The Blogger Who Cried WoW Killer

DualShockers writes, "Since EA’s press conference there have been whispers around the forums that Star Wars: The Old Republic could be the next to get a shot a being the fabled World of Warcraft killer. While it may be a possibility, I think its a little to early to be crying WoW killer. All that we have seen from SW:TOR are two trailers and bits and pieces of game play demoed at E3..."

[booni3]

i think that if any franchise name has the potential to fell WoW, it is indeed star wars.

[xYLeinen]

Don't take that lighty..

Old republic will not be as major PvE based as WoW is. And there is a LOT who play WoW for PvE. I'm talking about raids and end game stuff not the questing up with friends etc.

[Panthers]

I think you are very wrong about the whole PVE thing. Bioware seems only concerned with PvE, which is great with me because I dont care for RPG PVP. I mean the only thing Bioware is talking about is story, which is PvE. I am not sure how raiding will work, but I am sure it will be a major part of the game.

[Spydiggity]

but since the 3 newer movies came out, i've noticed a lot of the hype around star wars die down. combine that with a lot of crappy games that have been released in the last decade and i don't see the threat these days.

i think this game will do what every other mildly anticipated mmo does. have a small appeal to a limited audience, see a minor amount of growth for the first 6 months, then everyone will flock back to wow realizing that if they are going to play an MMORPG, it might as well be the one they've already invested 5 years in.

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

Old Republic

Final Fantasy XIV Online ( http://www.develop-online.n... )

Guild Wars 2.

[Panthers]

It seems to me that the only things going for FF 14 are graphics and the FF title. If it is like FF 11 then meh.

[GrilledCheeseBook]

i think FFXIV and Guild Wars 2 will have there own dedicated strong following but WoW will live long for a long time like Everquest

it'll probably go WoW then TOR and then after that it is a battle for third not counting free to play
I'm thinking anyone bored of WoW will probably go to TOR

once TOR comes out the only MMO that has potential to topple WoW and TOR will probably either be the Fallout MMO or the Warhammer 40k MMO

[Hitman0769]

Interesting to see how this plays out!!!

[Ninferno]

i dont think it'll be a wow killer, but good try

[thevokillist]

Star Wars does have the big name, but will it bring in the big bucks and succeed WoW? Only time could tell.

[Myze]

I think the big factor will be how good the actual game is. Have to remember than WoW is really the only MMORPG that has been really well received by critics.

Bioware does not release bad games, like Blizzard, so I have high hopes for TOR. If the game can get 2-4 million subs early on, and the game is actually good all the way through, word of mouth will massively affect those numbers (no pun intended). I know many WoW players that would love to play a different game but can't find one that offers what WoW does. Most of them have went to another game at one time or another, but then went back to WoW when they found out the game was way too repetitive and lost it's luster, instead of building up to something better.

Take Aion, for example. Great game for the first 20-25 levels, great graphics, etc., but 35-40+ was ridiculously boring. The endgame was pvp, but extremely repetitious and boring doing sieges all the time. Maybe the game has changed now, but it's too late now.

That's something that happens way too often with these games. They release too early to draw in those purchases, but forget that MMO's are all about subscription fees. They release the game with tons of promises on it's tail about things to come. Warhammer Online, Age of Conan, etc. They started off with great numbers, but those numbers drove into the dirt when people started to notice all the bugs, WoW gameplay that wasn't as good as WoW, little to no endgame content, etc.

TOR seems different, because one, they are taking plenty of time to get the game right. Two, it's from Bioware, a company that has a track record that I trust. Three, they are putting a TON of effort into this game to make sure it's really good (thankfully, the vast majority of that effort is PvE), and I think they said it would be the most expensive game they've ever made (everyone is voice acted...sounds simple, but something I wish every game did).

While I will probably try out FFXIV, DC Online, and Cataclysm, the MMORPG I'm waiting on the most is by far The Old Republic.

[Taran]

I am torn between my love for the Star Wars Universe and all the hours I already have in WoW.

[mrv321]

WoW has such low system requirements the 3DS could run it. How long before it comes F2P and is released in a modified version on PSN and Wii? When that happens expect to see 20 million users.

[Hitman0769]

If even one of those things happened that would be awesome. Some one hire this man!!!

[Panthers]

As long as the console users have their own servers then fine, but it would be a greatly watered down version of WOW.

[Saryk]

SW:TOR the WoW killer, doubt it. WoW will kill itself as with all things that are great. It will be the lack of creation or too much creation, that will deal WoW death.

[Miraak82]

I just want FF14

[Topshelfcheese]

Same

[Hitman0769]

I got to play it in 3D HD at E3 2010. Be on the lookout for Hands-on Impressions this week from DualShockers.com !!!!

[Luzce]

pfft.

Fotget FFXIV; gimme XIII Versus.

[thehitman]

Too many addicted already.

[mrv321]

thehitman ten years ago

'Nothing will kill everquest'

Something will kill WoW, possibly a new Blizzard MMO... just not any time soon.

[Luzce]

... but it'll probably be WoW2 or something like that. The game has been showing it's age for quite some time now, but people keep playing it. If Blizzard releases something new the addicts will probably migrate to it.

[GrilledCheeseBook]

nothing will kill it but quality MMO's will take away subscribers and slowly it will go into the Everquest stage of life and have a vastly smaller but dedicated following

[Ironfungus]

I do have much hope that The Old Republic will be a great game.

But nothing will kill the "Universe Destroyer" World of Warcraft but World of Warcraft itself.

[Luzce]

"Destroyer of Lives & Relationships"

[Cryptech]

I dont like MMOs, WoW was not for me. I am looking forward to SWTOR though.

[BeOneWithTheGun]

but Star Wars really has me wanting to. Hate to sound like a graphics whore, but the graphics of WOW just kill it for me. Star Wars looked great at E3.

[thesithfreak]

have you even played wow? WoW has some of the best graphics to this day. the art style is amazing, the environments are extremely diverse. I play oblivion and Red dead redemption, and they are both boring and ugly compared to WoW. play through all of the game and at least a quarter of the raids and instances and then tell me about WoW's graphics.

[dktxx2]

Nothing can kill WoW, it can only die of old age. Very, very slowly.

[Thudd]

I think the only thing that will be a WoW killer will be the next MMO brought out by Blizzard. SWKotOR will do well, but not even close to 11,000,000 users well. WoW has nothing to fear.

[-MD-]

Nothing is going to surpass WoW any time soon. Star Wars will probably get 3 or 4 million subs max.

Blizzards next MMO is the best bet and even then it doesn't have the warcraft name to push it along.

[Prcko]

wow is crazy addict game!

[Panthers]

All I know is I plan to switch, or at least give TOR a try. To be honest it was one of the main reasons I tried WoW, so I could get used to a MMO. But now I have a raiding guild and all that, and I am loving WoW. Not sure how much I am going to want to switch, especially if TOR isnt great.

[Darkfiber]

It'll probably be the next big MMO, yes. Will it "kill" WoW? No, not on its own. It'll contribute but no one factor will end WoW. It'll be brought on by a series of things. Let's look at the WoW demographics for a second.

1. There's the people who worship Blizzard and only play Blizzard games. They will start to leave when StarCraft 2 comes out (the first game Blizzard will release after WoW) especially when they get their hands on the map editor. Many more will leave when Diablo 3 comes out.

2. There's the people waiting for the next good MMO. These are the ones you see saying "WoW sucks I'm going to *insert new failed MMO here*". This is why most new MMOs have like a million or so users in the first month. Then they realize most MMOs suck, so they go back to WoW to wait. This will change in the next couple years because WoW is really starting to show its age. Games like TERA Online, The Old Republic and Warhammer 40k Online will draw the hardcore MMO players away from WoW, as will Lord of the Rings Online when it goes free to play (as they got a HUGE number of new players with Dungeons and Dragons Online when it went to play, and LOTRO is newer and more well known than D&D, so it should have even more players).

3. Then there are the lonely housewives and general sponge population who only play WoW because they know people who do. When a large chunk of WoW players begin to leave, they will either follow them to a new MMO, or attempt to salvage the shambles of a life that their WoW addiction has created.

As for The Old Republic, I love that there's a good story and Bioware is making it, but the combat is soooooo outdated for this game. They decided to go for the boring auto attack lock on tab target 123456 combat system which I think was a HUGE mistake. Once TERA and Warhammer 40k (who both have action game combat with actual aiming reticules, imagine that) come out, combat in every MMO will change, and The Old Republic will feel outdated as soon as it's released.