Massey closes the piece by saying that while the subscription model is badly in danger, the free-to-play model is becoming wildly successful.They even held the Blizzcon program out of the goody bags that were handed out to attendees during registration the day before the show opened - because it included a 2-page spread announcing the expansion and its key features (see photo below).
So far, Blizzard’s official Wrath of the Lich King Expansion mini-site has hardly any details, so here’s an overview of what we learned at Blizzcon:
the expansion is set in Northrend, an area about the same size as the Burning Crusade expansion’s Outlands
there will be two starting zones (Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra), to reduce overcrowding when the expansion launches
the level cap will be raised to level 80
the new Death Knight class will appear, the first new character class ever added to the game, and also the first WoW “Hero” class
a new profession, will be available … called Inscription, it creates scrolls that permanently buff spells (such as adding Knock-Back to your Fireball spell)
a new all-PvP zone, where everyone is flagged for PvP even on PvE servers
new Battlegrounds, featuring siege weapons and buildings you can destroy
new character customizations, including changeable hairstyles, new dances, and more skin-color variations
“The former death knight and now Lich King Arthas has set in motion events that could lead to the extinction of all life in Azeroth, as his undead armies and the necromantic power of the plague threaten to sweep across the land. It has a way of attracting that elusive casual gamer market that has made the Wii such a shocking triumph for Nintendo, and similarly the free model is making up for its game’s overall lack of quality with sheer quantity and availability.Only the mightiest heroes can survive the frozen northlands with any hope of disrupting the plans of Arthas - and perhaps even challenge the Lich King himself and end his reign of terror for all time.”.
While the optimistic part of my brain wants desperately for Mr. Massey to be wrong, the more pragmatic parts of me agree with his argument.
Unlike the console realm where a player might play 20 or 30 different games in a year, an MMO player will play one title exclusively for years.
When a title like World of Warcraft — whose success is owed largely to its ability to captivate the mainstream audience who had never before played an MMO — absorbs 9 million subscribers (roughly 18 times more players than the prior industry leader Everquest), there simply isn’t anything left of the market for its competitors to fight over.
Massey also makes the point that “”every major MMORPG to launch since [WoW] has been firmly on the side of a directed experience,”" meaning that they play out as a traditional roleplaying game would. With so much similarity, why would a new player (or current WoW player) even need to go play a different game when he or she is already enamored with Blizzard’s title.
The piece does manage to provide a glimmer of hope for the market though.
The one game, he says, that breaks away from the “”directed experience”" model is EVE Online. While EVE hasn’t had the same stunning success that WoW has, it has become the sleeper hit of the MMO industry and is the game for someone looking for a massively multiplayer title drastically different from WoW.
Then again, maybe both Massey and myself are totally off-base and out of touch with the kids these days. I don’t understand the appeal of pop-punk or Dancing With The Stars, so maybe I’m just as out of touch with the MMO scene.
Hence, I put it to you, the reader: is the MMO market going to continue to grow, or will Blizzard simply absorb all cash thrown into the virtual worlds realm like Galactus with a gigantic vacuum cleaner.