If WoW is so good, than should other MMORPGs exist?

[Erana]

Everyone talks about how great WoW is.
Everyone uses it as the standard in online gaming.
Everyone says that people should be playing WoW if they are going to play MMORPGs at all.
Everyone says that people should be able to cough up the comparitively meager price of subscription if they are gonna spend all their time on an online game.
Everyone says this, everyone says that.
I am not asking if WoW really is as great as people say. Nor am I asking if it is better than other games.
I want to know if you think it is really right for people to say that other online games should not be played because WoW is "better."
Read the sentence above over agian.

 

[Jobz]

No...I don't think anyone has the right to tell anyone else that they should or shouldn't play a game because it's better or worse than any other. WoW is a great game, It's the only MMORPG I ever got into, but then again the only other one I ever played was FFXI and let's face it, that was a disaster.

I'd like to try others but I simply don't have the time or the money, so as long as WoW is continually being billed to my credit card, I'll stick to that.

 

[Necrohydra]

Hell no. What about the people that can't stand fantasy settings? Or the people who can't stand RPGs? Or the people who can't stand Blizzard? Or *insert personal preference difference here*? Different strokes for different folks, and WoW is not going to be able to hit all of them.

Further, competition fuels the drive to make a better product. If no one else made/supported the MMO market, WoW would inevitable get stale. If they had the market, why should they pour resources into the game when they're the only shop in town?

 

[Captain_Planet]

I do not think that this is right. Let us think back to a few years ago friends! What was the best mmorpg around? What was the standard? What was veryone who was everyone playing? Thats right, Everquest! While many other mmorpgs existed, none could ever really make a dent in its marketshare. And yet, then came along WOW, the newcomer to the amrket, which has since compeltly taken over the mmorpg scene. The point I am attempting to make is that eventually, there will be some "new" and "upstart" mmorpg that will overtake wow. I mean, it seems inevitable. No game can sit on top of the throne forever.
Now, lets say that there are other games that never make it, and there are. Lord of the Rings Onlien has a pretty good player base, Tabula Rasa is doing alright, Hellgate London and Fury never really got off the ground. The best of those games never will touch WOW (for the moment) but that does not mean that there will not be a gmae int he future that does. Eventually along will come a fantasy rpg that eclipses wow. Much like what happened with everquest, the transition from WOW to this new mmorpg will be slow. But, in the end, there shall be another game sitting atop WOW's throne. If there were not early adopters and players of nonwow games then there would be no chance for this to ever happen. The mmorpg scene would be static and broing. No one would innovate beacuse WOW is the king and all other mmorpgs supposedly suck.
So in an answer that was probably too long, no, I do not agree with people that claim WOW is the only way to go. I think that will, in the long run, stall progress of the genre.

 

[ThePlasmatizer]

Not really as variety makes the world better, even if someone says this game is the best ever because it's popular you don't have to agree, the games you want to play are your choice.

Honestly I am incredibly saddened that WoW is seen as the standard in mmorpg's, it represents a lot of what is wrong with gaming.

 

[gibboss28]

Nope. And this can be applied to other genres and games too. Granted you've gotta reword some stuff but still...

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

I love WoW. I could type for hours about why-- and I have, in the thousands of other WoW discussions on this forum. That said, the answer to your question is a conundrum-- there is no way to determine what is "really right". That said, a popular opinion is that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

[WriterX]

Let me answer it in a simple way. If WoW was the only MMORPG out there then you wouldn't be paying the fees you are paying now, you would be paying fees x5 because WoW would reach Monopoly status on the market. In fact, it could adjust any price.

The difference between WoW and other MMORPGs is mainly the setting and story. If you don't want to be a hero in the Warcraft world try Middle Earth, or Warhammer, or something. People need a choice, and the people who sell MMORPGs know that. So everybody gets their piece of the MMORPG market cake. And almost everybody is happy.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

Yes, they should exist but they need to get better, you need to offer something polished, unique and different to pull people away from WoW since at the moment it's still the best game in town. The only thing, (so far) that has a chance in my opinion is the new Champions game, as designing your own costume always attracts people.

 

[meatloaf231]

Other MMO's exist because they are incredible sources of income.

Seriously. A company with a decent MMO starts rolling in cash.

 

[Stammer]

World of Warcrap sucks. End of story.

 

[Faeanor]

Free will.

 

[Altorin]

World of Warcraft definitely does not appeal to everything, even in the MMORPG market

however, I have rarely heard anyone say that other games shouldn't exist because world of warcraft is better.

what I hear more of, is a lot of people saying world of warcraft shouldn't exist because it's worse.

who's really slinging shit in this contest?

 

[hamster mk 4]

Since the MMORPGs are essentially a free market, these other games should exist if just to validate the argument that Blizzard does not hold the gaming world under its oppressive boot. For some reason when rich investors see something that is hugely successful, they try to copy it and take some of that success for themselves. I guess that is what separates them from the working class shucks that see something that is not broken and accepts it for the glazed jelly filled donut of perfection that it is.

 

[mrnelsby]

All the games competing with WoW have their own charm. WoW isn't the best, it's the best average. Horizons does better for crafting, Guild Wars has much better character customization, Everquest 1 is renown for it's longevity and support (it's on its what, 14 expansions with a 15th in the works), and so on.

Comparing one feature of WoW to any one feature of its competition, you will find many games that do it better, but each of these games have their own flaws too, so WoW has a decent level of aptitude with all its features and no critical failures, making it the best choice despite its mediocrity.

The closest comparison I find to WoW is Everquest 2. When my roommate first got into WoW, I first started in EQ2. Having later done a long stint in WoW I'm actually surprised Everquest 2 isn't heralded as WoW's superior.

-EQ2 lets you learn other languages, including enemy race languages.
-Any race can be good or evil if you are willing to do the quest to change alignment.
-Trading in EQ2 is much better than WoW's auction house. The AH wins on simplicity and that you don't need to leave your PC on, but EQ2 lets you buy direct from the player, through auction at a premium price, or through the Fence you can purchase from the enemy cities at double the commission.
-WoW is more appealing to look at because of how colorful it is, but there's a very cartoony feel to it. EQ2 went the realism route, which although it means ten shades of brown for every other color, it is also that much more stunning in graphics.
-Crafting in Everquest2 requires skill and patience. The quality of the finished product varies by how talented the player is, meaning the market is plentiful with discount items that are just one level below perfect.

Perhaps, but there is something about the aesthetics of WoW that I find vastly superior to a lot of the other mmorpgs out there. Specifically in relation to EQ2, what I liked about Wow is that it doesn't try to be completely "real" in its graphics. EQ2 definitely suffers from that "uncanny" thing they talk about when something is supposed to look real, but your mind just knows that "something is wrong." I'm not sure if I can describe it right, but things in EQ2 just look plastic, unnatural and kind of generic.

 

[Souplex]

It is the standard simply because it is the most popular, not cause it is the best as well as the most popular like windows. Sure it is leaps and bounds above runescape for example but City of Heroes/villains is vastly superior.

 

[Alone Disciple]

Well, I have to say to the OP that your premise just seems ludicrous to begin with.

Of course other MMO shuld exist because not all of us think that Tolkien-esque fantasy worlds are the end-all be-all.

I would love to see an epic Sci Fi MMO succeed, or even more so something along the lines of a Western or Yakuza/Mafia inspired game.

The real question should be Why is WoW much more successful than all others that makes people think it is so great to begin with? I personally think that Blizzard is top-notch when it comes to polish. Sure you may not like the cute anime style like graphics, and orcs and elfs may be played out...but the thing is...the damn game works 99% of the time. The quests are for all levels, they can be in-depth or quick. There is something for everyone, whether a casual gamer or hard core player.

The fact is Blizzard tests, tests, and re-tests. If something does break....they fix it in a timely manner and people feel as if they get their money's worth. Take SOE for example...when they break stuff...you have no idea if and when it will get fixed. And if it does get fixed, it's usually nerfed, or comes back in a way it wasn't intended, or borks something else entirely (See: Matrix Online, SW: Galaxies).

WoW is top notch because Blizzard looks at the details.