Look, This (Insert MMO Here) Is The WOW-Killer!

I haven't forgotten about making a Shaman-related post, that will be coming in a day or two. However, I felt inspired to write this one after watching a couple of Aion videos and seeing all the Youtuber comments from people. Now, I know that Youtube isn't the best place to go since most of the comments there are either trolltastic, stupid with a capital S or pointless spam BUT I think the general theme behind the comments is important. I mean...is it fair to want WOW to die? Should it end? Has it lost it's appeal? And is it fair to keep calling other games the "WOW-killer?"

Let's start off with looking at the new game to come along and be hailed as the one to kill WOW. Aion Online. Now, I've not played it (the videos/info looks interesting) so it could have the potential to take a lot of WOW players away. After all, it's been four years now for some players and a lot of them tend to complain that it's getting boring or that the game isn't as fun now thanks to changes and patches and all that stoof. Although when I look at players complain about it being boring, I'm often amused by how they still play cause of their WOW friends or cause they have nothing else to do. I mean...can't people just get another PC game to play that doesn't involve subscription fees or get those friends on MSN/Facebook/something that isn't WOW? I know that I play WOW at times cause it's something fun to do but the key thing is...when I do play it, I enjoy it. If it was really that boring, I'd stop. Isn't that the whole point of games?

Getting back to Aion, I can't say if it's better or not since I've not personally played the beta. However, there's a lot of buzz around the "Aion vs WOW" topic. You only have to Google those words to see what I mean. Now, don't get me wrong. I think competition is healthy and good for MMO games. But at the same time, is it fair to constantly put pressure on other MMO's by labelling them WOW-killers? It might be good publicity at first...but from what I've seen of previous MMO's, the hype tends to hurt them in the long run. I mean, I remember when Age Of Conan and WAR were both being hailed as the ones to kick the king off of it's throne and yet if you look at them now....they haven't done that. Neither did Guild Wars or other MMO's. I know it's natural to root for "underdogs" or other MMORPG's to knock WOW off it's top spot but I just find it silly how people are willing to quickly see another MMO and go "HAIL OUR NEW GOD!" as such. And I wonder if it hurts those other MMO's once they are released and are out for a while.

However, one thing I find disappointing (and a tiny bit irritating) is how people are so quick to attack WOW and want to see it die or fall. I mean...even if you didn't enjoy it now, you did at some point. So why hurl abuse and hate at it? I know that long-term players could turn round and go "Well, you wasn't there for "vanilla WOW" or most of BC where "raids were actually good and a Raid wasn't just a raid, it was harder then a Jigsaw trap (Saw reference) and took real work!" And they would be right to say I wasn't there then. However, I still think that if it's changed and you dislike the new changes, you shouldn't wish for WOW to fall because you don't like how it changed. I mean, I loved Pokemon Gold (I know this seems a bit of a childish reference but it's relevant. Honest!) but I didn't really enjoy the latest Pokemon game when I had a quick go on it. Doesn't mean I wish the Pokemon franchise will fail. It probably will do at some point cause interest fades over time but that's natural. In the same way that WOW will eventually die out due to old age. So I think that even if you stopped playing/don't feel it's the same WOW you enjoyed, you should still respect WOW and not want it to fall. That ruins it for those of us who haven't played it for very long or who still enjoy it and think the changes are fine/great.

Now, one other thing is that some people would say that I'm a "WOW fanboy" because I don't want it to fail or end. However, I'd disagree. I don't spend all my time on WOW and I don't worship the game. I just find that it's a game I enjoy playing. I don't see why people have to set out to knock the game at every turn. I mean, there's all that business with WOW apparantly going down to 5 million subscriptions due to the current China situation and people are going "HA! TAKE THAT!" and stuff and they're LOL'ing at "fanboys". Again, I don't see why that's necessary. There were important MMO's before WOW and there will be important ones after it too. People aren't necessarily rabid fanboys just because they still enjoy the game or cause they doubt that others will knock WOW off it's top spot. After all, most games so far haven't been able to beat WOW away from it's throne.

Aion might do that, it might not. Star Wars: The Old Republic might do that, it might not. I don't really mind either way. What I mind is two things. The first thing that bothers me is how it seems like any other RPG that gets some interest or hype is labelled as a WOW killer and is always compared to WOW. I understand that WOW did set a benchmark and was revolutionary BUT we don't have to keep comparing every other MMORPG to WOW. It irks me in the same way we always have to compare RPG's to FF7. It's like RPG gamers are stuck in the past all the time. The second thing that bothers me is the hate that WOW gets. It's okay to have gotten bored with it and moved on (if you haven't and you're bored, you should move on.) It's okay to have not liked the latest expansion or some changes that Blizz made along the way (be it PvE or PvP). It's okay to voice criticism over WOW. However, I personally think it's not okay to constantly wish for WOW's downfall.

Other people might disagree with me and that's fine. I just wanted to voice my opinion cause I feel sorry for Blizzard at times since they can never seem to please anyone and they have a lot of people constantly attacking them/World Of Warcraft. I also get sick of seeing "WOW-killer" articles. Sorry if it seemed rant-like, I just felt the urge to write and it all came out. It was like I was on Jerry Springer or something. I hope it wasn't boring to read and I shall end this lengthy post by asking direct questions to anyone who reads this post.

Do you think there are any MMO's that are out/coming out which will really challenge WOW or do you think it's always about the hype?
Do you think WOW should end anytime soon?
Do you think WOW gets unfairly attacked or do you think it's justified due to their number one spot/the current state of the game?
Do you think that pancakes are the best breakfast EVER?