How much of WoW's success is b/c basically any PC can run it?

[Lilly32]

Everyone likes to talk about how WoW is the best MMO because it has the most players. But how many people are playing WoW simply because they cant afford a PC that can run games like GW2, FF14, Tera, etc on ultra settings? Are there other games out there you would rather be playing but simply cant because your current PC would blow up?

[Narveid]

No, there isn't.

[Adam552]

The support for Mac for many many years will have had a major impact too!

[Undies]

Everyone likes to talk about how WoW is the best MMO because it has the most players. But how many people are playing WoW simply because they cant afford a PC that can run games like GW2, FF14, Tera, etc on ultra settings? Are there other games out there you would rather be playing but simply cant because your current PC would blow up?

Nope.... i upgrade my PC every 12 to 18 months.... I can run any game I want with no issue... also have an XBONE and PS4 and choose to play WoW about 75% of the time....the game really is just that good... for me. I know some people out there might say its cause of their PC specs and what not, but I love it for what it is.

[Lilly32]

Reason I was asking because I have friends who are playing WoW for this same reason. They enjoy WoW and its not like they are forcing themselves to play but they really want to try games. Unfortunately their current PC just couldnt play them. Seems like a good marketing plan though since it does open your game up more people compared to if say WoW required you to run dual Titans just to play on minimal settings.

[Ktperry]

I ran WoW at 5-10fps, still playing now when i can run it on 200+, so No.

[Deleted]

Probably a lot.

Its not about not being able to afford high end gaming PCs, its about not needing them for anything other than games. Teenagers buy computers for games, grownups don't. There are many grownups playing WoW on their home computers that aren't meant for gaming.

Also Mac angle that Adam mentioned above helps a lot. I wouldn't be playing WoW if it didn't run on Mac.

[George Costanza]

Blizzard has too my knowledge always relied on the multiplayer, being "New player friendly" and/or having "Repeatable content" No idea about the other stuff.

[Rotted]

Jesus where are you getting your info? Ive had two gaming machines and a work pc

The work pc was 400 and when I mentioned putting wow on it he laughed and said no chance

My gaming laptop at the time was 1k ~ everything was minimal settings i enjoyed it, ........... then got a new laptop for 600 for cata i couldnt get over the difference with how smooth it was, again this laptop minimal settings

The first laptop lasted tbc to just before RS it would never of handled cata
The second laptop ran cata smooth but comparing it to my desktop now it was shit no odea bow I got enjoyment out of it
My desktop now, 1.2k gbp custom self built (parts bought based on the it section / guys here) and if i slap it on ultra theres some lag still in animations

So yes really 'any' pc can install and run it, but it actually being playable is another matter

[Deleted]

Tried most of the MMOs with shinier graphics that were going to compete with WoW and I haven't found one yet that has been of the same consistent, and constantly improving, quality of the current MMO powerhouse. No other MMO has even been close infact.

RIFT had an interesting class mechanic. That was about it. Can't remember anything else that was interesting from it or any other MMO.

[Reclaimer]

Based on this logic Maplestory should be ranked number 1 because of its crappy 2D drawn artstyle any computer made past the last 20 years could run it. So...no cleary.

[Deleted]

Everyone likes to talk about how WoW is the best MMO because it has the most players. But how many people are playing WoW simply because they cant afford a PC that can run games like GW2, FF14, Tera, etc on ultra settings? Are there other games out there you would rather be playing but simply cant because your current PC would blow up?

It's part of the long lasting success of the game, but saying WoW is successful because it's not taxing computers like FarCry 4 is strange. Going by that logic, Transport Tycoon should have half the world's population playing.

[SoulForge]

I'm going to say no. As already said crappier games would have a higher pick up rate of that were the case.

And as to the MacOS angle I don't think its a big contributor either. Doesn't matter that the two mac users out there can play.

[Darkis]

What you talking about was maybe relevant 10 years ago. Nowadays you can run WoW on a microwave probably.

[Deleted]

I just bought the most expensive pc i've ever had. I can play anything thats out atm on the highest settings. Wow is still the only mmo worth my time.

I do play the new dragon age, lol and clicker heroes aswell though.




Any pc in the world can play solitaire. Why isnt it more popular?

[Darkis]

Any pc in the world can play solitaire. Why isnt it more popular?

You honestly think solitaire has less playerbase than WoW?

[Deleted]

I played WoW with an incredibly shitty PC which lagged like a MF back in 2005. I mean, sure, it goes to your point that "basically any PC can run it", but "run it" is a loose term in this case. So, yeah, no, how well WoW ran on my PC had jack to do with whether I wanted to play it, or continue to play it throughout the years.

[Sevyvia]

on ultra settings?

Has it occurred to you that maybe people just prefer WoW and don't need to play games on ultra? That graphics aren't the be-all end-all of gaming? No?

[Deleted]

You honestly think solitaire has less playerbase than WoW?

I think thats extremely hard to meassure, and it also depends how you define playerbase

But go ahead and fling some loosely imagined numbers at me that i wont believe anyway ^^

[hablix]

It has a LOT to do with WoW's success imo. When I first started playing WoW 9 years ago it was on a $400 black Friday laptop. Of the people I've met irl who play WoW, many of them also play it on laptops that have no business playing videogames. I'm sure that many, many tens of thousands - maybe millions over the years - of people who started playing WoW, started playing it on shitty laptops or cheap desktop PCs. A lot of them probably graduated to legit gaming rigs or laptops, but a good chunk of them are certainly still playing WoW on bargain machines.

EDIT: To be clear my point is, if WoW could not have run on that $400 laptop, I would have never started playing it, and probably never eventually got a gaming rig either (if not for WoW I'd probably be console for life). Many of the people I met irl who play WoW would have never started playing it either, if their cheap laptops and desktop PCs couldn't run it.

PS: This is less of an issue now, even the cheapest computers nowadays have onboard graphics. 10, even 5 years ago I believe it was a huge factor.