Over the weekend a tidal wave called Guild Wars 2 hit the MMO scene and garnered great headlines. Looking at the numbers from Xfire an MMO not made by Blizzard sat atop the rankings for the first time in years. But does that mean that Guild Wars 2 is the fabled WoW killer?
Perhaps in the future, but not now. Last weekend was the head-start weekend for those who pre-ordered the game and ArenaNet announced that they sold over 1 million copies before the launch date. While impressive, that number is still dwarfed by the 9.1 million subscribers Activision Blizzard claimed on their latest earnings report. So despite GW2 having more than 60% more time played by the Xfire community on Sunday than World of Warcraft, the Blizzard game is still the 800-pound gorilla in the room. And with the release of Mists of Pandaria on 25 September, look for WoW to regain its position at the top of the Xfire charts as well.
Latest patch today brings a lot of pre-expansion changes in too. Then there will be a week of the pre-expansion event from the 18th. I know my old guild has already started showing signs of revival, and they can't be the only one. I, however, have other business to conduct...
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that patch 5.0.4. is released today (for Europe, US had it yesterday). I am sure this already brings back people as they want to check out their new talents.
ReplyDeleteWoW is dead. Blizzard are resorting to farmville, pokemon and pandas ffs. The community is toxic and the welfare systems make working for progression pointless.
ReplyDeleteNegative, self-centered and narrow-minded post about ALL THE THINGS I HATE adds *so* much to the conversation. Welfare systems? You must mean other people getting shinies "they don't deserve." That impacts your enjoyment of the game how? Does it make killing HM (or normal mode, or LFR) bosses less satisfying? The truth is what other people do, or get, has zero effect on your ability to clear content and progress. The real elite are too busy getting world first kills to give a rats ass about casuals getting purples. It's second-rate wannabe elitists like you that do all the crying about other people getting toys. Toxic community you say? Take a look in the mirror, sir, and consider what your self-loathing dressed up as superiority contributes to said community. I'll put it as simply as I can - take pleasure in what you do, and with whom. Everything else is masturbation.
DeleteI like pandas and pet battles, couldn't care less about farming, and have enjoyed the company of many of the people I've met in wow over the years. I don't know if this expansion will keep my wow-love strong, but I'm going to try it before I decide.
I know of at least one former wow player that won't be going back. I'm a bit older than the current demographic, or at least closer to the 40 end over the 20 end, and the players in my circle have all but written off Blizzard. We'll be watching MoP closely however, as nostalgia is a powerful beast - but currently the winds of change are blowing us elsewhere.
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