Very nicely stated!

I think you hit the nail on the head. Especially with giving what the players the vocal ones at least the things they said they wanted. Granted quite a few in that group realized they didn't want what they said and quit. Such as hard heroics at release and what not.

They made raiding a lot less accessible (maybe 10% of the people I raided with in TBC/LK are raiding in Cata.) And with phasing, 5 levels, and ridiculously linear quest lines, there was not as much for non-raiders to do.

@Carune, no, IMO, Blizzard gave what the bloggers and forum warriors wanted for Cata. However, this is *not* what the customers wanted. Ergo, subscriptions decline.

5% loss isn't as bad as naysayers make it tout o be, especially considering the sales records for PC games that Blizzard made with Cata launch. Can't expect to keep 100% of those players who bought the new "hot" game of the moment.

I was getting frustrated by the grind. Especially having 8 85s and 2 more on the way. Finally, I said screw it. Haven't been in hyjal since. Not saying it's not fun or it's not worth it. I just got burned out. I am happily leveling my 2 lower toons and enjoying my guild and online friends. I am looking forward to the new changes and the holiday events. As many things in WoW that keep changing, it's good to have lots of toons to fall back on. It's also a curse but as long as you can prioritize a little it's not too bad. It's hard sometimes but if you take a step back (maybe a week or 2 off if you need) and look at what you really like doing, you enjoy it more and concentrate on it. I know one thing, I will never get caught up in the gear grind. If that doesn't mean I will never run current end game stuff, I am ok with that. Finally.

"and while it's no different than in Wrath the naysaying seems to be becoming more widespread with Cata."

I do not remember any real naysaying about WoW during wrath. I remember a certain amount of people being curmudgeons about how ezmode the game is, but I don't really remember people talking about how the game was dying. Near the end, people were excited for cataclysm.

I still maintain that Wrath of the Lich King was and is the pinnacle of MMORPG'ing. It made it the most accessible while maintaining the interest of the uber-hardcore. It had great stories, great questing, and a lot of interesting lore. Also, it had what I believe to be the best video game story arc that has ever been invented (the Arthas/LK story).

It also had the best PvP experience I've ever had in any MMO-type game ever, that being Wintergrasp.

I'm not going to bring up the downfalls of cataclysm, but I will say that the "naysaying" so to speak is much more prevalent, and the subscriber losses are bigger than what the article writer reports. Their subcription numbers dropped under 11 million based on ATVI's last quarterly report. This is not just the general whining of a few loudmouthed curmudgeons - it's definitely more than that.

I predict people will be just as excited as the next expac. Especially with so many not liking cata. I don't think we will be getting pandas as a race to play but I think Blizz knows what to keep our interest. To anyone who thinks WoW is going away anytime soon: Sorry.

correcting myself - sub numbers dropped to 11.1 million, not under 11 million (sorry for the error).

"Also, it had what I believe to be the best video game story arc that has ever been invented (the Arthas/LK story)."

Oh you mean the Lil' Anni -> Darth Vader -> Cremated Pimp Daddy storyline? Remember when Arthas killed Obi Wa... I mean Uther and then joined with the Empero... I mean Lich King?

As far as video games go Blizzard does a fairly decent job, but then that's probably because others already wrote it. The just (barely) tweaked some names and passed it off as an homage.

I hope you're not suggesting that Star Wars was entirely original: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_sources_and_analogues

On topic: Ulduar was, IMO, the perfectly designed raid. It looked cool, it tied in to the overarching wrath story, had innovative encounters (regardless of whether you loved or hated FL, it was certainly different), had progressively harder bosses, & had a more interesting "hard mode" system than the current one.
Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying Cataclysm, & am having a great time in Firelands, but Ulduar was something else.

@chromebus

that was so spot-on ! Hahaha

Its all talk, you cant expect them to say anything but positive spin. Let the numbers speak for themselves every passing quarter.

Blizz has no incentive to "try something different." At this point they're milking WoW for money, that's all it is. Their top people are focused on Sc2, D3, and Titan. Up to this point every promise they made about Cata has remained unfulfilled and why is that? Lack of money? No. Lack of time? Time was never an issue before. Then what? I say lack of man power on WoW.

@pancakes

It doesn't take wikipedia to know that Potter Wars and The Rings of Oz isn't original. But let's not kid ourselves about Blizz, they barely even try to give it their own flavor. Toshey Station? Uldum? I'm sure some uber-nerd could list everything, and there is plenty.

I know Everquest was considered a massively successful cash cow of a MMORPG in it's day.
And when it was announced, Blizz said they were hoping to "eventually" match EQs best subscriber numbers.

At it's peak, EQ had 470k subs.

WoW subscriber base is still in excellent shape.

I blame hype backlash. Everyone thought Cata would be THE expansion pack, and had impossibly high expectations... it's only natural it crashed and burned.

@Chromebus and everyone who thinks the same
Let me tell you a secret. It's kind of hard, so may wanna take a seat if you are reading this standing. Ready? Human race has never created anything, all they are capable of is copying and mixing (like copy this, cut that). Everything that is now was before and will be again.

@chromebus
What are you talking about? Just because you mash a couple titles together doesn't mean they're similar. While your comparison of Arthas to Darth Vader is fair, Harry Potter and Star Wars are not very similar beyond the 'chosen one' concept, and the similarities between Lord of the Rings and Wizard of Oz end at 'they both involve a group of characters who do a great deal of walking.'

I mean if you're going to go down this road, you might as well do it right. Compare Harry Potter to the comic book 'Books of Magic.' If you want a blatant Star Wars rip off, take a look at Paolini's Inheritance series. The first book, Eragon, is Star Wars with dragonriders instead of jedi. Even the second and third books bear striking resemblances to Empire and Return of the Jedi.

Chromebus, neighbour, every story ever written in high or low fantasy has as its core elements of what Joseph Campbell called the Monomyth or Hero's Journey. That includes the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, The Lord of the Rings, The Belgariad, The Book of the Dead, Spaceballs, Disgaea and Calvin and Hobbes. Amongst others.

Doesn't mean to say the stories told in those works are not addictive, inspiring or indeed brilliant.

Let us indeed tear them up. All of them. And replace them with what?