -- play WoW? I'm guessing it won't be able to simply be a Warcraft-alike, but be something so far beyond World of Warcraft today that it will draw in the same mass of subscribers WoW did in its initial release.
So what do you think the next big thing will be in the MMO market -- or is it so far off that we'll all just be playing a different Blizzard game by then? (I'm still waiting on World of Starcraft, thank you very much!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
someone May 29th 2007 9:43PM
There is 1, and only 1 reason wow is the best selling MMO out there...you can solo to max level.
As soon as some other game realizes that wow will tank big time because they treat their customers like dirt.
Aaron May 29th 2007 9:56PM
WoW = Waiting on Warhammer
Rich May 29th 2007 9:57PM
This is 3rd post on pretty much the same topic in about 3 weeks.
There isn't really anything out there that anyone can point to as the next big thing. There are alot of niche games coming out and they will pull people from WoW, but there is no real replacement for WoW on the horizon.
WoW is stupidly simple, runs on a wide variety of machines and doesn't abuse the players for mistakes. All of the games I've seen don't come to WoW in that respect.
BitWarrior May 29th 2007 10:01PM
I have to agree: it's WoW's accessibility which has made it wildly successful. Blizzard took the natural addictiveness of a persistant world, populated it with rewards and constant "carrots on a stick" (literally) and made it a game that was accessible not just from a technological standpoint (system requirements) but also a user standpoint. The game continues to maintain its strength as more and more options and "paths" one can take increase, currently in the form of obtaining faction.
Is there any end in sight? I think at the moment the only thing that could kill WoW is WoW. If they eventually stop adding content or don't bring anything really new to the table, eventually users will leave. However, there is nothing truly on the horizon (Warhammer included) that is currently aiming itself as a legitimate "WoW Killer".
MK May 31st 2007 12:18AM
Blizzard is a smart company they know wow will not last forever and wow 2 would not fly with there whiny customers, so there working on a new mmo behind the scenes and they only got one unused IP left....
Galipan May 29th 2007 10:10PM
I'm waiting on RuneScape 3...Runescape has a LOT of potential
Crayon May 29th 2007 10:40PM
Only thing I don't play other game is that they don't support Mac OS X.
bwest0526 May 29th 2007 10:47PM
You have to look at it this way, WoW is the IN thing right now. Some may remember a little game released back in 1999 called Everquest? These same discussions went on back then too, thinking nothing could or would be able to take away from EQ, then along came WoW...there will be eventually...something that comes along to knock WoW off it's pedistal, and even then WoW will still be around, just like EQ. Technology keeps moving at an unbelievable pace, graphics get better by the minute (not days or months or even years). Somthing is bound to come along, all you have to do is wait! While you are waiting, why not log into WoW and have some fun!
Merus May 29th 2007 11:33PM
Network effects.
Everyone's playing WoW, so everyone plays WoW.
That, and you probably need to make WoW look as clunky as EQ1 did compared to WoW in order to pull people off. An evolutionary approach probably won't cut it. (And WoW does have its clunkiness - why should I have to pick what role I want to play before I start playing, anyway?)
Braz May 30th 2007 12:56AM
While we can argue about how long WoW will retain it's overwhelming dominance of the MMO market, I think that we can safetly say that WoW will remain very popular for quite a while. History dictates that no dynasty or empire lasts forever, so it's a safe bet to say that another game will eventually replace WoW.
The question is, what would a game have to be in order to dethrone WoW? I predict that nothing (except possibly another Blizzard game) will ever replace WoW. Can any traditional MMO hope to improve upon WoW that much? Nothing short of revolutionary innovation will challenge WoW, and that's assuming that the developers at Blizzard aren't the ones to make the next big innovation.
Byron May 30th 2007 12:31AM
I'm still waiting for World of Starcraft also. If Bliz makes that I'd switch in a heartbeat since I prefer scifi to fantasy. Trying out EVE atm, but have read it's difficult for noobs to get off the ground since it seems dominated by huge gangs, er corporations, and pirates. Ref. Nightfreeze. We'll see...
MG Midget May 30th 2007 1:01AM
Other MMOs are fine being underdogs and in fact have a role as underdogs.
Take a look at Raph Koster's post just up today at http://www.raphkoster.com/2007/05/29/mmo-long-tails/ - it's an interesting read on this topic.
Savok May 30th 2007 1:46AM
However much shit Blizzard heaps on us, SOE will always be twice as toxic. SOE are despised by just about everyone.
Ugkul May 30th 2007 3:20AM
I know some players in my WOW guild that have migrated to LotRO. I'm personally waiting on Warhammer.
(And at someone, I think Blizzard treats its customers as well as the support staff for a population of 8 million can...)
Dark May 30th 2007 2:27AM
I just want to say, some of us still play galaxies! :P
Its gameplay doesn't compare to WoW, but it just feels more friendly and social. It's what i play when i want to play smuggler and keep up my own falcon with some friends at the turrets! :D
Deewee May 30th 2007 2:34AM
The reason is pretty simple...Compair EQ2 with WoW.
EQ2: Fancy Graphics, Choppy Gameplay, need big PC to run somewhat smoothly.
WoW: Not so fancy Graphics, very smooth Gameplay, runs nearly on all PCs.
People DONT WANT super fancy Graphics, they want a game that runs smoothly on their Machine.
@ #2
You still believe in Santa, dont ya ?
People keep hyping Games, they dont even saw something from.
Best Example is Vanguard --> uh oh, WOW killer, core Verant Team build it, is must be a burner...now Sigil is Boykott lol
Bobby Hansen May 30th 2007 2:37AM
In order to fully unseat WoW, a new game would need to:
1) Run on a variety of computers - Windows, Linux, Apple, and on machines of various ages, and run acceptably too. The game should run well on my 1.25 Ghz. G4 or on my ubur-leet custom Windows box.
2) Be accessable foke-lore wise. Warcraft had 3 games and a novel series to explain the world. THat's all. I don't think Starcraft would work - too little lore. I don't think, say, Forgotten Realms would work. Too much.
3) Give something WoW doesn't. Easily accessible guild management, a better player-controlled economy, a better starting-off point.
4) Not to give all power to those who Beta. Each game seems to give people who Beta final says, and do not change things enough so that Beta players have huge head starts.
5) Some simple, memorable characters. "NO TAKE CANDLE" is a cute, simple phrase that many people I know who got into WoW can latch on to. Blizz did this before - "ZERG RUSH!" is common vernacular, almost.
Bland May 30th 2007 2:46AM
Take the MMO away from WoW, and you're still left with one of the most balanced, polished, accessible, stable and rewarding games ever made.
If other publishers took the time that Blizzard took to polish their games, rather than rush to market, maybe there'd be more competition to WoW (MMO or not). There was an article here on WowInsider a few weeks ago about the reason everyone plays WoW - because no one has done any better!
Androdar May 30th 2007 7:16AM
Make an MMO where players can actually interract with and control the world they play in - say altering the landscape by building houses, farming etc. Making political systems and a more player-run realm to play in.
Currently WoW offers rewards in terms of phat lewt; the classic "carrot on a stick" as someone reffered to earlier. By rewarding players with actual "power" in-game would be a huge step, and would require even more customer support, but would sure be a huge addition to the MMO world.
Giving players a responsibility to their realm/server would be interesting. If players had the ability to chop down trees to produce lumber for houses etc, they would also have the eventual power of turning lush forests into barren plains.
Oooh the ideas keep coming. I wanna make my own MMO xD
Tridus May 30th 2007 7:53AM
Several good points in here:
- Network effects. If all your friends play WoW and you want to play with your friends, you play WoW. When your friends start to feel like moving, you can go with them. (A bunch of my friends and I all left to try LotRO when it came out.)
- Polish. 2.1's buginess aside, the game is polished, easy to use, and runs well on even low-end hardware. Of the afformentioned friends who left for LotRO, all but one quit within a month due to the absolutely godawful UI and less then stellar performance (Vanguard was even worse, and the overwhelmingly negative reaction is the result). That one who stayed is also playing WoW, because thats where all their friends are.
- Mods. People like being able to customize their UI.
- Accessibility. WoW can be played by hardcore players on high end machines, and mothers using relatively ancient ones. Most games that come out these days focus on l33t highend graphics (and thus system requirements), locking out a huge part of the market. That market segment is why WoW is so much bigger then EQ could ever become. Its also yet another reason why Vanguard failed so badly, they locked themselves out of all but the highest end of the market, which is a tiny segment.
Ultimately what will kill WoW is the same thing that kills every other successful game: boredom. People will start getting bored with WoW (I think quite a lot already are), and will be ready to move to the next big thing when it comes along. When that happens you'll see lots of people move, and the new game will get its own network effect.