Will the Warcraft movie really impact WoW?

[styil]

There has been a LOT of discussion about the Warcraft movie, and the role it plays for World of Warcraft. There is obvious critcism, but there is also a lot of hope. I would go as far to say that it feels like some people believe that the future of WoW depends on the success of the movie, and that Warcraft could regrow the game.

But will the Warcraft movie really have an impact on WoW? Sure some people will be receiving a free copy of WoW, but there is only a limited number of copies available. And I believe that a bulk of those will be given to existing players, and of the remaining copies, some of them will not even be used. And that's before they even log in - we haven't even started discussing player retention yet and how much leveling is "broken" as described by Assistant Game Director Ion (Watcher) Hazzikostas.

Personally, I expect the world to still be very empty, the subscriber numbers to stay about the same and overall the Warcraft movie to have little impact on WoW in a couple of months' time. And that's under the assumption that the movie is a success in the first place.

Or is there something that I'm missing?

[RedGamer030]

More than the transmogrification weapons? No.

[Koloss]

I voted little positive. I don't think it will double subs or something like that. Maybe it will bring back some people for some months. And maybe some new will try it, but new ones lately tend to end playing after some months also. So i expect a little spike at summer, which will continue to increase when Legion comes, because if you do play some months obviously you see what the expac has. But i think it will go back after Legion's 2nd-3rd month. I think that more people will be interested about the story, but not sure if many of them would start playing WoW.

I think if they made a new game with the universe it would have some huge numbers though.

[izayoi80]

I think that any person who decide to try out WoW because of the movie will definitely stop playing almost immediately. Simply because Blizzard ruined the levelling experience a long time ago.

[tibblaye]

doubt it will effect wow at all .... most the people that will get the free copy most likely play it already or use to play it .

[Pull My Finger]

The only thing that can seriously impact WoW in one way or the other is the current expansion of the actual product - the game itself.

There's an obvious promotional synergy between the film and the game; the movie can spark interest. But if you don't get hooked on the game itself, you just won't stick around.

Blizzard knows this. Nobody expects the movie to elevate the game to new levels of success. That's not a thing. Well maybe to a number of dumb WoW players it is - those who like to lament the "downfall" of the game, or obsess over "subs". But those people were never to be taken seriously in any way to start with.

But hey, at least there's an excuse now, in the case that for some reason, Legion does unexpectedly well: then the whiners can say it's all just because of the "movie hype".

[freequest]

doubt it will effect wow at all .... most the people that will get the free copy most likely play it already or use to play it .

Or starts to play it for a while but doesn't hook because of the state of the game.

[Bosen]

The movie may inspire lapsed players to re-subscribe and friends to join the game.

[Happy Elf]

I think that any person who decide to try out WoW because of the movie will definitely stop playing almost immediately

[Alvito]

I think if it does well, and it gets sequels, it will help cement Warcraft as a pop culture icon even further outside of Leeroy Jenkins.

If Leeroy is the measuring stick sure. Not even all WoW players know who he is or why there is a Jenkins title or now the follower. Outside of the game I doubt more then a handful of people know anything about him as a character/player.

[EternalBany]

nop.

The movie is decent for wow fans, but its watchable for non fans, like avatar.

[Advantage]

There might be a slight uptick in player base, but I believe once they notice the subscription to play they won't continue. $15 a month is steep for game that's over a decade old. I also agree with the leveling experience, when I first started I enjoyed the story line of the quest made me feel as if I was in the game. Now it's about getting max level and pvp or raid, and with the younger generation it's all about instant gratification.

[Deleted]

It might pique a few peoples' interest in the game, but it won't bring them in in droves.

I enjoyed it, as a WoW player. I think people who know nothing about Warcraft will have a lot of questions about the plot, because quite a few things were not explained or elaborated upon. That said it was still a fun movie to watch and it looked great. I'm hoping it does well enough to warrant a sequal, because the sequal could flesh out the stuff that wasn't explained in the first movie.