What Blizzard does well

[Neosage]

Blizzard is pretty good. I like Diablo myself. But WoW is just too exspenive. I'm shocked that peope can afford to play that. Don't they care about stuff? Like booze?

honnestly 15 bucks a month for the ammount of content and hours of game play you will get, is worth it, just imagine people pay 5 bucks a month for Rune Scape

Runescape...lol

i rest my case

Runescape...ROFLMAOWKSOMDBIC.

You might find that a bit to funny sir, but yes i laughed at myself a long while when i started getting good at WoW and saw how amazing it was compared to Rune Scape and i laughed for a good hour at how crappy Rune Scape is

If you play WoW you can't really slag off runescape, you, I assume played those games for the same reasons? Which would be multiplayer which IMO runescape actually does fairly well at. Of course if you weren't playing for those reasons then they would both be terrible ga...well they wouldn't even be games.

Edot: Also wow can be addictive for weak minded people. Like smoking or drinking. After a while you stop playing it and just DO it.

 

[Jandau]

Blizzard are good at one thing and one thing only: Taking other people's ideas and polishing them. That's the extent of their talent. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but Blizz has a distinct lack of innovation (few exceptions exist), and this was especially well presented in the form of WoW (and subsequent expansions) which didn't do anything new whatsoever, just polished the existing genre.

As for SC2 and D3, I'm a bit sceptical about Blizz's ability to make a proper singleplayer game after so many years of snoozing on WoW. And don't get me started on the whole Activision thing...

 

[Phoenix Arrow]

Also in WoW all of classes are generally balanced all of them have some thing good to bring to the table in terms of pvp, dungeons and levelling.

No. It's a poor example of an MMO. No real variety, just the same few events overr and over again. Don't get me wrong, there are some good examples of MMOs out there, but WoW isn't one.It isn't original either as other, better MMOs were knocking about long before it. They just used a total "shock and awe" marketing tactic and pounded it into the mainstream.
Also, I never found Starcraft and Warcraft that great but that's just me really.

 

[Fronken]

Taking Warhammer Fantasy and 40k and crafting them into something good enough that I don't accuse them of ripping it off.

This ^

There is no doubt that Blizzard has Games Workshop to thank for their success/fame.

Warcraft = Warhammer Fantasy Battles
Starcraft = 40k

There's no doubt the races have been stolen, orcs and humans are, well orcs and humans, but the most obvious ones are in Starcraft, where both the Marines and the Zergs are ripped straight from 40k (Space Marines/Tyranids).

But still they manage to make an interesting storyline themselfs, even though their starting pieces were stolen.

 

[Archaeology Hat]

Blizzard is pretty good. I like Diablo myself. But WoW is just too exspenive. I'm shocked that peope can afford to play that. Don't they care about stuff? Like booze?

Blizzard is pretty good. I like Diablo myself. But WoW is just too exspenive. I'm shocked that peope can afford to play that. Don't they care about stuff? Like booze?

Many/most WoW players don't buy that many other games, they save a hell of alot of money by having their average gaming budget be £9.99/14.99 Euros a month, whereas the average console game in this country costs about £50, I have friends who often buy a new console game every month, me? Whith my on off relationship with WoW, I spend maybe half of what they do if that.

I really can't agree with what you said about WoW.

I've played it for long enough, and I've played other bigger MMOs... and WoW's unbalanced as hell.

Not really, given how many classes there are and that they can do almost anything they can do... all of the time in PvP its amazingly well balanced. I say this as someone who plays a warlock... after 3.0, and before it, in crap gear, with a pre- 3.0 holy-paladin arena partner... in a similar gear level.
I've seen games that are much worse balanced, indeed, given the amount WoW players whine about class-balance its hardly suprising so many of them reject newer MMOs when they find that these games have even worse balance. Ignoring the PvP balance for a moment, PvE wise pretty much every class brings something to a raid these days.

 

[Zeke the Freak]

I lost intrest in starcraft after about 8 yrs of waiting for #2 to come out.

 

[Dantes Alaska]

Blizzard is pretty good. I like Diablo myself. But WoW is just too exspenive. I'm shocked that peope can afford to play that. Don't they care about stuff? Like booze?

honnestly 15 bucks a month for the ammount of content and hours of game play you will get, is worth it, just imagine people pay 5 bucks a month for Rune Scape

Runescape...lol

i used to have friends who bragged about their ppl on runescape, heh used too

my ex is addicted to wow, its fucking annoying, but Diablo III is gonna kick serious ass

 

[Somthing]

Taking Warhammer Fantasy and 40k and crafting them into something good enough that I don't accuse them of ripping it off.

This ^

There is no doubt that Blizzard has Games Workshop to thank for their success/fame.

Warcraft = Warhammer Fantasy Battles
Starcraft = 40k

There's no doubt the races have been stolen, orcs and humans are, well orcs and humans, but the most obvious ones are in Starcraft, where both the Marines and the Zergs are ripped straight from 40k (Space Marines/Tyranids).

But still they manage to make an interesting storyline themselfs, even though their starting pieces were stolen.

im not arguing against the starcraft franchise may being ripped (dont really care) but the orcs and humans coming from warhammer? I would say that orcs were not made by warhammer first. i think (not sure) that they came mostly from Tolkien.

 

[oliveira8]

Taking Warhammer Fantasy and 40k and crafting them into something good enough that I don't accuse them of ripping it off.

This ^

There is no doubt that Blizzard has Games Workshop to thank for their success/fame.

Warcraft = Warhammer Fantasy Battles
Starcraft = 40k

There's no doubt the races have been stolen, orcs and humans are, well orcs and humans, but the most obvious ones are in Starcraft, where both the Marines and the Zergs are ripped straight from 40k (Space Marines/Tyranids).

But still they manage to make an interesting storyline themselfs, even though their starting pieces were stolen.

im not arguing against the starcraft franchise may being ripped (dont really care) but the orcs and humans coming from warhammer? I would say that orcs were not made by warhammer first. i think (not sure) that they came mostly from Tolkien.

I think its the fact they both green and in the first 2 Warcraft games they were portrayed slightly different from Wc3 and onward.

 

[sanzo]

People can badmouth WoW all they like, but there's a reason it's got 11million users. Diablo is a classic series now, SC is legendary, and WC is amazing.
So what does Blizzard do well? Games.

Perhaps, but I'd assume a good deal of those users are playing only because they've wasted years of their lives in that game, and are only still playing because of that.

It's like watching a mediocre movie you want to see the end of... except the movie has no end, and cost you over 600 US dollars

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Blizzard is pretty good. I like Diablo myself. But WoW is just too exspenive. I'm shocked that peope can afford to play that. Don't they care about stuff? Like booze?

The fee for WoW, if diverted to booze will purchase you a bottle of low quality alcohol (up to a full gallon if you are in the military and willing to purchase rotgut grade), or up to a 30 pack of bad beer. Many people who play WoW seem to fall into one of two categories: either they are two young to drink or they have gotten to the point in their lives where alcohol is no longer the most amazing thing ever.

 

[Littaly]

Blizzard have both good and bad sides. On one side, their customer service is excellent (at a contrary from what a lot of WoW fans say). There are very few requests that haven't been implemented after serious consideration. The devs do listen to the whine, but they have a mind of their own too.

on the bad side their done-when-it's-done policy can be annoying to say the very least. Because while it usually results in good games, a lot of other companies can make good games in a much shorter time. And on top of that it cost us StarCraft: Ghost.

Also they have come to the conclusion that since people can pay more for an MMO than a regular game, they can pay more for StarCraft as well. Something tells me StarCraft II is gonna beat Spore as the most pirated game of all time.

 

[BladesofReason]

Perhaps, but I'd assume a good deal of those users are playing only because they've wasted years of their lives in that game, and are only still playing because of that.

It's like watching a mediocre movie you want to see the end of... except the movie has no end, and cost you over 600 US dollars

Actually most players that I know seem to play because they enjoy playing the game. There are various reasons for wanting to play; including the enjoyment of advancing your character through gear, professions or some other form of progression because it awards the player (if this is what you're after) with a sense of accomplishment. Yes, these players will go through the grind some people so malign, but they do it because WoW is a forum where they can show off the fruits of their labor.

Then there are the people who play for things like the dungeons. Working with others in 5 man dungeons or 10/25 man raids is fun and challenging and WoW makes it very easy and accessible.

Then there are people like me, who play for the social and roleplaying aspect of the game. I love to act out my character, and I love to talk to my friends in game. I've made quite a few friends in WoW and like dungeons and raids WoW provides an easy way to talk with, and interract with them if either simply by talking with them or playing with them.

WoW isn't for everyone, but (to get back on topic) it falls into the category of things that Blizzard has done right. The game is exceedingly accessible, constantly being updated and continues one of the most entertaining fantasy stories of all time. The Burning Crusade was no great shakes but the Wrath of the Lich King is really a great piece of work. It varies up the quests so there's less of the dreaded grind, or at least it's more varied then before. The story is told in grand fashion and presented in quite an impressive manner. It isn't difficult to see why people play it.

Lastly I would say Blizzard markets well. They know exactly who their target audience is and sells to them. They also have an uncanny knack for placating said crowd with incredible games even though they rarely set definitive release dates for their games. Still, when the games come out they are almost invariably well done.

 

[Kikosemmek]

You know what Blizzard does well?

Print money like it's going out of style.

Wasn't that Nintendo?

I think if Nintendo and Blizzard ever combined into once body my head would just drop itself off of my body. Blizzard went from the fantastic WC2 and SC to WoW. That's a pretty big fall. I will be getting Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 for sheer appreciation of the former two titles, however.

 

[Fronken]

Taking Warhammer Fantasy and 40k and crafting them into something good enough that I don't accuse them of ripping it off.

This ^

There is no doubt that Blizzard has Games Workshop to thank for their success/fame.

Warcraft = Warhammer Fantasy Battles
Starcraft = 40k

There's no doubt the races have been stolen, orcs and humans are, well orcs and humans, but the most obvious ones are in Starcraft, where both the Marines and the Zergs are ripped straight from 40k (Space Marines/Tyranids).

But still they manage to make an interesting storyline themselfs, even though their starting pieces were stolen.

im not arguing against the starcraft franchise may being ripped (dont really care) but the orcs and humans coming from warhammer? I would say that orcs were not made by warhammer first. i think (not sure) that they came mostly from Tolkien.

Orcs were made up by J.R.R Tolkien to the best of my knowledge, but it was Warhammer who set the standard for Orcs when it comes to look and color, The orcs described in LOTR were black, but it wasnt until Warhammer Fantasy Battles came along that the standard became Green for Orcs and Goblins (as in Greenskins).

So the orcs in Warcraft is undoubtably taken from Warhammer.

 

[Optimystic]

Keep their fanbases sweet with constant updates and high quality content.

No wait that's Valve. Come on man we're making the thread ourselves here. ;¬D

Uh, Blizzard does that too - their patches have enough free crap to be like expansion packs. I remember when Diablo II patch 1.10 came out and introduced all the new runewords like Enigma, it was like an entirely new game.

 

[sanzo]

Perhaps, but I'd assume a good deal of those users are playing only because they've wasted years of their lives in that game, and are only still playing because of that.

It's like watching a mediocre movie you want to see the end of... except the movie has no end, and cost you over 600 US dollars

Actually most players that I know seem to play because they enjoy playing the game. There are various reasons for wanting to play; including the enjoyment of advancing your character through gear, professions or some other form of progression because it awards the player (if this is what you're after) with a sense of accomplishment. Yes, these players will go through the grind some people so malign, but they do it because WoW is a forum where they can show off the fruits of their labor.

Then there are the people who play for things like the dungeons. Working with others in 5 man dungeons or 10/25 man raids is fun and challenging and WoW makes it very easy and accessible.

Then there are people like me, who play for the social and roleplaying aspect of the game. I love to act out my character, and I love to talk to my friends in game. I've made quite a few friends in WoW and like dungeons and raids WoW provides an easy way to talk with, and interract with them if either simply by talking with them or playing with them.

WoW isn't for everyone, but (to get back on topic) it falls into the category of things that Blizzard has done right. The game is exceedingly accessible, constantly being updated and continues one of the most entertaining fantasy stories of all time. The Burning Crusade was no great shakes but the Wrath of the Lich King is really a great piece of work. It varies up the quests so there's less of the dreaded grind, or at least it's more varied then before. The story is told in grand fashion and presented in quite an impressive manner. It isn't difficult to see why people play it.

Lastly I would say Blizzard markets well. They know exactly who their target audience is and sells to them. They also have an uncanny knack for placating said crowd with incredible games even though they rarely set definitive release dates for their games. Still, when the games come out they are almost invariably well done.

I'm just saying, there are people like that; the majority of the people I know who still play WoW are just doing it because they've sunk enormous amounts of time into it. I'm not saying it's the only reason, I'm just saying it's a reason

 

[Zeke the Freak]

What Blizzard does well?
make the same game over and over with minor changes *except diablo*.
I Perfer DoW 2 over SC 2.
Hell I perfer the origanal DoW over SC 2.
SC 2 is just SC with a few bells and whistles while DoW 2 adds whole new concepts and ways of playing

 

[Somthing]

Taking Warhammer Fantasy and 40k and crafting them into something good enough that I don't accuse them of ripping it off.

This ^

There is no doubt that Blizzard has Games Workshop to thank for their success/fame.

Warcraft = Warhammer Fantasy Battles
Starcraft = 40k

There's no doubt the races have been stolen, orcs and humans are, well orcs and humans, but the most obvious ones are in Starcraft, where both the Marines and the Zergs are ripped straight from 40k (Space Marines/Tyranids).

But still they manage to make an interesting storyline themselfs, even though their starting pieces were stolen.

im not arguing against the starcraft franchise may being ripped (dont really care) but the orcs and humans coming from warhammer? I would say that orcs were not made by warhammer first. i think (not sure) that they came mostly from Tolkien.

Orcs were made up by J.R.R Tolkien to the best of my knowledge, but it was Warhammer who set the standard for Orcs when it comes to look and color, The orcs described in LOTR were black, but it wasnt until Warhammer Fantasy Battles came along that the standard became Green for Orcs and Goblins (as in Greenskins).

So the orcs in Warcraft is undoubtably taken from Warhammer.

okay i am sorry but due to me just started reading these forums and shit im not a fully educated check out every fact poster yet so i am humbeled in your presence