Why WoW sucks.

[El-Scotto]

I will definatly say, WoW more then anything, has changed the PC gaming industry. Especialy when you start hearing dev's saying "As long as there is room for more WoW, we will start making games". Sadly, I find that rather pathetic.

And I also agree, the analogy was very good, just becuase alot of people play it, doesnt mean its all that good.

Maybe but like others have said that is an opinion, it does however show that it is very succesful, and continues to keep a very large playerbase. If the only reason for it being succesful was hype then why is it still popular a year later?

 

[Banyan]

the biggest one reason why i don't like it is that there is so many immature tards that play the game. too bad they don't have like 25+ or so servers only. woke up today and decided to run mara (am a 47 holy spec priest) and got grouped with some tards... /sigh

i think im gonna install eq2 and try out the new pvp servers.

 

[SuperFarStucker]

It is an anomaly.

 

[SaDiStiC88]

I'm sure it's a good game. I only have 1 gripe with it though. I had to do my friends homework for him, or he wouldn't graduate. He would ditch sometimes to play it.

 

[tenchi86]

The reason the fact of how much money WoW has pulled in, is it's the only thing that can be proven. Everything else said here is based on opinion, but you cannot disbelieve its profit.

 

[Prodigious]

I will definatly say, WoW more then anything, has changed the PC gaming industry. Especialy when you start hearing dev's saying "As long as there is room for more WoW, we will start making games". Sadly, I find that rather pathetic.

And I also agree, the analogy was very good, just becuase alot of people play it, doesnt mean its all that good.

It is good.. for them. And really, that's all that matters. Good is subjective when it comes to etnertainment. A car that breaks down after 2,000 miles is definitely not good. Food that makes you sick is not good. Music that sounds like nails going across chalkboards overlayed with 12 year olds screaming at 2x normal speed is not necessarily bad, it's just horribly aggrivating for those who aren't into that style of music.

And on a final note. World of Warcraft is not a chemical substance. Your body does not gain a physical dependency just from playing it. I have difficulty comprehending how people choosing to invest massive amounts of time into a game somehow makes that game a piece of crap. I know what real physical addications can do to people. And even in that situation, I can't blame the drug or whatever it is as the culprit. It comes down to a person's decision to indulge in one thing at the expense of others one time, and then it leads to a downward spiral. If Halo, Half Life, Final Fantasy(oh wait it already is ), Elder Scrolls, or any other number of game universe were turned into MMOs people would be sucked into them as well. It just so happens WoW managed to tap into a mainstream vein when others were not able to. It's not the game(or rather the game doesn't cause the addiction), it's the people's personality type. There are some people who will never be able to touch a game because it just seems so pointless and stupid. There are others who live for gaming because it's the only type of stimulation they enjoy. And still others don't really care, but could probably be sucked in by some sort of triggering effect. Unfortunately for group 1, WoW is simple and easy to pick up and allows for as little or as much time invested as you want. This doesn't make it a bad game, but it does happen to make it the perfect outlet for wasting time.

 

[Janus67]

I don't need to repeat what I have said 3 times, so I will just quote Prodigious.

It is good.. for them. And really, that's all that matters. Good is subjective when it comes to etnertainment. A car that breaks down after 2,000 miles is definitely not good. Food that makes you sick is not good. Music that sounds like nails going across chalkboards overlayed with 12 year olds screaming at 2x normal speed is not necessarily bad, it's just horribly aggrivating for those who aren't into that style of music.

And on a final note. World of Warcraft is not a chemical substance. Your body does not gain a physical dependency just from playing it. I have difficulty comprehending how people choosing to invest massive amounts of time into a game somehow makes that game a piece of crap. I know what real physical addications can do to people. And even in that situation, I can't blame the drug or whatever it is as the culprit. It comes down to a person's decision to indulge in one thing at the expense of others one time, and then it leads to a downward spiral. If Halo, Half Life, Final Fantasy(oh wait it already is ), Elder Scrolls, or any other number of game universe were turned into MMOs people would be sucked into them as well. It just so happens WoW managed to tap into a mainstream vein when others were not able to. It's not the game(or rather the game doesn't cause the addiction), it's the people's personality type. There are some people who will never be able to touch a game because it just seems so pointless and stupid. There are others who live for gaming because it's the only type of stimulation they enjoy. And still others don't really care, but could probably be sucked in by some sort of triggering effect. Unfortunately for group 1, WoW is simple and easy to pick up and allows for as little or as much time invested as you want. This doesn't make it a bad game, but it does happen to make it the perfect outlet for wasting time.

As others have said, just because a lot of people play it doesn't mean it is a good game... truth... Counter-Strike is a crappy game. See what I am doing here? Just because it is the #1 FPS game of all time doesn't mean it is a good game.. oh wait...

Let us learn something here... the word good is subjective sub·jec·tive P Pronunciation Key (sb-jktv)
adj.
Proceeding from or taking place in a person's mind rather than the external world: a subjective decision.
Particular to a given person; personal: subjective experience.
Moodily introspective.
Existing only in the mind; illusory.
Psychology. Existing only within the experiencer's mind.
Medicine. Of, relating to, or designating a symptom or condition perceived by the patient and not by the examiner.
Expressing or bringing into prominence the individuality of the artist or author.
Grammar. Relating to or being the nominative case.
Relating to the real nature of something; essential.

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

So are you saying that Britney Spears is good since it sells by the millions, Windows XP is the best thing ever since it sold millions, and Titanic was a fantastic movie?

Yes, it sold well. Does it mean it's the best MMORPG? Probably in money revenues since it marketed highly well. For gameplay development, I dunno. I had more fun with EVE online then playing WoW and having my buddies trying to get me into it. But it seems like people enjoy simple MMORPG's like WoW. More power to them.

Do you listen to britney if you dont like her cd - no
do you buy windows again if you dont like it - no
do you watch titanic over and over if you didnt like it- no

mut points - why?

because if people bought wow and didnt like it, they wouldnt keep playing it!
But obviously millions of people STILL play it - so they must like it ?

So again, are millions of people wrong ?

Yes, people can have their choice, "good" is subjective, good to you does not mean good to me, but that doesnt make those who think it is good wrong.....

 

[Banyan]

I'm sure it's a good game. I only have 1 gripe with it though. I had to do my friends homework for him, or he wouldn't graduate. He would ditch sometimes to play it.

i hope you'll be there for times like that in the future (when instead of going to work to pay rent etc and he is ****ing off) to pay his rent etc for him. he shoulda not graduated. some people only learn the hard way (like me)... and some people never learn.

 

[zexmarquies01]

And on a final note. World of Warcraft is not a chemical substance. Your body does not gain a physical dependency just from playing it. I have difficulty comprehending how people choosing to invest massive amounts of time into a game somehow makes that game a piece of crap. I know what real physical addications can do to people. And even in that situation, I can't blame the drug or whatever it is as the culprit. It comes down to a person's decision to indulge in one thing at the expense of others one time, and then it leads to a downward spiral. If Halo, Half Life, Final Fantasy(oh wait it already is ), Elder Scrolls, or any other number of game universe were turned into MMOs people would be sucked into them as well. It just so happens WoW managed to tap into a mainstream vein when others were not able to. It's not the game(or rather the game doesn't cause the addiction), it's the people's personality type. There are some people who will never be able to touch a game because it just seems so pointless and stupid. There are others who live for gaming because it's the only type of stimulation they enjoy. And still others don't really care, but could probably be sucked in by some sort of triggering effect. Unfortunately for group 1, WoW is simple and easy to pick up and allows for as little or as much time invested as you want. This doesn't make it a bad game, but it does happen to make it the perfect outlet for wasting time.

true, WoW or a game itself is not an actual substance. BUT we have proven people DO get addicted to such things as Gambling. They get addicted to it, just like a Chemical thats put into their body. And require nearly the same type of treatment that a chemical-addicted person gets to fix their addiction. Its due to a certain part of our brain ( the cerebreal cortex, if i remember right..but i could be wrong ), hence why we don't see Chimps get addicted to such things, as we have a few more peices of brain matter than them.

Maybe games do the same type of thing? it might not be chemical, but when they log onto the game, they get this happy fealing, a rush of endorphans ( spellings? ) is released in their brain, triggering a response that makes them happy. as with most drugs, the body ends up with an overdose of this chemical, and then it starts to block out the endorphan recievers, which lets less pass through, making them less happy as they were before. and they need another ( larger ) fix, for them to feel that happieness agian. Maybe the brain is doing something along those lines, truly making them Addicted, just like we can get when it comes to gambling, and to drugs themselfs.

only certain people get addicted to gambling, so maybe only certain people get addicted to these MMO's to the extent they do. The only reason we hear more about MMO addiction than we do about gambling, is that an MMO is available to every single person on earth, without them ever having to leave their house. As gambling ( not on-line gambling that is ), is much harder to come by, and is illegal in some states, excluding the state lottery. It also doesn't help that the media is currently fixated on bashing video games, and every time something odd happens due to someone being addicted to a game, they HAVE to tell the entire world about it. Yet at the same time, something happened due to some gambler being addicted to gambling.

i'm kinda suprised no offical study has been produced yet, about how the brain reacts in some people to a game that they are "addicted " to. Maybe a study has been done, and the results just havn't been released to the public yet for some reason.

 

[SaDiStiC88]

i hope you'll be there for times like that in the future (when instead of going to work to pay rent etc and he is ****ing off) to pay his rent etc for him. he shoulda not graduated. some people only learn the hard way (like me)... and some people never learn.

lol. Yea, well I did tell him that the last semester he was on his own. He managed to get by with D's. I like homework though. Exercise for the brain. Also, it was funny to see that my paper I wrote for him got a better grade than mine.

 

[H4Z4RD0US]

I dont care what the game is if you have to PAY to PLAY then it automatically SUX and IMHO all those MMPORGS are about as fun as surgery to me. I simply hate them. The other thing about WoW is the rather impressional age that probably have the players are, making it the "Kewl" game to play and they make their damn parents pay for the garbage to boot.

No flaming intended bro, but I find what you say really unnescciary. (Cant spell that word, sorry) Paying to play is reasonable IMHO. Because, unlike an FPS game, where the game is released, and its patched every once in a while. MMOs function with constant bug checking, patch developing, customer support, GM's, running servers. It really becomes a liability to develop a "free MMO" I beleiev as long as the monthly fee is reasonable, it should be payed.


Now, I dont hate WoW. I have respect for blizzard, they obviously are marketing geniouses when it comes to games. WoW became a major hit, and I respect their business ethics.

Eve online, which IMHO is a better game then WoW has around 30,000 players? (Im sorta ignorant on the subject, so mind if I made a mistake) Really risky game.

Blizzard made WoW with an easy to play system, cartoonish graphics so anyone could play, a whole history of good games. Now they have 5,000,000 players. So wonder this:

5,000,000 x 40 (For the CDs)
5,000,000 x 14 (monthly fee)

You get the picture.....Its alot of money.

 

[El-Scotto]

No flaming intended bro, but I find what you say really unnescciary. (Cant spell that word, sorry) Paying to play is reasonable IMHO. Because, unlike an FPS game, where the game is released, and its patched every once in a while. MMOs function with constant bug checking, patch developing, customer support, GM's, running servers. It really becomes a liability to develop a "free MMO" I beleiev as long as the monthly fee is reasonable, it should be payed.


Now, I dont hate WoW. I have respect for blizzard, they obviously are marketing geniouses when it comes to games. WoW became a major hit, and I respect their business ethics.

Eve online, which IMHO is a better game then WoW has around 30,000 players? (Im sorta ignorant on the subject, so mind if I made a mistake) Really risky game.

Blizzard made WoW with an easy to play system, cartoonish graphics so anyone could play, a whole history of good games. Now they have 5,000,000 players. So wonder this:

5,000,000 x 40 (For the CDs)
5,000,000 x 14 (monthly fee)

You get the picture.....Its alot of money.

Those numbers may be big but they dont make anywhere near thay much themselves.

 

[OC Noob]

What he's trying to say is that everything that sells a lot doesn't mean it's necessarily a good thing. Financially a success yes but that doesn't imply anything except that there's a large amount of people that like it.

The Spears analogy was fine, you could replace it with any of the BS hip-hop/pop/boyband crap out there. Selling a lot of records doesn't imply a large amount of talent *cough*Ashley Simpson*cough*

Just because many people think something is good, that doesn't mean it is. Just like how if someone's opinion is that WoW sucks that doesn't mean it's true either.

Yes, WoW is successful and Blizzard knew what they were doing when they made it. But that in no way implies that it's a good game. I don't really care if its 5 million or 50 million people playing it, that doesn't imply it's a good game. If anything that implies addiction.

I will definatly say, WoW more then anything, has changed the PC gaming industry. Especialy when you start hearing dev's saying "As long as there is room for more WoW, we will start making games". Sadly, I find that rather pathetic.

And I also agree, the analogy was very good, just becuase alot of people play it, doesnt mean its all that good.

I addressed 1 reason the assumption based on that analogy was wrong, but when you consider the quality instead of success its an even worse analogy.

Spears or whatever other pop singer you love to hate will typically get little critical acclaim, yet WoW got fantastic ratings and critical acclaim so that analogy doesn't work. If you use, say... the Beetles, then it is a bit more spot on. e.g. overwhelming success and critical acclaim.

I would argue that just because some people don't like it, doesn't mean it sucks.

Some people don't like EVERYTHING! Just because a few people think its crap just means that we are humans and still on earth.

Its the best in the genre (not opinion, but measureable success) because an overwhelming number of people like it and because technically, critics loved it.

Hate anything all you want, but people who like it aren't blind or stupid.

ps if someone says popularity and ratings don't mean anything then tell me what does and it needs to be tangible and measurable.

 

[Midnight Dream]

"I personally think" "My opinion" "What I think"

This entire thread is pointless. Nobody will win. Its all a matter of opinion. I like the game. I get up, I go to work, I go home, play alittle, watch some tv, sleep. Does that mean im addicted? No.

Yes, some people have a problem, where they get too far into the game. But you cannot blame WoW for that. It was the same thing with the original Everquest. It was a problem with the original PNP D&D, where people were taking it too seriously, and doing ritualistic suicides. Its not WoW. Its the person.

Everybody likes different things. I like WoW. Person A likes WoW. Person B doesnt like WoW. Big freaking deal.

And, to the people that say its hype; Seriously, cut that out. I could understand hype, when it was first introduced. But its popularity and player base has continued to grow. That means there must be something that some players are enjoying.

So just let the thread die already.

 

[Neural Net]

WOW is not a game.

A game is a form of play or sport, of which it is neither. This is not my opinion, this is fact about how the game is structured and works. There was an interesting article on slashdot on this phenomenon that has hit the video game industry without anybody really noticing it.

What is it?

Work. WOW is based upon work, you do not play, you merely press buttons in repetitive combinations in order to level up or earn a new weapons etc. This is the drive behind the game and why people play it, but it is not a system based on fun, it is based on work and payment. In a sense it could be described as a sport, as everyone is constantly in competition to gain advantages over one another. Put it this way, the WOW formula could be used in an office environment.

Sure, there is the social aspect to it, which is what apparently most WOW players I have talked to like most about the game, however, you know when someone pays you to level up their character that this is not a game, its 9-5 in dodgy 3D.

 

[Prodigious]

The slashdot article was a little unimpressive imo. ANYTHING is work. Humans are driven on the conept of gratification. Even something that could be considered completely selfless such as saving someone's life provides gratification since it makes us feel better because we are doing "the right thing". Not everything is about tangible rewards. btw, a lot of people don't care about the items. They pvp constantly. The game isn't about getting the best equipment for everyone although it is for most.

Pressing buttons(or whatever the interface may be) in a repetive combination is the basis of every single video game in history(not always traditional buttons, like in the case of duckhunt or DDR). Repetition does not make something less of a piece of entertainment and more of a job. Playing music can be extremely repetitive. Are people who do it as a hobby for fun working? If so, then does that "work" even have a negative conotation?

A game is a form of play or sport, of which it is neither

In a sense it could be described as a sport, as everyone is constantly in competition to gain advantages over one another.

Nice contradiction. Pretty much nullifies the entire argument too. Gaining the edge is a part of any competition, game, sport or whatever you want to call it. Even in a came like CS people work their *** off to get perfect aim and movement skills. It doesn't mean the game is a job.

Bottom line is that it doesn't matter if something takes lots of effort. If it is fun and you are paying for the experience, it is entertainment. If it's not, or someone is paying you to do it, it's work. Farming gold to sell to people is work. Grinding so you can get your tiered sets is not.

 

[MattsterMH]

I just don't see the point. There are tons of games that everyone is "supposed to like" but I hated it. People have different tastes, but you can't "blame" someone else for liking a game that you don't.

Yes but you can blame them for being addicted and not having a life.

In a sense it could be described as a sport, as everyone is constantly in competition to gain advantages over one another.

Yeah but you don't get fat playing sports. Sitting down and staring at a box while clicking buttons for hours might just do so.
I love computers, but being addicted to a video game is nothing like playing sports.

 

[Neural Net]

Prodigious, I did not nullify my argument, I said in a sense, i.e. it could be interpreted as a sport, but it isn't one. Please, read a dictionary.

In CS you do not level up. WOW is based upon this principle, and PvP is not the main focus of WOW. It doesn't matter if you pay for WOW, within the game itself you must work for items, you took the argument there slightly out of context.

Gratification? Sure, when you apply that extremely broad definition to the argument then anything falls under your category. I suppose sex is work for you?

The repetition is a minor part, the main part of WOW is that one must perform certain monotonous tasks in order to progress. There is no progression of this sort in CS, HL2, Far Cry etc.

Of course, in your definition anything is work. Which is an anal-rententive Marxist approach, WOW is altogether different from HL2 etc and not being able to see that is a little worrying. It is based upon a work ethic, FPS games are not, simple.


Don't take my post personally, but if WOW becomes the most popular game genre, then all good games will quickly disappear.

 

[Mooyo]

I addressed 1 reason the assumption based on that analogy was wrong, but when you consider the quality instead of success its an even worse analogy.

Spears or whatever other pop singer you love to hate will typically get little critical acclaim, yet WoW got fantastic ratings and critical acclaim so that analogy doesn't work. If you use, say... the Beetles, then it is a bit more spot on. e.g. overwhelming success and critical acclaim.

The analogy stands. Heck, I hate the Beetles. Does that mean I'm right? Absolutely not. Do I think people who like the Beetles are idiots? Absolutely not.

The analogy can even go the other way. Vai's music is technically, in a musical sense, much more thought out than sayyy Greenday. Does that mean that as a musician he makes "better" music? Absolutely not. It's all an opinion, all in the eye of the beholder.

I would argue that just because some people don't like it, doesn't mean it sucks.

Said that in my post.

Some people don't like EVERYTHING! Just because a few people think its crap just means that we are humans and still on earth.

Its the best in the genre (not opinion, but measureable success) because an overwhelming number of people like it and because technically, critics loved it.

Hate anything all you want, but people who like it aren't blind or stupid.

A. I never said people who like it are blind or stupid. B. I agreed that the game is very sucessful.

ps if someone says popularity and ratings don't mean anything then tell me what does and it needs to be tangible and measurable.

No, there doesn't have to be anything tangible and measureable. I don't believe the game is good, it's successful but I don't see it as good. Popularity and ratings really don't mean a thing other than the people who play it like it and Blizzard is getting richer by the day. Popularity and ratings =/= good. To the people who play, it's a good game. To those that don't like the game, it isn't. It's an opinion. Good is an opinion; there's no right or wrong.

Like someone else said, this thread is pointless. It's all opinions and I'm pulling out. You don't measure "goodness" for the lack of a better term.