Who's tired of hearing the term WoW Killer tossed around?

[brainless906]

I am also confused by this phrase: there already is a "WoW Killer"; Runescape(105 million accounts). And yet, WoW is still alive and kicking.

Runescape is a "WoW killer" only by definition because it is what every MMO aims to be: really popular. So if there are already games that are equally or more popular than WoW, I would like to know why anyone bothers with the phrase at all.

Just my two cents.

Hadn't even considered that, kudos.

I would like to point out also that that Runescape actually doesn't even have close to 105m active player...almost EVERYBODY on RS has a "main" account and at least a few lesser accounts.
[yes i play rs, shoot me.]

proven by the ever so common dialog

{
Noobpwnsauce: haha ur a noob
I pk 21 I: pfft my main could pwn u
Noobpwnsauce: pfft right, bring him dualy
I pk 21 I: fine bish
I pk 21 I: logged out
I pk 34 I: logged in
I pk 34 I: haha who's noob now, l2pk nubmuffin
Noobpwnsauce: ...THATS your main...LAWL
Noobpwnsauce: logged out
d3adl3 t4nk: logged in
d3adl3 t4nk: what now nub
I pk 34 I: ppppfttt, this is only my 2nd main nub
ect....
}

 

[brainless906]

Aion already flopped on the wow killer title 400, 000 pre orders? Absolutley nothing compared to that gargantuan what is it 12 million now? Hell was pushing 10 mill when I was still playing.

Hahahaha.

Less than 11, considering that a lot of people from China are yet to make new accounts.

Also, you are counting EU/US market only? Then yes, 400k preorders, but there are only 5 millions of people in WoW from EU/US. Because half of the people playing WoW are from China. And I'm not exaggerating, even one bit.

lol Aion had 4m players BEFORE the US/EU release hehe,
i got no idea what the numbers are noah tho...

 

[KhaineII]

Well i agree.
kind of.
meh, i digress.

Simply because the public doesn't seem to give half of a flying fuck.
not to be harsh or anything, but there are many many many many mmo rpg's out there with epic amounts of unique, however they never surface, many of them getting little to no publicity.
however when somebody decides
"hay, this'll kill WoW "
suddenly people take interest.
be it negative or positive the game now has much more publicity then a game that is simply unique.

Take Aion, it has many unique features.
The ability to fly anywhere.
The god awesome graphics combined with low pc requirements.

yet aion wouldn't have half the publicity it has unless somebody decided to put it up against WoW .

As the largest MMO RPG out there, WoW is now considered the "standered" if you will.
the..ah...crown jewel all other preciouses gems are compared to.
While looking at the 2 compared games you (as the developer or the player) are always looking for something better.
i propose the term "wow killer" will never die.
at least until wow itself dies.
merely because it is a standered of comparison.

I agree in a way with what you are saying, but I still feel that the term "WoW Killer" is a double-edged sword. While it may build publicity or hype up to and into the release date, it can also dash many users hopes once they actually reach the game.

I feel like a broken record but this can come from many differnet sources:

- Bugs from poor testing
- Poor implementation
- Instalation issues
- Server Overload

 

[RollForInitiative]

The two games who are the biggest committers of this mistake right now are Aion and The Old Republic.

For the record, I should point out that we never willingly applied that term to ourselves.

Also, I find that term obnoxious and overused.

 

[iJosh]

First time I've heard this actually. I don't play WoW, Maybe that's why.

 

[brainless906]

Well i agree.
kind of.
meh, i digress.

Simply because the public doesn't seem to give half of a flying fuck.
not to be harsh or anything, but there are many many many many mmo rpg's out there with epic amounts of unique, however they never surface, many of them getting little to no publicity.
however when somebody decides
"hay, this'll kill WoW "
suddenly people take interest.
be it negative or positive the game now has much more publicity then a game that is simply unique.

Take Aion, it has many unique features.
The ability to fly anywhere.
The god awesome graphics combined with low pc requirements.

yet aion wouldn't have half the publicity it has unless somebody decided to put it up against WoW .

As the largest MMO RPG out there, WoW is now considered the "standered" if you will.
the..ah...crown jewel all other preciouses gems are compared to.
While looking at the 2 compared games you (as the developer or the player) are always looking for something better.
i propose the term "wow killer" will never die.
at least until wow itself dies.
merely because it is a standered of comparison.

I agree in a way with what you are saying, but I still feel that the term "WoW Killer" is a double-edged sword. While it may build publicity or hype up to and into the release date, it can also dash many users hopes once they actually reach the game.

I feel like a broken record but this can come from many differnet sources:

- Bugs from poor testing
- Poor implementation
- Instalation issues
- Server Overload

A completely agreeable stance.
It can be a double edged sword.
however with the proper know how a double edged sword can be used quite effectively, correct?
the term double edged sword seems to be overly used, when using this term it seems everyone who think of this assumes that an amateur is using said sword...
[using this in a completely analogical way obviously]
i suppose what i'm saying is i agree with you.
i would merely like to propose that when used correctly this "term" or "double edged sword" can be quite effective.

 

[KhaineII]

The two games who are the biggest committers of this mistake right now are Aion and The Old Republic.

For the record, I should point out that we never willingly applied that term to ourselves.

Well, as it continues to remain unaddressed, isn't the title almost embraced?

 

[brainless906]

The two games who are the biggest committers of this mistake right now are Aion and The Old Republic.

For the record, I should point out that we never willingly applied that term to ourselves.

Well, as it continues to remain unaddressed, isn't the title almost embraced?

personaly i feel its rejected more then embraced.
yet it still exist merely as a necessity
i mean take a look at my forum post
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.135471?page=9

just count how many people went in there and bashed the term.
its a vastly hated term.
that is not argued.

 

[Dreslough]

I have a game that's a "WoW Killer". It's called real life [http://www.anstarra.com]!

 

[KhaineII]

A completely agreeable stance.
It can be a double edged sword.
however with the proper know how a double edged sword can be used quite effectively, correct?
the term double edged sword seems to be overly used, when using this term it seems everyone who think of this assumes that an amateur is using said sword...
[using this in a completely analogical way obviously]
i suppose what i'm saying is i agree with you.
i would merely like to propose that when used correctly this "term" or "double edged sword" can be quite effective.

As it stands now, has any game really effectively run with the title and gotten far?

 

[Abedeus]

Aion already flopped on the wow killer title 400, 000 pre orders? Absolutley nothing compared to that gargantuan what is it 12 million now? Hell was pushing 10 mill when I was still playing.

Hahahaha.

Less than 11, considering that a lot of people from China are yet to make new accounts.

Also, you are counting EU/US market only? Then yes, 400k preorders, but there are only 5 millions of people in WoW from EU/US. Because half of the people playing WoW are from China. And I'm not exaggerating, even one bit.

lol Aion had 4m players BEFORE the US/EU release hehe,
i got no idea what the numbers are noah tho...

That too. In all of Asia, it was about 4 millions. And now probably more, as China got the 1.2 patch and Korea is testing 1.6.

 

[Venatio]

I am also confused by this phrase: there already is a "WoW Killer"; Runescape(105 million accounts). And yet, WoW is still alive and kicking.

Runescape is a "WoW killer" only by definition because it is what every MMO aims to be: really popular. So if there are already games that are equally or more popular than WoW, I would like to know why anyone bothers with the phrase at all.

Just my two cents.

By definition a game is only a wowkiller if it has enormous profit margins for the company that created the game. Generally speaking, should the mmo provide enough money for the company then the creators can afford to invest in expansions for the game and thus improve it. Runescape doesnt count because it is a free mmo, which means that the only time it costs money is when you want to buy some extra bonuses or such.

A wowkiller will be able to deliver an enjoyable experience that is detailed in a well built world that looks beautiful. What free mmo's will never be is polished, because that sort of attention to detail takes up alot of resources. Everything from the gameplay to even the storyline would have to receive an enormous investment in time and resources to stand out for the crowd of hardcore players willing to cough up the cash to play it.

 

[brainless906]

Aion already flopped on the wow killer title 400, 000 pre orders? Absolutley nothing compared to that gargantuan what is it 12 million now? Hell was pushing 10 mill when I was still playing.

Hahahaha.

Less than 11, considering that a lot of people from China are yet to make new accounts.

Also, you are counting EU/US market only? Then yes, 400k preorders, but there are only 5 millions of people in WoW from EU/US. Because half of the people playing WoW are from China. And I'm not exaggerating, even one bit.

lol Aion had 4m players BEFORE the US/EU release hehe,
i got no idea what the numbers are noah tho...

That too. In all of Asia, it was about 4 millions. And now probably more, as China got the 1.2 patch and Korea is testing 1.6.

indeed.
i pre-ordered the collectors addition from steam.
so i know the us has atleast 1 player haha

 

[brainless906]

A completely agreeable stance.
It can be a double edged sword.
however with the proper know how a double edged sword can be used quite effectively, correct?
the term double edged sword seems to be overly used, when using this term it seems everyone who think of this assumes that an amateur is using said sword...
[using this in a completely analogical way obviously]
i suppose what i'm saying is i agree with you.
i would merely like to propose that when used correctly this "term" or "double edged sword" can be quite effective.

As it stands now, has any game really effectively run with the title and gotten far?

Depends on your definition of success.
i mean aion (which has been called a "wow killer")
already had over 4m players 3 months before the US/EU release.
i could only assume that the "wow killer" hyper helped with that.
even if a game is eventually dropped the mass profit from the pre-orders and release purchases probably make the games profitable.
in the gaming industry a profit is a success is it not?

 

[rainman2203]

Labeling a game a "Popular game"-killer is a great way to set the bar way too high. Halo-killers, WoW-killers, etc etc have all not done very well. They may get a modest market share, but killing is a bit strong of a term. IMO, s successful marketing campaign should be about the strengths of your product, not about exploiting the weaknesses of your top competitor (I'm looking at you, Mac.)

 

[Asehujiko]

Now, I'm in no way a fan boy of Blizzard, but every time I hear the term "WoW Killer" I can't help but imagine marketing teams gathering together and collectively shooting themselves in the foot.

The way I see it is, multitude's of developers and fans attach the words "WoW Killer" to their game before they're even released. The two games who are the biggest committers of this mistake right now are Aion and The Old Republic.

Way too many games in the past have tried to label themselves as some WoW destroying juggernaut, just to slide unconscious to halt in the front doorway of Blizzard after turning out to be just good or mediocre.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is, don't set such a high standard for yourself, whether you like WoW or not, you'd have to admit that it's a massive game with an even larger fan base. If you start calling yourself a "WoW Killer" there's a large chance that you're going to fail that within weeks of your game coming out, be it bugs, server-overload, or honest to god bad design, and people are going to write you off quick.

Without reading any post other then yours, i can assure you that there is at least one person in this topic above me claiming that one of the mentioned games will outsell wow.

Edit: I remain unsurprised.

 

[KhaineII]

Depends on your definition of success.
i mean aion (which has been called a "wow killer")
already had over 4m players 3 months before the US/EU release.
i could only assume that the "wow killer" hyper helped with that.
even if a game is eventually dropped the mass profit from the pre-orders and release purchases probably make the games profitable.
in the gaming industry a profit is a success is it not?

That's a "misconception" I feel that bring the gaming industry down. Sure, you're trying to make a profit, we all have mouths to feed, right?

But just 'cause you make money doesn't mean it's a success, should success be defined by the end-users enjoyment?

 

[brainless906]

Now, I'm in no way a fan boy of Blizzard, but every time I hear the term "WoW Killer" I can't help but imagine marketing teams gathering together and collectively shooting themselves in the foot.

The way I see it is, multitude's of developers and fans attach the words "WoW Killer" to their game before they're even released. The two games who are the biggest committers of this mistake right now are Aion and The Old Republic.

Way too many games in the past have tried to label themselves as some WoW destroying juggernaut, just to slide unconscious to halt in the front doorway of Blizzard after turning out to be just good or mediocre.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is, don't set such a high standard for yourself, whether you like WoW or not, you'd have to admit that it's a massive game with an even larger fan base. If you start calling yourself a "WoW Killer" there's a large chance that you're going to fail that within weeks of your game coming out, be it bugs, server-overload, or honest to god bad design, and people are going to write you off quick.

Without reading any post other then yours, i can assure you that there is at least one person in this topic above me claiming that one of the mentioned games will outsell wow.

well aren't you observant...

 

[brainless906]

Depends on your definition of success.
i mean aion (which has been called a "wow killer")
already had over 4m players 3 months before the US/EU release.
i could only assume that the "wow killer" hyper helped with that.
even if a game is eventually dropped the mass profit from the pre-orders and release purchases probably make the games profitable.
in the gaming industry a profit is a success is it not?

That's a "misconception" I feel that bring the gaming industry down. Sure, you're trying to make a profit, we all have mouths to feed, right?

But just 'cause you make money doesn't mean it's a success, should success be defined by the end-users enjoyment?

Well if we want to take the personal status of the word success then yes your definition is right on.

however that within itself is much harder to define compared to an industrial success.
i mean i enjoyed Guild wars.
so it was a success no?
the success you are referencing has a personal stance to it.
its highly opinionated.
it has such a clear definition yet a blurry definition because end-user enjoyment varies from person to person.

I think we can all agree Two worlds was NOT a success...
o wait thats just me because in the end I DID NOT ENJOY IT. however the guy next door may have
so is it a success or not?
that my friend is a blurry topic of argument.