Blizzard Entertainment: A Redemption Story

[Sir Andy]

My subscription fee for WoW almost immediately started going towards buying new Heroes in Heroes of the Storm.

[Florida Man]

I don't know how else to say it. But while I formed my fandom of Blizzard with SC1, D2, WC3 and early WoW, I lost some of it with SC2, D3 and WoW Cata-WoD...

Then came...
• Hearthstone. Not my favorite game, but a really solid time killer on mobile to play.
• HotS, probably the most polished MOBA on the market... a great game imo.
• D3 RoS that elevated the game from the ashes
• SC2 Legacy of the Void and the new missions
• Legion which is looking to be one of the best expansions ever

and most importantly...

• Overwatch, a brand new IP that's a solid game and has Disney-level quality movies and story content being released on YouTube.

I can't help but feel Blizzard is entering a new "Golden Age".

I've been a harsh critic of Blizzard for some of their "let's get in on this social media craze" bullshit, though I understand they are trying to appeal to a wider audience. That aside, I agree with all your points, OP. My love for this new Golden Age is so strong that I shelled out the money for all the Collector's Editions of every expansion. Only Classic eludes me due to it's price of <gulp> $8,000.

Making myself a Blizzardesque office. No regrets!

[Deleted]

except for D3 none of the newer games kept me interested over a long period of time. In fact, I played the beta for half an hour tops, then I was so bored and particularly annoyed that I just left the game I was in and uninstalled the game.


So no, I Dont see that golden age. But good for you....I guess.

Blizzard will never bring a new interesting IP with meaningful gameplay. They integrated garrisons in legion albeit the community said they dont want it anymore. Blizzard still thinks they know whats fun

[Deleted]

I thought MoP looked meh and I thought WoD looked meh. I was right on WoD and wrong on MoP. I will admit that it seems I was in the minority in predicting that the garrison wasn't going to go over well.

I had a wow sub from the 4th week in vanilla till the end of mop, just reading between the lines of the wod hype machine, was enough to make me cancel and walk away! Pity the other 6 million who have now quit never took the time to read.

[Deleted]

I don't know how else to say it. But while I formed my fandom of Blizzard with SC1, D2, WC3 and early WoW, I lost some of it with SC2, D3 and WoW Cata-WoD...

Then came...
• Hearthstone. Not my favorite game, but a really solid time killer on mobile to play.
• HotS, probably the most polished MOBA on the market... a great game imo.
• D3 RoS that elevated the game from the ashes
• SC2 Legacy of the Void and the new missions
• Legion which is looking to be one of the best expansions ever

and most importantly...

• Overwatch, a brand new IP that's a solid game and has Disney-level quality movies and story content being released on YouTube.

I can't help but feel Blizzard is entering a new "Golden Age".

• Hearthstone, I have no interest in card games.
• HotS, I have no interest in MOBA.
• Legacy of the Void Campaign (the only part I care for) was a disapointment both on a story level (particularly the Epilogue) and on a gameplay level. The two previous game had great gameplay even if the story was badly written.
• Legion seems like a last ditch attempt to recoup some fan goodwill, and it might work! Unfortunately, for me, it will be too little too late. The damage caused by WOD cannot be fully reversed. And all of the spoilers I've read don't elicit any confidence from me, when it comes to the storytelling.
• Overwatch, I have no interest in team based competitive multiplayer shooters.

The only bright spot is, indeed, Reaper of Souls. However, I already enjoyed Diablo 3, even before the expansion. The game just got even better for me.

So, I see no redemption. For that, I would need something like a Starcraft/Overwatch MMO, a Starcraft ARPG or a Warcraft RTS.

[Deleted]

• Hearthstone, I have no interest in card games.
• HotS, I have no interest in MOBA.
• Legacy of the Void Campaign (the only part I care for) was a disapointment both on a story level (particularly the Epilogue) and on a gameplay level. The two previous game had great gameplay even if the story was badly written.
• Legion seems like a last ditch attempt to recoup some fan goodwill, and it might work! Unfortunately, for me, it will be too little too late. The damage caused by WOD cannot be fully reversed. And all of the spoilers I've read don't elicit any confidence from me, when it comes to the storytelling.
• Overwatch, I have no interest in team based competitive multiplayer shooters.

The only bright spot is, indeed, Reaper of Souls. However, I already enjoyed Diablo 3, even before the expansion. The game just got even better for me.

So, I see no redemption. For that, I would need something like a Starcraft/Overwatch MMO, a Starcraft ARPG or a Warcraft RTS.

This kind of reaction still baffles me, how can a game even remotely cause damage to you
It's a computer game, if you don't like it anymore you stop playing and if it gets good enough again later you can resume again. It's not someone you are married to and you can never look them in the eye again because they cheated on you....
Some people take computer games way too seriously

[Deleted]

This kind of reaction still baffles me, how can a game even remotely cause damage to you
It's a computer game, if you don't like it anymore you stop playing and if it gets good enough again later you can resume again. It's not someone you are married to and you can never look them in the eye again because they cheated on you....
Some people take computer games way too seriously

Simple. The damage was done to the narrative of the game, not to me!

My main interest in WoW is from a storytelling, lore and worldbulding point-of-view. The introduction of the alternate timeline nonsense and its effects on the narrative as whole cannot be undone, unless you do a reboot of the universe.

I will no longer be as invested as I was, even if Legion turns out all right.

[Korru]

HS is a low budget pay to win game.
HotS came too late to the MOBA party, though I enjoy it for its diversity in maps.
SC2 was tailored to be SC's replacement in e-sports and it didn't help that custom mapmaking was worst than WC3.
Overwatch got boring fast for a TF2 clone
The only franchise that I would agree completely is Diablo since they hired someone competent to fix it.
I am excited about Legion but I wouldn't get my hopes up. It could be great at launch then turn out to be another shit two tier expansion like WoD. Though I welcome the added D3-esque gameplay like legendaries, adventure mode and Mythic+.

I agree with a previous poster about it being a silver age since their games are pretty much a hit and a miss here and there nowadays, but things won't return to the better pre-merge days.

[stomination]

Name an expansion that didn't look like the best one ever.

Then we end up getting some trash like WoD and people still keep telling themselves "But this time it has to be different!" and preorder the games just to feel the disappointment after a month of server stability issues and time gated content.

Give wod 2 expansion and it will become the best.

[Kathandira]

I don't know how else to say it. But while I formed my fandom of Blizzard with SC1, D2, WC3 and early WoW, I lost some of it with SC2, D3 and WoW Cata-WoD...

Then came...
• Hearthstone. Not my favorite game, but a really solid time killer on mobile to play.
• HotS, probably the most polished MOBA on the market... a great game imo.
• D3 RoS that elevated the game from the ashes
• SC2 Legacy of the Void and the new missions
• Legion which is looking to be one of the best expansions ever

and most importantly...

• Overwatch, a brand new IP that's a solid game and has Disney-level quality movies and story content being released on YouTube.

I can't help but feel Blizzard is entering a new "Golden Age".

Out of this list, the only game I cared about was D3 ROS. They did an amazing job with it.

For me to jump on the Blizz hype wagon again though, I would need a brand new MMO Franchise which has just as rich of lore as WoW has.

[Deleted]

Im glad you enjoy it but I feel more negative about Blizzard than ever.

So ok, Blizzard probably always had a little humor in their games but it was always on the background, in the form of easter eggs and secret cow levels. The older Blizzard games were a bit before my time but say games like Warcraft 3 (and Even current WoW and SC2 cinematics) are pretty gritty and rich with lore. The newer games themselves just feel like theme parks.. the immersion is all gone. You get funny pets and people riding giant nonsense mounts around and have foam sword transmogs. It just feels commercialized and its not something I personally enjoy. Vanilla WoW didnt have that and it looks like, if anything, the amount of funky nonsense mounts and transmogs and jokes are just going to increase.

Another problem I have with Blizzard is accessibility and "e-sports". While jumping into it and having pretty much the best gear right off the bat might sound nice, it kinda removes the reason to come back and play it again. There are no goals in Blizzard games unless youre one of those players who cares about cosmetic and prestige rewards (Im not). Its like.. you mentioned HotS. So why do you play it again? Its repetitive same thing over and over again. Gets boring fast. While games like LoL still let you level up, earn talents and runes and wanting to achieve those goals makes me want to come back.

[McNeil]

The golden age of Blizzard has been far gone and I don't see them coming back from it anytime soon.

- Hearthstone is a fun card game, but very expensive for new players to get into. Like 99% of other F2P games, its rather low budget while still turning quite some profit.
- HotS has no real reason to exist as LoL and DotA 2 are dominating the genre, other then playing your favorite Blizzard characters which seems to be the main reason most people try it out. Its simplicity is almost an insult to the genre.
- D3 had a very rough starts but has now evolved to be Blizzards current best game. Its still not as great as their classics though.
- SC2 is pretty dead, even my die-hard SC friends stopped playing.
- Legion may look promising, but its to early to judge whether it will ''save'' WoW from the stain WoD left. But so far, Legion looks more like WoD rather then a quality expansion like WotLK and MoP.
- Overwatch to me is yet another shooter, and its art design just doesn't give me the impression that it comes from Blizzard.

[Vankrys]

What's wrong with SC2 Wing of Liberty and Heart of the Swarn?
on a side note, i regret that blizzard now focus on multiplayer games (hearthstone, heroes of the storm, overwatch). While i admit those are good games of their own, i always prefer story driven single player game.

[Afrospinach]

I can't help but feel Blizzard is entering a new "Golden Age".

I guess that is like your opinion man. As far as I can see blizzard and myself have parted ways in how we view what is entertaining.

What's wrong with SC2 Wing of Liberty and Heart of the Swarn?

I liked WOL but heart of the swarm missions were like the kerrigan show. She dominated as a unit and she was always there. Just not what I am looking for in single player RTS honestly.

[Enforcer]

• Legion which is looking to be one of the best expansions ever

Isn't this said every expansion?

[ro9ue]

Isn't this said every expansion?

Well I can only speak for myself personally. When MoP and WoD were both announced I was extremely disappointed. Legion I was hyped.

[stellvia]

I don't know how else to say it. But while I formed my fandom of Blizzard with SC1, D2, WC3 and early WoW, I lost some of it with SC2, D3 and WoW Cata-WoD...

Then came...
• Hearthstone. Not my favorite game, but a really solid time killer on mobile to play.
• HotS, probably the most polished MOBA on the market... a great game imo.
• D3 RoS that elevated the game from the ashes
• SC2 Legacy of the Void and the new missions
• Legion which is looking to be one of the best expansions ever

and most importantly...

• Overwatch, a brand new IP that's a solid game and has Disney-level quality movies and story content being released on YouTube.

I can't help but feel Blizzard is entering a new "Golden Age".

To each their own I guess, but I will at least say that its funny how two people can feel almost the complete opposite about Blizzard's direction while having come from its oldschool roots. Ever since they got involved with Activision, things have been headed steadily downhill IMHO. While it is true from what I hear that they managed to turn around D3, their overall design philosophy for years now has been more and more towards the LCD.

Hearthstone is a glorified flash game heavily designed around RNG factor to push towards 50/50 outcomes in matches to make everyone 'feel good'. HotS jumps on the bandwagon of the new-age LCD money tree that are MOBAs. Legion is a slight improvement, but its not hard when it was already in the gutter—except they're desperately trying to woo fanboys by bringing back Illidan and putting in demon hunters which they said they would never do.

And then we have Overwatch. Touted as a competitive team-based FPS to face off against Team Fortress 2, in reality its a watered down WoW 5-man arena experience on tiny maps for people with no attention spans. Classes (Heroes) are pared down to a bare-minimum functionality by FPS standards, matches barely last 5 minutes, gameplay design lends itself to blobbing and suicidal dives into the enemy with I-Win buttons. Server tick-rate is a woeful 20 compared to the usual FPS default of 66, or private servers that often have 100 even. That means hit-reg is god-awful no matter what.

Money talks more than ever these days, and so this is exactly what we get out of them now—insultingly low skill potential and catering towards the broadest spectrum of warm-bodied individuals.

[Yriel]

Give wod 2 expansion and it will become the best.

People still don't like Cataclysm.

[Deleted]

Hearthstone and Overwatch are both smash hits already. Overwatch open beta was like what, 9.7 million players? It might as well be called a launch.

I can see Blizzard slowly moving away from well-established lineups, such as WoW. WoW sounds like a massive effort investment for little returns - MMO games are vastly more complex than card games or multiplayer FPS shooters. And WoW is aging, the base playerbase will get smaller and smaller overtime. Even if Legion is good, WoW isn't going to see 11 million subs, ever again. I won't be surprised if Legion is the final WoW exapsnion as we know them. Doesn't mean that WoW will end, but we might start getting $20 DLC patches with new raids and zones (such as 5.2, 6.2 etc.) instead of entire expansions.

Diablo isn't very appealing to me. They sort of salvaged it with RoE (vanilla D3 was a disaster), but still... Diablo II was so much better, and there are few total conversion mods for it available.

[Slaughty8]

So, I see no redemption. For that, I would need something like a Starcraft/Overwatch MMO, a Starcraft ARPG or a Warcraft RTS.

Upcoming Blizzcon 2016 = blizzard will give you what you need by announcing refreshed WarCraft III and Diablo II with updated graphics and mechanics/features. Redemption continues