MTV interviews Blizzard execs
by Natalie Mootz 
Jul 8th 2008 at 7:00PM
At the Worldwide Invitational, MTV interviewed two Blizzard executives: Paul Sams, Chief Operating Officer, and Frank Pearce, Executive Vice President of Product Development. It's an interesting read -- if not the best interview I've ever read -- which includes more info on Diablo 3, mobile apps, and thoughts about MMOs in general. The duo leaves the door open for Blizzard to create an MMO that might "cannibalize" the WoW player base, although for some reason they are not convinced that Diablo 3 will impact that base. (I, for one, disagree. The huge response we got to the Diablo news on WoW Insider tells us that there is a huge amount of crossover between the franchises.) They also don't believe that there's much overlap between Starcraft and WoW. Frank stressed that, regardless of what the marketing research might say, "those aren't necessarily the data points that we use for decision-making when it comes to the games that we want to make."Read on to see what Blizzard says about time between game releases and new MMOs.
Will there be less time between Blizzard's game releases? Paul and Frank seemed to waffle on this one. Although they said it would be "a little bit less time," they repeatedly stressed that their number one priority is making a good game, not meeting arbitrary deadlines. When asked about mobile applications for WoW -- like checking your Auction House items -- the guys refused to discuss it. The way they answered the question leads me to believe that they are looking at things like armory access for mobile access, but I doubt they are working on a full-blown MMO for the mobile platform.
Paul and Frank stressed that Blizzard wants to be the company to make the best MMO of all time, rather than leaving that to a competing company and if that means taking players from WoW at some point, so be it. However, Paul added, "if we were ever to do such a thing" -- which to me translates to: "Not likely, dude." And will Blizzard move away from their established intellectual properties to create something brand new? That's "a ways down the road," according to Frank.
Filed under: Blizzard, Interviews
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Verit Jul 8th 2008 7:14PM
Best interview ever? I thought it was interesting, but there was nothing really revealing or new.
stonehead Jul 8th 2008 7:19PM
That's not what she meant.
But seriously OP, are you going second guess the millions of dollars Blizzard doubtlessly has spent on market research based on your own, casual observations?
Verit Jul 8th 2008 8:30PM
Kinda - Blizzard as a software company seems to do a lot of the same things as the software company I work for does :). Does working for a software company make me more hardcore or am I still a casual?
Clayton Jul 8th 2008 7:23PM
I think they believe it won't affect the Base in terms of paying subs, not necessarily in terms of hours played. I think they believe WoW players won't cancel their accounts when D3 launches; plus D3 isn't a monthly subscription model-business.
garreth Jul 8th 2008 7:31PM
Exactly what Clayton said: It's brilliant from Blizzard's standpoint. No one is going to cancel their WoW subscriptions to play D3, just like none of us cancelled our WoW subscriptions when GTA4 or Metal Gear Solid 4 came out.
The only thing that will kill the WoW subscription base is another Blizzard MMO. *cough*WorldofStarcraft*cough*
Too soon?
SeanOr101 Jul 8th 2008 9:09PM
hehe, I agree.
But WorldofStarcraft? That sounds a little out there for now, although it does pique my interest.
robotrock Jul 8th 2008 9:30PM
I can see myself quitting WoW for D3 ...easy
Ikarus Jul 9th 2008 4:19PM
I'm confused. I'm assuming D3 will have a relative "end" a point in which you've beat the game, right? Technically the same can be said for WoW (Currently the end is Kil'jaden in SWP), But there is so much more to the game in terms of PvP, Dailies, farming badges, professions for profit etc. Why would you quit for a short-term game? Or am i missing something about D3?
robotrock Jul 9th 2008 4:21PM
You haven't played D2 have you...getting to Level99 on hardcore mode will definitely take ages...
Arioch Jul 8th 2008 10:20PM
There's plenty of Diablo-WoW player crossover, but it does not necessarily follow that someone playing Diablo will stop playing WoW. They're two very different games.