Blizzards New MMO

[Ratman_tf]

PS is the unsung hero of what could be done, but it's lack of big success keeps it from being referenced the way it should be. And I blame that damnable monthly fee. $4.99 at launch woulda done it. Saying PS offered the same amount and type of game as the other $14.99 game of EQ1 was just wrong.

I dunno. It wasn't the monthly fee that caused me to not stick with PS. It was the constant "up" time. That, and I'm about a midlevel skilled FPSer. I can have a good night, and I can spend an entire evening getting roflstomped. Those roflstomp sessions made me question why I was paying to get my ass kicked. I know any one player can't expect to be uberman all the time, but the feeling was still there.

And (IMO) the number of people willing to stick it out < the number of people who will just move on to WoW for some ego stroking mob harvest activities.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I sincerely hope they ripoff a shadowrun type universe and make an awesome mmo out of it in whatever playstyle it may be.

[sinij]

Wow burnout will be much more of an issue by the time this new MMO arrives. And Blizzard aren't in the habit of rushing shit out the door.

If latest expansion any indication then, yes they are. Activision is calling shots now, shit gets rushed out all the time.

[Simond]

What's incomplete about WotLK?

[UnSub]

Read elsewhere that Activision might be looking over Midway's IP catalogue. Mortal Kombat MMO, here we come. 

[Trippy]

If latest expansion any indication then, yes they are. Activision is calling shots now, shit gets rushed out all the time.

*Sigh* No, they are not. Vivendi owns the majority rights to Activision Blizzard. I.e. Vivendi *acquired* Activision and merged Vivendi Games with Activision renaming the Vivendi Games part "Blizzard" since it's a far better brand.

[Venkman]

As for not attracting women: that's MMOs in general before Blizzard came along. They set the design right so that even novice gamers (which include women who didn't get into MMOs previously) can pick it up and play solo / duo and you're set.

While there's a ton more people, the world we perceive is still a per-server reality not all that different in scope from EQ1. As such, I think you'd be interested to note that according to the Daedelus Project, the male/female ratio in WoW in 2005 was the same as EQ1 was in 2003. And a more recent PlayOn (of PARC) article from 2008 doesn't show a radical shift.

I've always equated the gender split to the type of game this is. It's basically the same as EQ1 up and down the line except that's easier. Being easier doesn't make it magically fun though. It only makes it more fun (or less punitive) for people predisposed to liking this type of game in the first place. And I don't think I'm being politically incorrect when I say it shouldn't be a surprise that a lot more men like swinging swords and committing mob genocide than women.

If latest expansion any indication then, yes they are. Activision is calling shots now, shit gets rushed out all the time.

Note Trippy's note. But also consider that this was a different type of expansion than the bunch of completely disconnected zones and stupidly-arduous keying of TBC. Two new races are a lot easy to developed level 1-20 content than for one new class (and race). Plus the self-consistent rolling narrative of Northrend that simply doesn't exist in TBC. I'm no Blizzard defender, but they made some smart decisions with WotLK because of what they learned from TBC.

[AngryGumball]

What's incomplete about WotLK?

The fact that Arthas isn't in it at release, and is merely part of a patch how many months from now? a Failed class balance reset with gear. If you intend to make everything raid easy then you need what 75-150% more raid content to keep people involved. Saying it will come in later patches is folly.

[Azazel]

Aside from the fact that everything you say in every post is wrong, I think the lack of Arthas is also heavily by design. They don't intend for him to be in the game at this stage because they don't want anyone killing him yet. It's an artificial way to extend the lifespan of an MMO expension, but less borken than, say, the way that the Rathe Council encounter was initially unwinnable.

The fact that catasses had finished all the raid content within 2 weeks is I am sure of little interest to Blizzard, as they're no longer making the game for you.

To Darniaq and Unsub, I'm sure the ratios are similar to olde-tyme EQ1, but the fact that the numbers themselves have grown so high is of interest to Blizzard. Guessing out of my arse, I could imagine WoW being the second-highest girl-gamer game to Ye Sims series. If that's true, they will take that into consideration when designing the next one, in that a slower speed makes it more accessable to girls overall, and also allows for the social-networking aspect of the game. While WoW os indeed faster-paced than EQ1, it's still a far cry from Battlefield and also doesn't require twitch-level skills and your typical FPS/3PS aiming hand-eye coordination level.

Essentially, we boys will play anything anyway. To tack on, or at least not alienate a potential additional 10%+ of female players is something worth considering at the fundamental design level. Much moreso than the catass demographic, because the catasses will play regardless, but the ladies won't.

I know a huge chink of WoW's 11.5 million players is in China/Korea/etc, but hell, even 4 million players in the West @ 10% gives 400k females. Which is almost EQ1's peak sub numbers... That's money I don't think they will choose to alienate. Not in an MMO, anyway.

[pxib]

Chunk. A huge chUnk.

[Sheepherder]

I know a huge chink of WoW's 11.5 million players is in China/Korea/etc

but hell, even 4 million players in the West @ 10% gives 400k females. Which is almost EQ1's peak sub numbers... That's money I don't think not a social dynamic they will choose to alienate ignore. Not in an MMO, anyway.

Particularly in a more social MMO.

[Redgiant]

1. A superhero universe

2. An RvR-centric universe with a variety of fighting roles, crafting trades, political and economic angles

I am sure they are conscious of wanting to avoid cannibalizing WoW players, hence they will try to divide up the Bartle scale with WoW in whatever this new MMO is. They also know the value of appealing to both men and women gamers.

Either way, my bet is they are working on advancing immersion possibilities as well, like leaps in in-game voice masking, and more tactile and kinetic control peripherals that make it more realistic to participate.

- Hasn't everyone wanted to really hurl an energy beam like with Iron Man's glove instead of press "1" on a keyboard?

- Voice masking done right would greatly help breach the wall that keeps most people from wanting to bother with RP or any sense of true immersion.

Some break-through leaps in how a MMO can hook your senses into the game and allow for more natural movement, actions and communications, will lead to the next real evolution of the games.

I just think Blizzard knows there is a market for (1) or (2) if someone came along and did it right.

[Rake]

I'm sure they won't be pushing any technological envelopes, but they have the greatest chance of influencing the future of Online Entertainment.

Me, I'd be happy if they gave us a bit of what was I loved and lost in SWG. I know that's a dangerous name to use on this forum, but it had something that was a bit ahead of it's time and I'm sure Blizzard could finish it off nicely.

[Ironwood]

Shush.

[Oban]

[Ratman_tf]

[Soulflame]

If they follow the pattern of WoW, they'll release SC 2, build in some lore, and follow up after they're done releasing content with WoSC, or whatever they wish to call it.

There's a possibility of a WoD, following Diablo 3, but I would personally put that as a low probability, unless it's a wildly different experience than WoW.

[ashrik]

Don't you think it'd be hard for Blizzard to do that, specially without having read the thread at all?

[Tale]

2. They could also be working on WoW II and just denying it. WoW II would be a great sequel if done right. My wish would be to add WoW I content that took the game to a higher level and then allowed you, once that level was reached, to ascend into a new world that would in essence transfer your character to WoW II (with new characters also starting at that level).

WoW II makes the best business sense. Most people don't even know there was a Warcraft before, they think you mean WoW.

WoW is Blizzard's major IP. It has sold more than StarCraft, which is 11 years old and therefore has no brand awareness below 20-somethings (but it would work if they called it World of StarCraft).

WoW is aging. If you're still a WoW player, you probably don't realise it, but your game looks dated now. The expansions too.

WoW was EQ done right. It's going the way of EQ. So from a business perspective, to capitalise on what they're good at, they need to do EQ2 right: WoW II.

[calapine]

2. They could also be working on WoW II and just denying it. WoW II would be a great sequel if done right. My wish would be to add WoW I content that took the game to a higher level and then allowed you, once that level was reached, to ascend into a new world that would in essence transfer your character to WoW II (with new characters also starting at that level).

WoW II makes the best business sense. Most people don't even know there was a Warcraft before, they think you mean WoW.

WoW is Blizzard's major IP. It has sold more than StarCraft, which is 11 years old and therefore has no brand awareness below 20-somethings (but it would work if they called it World of StarCraft).

WoW is aging. If you're still a WoW player, you probably don't realise it, but your game looks dated now. The expansions too.

WoW was EQ done right. It's going the way of EQ. So from a business perspective, to capitalise on what they're good at, they need to do EQ2 right: WoW II.

Yes, but the entire setting is so overused. I can't be the only person who by now is entirely sick of dwarves and elves.
And who wants to wait until 2011(12,13,..) so they finally can roll gnome rogue and try the new backstab skill in the all new WoW2?

[calapine]

Thinking about this for a bit, I'd guess its either World of Starcraft or (my bet) a brand new IP.
It would offer the most freedom/least baggage during the design phase as well as best hyperbility. Imagine a new game world by Blizzard which is totally unknown and about every tinnsy bit of new information is big news. Much better than "Blizzard Entertainment today confirmed that night elves will be a playable race in the upcoming World of Warcraft II".

[Venkman]

WoW II makes the best business sense. Most people don't even know there was a Warcraft before, they think you mean WoW.

WoW is Blizzard's major IP. It has sold more than StarCraft, which is 11 years old and therefore has no brand awareness below 20-somethings (but it would work if they called it World of StarCraft).

WoW is aging. If you're still a WoW player, you probably don't realise it, but your game looks dated now. The expansions too.

WoW was EQ done right. It's going the way of EQ. So from a business perspective, to capitalise on what they're good at, they need to do EQ2 right: WoW II.

I disagree. As I said earlier, there's zero precedence for successful sequels in this genre, so not something you walk into the CEO's office of the world's number one MMO and suggest (and no matter how improved EQ2 has gotten, that is not it). Yes, they know the game will decline eventually. But they're operating and near-50% profit probably because of that. They could lose 4/5 of their players and probably still be profitable, and still have more paying monthly subscribers than anyone else. And at that point they'll be merely servicing their most hardcore conservative players.

WoW made for a rich extension of the IP, but outside of WoW, nobody really cares all that much. So that alone does not make good sense of a sequel.

Nor does offering yet-another-diku with better graphics. The better-graphics angle has been tried, and has consistently failed to be a major draw, in this genre. Most people do not buy uber rigs for MMOs.

So unless it was an FPS set against the Consortium in Netherstorm and in space, I doubt there'll ever be a WoW 2

[Lakov_Sanite]

We need to start a pool.

I'm putting my money down on present-day fantasy/sci-fi setting with vague ties to the wow universe(titans somewhere maybe) in a diku style for the most part but with more social aspects and less pvp sport.

[Simond]

Put me down for EVE Done Right/Elite Online (as they're pretty much the same thing).

[Evildrider]

I could of swore I remember reading that their new MMO had nothing to do with any of their past products.  It was something "new".

[Oban]

Well, the only thing for sure is that it will be primarily human-centric with enemies that are organic.

[ashrik]

Put me down for an MMOFPS with heavy emphasis on player-politics and crafting.

[Lantyssa]

Well, the only thing for sure is that it will be primarily human-centric with enemies that are organic.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes?

[kaid]

For wows graphics they were a dated when the game was made. But one reason it has such an immense player base is they realized if they made a fun game with good enough stylized graphics that could run effectively and playable on just about anybodies computer it could do really well.

So many games shoot for the most amazing graphic ever only to make games that run like dog shit on most peoples system. I liked AOC but nobody in my guild other than me had a computer that could play it acceptably.

I myself love wotlk my crazy lil guild managed to get all the way to KT last night in naxx. Talk about hard mode seriously a couple of our mages do less damage than my prot warrior let me tell you that makes patchwork a WHOLE lot more exciting. For the last expansion we never got to see the bulk of the content because we would never be capable of the 25 man runs in our family guild but now we can actually see all the content. It takes us longer than other folks but we can actually do it. Its fun to actually see some of the neat stuff like the 4 horseman and saphiron.

I like the concept of the sarth 3 drake stuff let a guild like us kill him the normal way which is hard enough let me tell ya but give extra loot and challange for those capable of more from the fight.

[Merusk]

Put me down for a sci-fi DIKU-esque game using a unique IP. 

[Morfiend]

Put me down for a sci-fi DIKU-esque game using a unique IP. 

Me too please.

Or Starcraft. Do want Starcraft MMO. Now please.

*edit*

Wanted to add, that I also thought I recalled them saying that their new MMOG would not be based on an existing IP, and I was sad.

[NiX]

Whatever happened to those rumors about a CoD MMO?

[Chimpy]

I am going for they create some entirely new IP, even if they had not said it publicly, it makes the most business sense for moving forward. They don't have to fit existing characters into the new world, don't need to come up with viable reasons for shit (a la the Draenei shit), and can write something that works with the concept of a persistent yet evolving world.

They have the money to hire people with creative chops to come up with the framing of the storylines.

My guess it is going to be something that is more contemporary in style, probably more hard sci-fi technologically oriented, and less driven by the DIKU conventions.

And it will come out with either multiple rulesets for PvE and PvP, or will be designed with overall balance in mind.

But that is just me, whatever it is it will probably get me to spend money on it at least at first. So they win already.

[Lakov_Sanite]

that's the sad thing isn't it? even if they get a tenth of wow subs it will still be the second biggest mmo out there.

[Hayduke]

I don't think Blizzard will ever deliver anything player-driven.  They're pretty expressly stated that they're in the business of making theme parks, not sandboxes.  I'm hoping whatever they do won't be Diku-style.  Because WoW is fine for that and I can see them refining it for years to come.  A new IP would also be a lot more exciting.  Still in Blizzard-time, we're years away at this point so this is too speculative to be very interesting.