Aion : a possible competitive threat to WoW's future according to ActivisionBlizzard

[Zieg]

Well let say that WoW is already obsoleted. We need something new and Aion is definitely bringing it

[Livvy]

Originally Posted by zalbard

Isn't Blizzard working on a new MMO? I recall some people saying some of their devs and even lead designers being redirected from WoW to that new unannounced MMO.

they have a very large group of developers - and hired new folks too - so taking a few off WoW to develop the new MMO isn't impacting their staff in the slightest .

Well let say that WoW is already obsoleted. We need something new and Aion is definitely bringing it

It's comments like this that really tick me off. Why do you all want so desperately for a game to become "obsolete " . Don't the folks that are subscribed to that game have every right to enjoy themselves ? I was subscribed to Tabula Rasa and can tell you one thing : it wasn't fun when that game became "obsolete " ( still isn't for most TR fans ) .

[Xeniol]

I've played WoW for nearly 4 years. Yes I believe it's a good overall game, but since I play it for PvP and that aspect of the game is starting to dwindle down, I need a change. You can only make so many alts and do so many things before the repetition of the game kicks in and starts to make you truly bored. I plan on playing both Aion and continuing to WoW, but when Aion is released, I will spend the majority of my time on that because the change will hopefully make things more fun. What I like about Aion that WoW doesn't give to its' players is that PvP is mandatory which I prefer.

[Livvy]

Originally Posted by Xeniol

I've played WoW for nearly 4 years. Yes I believe it's a good overall game, but since I play it for PvP and that aspect of the game is starting to dwindle down, I need a change. You can only make so many alts and do so many things before the repetition of the game kicks in and starts to make you truly bored. I plan on playing both Aion and continuing to WoW, but when Aion is released, I will spend the majority of my time on that because the change will hopefully make things more fun. What I like about Aion that WoW doesn't give to its' players is that PvP is mandatory which I prefer.

That's a matter of personal taste though and to say WoW is obsolete is realy laughable . Even if half their subscribers would quit the game , it would still be the biggest MMO in existence and will remain so for a long time too .And not by a small margin either.

[Shanni]

Originally Posted by Vincire

THe vast majority of players were unable to participate in the so called 'hardcore' pve game in vanilla wow. When only 5% of your customers are able to see and experience the pinnacle of your game, that development becomes just a waste of resources. WOTLK isn't a failure because it's accessible to more players, it's a failure because Blizzard just rehashes the same old **** in pointless boring grinds.

Not to start another pointless WoW discussion, but that is solely your opinion, not a fact.

As far as I'm concerned, BC was the high-point of WoW. Heroics were actually heroic, not a 20 minute AoE run, raids were new and challenging and it felt like it was worth it raiding (even the rewards felt like something special that you could cherish) - and yet the raids were somewhat accessible to new players because arena gear wasn't that bad for PvE. BGs were still populated and fun to play... I could go on and on about how I enjoyed that era.

But that doesn't mean others have to agree with me as well because these aren't facts, they are opinions.

[Dafydd]

Originally Posted by Vincire

WOTLK isn't a failure

You should have stopped there, June 2009 subscription figures were the highest ever. WoW is STILL GROWING, there is no reasonable way to call it a failure without sounding bitter.

Seriously, it's as bad as Linux fans bashing Windows. I used to run Linux as my primary desktop, now it's Windows 7. I love the GPL and Stallman's goals, I just can't stand the bloody community being bitter that Windows is still more successful. What they don't get is that bitterness drives people away and makes it even less likely that 200x will be "The year of Linux on the desktop".

[Xeniol]

I never said WoW was obsolete. I said that I was going to continue to play both of them.

[Shanni]

Originally Posted by Xeniol

I never said WoW was obsolete. I said that I was going to continue to play both of them.

Those are really interesting graphs. However, the first graph ends at the beginning of 2009 which is a little out of date now. I'd just be interested to see what the figures look like today - after all, 3.1 patch launched in WoW and Aion beta tests started.

[Xeniol]

The graphs, for me, just shine a light of hope on the entire situation. The first MMORPG I played was Guild Wars back in the day and even when it was relatively new on the market, the population was drastically low and affected game play because of it. Since there are approx. 3.5 million Aion subscriptions already, even though a majority of them might be in Asia, the same problem shouldn't carry over into NCSoft's new game.

[Shanni]

Originally Posted by Xeniol

The graphs, for me, just give shine a light of hope on the entire situation. The first MMORPG I played was Guild Wars back in the day and even when it was relatively new on the market, the population was drastically low and affected game play because of it. Since there are approx. 3.5 million Aion subscriptions already, even though a majority of them might be in Asia, the same problem shouldn't carry over into NCSoft's new game.

You never know. Player numbers are always relative. The reason GW wasn't too successful is because WoW was still relatively new and rising. But now so many people are burned out and tired of WoW that many many people might hop into Aion - if only for the feeling and hope of novelty.

[Xeniol]

Even though that's why I plan to try it out, I'm sure I'll stay with it for longer than most games I've played simply because of the graphics. I can actually put my computer to good use now and see what most devs envisioned.

[riwdlytt]

Originally Posted by Vincire

THe vast majority of players were unable to participate in the so called 'hardcore' pve game in vanilla wow. When only 5% of your customers are able to see and experience the pinnacle of your game, that development becomes just a waste of resources. WOTLK isn't a failure because it's accessible to more players, it's a failure because Blizzard just rehashes the same old **** in pointless boring grinds.

Elite content is for elite players. This was common in a lot of MMO:s. 95% would never see the high end content...
For average players elite content is something they can admire and the players that can do the content are people they look up to, envy and admire. When it works like that it actually means something and you can be proud if you have raid-items...

Now its like... Get all epics now. And people that are really bad can get them next patch. I mean next step is to get a full set of epics when creating the character.

[Aleste]

WoW passed its peak, there is an inevitable decline happening currently for many reasons, the latest Tier9 designs indicates that most of the staff have already moved to the next project.

It will still be 2-3 years before the next Blizz MMO launch, at which time NCsoft will probably have already announced Lineage 3.

Aion needs to succeed for the sake of beneficial competition, thankfully with WoW's current state the task is much less harder.

[ith]

I am just hoping Aion brings on the PVP. I dont mind some pve distractions but really its the PVP that keeps me playing any game.

[Dafydd]

Originally Posted by riwdlytt

Elite content is for elite players. This was common in a lot of MMO:s. 95% would never see the high end content...
For average players elite content is something they can admire and the players that can do the content are people they look up to, envy and admire. When it works like that it actually means something and you can be proud if you have raid-items...

Elite content for elite players was NOT the design of early MMOs. Even in EQ raiding didnt' even exist as a concept at launch! EQ was the carebear MMO for people fed up with the PKs in UO when it was launched.

The fact is when MMOs were about elite content for elite players the playerbase was tiny, a miniscule fraction of what it is now. Reality check: Most players do not admire anyone else for anything they've done in game. Most of them are not proud of their gear or the content they've cleared, they're just enjoying the ride. MMOs are about having fun, not ego trips. Ego trips are fun for a few % at the top, everyone else just finds a different game to play (again, this is where EQ found it's initial playerbase).

Ego trip gaming is bad business, I firmly believe that no AAA title will do it ever again. Blizzard went there with Nax 40 and ended up having to re-use the dungeon to justify the expense of creating it. They went there with PvP too and are now desperately trying to back out of the idea that arena (which the elite love) is all and the battlegrounds (which are far more popular with everyone else) are worthless.

Originally Posted by Shanni

Those are really interesting graphs. However, the first graph ends at the beginning of 2009 which is a little out of date now. I'd just be interested to see what the figures look like today - after all, 3.1 patch launched in WoW and Aion beta tests started.

Here you go, still slowly climbing.