No content for a Year?

[Deleted]

I think the time between 5.4 and the next expansion will be alot shorter than before because:

Example 1: They have larger team working on WoW than ever before
Example 2: The last tier patch released 2 months before the expansion announcement. Dragon soul didnt release until around 1,5-2 months after blizzcon (2011)
Example 3: as example 1, cuz of the larger team they can do fix more of the features at the same time than before which can speed up the launch of beta. I do think that the beta will take some time to do but till come alot earlier than the MoP beta did.

[Thetruth1400]

WoD beta to start in Jan/Feb run for 6 months then release. Still leaves us with no new content for 8 - 9 months

I doubt we're going to see a beta that runs anywhere near that long. Lets be honest here, there isn't much they're offering in terms of new content this expansion. No new classes that worry about, so they can cut the time it takes to balance that right off the table. They're doing an item crunch which is a heck of a lot easier to balance classes as they've already been there before in terms of balance. If someone in TBC had 30K health, they know how much damage they need to do since they've already been there before.

They say they want the content out sooner than later. That means they're really pushing for it to get out fast. They're not going to dilly dally in beta. I expect Beta to launch by December in the latest and run until March with an early April release by how they're talking. Any longer and they risk another 1 million + sub loss end of expansion lull like we've seen a few times already.

[Gimlix]

I don't like it, but i don't disagree either.
if this means WoD will come out faster, then we gotta be patient with content.

[Monteverdi]

I'm still expecting the expansion in Spring, so it should be good.

[judgementofantonidas]

I actually prefer expansions where I did not feel rushed to keep up.

[Deleted]

The sooner WoD comes the better, I can't wait, and if that means no more content, then by all means.

[Balazzar]

I think Blizz is thinking this through. As cold as it sounds, it makes sense from a business perspective


They realize that any more MoP content will have diminishing returns... E.g., More players unsubbing till WoD over players entertained by 5.5 content.

Therefore, it makes sense cost-wise to focus on making WoD nice and shiney and just anticipating lower player counts until the next expansion when people resub and the game rebounds a bit. I am not saying this is how it WILL go down, just my take vis-a-vis Blizzard management.

[Usako]

I agree with their decision, I'm just not happy about it. If it gets WoD out faster then sure. However, I won't be playing for a whole year without anything new, AGAIN.

[Azaael]

It'll be out between March and May, I'd actually say closer to March. IRT fast beta-TBC's beta was only three months(started early October, 2006, TBC released early Jan, 2007.) They could easily do the same thing here.

They really need to keep the clip going here. While they're still the world's biggest MMO with 7.5 million, they no longer have the luxury of being padded with 12 million subs(which IS a difference-7.5 million is huge, 12 million is staggering). They don't get it out at a decent time this time, the Summer sub loss will be worse than usual(people may put off resubbing who may have otherwise.) If they can get people in the game and leveling before summer, I think they'll be more likely to stick(maybe not playing as much over the summer, but they'll stick.) Summer is always a time rough on subs-whether or not they get this out quickly I think will affect just how bad it is.

The other issue here of course IS the lack of any content-lack of content+summer is a surefire way to spell 'huge loss of subs'. If they get it out quick(and putting a lot of the Titan guys back on this is likely to help), the lack of extra MoP content will sting much less(and again, may keep people who unsubbed.) Even if, say, a million people unsubbed and a million people came back-during the time they unsubbed, that's lost money. If they can keep, say, 500,000 of them during a time where they otherwise would have unsubbed before they resubbed? That's revenue they haven't lost.

I think they're trying to play this as smart as they can; It'll be nice to see if they can successfully do a snappy beta, announcement, and release of a new expansion within the next 5 months or so. If they do, I think that'll actually go pretty far into rekindling some of the lapsed folks' faith-and not even lapsed folks; Blizz has let the schedule slip so many times at the end of an expansion, the second 'no 5.5' came out people instantly assumed 'a year with no content'-and given their track record, I don't think they're wrong in their concern at all. If they can prove the negative assumptions wrong, that'll be a good thing for them. (I see Draenei and Blood Elf models coming with a patch, but the Original Eight should all be out with the release.)

[Cirque]

Q: "Typically that would be in the Winter of next year. Does that mean it is a goal to bring it in to Summer or Spring?"
A: "Well certainly the goal is before that, but we'll see, it is very hard for us to predict."

That's not a year, that's, hopefully, less than half a year. But I think that's unjustified optimism, and it's going to be a summer release at best. Hopefully I'm wrong, I do intend to return for this expansion, no longer as a serious raider but just as someone who came, saw, leveled, and, then who knows.

[TCceen]

IMO it should be out before Christmas!

[Golden]

Personally, I can't think of any good business reason why WoW would not say they are releasing in the first half of 2014 if they had any plans at all to release in Spring. MMOs are not really a genre where you want to surprise your player base with an expansion.

[Natoro]

No new content means we get to WoD quicker, so I agree.

[Deleted]

Bad move is all I can say.

[Dyros]

Would rather have a well made, fleshed out expansion than a delayed one and a half-assed patch in between. Then again, my sub isn't active.

[Count Zero]

Afaik the family anf friends alpha hasn't even started. I think we are looking at beta in late february and release late august / early september.

There was no FnF alpha for MoP. Went from internal alpha to closed beta.

(following not directed at you)

I don't know what infuriates me more: when people post misleading/sensationalist/hyperbolic things on the internet, or when people react immediately to what they see without looking deeper. There are people responding in this thread as though it's a fact that SoO will last a year. Unless we get to February without closed beta there is no reason to even begin to think this will be the case. We're literally three months away from that point.

[Deleted]

The sooner that I can get off the timeless isle, the better. Let's not drag this out any longer than we have to.

What exactly are you doing on the timeless isle? Constantly gearing newly dinged alts?

[Seasz]

Terrible biased poll. Fix it.

[Deleted]

I would imagine they are going to shoot for a release around when the two upcoming "WoW Killers", ESO and Wildstar, come out. They'd be pretty foolish not to plan something around that as there would be a good chance people will leave and become enamored with one or both of those and then decide to skip WoD. They might not intentionally shoot for that, but they have to be keeping it in mind.

ROFL good joke bringing the term "WoW-Killer" in.... ESO & Wildstar have nothing to even challenge WoW....

ANd everyone who claims "Beta out in December" forget its the month with the most holiday breaks and no devs in so no, beta max in jan 14.
Then they have to release RoS and HS and only after that theyll release WoD - so dont expect it before Sep...

(oh and if your not completly heroic warforged dont come and claim your done...)

They will probably realese more content, I mean we pay monthly.

Was has the sub to do with the release cycle except nothin?

That is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.

But its sadly the truth - back in tbc beta u had the bug where a mob 100fts away from you would melee attack you like he was standing in front of you - i dunno anymore How many reported that bug but it was still in in live...

There was no FnF alpha for MoP. Went from internal alpha to closed beta.

Nope it didnt....

IF they do an april release I expect Timeless Island as a whole continent and id rather wait 6 more month instead of that kind of "content"....

[Nerevar]

They didn't say year. You can't count? WoD will be released either in winter or early spring.
MOAR UNSUBBING THREADS, how original