Is Warcraft a "ripoff" of Warhammer?

[Boogums]

Are you seriously claiming that WoW doesn't have a huge marketing?

I don't watch a lot of TV, but when I do, there are only 3 gaming companies that have TV ads in here. Sony advertising playstation, EA advertising various games and Blizzard advertising WoW's current expansion. WoW is the only mmo I've ever seen a TV ad for, everywhere in the internets there are WoW ads. I don't really remember how it was on WoW's original launch, but I'm willing to bet they made a big deal out of it. As a bit of anecdotal evidence, even my non-gaming brother knew what WoW was when it launched.

Which reminds me of a certain South Park episode... But no, I guess WoW doesn't have much marketing.

No, he's claiming WOW didn't have huge marketing when it started.

[Kevyne-Shandris]

Kudos to Blizzard for deleting 6,100+ of your posts.

Working hard at already 5 posts to get banned, Alcapown?

[Stir]

OP: A Rip-Off?
No. Child? Yes.
Warcraft was definitely born from Warhammer. Warcraft 1 was going to be a warhammer game, but I believe Games Workshop pulled the plug. So Warhammer gave birth to Warcraft, but from then on, Warcraft was it's own identity, developing in its own way.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

As Cata demonstrated: WoW is but about instances now. So much Blizzard removed the conveniences of guild group travel to get players back into the world.

Doesn't remove the community.

Working hard at already 5 posts to get banned, Alcapown?

That post isn't warrenting a ban, though you've been banned on the WoW forums and here to so don't start with him.

[StationaryHawk]

Warcraft began as a Warhammer spin-off, but I feel that the two franchises have differentiated themselves enough that Warcraft is not a Warhammer rip-off.

[Kevyne-Shandris]

Doesn't remove the community.

You're right, if a community even existed. Everyman for Himself isn't a community, you know?

[Awe]

I think people are confusing things. So to make it simple. Yes, Warcraft franchise, its origin, is a Warhammer ripoff. No, World of Warcraft is not a Warhammer ripoff.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

You're right, if a community even existed. Everyman for Himself isn't a community, you know?

It still exists Kevyne, it's not the best but it still exists. Your definition of a community isn't law.

I think people are confusing things. So to make it simple. Yes, Warcraft franchise, its origin, is a Warhammer ripoff. No, World of Warcraft is not a Warhammer ripoff.

It wasn't ripped off, but highly inspired? Yeah you're telling me.

[Immitis]

I read an interview with Blizzard back in the mid-late '90s (post WC1, pre-WC2, iirc) in a gaming mag where someone from Blizzard said more or less exactly the same things, specifically:

1) "We wanted to do a Warhammer game but couldn't work out a deal with GW"

and

2) "We were very heavily visually influenced by the Warhammer universe"

I've brought this interview up a few times over the years, and thought it would be uncontroversial (as the Patrick Wyatt himself says, the similarities are pretty obvious), but people have insisted that Blizzard would never, could never, have said such a thing, that the similarities are pure coincidence, and particularly that suggestions that Blizzard was ever interested in Warhammer were pure internet-wank, not memories of them actually saying it. That the art style was pure coincidence and anyone asserting that it was obviously somewhat derivative of Warhammer was just being a hater. Also, of course, that I had either made up or hallucinated the article, because they couldn't find evidence of it on the internet, which automatically means it never happened!

theres a fine line between inspiration and rip off.

i think warcraft is different enough not to be called a rip off. especially in its current version

[Awe]

It wasn't ripped off, but highly inspired? Yeah you're telling me.

For me its semantics. Highly inspired = ripoff. But then again, English is not my primary language, perhaps I am lost in the field of precise definitions.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

For me its semantics. Highly inspired = ripoff. But then again, English is not my primary language, perhaps I am lost in the field of precise definitions.

Well no it's not a ripoff. I've seen worse ripoffs but Warcraft is not.

[Awe]

Well no it's not a ripoff. I've seen worse ripoffs but Warcraft is not.

Then how come every single fantasy MMO released in the last years is named on this forum as "WoW ripoff"? If those are ripoffs, then how Warcraft is not a Warhammer ripoff? Even Blizzard said that Warcraft 1 was supposed to be a Warhammer game in the first place.

[Immitis]

For me its semantics. Highly inspired = ripoff. But then again, English is not my primary language, perhaps I am lost in the field of precise definitions.

a ripoff is basically the exact same thing with minimal changes to avoid lawsuit and is made purely to cash in on a higher property.

an inspiration is something similar but different enough to be its own thing and go its own way

---------- Post added 2012-12-24 at 01:47 AM ----------

Then how come every single fantasy MMO released in the last years is named on this forum as "WoW ripoff"? If those are ripoffs, then how Warcraft is not a Warhammer ripoff? Even Blizzard said that Warcraft 1 was supposed to be a Warhemmer game in the first place.

when they talk about other mmos being a ripoff of wow they are mostly talking about gameplay which even wow is technically a ripoff at that point since at the end of the day wow is pretty much an easy version of everquest

[KrazyK923]

It still has a community.

In all of WoW's 10million players the game feels like being in NYC, and just as soulless. EQ2? I didn't even start the game alone, as soon as I stepped off the boat and got my first quest, had a player mentor by my side. Helped me with my first weapon and even crate, then stayed until I learned the mechanics (about 17 levels).

THAT'S a community.

WoW doesn't have much of a community AT ALL.

One trip in LFD/LFR/BGs and it's seen vividly.

Oh god...bias more plz.

As Cata demonstrated: WoW is but about instances now. So much Blizzard removed the conveniences of guild group travel to get players back into the world.

See above.

You're right, if a community even existed. Everyman for Himself isn't a community, you know?

You know, the more I keep seeing you stomping your feet and crying about WoW the more I realize that you simply are the stereotypical person who just cannot move on from something. You're so invested in your fantasy that Blizzard was going around personally deleting all of your criticisms on their forums (Still with no proof, by the way. Just throwing that out there) that you even claim it on your signature in a move that makes you almost look like a crazy person.

You don't like the game. We got it.

And we got it.

Get over it and move on. Holy hell, I feel like I've seen you on here for at least two years now spouting the exact same talking points. Doesn't it get tiring?

But wait! You still play the game? With all the stomping and crying? Seems like sadomasochism to me.

[iamthedevil]

Gawker sites used to be so much better. They are pretty garbage now.

[Immitis]

Oh god...bias more plz.



See above.



You know, the more I keep seeing you stomping your feet and crying about WoW the more I realize that you simply are the stereotypical person who just move on from something. You're so invested in your fantasy that Blizzard was going around personally deleting all of your criticisms on their forums that you even claim it on your signature in an effort that makes you look like a crazy person.

You don't like the game. We got it.

And we got it.

if wow didnt have much of a community then how are we all on mmo champion O-O

[Kurioxan]

For me its semantics. Highly inspired = ripoff. But then again, English is not my primary language, perhaps I am lost in the field of precise definitions.

It is not a ripoff nor inspired in, it is a child or a spinoff.
it was meant to be warhammer, but didnt get approved so had to change a bit.

Huge differences between those things

[Haven]

In short, Warcraft is commercially successful mainstream Warhammer for kids. Same goes for Starcraft and W40k. Since I've started to explore W40k, I found out that it's bigger in every aspect, and has ten times more spirit. Zerg? They're just humane domesticated Tyranids. Mengsk? Would make a mediocre sergeant in Imperial Guard. Protoss? Uneducated Eldar at best. Ghosts? A snack for Officio Assassinorum. And never did Warcraft or Starcraft have the horror and atrocity close to that of Chaos.

[Valeron]

It might have been in the beginning but it certainly isn't now. WoW has evolved into something else completely.

[Achaman]

id say its a "ripoff" or a "copy" of alot of things like the lich king and the look of icecrowns buildings and walls are very similiar to lotr