Massively has an interesting post - What is the potential lifespan of an MMO?
So here’s my rambling take on How long will these games last?
As Massively points out Ultima Online is still making a profit after having been out for 11 years. Anarchy Online is still alive and kicking, as is Everquest and a number of others.
So I think my answer is this - as long as the game is fun for a large enough group of players such that the company can continue to make a profit. Blizzard has the right stuff and the right business model and I hope that some of the others figure that out and can continue.
If you have an ongoing profit maker why would you ever deliberately kill it?
There’s a group of players who’d always looking for the next great thing and who won’t stick with one thing for long. Then there’s a group who finds enough there that they will stick with it for years. As Nyhm said in his interview, PvP is still fun (he’s been playing since the beta) and he’s got a big group of friends who play.
The End is Near
People will say, “The End of WoW is Near” and then we look at the subscriber numers and see that WoW has added another million.
Right now WoW is Blizzard’s cash cow and I can’t see any reason for them to ever end the game themselves. As far as the competition goes, well, there’s nothing which is going to knock WoW off the throne for a big enough group of players that it’ll actually hurt WoW.
Especially since there’s room in the market for a number of big games and a bunch of smaller ones.
If it does, then Blizz will get off its collectinve butt and do what it does best, put its game back on top.
Now, if Blizzard, or any company, loses its drive or interest or is taken over by someone utterly clueless, then we may see then end.
I think WoW’s going to be around for a long time. I hope WAR will be. My boys are playing it now and it looks good. There are a few other games I’d like to play, but don’t have the time for right now.
So how long can they last? As long as the owning company is making money with it and doesn’t decide to kill it for other reasons.
What do you think?
edit 9/23: Part Time Druid has some interesting remarks on WoW, WAR, DAoC, PvP and PvE.
“I’m not going to write some meta piece about how there is no WoW killer, though I do agree with that sentiment. WoW has become the McDonald’s of MMOs, the best competitors can hope for is to become Wendy’s or Burger King. They aren’t going to topple World of Warcraft.” Warhammer Online: Why I’m Not Worried
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Nyhm is a character best know for making a series of well loved videos on YouTube. Most of these videos have hundreds, or thousands, of 5 star ratings from his fans, so check them out sometime. I’ve posted a few of Nyhm’s videos here, but just search his name on YouTube and you’ll find the others.
I managed to catch Nyhm in-between battles against the evil Gnome hordes and asked him a few questions:
How long have you been playing WoW?
(Since) November of 2004
What kind of raiding and PvPing do you do?
I don’t do much raiding anymore, but I pvp all the time on alts, friends’ characters, and my arena team.
What keeps you playing after all this time?
PvP just never seems to get boring, and I have a lot of friends that play.
Is Nyhm your main character? Or mostly just the face for your productions? (And I did find him on the WoWarmory.)
Nyhm is my main but I don’t play on him anymore
What got you into making videos?
Nothing really, I just decided one day that I wanted to make WoW Videos.
Who’s on your production team? Or do they prefer to remain in the shadows?
My friends help me out a lot.
What equipment and software do you use to make the videos?
What’s the first character you’ll be working on when Wrath of the Lich King is officially released?
Deathknight, of course
Are your guides written from your own efforts and experiences or do you have a team behind them?
They are mostly written by me but I have a lot of help from friends
What made you decide to write leveling and gold guides when there is quite a bit of competition already?
One way to keep the game interesting is doing things out of the game like making videos or guides so it was just another WoW related project that I wanted to complete.
So there you have it, the (really short) Nyhm Interview.
And now, Nyhm will explain, in great detail, why Mages pwn.
And if you want Nyhm’s best advice on leveling (fast), gold (lots of it), Professions and PvP then you’ll click here.
The mighty Nyhm brings forth his wisdom regarding Pick Up Groups (PUGs) and raiding, specifically Karazhan. All of us who’ve been in big PUGs, raiding or not, will nod our heads in agreement.
Nyhm also has the info on how to level faster than anyone else, make tons of gold, level your professions the easy way, and pwn in PvP. Get your dose of Nyhm’s Wisdom here.
A couple posts back I put up a Nyhm video, Got an Epic, and also mentioned Nyhm’s guides.
Well, here’s a video of Nyhm breaking a long standing 1-70 leveling record, though he’s done it even faster since then. If you want to learn how he does it then you’re have to grab his guides, otherwise enjoy a well done Nyhm vid:
Now, how much faster could you go if you used rest XP and had a compatible teammate?
Leveling
