Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Burrito Al Pastor]

It's not going to cause many more people to start sending their fifteen dollars per month of sweet, sweet pirate gold. It will cause lots of their existing base to drop a one-time fee for the stuff. It will delay those people from the inevitable realization that they are throwing their lives and sweet sweet pirate gold away.

With 10 million subscribers already sending that $15/month, I don't think Blizzard feels a pressing concern for making their pie EVEN BIGGER. Taking measures to prevent the pie shrinking is exactly the right thing to do when your playerbase is 10,000,000 people.

[Bongo Bill]

It's not going to cause many more people to start sending their fifteen dollars per month of sweet, sweet pirate gold. It will cause lots of their existing base to drop a one-time fee for the stuff. It will delay those people from the inevitable realization that they are throwing their lives and sweet sweet pirate gold away.

With 10 million subscribers already sending that $15/month, I don't think Blizzard feels a pressing concern for making their pie EVEN BIGGER. Taking measures to prevent the pie shrinking is exactly the right thing to do when your playerbase is 10,000,000 people.

Exactly. I just seemed to think that Kazz was implying that it wouldn't be effective in growing the playerbase.

[Royal☭]

That said, it would require a 90% loss of playerbase in order to equal Warhammer (if the 1 MILLION pre-orders is to be believed), and I brought up WotLK because for Blizzard, expansions are a way to attract new playerbase and restart ones who've already quit.  I'll I'm seeing is baseless speculation and people making remarks that Blizzard is somehow crumbling away.

Yeah, everything I've heard about WotLK makes it seem like throwing more grind in front of the obsessed.  PvP items require Honor points AND Arena points, and disappear if your Arena ranking dips too low?  Artifacts that you have to individually level to make them godlike?  Catering to the hardcore at the expense of the dabblers doesn't often work out, be it in games or politics or entertainment or what have you.

Last I heard Arena gear is seperate from PvP gear, which can be bought with Honor and lasts until you get bored with it.  Arena is pretty much for the hardcore PvPers, which is a sliver of WoW's player base.  It may appeal to you, but as we often toss around, you are not the norm.  A lot of the changers they are making is meant to cater to the casual, such as scaled back raiding with fewer requirements and more player friendly questing.


How did we let a flippant remark from Arc go this far?

[Brentai]

All Arc said was that WoW will probably shrink rather than grow from here, which is true.  The game is getting dated, everyone who was ever going to try it has either tried it and stuck or tried it and quit, the barrier for entry is only getting harder, and it is simply not a very casual game.  I'm sure they can sustain a disproportionately large playerbase for a long time to come, but in business terms that's still a decline.

[Detonator]

All Arc said was that WoW will probably shrink rather than grow from here, which is true.  The game is getting dated, everyone who was ever going to try it has either tried it and stuck or tried it and quit, the barrier for entry is only getting harder, and it is simply not a very casual game.  I'm sure they can sustain a disproportionately large playerbase for a long time to come, but in business terms that's still a decline.

This might be the the case around here, but only a quarter of the current subscribers live in North America.  3.5 million are in China alone.  I think the average Chinese gamer might not have the income to afford cutting-edge gaming PCs, so the relatively lax graphics will give it an edge versus brand new retail MMOs.

And WoW's environments still look damn good.

Will WoW last forever?  No, that's stupid.  But I think a decline is still years away.

[Disposable Ninja]

Many years.

They're still releasing Everquest 1 expansions.

[Arc]

How did we let a flippant remark from Arc go this far?

Ah, a question asked each and everyday, and yet never answered.

Truly a mystery for the ages!

[Royal☭]

The solution is to shoot Arc in his center of mass.  Boom, chestshot.

[Kayma]

The solution is to shoot Arc in his center of mass.  Boom, chestshot.

concrete shot?

[Romosome]

Yeah, everything I've heard about WotLK makes it seem like throwing more grind in front of the obsessed.  PvP items require Honor points AND Arena points, and disappear if your Arena ranking dips too low?  Artifacts that you have to individually level to make them godlike?  Catering to the hardcore at the expense of the dabblers doesn't often work out, be it in games or politics or entertainment or what have you.

Uh, just wanted to make some quick clarifications here because it seems whoever is feeding you information might actually be entirely crazy.  Not meant as a PLAY WOW OMG post, but correct info is good to have.

PvP gear is mostly tied to Arena now, yes, but it's been that way since BC and Wrath doesn't change much.  Ratings requirement has been and is still only a requirement to PURCHASE it, you can fucking quit arena entirely and your items don't go anywhere and can still be equipped.

The interpretation of the new artifacts thing is kind of boggling, because it's completely opposite.  Here's what is actually happening:

-"Artifact" item level that was never used except for GM items is being used for new Heirloom items
-Heirloom items are bought with badges from heroic/10man raids, which is standard endgame stuff
-Heirloom items are Account Bound, they can be mailed to any other character on your account.
-Heirloom items have scaling stats.  Their stats are dependant on what level you are, so they have the stats of really good Blue items for your level.  They're not supposed to be uber epics, but designed to be items to make levelling alts faster and less grindy.

So basically, you get an Heirloom weapon and some shoulders and mail it to a new level 1 you just made, and it gives him really really good equipment for those slots that will make 1-70 fly by a lot quicker.  The entire purpose is to cut down on grinding.

Other fun facts:

-Heirloom shoulders give +10% increase experience gain
-Heirloom items are all old classic WoW weapons/shoulders that people liked and considered iconic, so there's stuff like the Bloodied Arcanite Reaper

[Romosome]

Bejeweled add-on coming to World of Warcraft - This comment sums it up best:

Everquest added something similar when it started its decline. "Med"tris, it was nicknamed. It was played with gems made from spell icons.

Really, this sort of thing reinforces my prediction that WoW is at the top of the mountain and looking down right now. Not that Blizzard should take the central office of their bank off speed-dial any time soon.

Double post of wow-blabbing: Add-ons are user created.  It sounds like people are interpreting this as Blizzard shovin' a puzzle game into their title out of desperation, which isn't the case; they have nothing to do with this at all.  If people aren't misinterpreting and are actually saying that a player creating a mod that lets you play Bejeweled in game heralds the end of WoW, that's kinda 

EDIT: I see the confusion.  The story is actually "Guy makes Bejeweled addon for WoW.  Popcap games, people that own Bejeweled, hire him to make a more polished version of the addon with the official name and their blessing.  Blizzard more or less uninvolved and oblivious."

(note: we could use a few more :what: icons here, I wanted to use the strawman almost)

[Arc]

Taking bets on monthly subscription numbers dropping by this time next year, which is at 10.9 million as of 09/15/08.

Ten dollars in the pot, ten dollars in the pot, do I hear fifteen, do I hear fifteen?

[Romosome]

I'll bet you 100 that they will.

It works for Hawking.

[Brentai]

Hideo Kojima has three great ideas that he doesn't want to see ever used.

Uhhh... thanks?

[Arc]

Anyone else want in? Your share can be apart of the $100 so Romo won't have to payout the full amount when he loses.

I accept paypal.

[Romosome]

Anyone else want in? Your share can be apart of the $100 so Romo won't have to payout the full amount when he loses.

I accept paypal.

Oh, I'll be more than happy to pay 100 if I lose.  I don't make false bets.

Hideo Kojima has three great ideas that he doesn't want to see ever used.

Uhhh... thanks?

It's not like his big ideas ever actually make it into his games.

[Saturn]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/40505.html

Athena has been eating too much cake apparently.

[McDohl]

Oh god that looks beautiful

[Bongo Bill]

(a video)

Athena has been eating too much cake apparently.

Looks nice, but I'm failing to parse the joke.

[Saturn]

(a video)

Athena has been eating too much cake apparently.

Looks nice, but I'm failing to parse the joke.

She's a lot more round in the face and thighs.