j123vt_99

Seems like in the online MMRPOG field, Everquest was huge and then WOW took its place. Is there any game out now or in the near future that will be bigger/popular than WOW?

Groucho

D&D Stormreach comes out in a couple weeks and has a lot of good buzz around it. However, I don't expect it to surpass WOW in popularity.

Aphex Twin

World of Starcraft?

Setzer

D&D Online is a joke. I played beta this past week and what a HUGE let down. I thought this was going to take me away from WoW -- fat chance. I won't go into too much detail but I'll point out the things that stand out to me...

"Twitch" Combat system -- I'm guessing they tried to incorporate real-time and turn-based rolled into one. It doesn't work.

User Interface -- Terrible. Seems no thought was put into this at all and worst part is, you can't use mods.

PvP -- None.

Crafting -- None.

Basically the game is all about PvE. Other than Stormreach the rest of the world is instanced. Find a group in town and go out and do quests. That's pretty much the extent of it. Oh, you build a character to level 10 and learn new skills and such but why would I want to spend $50 for the game + $15 p/month to play DDO when I can go out and get the Diamond Edtion of Neverwinter Nights and get the same enjoyment?

I don't know if any MMO will pass WoW. Like Aphex Twin said -- World of Starcraft? Ones that are upcoming that I'm looking forward to are Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and the Lord of the Rings MMO.

The Bus

I don't know. I think WoW is going to remain dominant for a while, at least another year or two. I don't think there's going to be a game that will be gangbusters. I honestly can't think of any franchise that's bigger than WoW --- Halo, but that's not going to be an MMORPG. Sims? Sims Online isn't as big (is it?). I'm not seeing a next UO or EQ3 take over. I don't know how fun a GTA game will be.

Anyone's guess.

boredsilly

I bet longer than that.

Draven

Some sort of Starcraft MMO would be the best bet, but even that doesn't necessarily appeal to the same customer that likes WoW.

As long as they keep up with new content, expansions and incentive to play after hitting the highest level, I'm sure WoW will be around for a number of years to come.

Joe Molotov

I can't wait for Pirates of the Burning Sea. I doubt it'll be as popular as WoW or even as good, but heck you get to be a pirate!

NitroJMS

I've only played FF11 in the past, but I'm very interested to try out Star Trek Online. Should be a fun geek experience for at least a month.

Silt

I think WoW will be around for quite some time to come. It really has what alot of gamers want. It's pretty easy. There's really no grind as you can level quickly. Not alot of pointless time sinks during quests like EQ/EQ2. Named mobs for quests, from what I saw during my time, isn't on some lame spawning system where you need to kill a place holder for 4 hours to pop it. Crafting is fast and fun. You can make your character look "cool" due to varied styles and colors of armor and clothes. The graphics styling of the environment, while cartoony to some, are really enjoyed by alot of folks. And the list goes on.

Someone mentioned D&D Online earlier. I really had high hopes for it, and even pre-ordered it...then I played the beta. Talk about blah! Combat system is too much like Diablo for me...just a furiously clicking of the mouse, twitch-based affair. As another mentioned, the UI isn't so hot, the inventory system stinks. I searched high and low, but couldn't find a way to create an /assist key or macro. Couldn't create a hotkey to arm dual weapons, which is a killer when trying to switch from dual weapons to bow and back again. Many people are complaining about the lack of content...everyone..and I mean everyone is doing the same exact quests..and you are pretty much forced to as that's how you level. Never played Guild Wars, but many say it's like GW but with a $15/month charge. No thanks. I want a persistant world if I'm paying $15 a month, not just a bunch of instances in a single city. I cancelled my pre-order. Just not sure how this game will survive charging a monthly fee.

Alot of old school EQ players are awaiting Vanguard...but since it's being designed by alot the same folks that brought you the 40 hour FBSS camp(EQ 1 team)...I'll pass on that game.


I think WoW will be at the top of the heap for a long while still. I'd still be playing it, if not for the playerbase. Between acting like they are 12 years old and continuously displaying horrid playing skill (the concept of assisting escapes about 90% of them) I had to give up on that game. Back to single player RPGs for a while for me. Oblivion and NWN2 are on the horizon and I'm looking forward to them.

Tracer Bullet

Sims Online was a huge flop.

Outlaw

I read something that said there were 500,000 people registered and active for World of Warcraft (don't know exactly how they determined it). I don't know how many everquest people there are but thats been around longer so I wouldn't be surprised if it were bigger, but for WoW to get that many people in such a short time is nothing to scoff at.

Supermallet

If it's done right, Lord of the Rings online could, in theory, topple WOW. But I have a feeling they'll mess up the gameplay somehow.

Fandango

I'm not sure where you got the 500,000 number from but Blizzard claims 5 million subscribers worldwide and 1 million in North America.

Decadance

40 hour FBSS...not so bad when I think back to a 72 hr Drelzna Jboot camp a friend and I did in shifts But yes, I tried WoW, have a 60 hunter, but it didn't grab me like EQ did. From the first days of EQ I felt immersed in the environment. Thats why I am waiting for Vanguard.

Outlaw

whoops, thats the number I meant.

flashburn

I remember reading something from Brad Mcquaid (EQ creator) saying that Blizzard is fudging their numbers pretty badly. Saying that they are including all past subscribers (including trials), not just active subscribers in their numbers. Who knows if that is true or not, especially from where it is coming from. He said that since in China the accounts are free, and you just pay an hourly fee, they are able to include anyone that has ever played as a subscriber. One thing I do know, it does seem like EVERYONE is playing WoW so I wouldn't be surprised if they do truely have close to 5 million subscribers.

fumanstan

That isn't true, and there isn't any fudging. The 5 million number only counts current active and paying subscribers and excludes cancelled or inactive subscriptions.

Users in China do essentially pay by the hour though.

yotd576

Think I'm gonna stay away from Lord of the Rings MMO. Can you imagine the different variations of the name Legolas you will run into in that one? For some reason it's one of my number 1 pet peeves in mmos.

innocentfreak

Not sure but nothing seems to be on the horizon. I just suspended my account on WOW. I just wasn't that into it anymore.

bdshort

I finally suspended mine after several months of not playing and basically wasting the monthly fee. I was bascially losing my interest in playing any games at the time, not jsut WOW. I feel the bug starting to come back, so maybe I'll get back into WoW at some point. One of the things I wasn't enjoying was the time it took to find people for some quests. I felt guilty spending 3 hours playing to complete a mission when there are other things I wanted to do (watch DVDs, go outside, be with friends, that sort of thing). Blizzard won't delete characters in inactive accounts, will they? Like I said, I do plan on getting back into things at some point. Plus, I see there is an expansion coming.

DeepBlue

I agree. WoW appeals heavily to the casual-core gamer, while it seems Vanguard will appeal more to the core-hardcore range. Vanguard is in beta 2 stage right now and not much is known about the game. From what I have read on gaming forums, it will be somewhat similar to EQ - not very friendly for solo play, rewarding groups/raids, camping etc.

Personally, I think I am done with online gaming. It was fun while it lasted but I don't want to devote so much time to another game again. I am waiting for single player game Elder Scrolls : Oblivion. It looks amazing - and I can play on my own schedule

Xander

I think I just had a tiny orgasm reading that. Hope they do SOMETHING else Starcraft related in the future. Give us a Starcraft 2, or a World of Starcraft. ANYTHING! Starcraft:Ghost never came to fruition, and I was all excited about that. I think Starcraft may be my favorite PC game to date. Definitely my favorite RTS.

fujishig

Starcraft: Ghost is still coming out for the consoles, believe it or not. But I would love a starcraft 2. Not sure if they would do a World of Starcraft until the point that World of Warcraft dies down, and even then a World of Warcraft 2 would probably be easier for them to implement.

Setzer

Vanguard will not be an MMO for the casual gamer. It still looks promising but it won't come close to passing WoW.

I agree -- Oblivion looks amazing! I think it and Kingdom Hearts 2 come out about the same time(late March). Those two games will probably get me to cancel my WoW account for a while.