Does the theme of an expansion matter in terms of success?

[Chickat]

How much does the theme of an expansion contribute to the success or failure of the expansion? Lets say that MoP would have been about a fan favorite area like Argus or the emerald dream. Every thing else was the same. Would it have turned out any differently?

[Laorenshu]

How much does the theme of an expansion contribute to the success or failure of the expansion? Lets say that MoP would have been about a fan favorite area like Argus or the emerald dream. Every thing else was the same. Would it have turned out any differently?

Of course it would have. The theme of MoP is part of why subscriptions dropped so low. Some people never gave it a chance just because of the theme.

[Throne]

While playing the game, the story and theme just has to not take players out of the game, in terms of mindset. But the story does help to attract, or discourage, players from buying the game. So there may have been some difference in terms of sales at the start of the x-pac, but by now it would be the same.

[Eazy]

Of course, that's the reason why WotLK was the best expansion if someone is saying that success depends of how many people subscription the game.

[Gurushock]

Yeah I think the theme of the xpac makes it or breaks it. I loved BC and Wotlk, cata was meh, and so far MoP has been a drag(at least for me ofc). But I think a lot of people will look at the theme of a xpac(or a game in general) and that will decide how it's going to do.

[Arkenaw]

No, it's the content, of course something like rainbow pony adventures might affects subs though.

[Deleted]

Of course it does.

[Krolikn]

Yes. Settings such as Pandaria require nearly 100% new lore which simply wasn't as interesting as previous lore such as the Scourge and the Burning Legion. There was no real bad guy or organisation either. The Ally/Horde conflict didn't matter after Jade Forest...so yeah.

The Sha were a total failure since they were defeated easily and posed no real threat. The Thunder King appeared (in person) in one raid...so no, hes not the expansions bad guy either. As for Garrosh, he didn't become "the bad guy" until 5.4 which was too late to count for the entire expansion.

[Ahlstrom]

I know 3 people who cancelled subs simply because they thought pandas were stupid. And to be fair, it is.

We want more death and destruction!

[hrugner]

Financially? Theme is one of the few things that comes across in a pitch or advert. If the theme doesn't catch the interest of those considering playing they won't buy it, it's pretty simple.

In MoPs case, people only marginally interested would be more familiar with Kungfu Panda than with the paragraph or two of lore that Pandaria was built on, so the theme would look fairly media targeted, the previews mix of panda kungfu and humor would do nothing to dispel this. The Kungfu/faux chinese theme differs dramatically from previous themes within the game, so possible return purchasers would feel like this was a watered down version of the product they had once purchased.

So yeah, financially, theme is very important.

[Antherios]

I also know of 4 or 5 people that quit before MoP because, Pandas are "childish and stupid".
Are they right in my eyes? No. Because they didnt even give it a chance.

But the thing is, that in the end, those people are lost subs and im sure that there is a big chunk of the lost subs in this past year that are "Lolz wow is for kiddiez now, im out loserz" people.

[Deleted]

Yeah, why do you think so many people played during WotLK? The answer is because so many people played WC3 and WotLK was the successor to that story

[wariofan1]

It matters, not just a bit, but a lot. It gives the overall feel of the expansion, it gives people the so important first impression, and it's the sole thing that people who don't currently play judge the game on. In general it's actually one of the most important things, whether people realize it or not, it greatly affects our opinions on things. Of course it isn't more important than the content itself, Cataclysm definitely showed that.

[Sinndra]

BC was totally horrible as a theme. i never even wanted to play through it, and it is so painful to have to level a new alt through that horrible xpac. wrath was kinda fun, i am not much for cold snowy places.. id much rather have sunny tropical beaches Mists has been a ton of fun. just the over all theme has been very interesting and enjoyable to me. and im sure that if the next Xpac turns out to be a BC rehash, ill quit just because of its theme. it was horrible the first time, cant handle a second time.

[Underverse]

I stopped playing because of MoP, partly because of the class homogenization, partly because I had other things to do, and partly because MoP's storyline was not the convincing/interesting Warcraft storyline I was used to. That last part is probably more because I never really had an interest in Chinese mythology, and tend to be more interested in Norse/Greek/Roman stuff

[Vargur]

Of course it would have. The theme of MoP is part of why subscriptions dropped so low. Some people never gave it a chance just because of the theme.

To be honest, they didn't miss anything at all. At least raiding wise. Even Cata was better.
Overall it is a good expansion, but they could've not chosen something as ridiculous as Asian themes and pandas.

[lavaalamp]

Yes. Settings such as Pandaria require nearly 100% new lore which simply wasn't as interesting as previous lore such as the Scourge and the Burning Legion. There was no real bad guy or organisation either. The Ally/Horde conflict didn't matter after Jade Forest...so yeah.

The Sha were a total failure since they were defeated easily and posed no real threat. The Thunder King appeared (in person) in one raid...so no, hes not the expansions bad guy either. As for Garrosh, he didn't become "the bad guy" until 5.4 which was too late to count for the entire expansion.

he became the "bad guy" in 5.1? he ordered that kor'kron assassin to kill vol'jin....i swear people don't even try to look up/read lore.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Yes. But not for the reason you might think.

Players don't care, aesthetically, about where they're leveling. The only continent they would truly hate would be one all underwater.

What matters is the enemies. One of the reasons Cata fell so flat was players felt Deathwing was a step down from the likes of Arthas. Hell, a large part of why we're at 7.7m subs instead of 12.1m subs is because players feel no boss beyond Sargeras can top Arthas.

To start raising subs, Blizz needs to find (and build up) a villain who can top Arthas.

- - - Updated - - -

he became the "bad guy" in 5.1? he ordered that kor'kron assassin to kill vol'jin....i swear people don't even try to look up/read lore.

As an Alliance player, that did nothing to make me hate him more than I already did.

[Kaleredar]

I'd say that, unfortunately, it IS an important factor. Lots of people pre-judged MoP because of "lolkungfu panda" and didn't give it a chance. MoP has its problems, but none of them are remotely tied to "theme" or anything to do with the Pandaren. Sadly, though, it seems some people couldn't make it past that.

Going forwards, I don't think Blizzard faces that same... "risk," as neither an Old God expansion or a Burning Legion expansion would have the same unfortunate "kiddie" stigma attached to it.

No, it's the content, of course something like rainbow pony adventures might affects subs though.

If the expansion was named rainbow pony adventures, its subs would instantly skyrocket. Remember, this is the internet... Small, saucer-eyed colorful things with stubby legs are a surefire way to hock ANYTHING.

[Etrigan]

The theme of MoP seriously hurt my enjoyment of the expansion. Nearly everything else was superb, but the theme really ruins it for me.