Do you think Classic will Overtake Retail?

[Sondrelk]

That's the thing: We won't know because there won't be any metric to show us whether it was.

If there is one thing the forums show us though, it is that they are willing to cling to any "proof" no matter how insubstantial in order to validate their views.

I was not invited to any UBRS runs all week = Classic is DEAD
I saw 10 players form a mount line in Ironforge = BfA has no more, all is Classic
A streamer reached top of Twitch today = Prepare for huge influx of players, Blizz needs to add more server to handle the load

You can apply this to literally anything.

Streamer said he took a break from BfA = WoW is DEAD
Blizz mentioned they consider adding more legacy version of WoW = New content for Classic
Ion takes paternity leave = Ion is FIRED

[Relapses]

If there is one thing the forums show us though, it is that they are willing to cling to any "proof" no matter how insubstantial in order to validate their views.

I was not invited to any UBRS runs all week = Classic is DEAD
I saw 10 players form a mount line in Ironforge = BfA has no more, all is Classic
A streamer reached top of Twitch today = Prepare for huge influx of players, Blizz needs to add more server to handle the load

You can apply this to literally anything.

Streamer said he took a break from BfA = WoW is DEAD
Blizz mentioned they consider adding more legacy version of WoW = New content for Classic
Ion takes paternity leave = Ion is FIRED

LMFAO, I'm getting that last one on a T-shirt.

[God Save The King]

To be perfectly honest the thread hasn't really had a point from the start. Blizzard is very unlikely to reveal which game has more players and since it's all under one umbrella subscription it doesn't matter who is winning. The "win" for everyone is if both games do well. I can only imagine there will be a lot of people crossing back and forth especially when we have content down periods in retail. And that's great. If either game is perceived as "losing" then it's a loss for everyone.

But people want to talk about it so here we are.

These are feelings as well. It is incredibly unlikely they will ever tell us which game is doing better. They share a subscription, and with many people likely playing both it would be challenging to figure out which is more successful anyway. In many ways the games are symbiotic and provide content for each other when one is going through a drought or slow period.

The thread could basically be summed up as "The version you personally prefer is the one that will do better".

[Sondrelk]

LMFAO, I'm getting that last one on a T-shirt.

Why thank you, i am glad my long fascination with forum culture and whining has made someone happy at last.

[shadowmatrix]

We will find a way.

And if we wont...we will be right where we are today...and we wont be able to move forward...
We will be arguing Classic VS Reatail until we die?

No, im pretty sure we will find a way.

Your not going to move forward as long as you care about the numbers. If it does then the classic fans will be insufferable, if it doesn't then there will be excuses about how Blizzard is messing with the numbers., etc. There will always be a reason to keep arguing.

[Big Thanks]

Your not going to move forward as long as you care about the numbers. If it does then the classic fans will be insufferable, if it doesn't then there will be excuses about how Blizzard is messing with the numbers., etc. There will always be a reason to keep arguing.

In my opinion only if Classic is successful there will be endless crap posting by the Classic crowd everyday.

If unsuccessful/mediocre/normal all the classic crowd will be put in quarantine by the retail crowd. (they will make fun of us everyday until we die)
But the crap show will end pretty soon in this scenario. (couple months maybe)
They will make fun of us until we die though

[glowpipe]

Blizzard simply won't allow classic to take over retail. Bfa made minimum €150 million from sales alone for bfa, Day 1. The only income for classic is subs and most of the subs are already paying for retail anyways. They can't sell you wow classic, they can't sell you tbc classic or wrath classic. They will however sell you 9.0, 10.0 11.0 etc. Classic have no ingame shop, no tokens. Thats a large income in retail because people buy subs with gold.

Blizzard is making Money with retail. Not classic. The amount of brand new subs they need to get in to classic to make that profitable enough and higher then retail, is so high that it will never happen.

[Zarc]

If people really wanted hard MMOs they'd still be playing EQ's progression servers. They aren't so Classic will see an initial spike that'll fade as people realize, "Damn levelling is really boring." Eventually they'll have to add content or change something which will piss off the No Changers too.

LOL. The reason Blizzard is even doing Classic is because this argument was proven wrong like a couple of years ago when Nostalrius became a success. I was part of that success as I played on Nostalrius and re-discovered how much better leveling was in vanilla. And I am so much looking forward to Classic realms to do it again. And a wave of former naysayers on Twitch seems to have been converted as well. Of course once I hit the endgame I didn't care for it anymore mainly because I'm not interested in raiding anymore - vanilla or retail - and vanilla PvP is worse than retail PvP. Except for PvP the game was better in vanilla. That's my opinion.

[thunterman]

LOL. The reason Blizzard is even doing Classic is because this argument was proven wrong like a couple of years ago when Nostalrius became a success. I was part of that success as I played on Nostalrius and re-discovered how much better leveling was in vanilla. And I am so much looking forward to Classic realms to do it again. And a wave of former naysayers on Twitch seems to have been converted as well. Of course once I hit the endgame I didn't care for it anymore mainly because I'm not interested in raiding anymore - vanilla or retail - and vanilla PvP is worse than retail PvP. Except for PvP the game was better in vanilla. That's my opinion.

But.. Nostalrius bled 83% of it's playerbase in 12 months. Nostalrius is proof that it's going to have a massively populated launch, and crumble down to the dedicated few within months. The whole point of releasing classic isn't because people want it, it's because Blizzard want to get the people bleeding from Classic to play retail.

[MoanaLisa]

We will find a way.

And if we wont...we will be right where we are today...and we wont be able to move forward...
We will be arguing Classic VS Reatail until we die?

No, im pretty sure we will find a way.

No you won't if Blizzard won't tell you. You'll engage in the usual BS supposition based on nothing at all that represents your preferences. And as for your forum wars there are rules here about game vs. game. Stop looking for drama where there doesn't need to be any.

[Cracked]

You realize without any irony that WoW is also a cartoony game...?

The graphics are cartoony, but everything else is/was (precata) pretty serious.

[therealstegblob]

The graphics are cartoony, but everything else is/was (precata) pretty serious.

"Precata" fucking lol jesus christ

[FelPlague]

Ther eis a reason they decided to go after Classic after Brack saying " You think you do but you dont" comment. They see BFA tanking hard. There is nothing in the future to bring back the amount of players that BFA lost . And likely 9.0 is not going to be much better. From a profit standpoint, They can bring in those nostalgia dollars by launching Vanila, TBC and Wrath . That will keep players happy for several years while they low effort milk retail wow

"they see BFA is failign so they are releasing classic"
e.....except... except classic wow has been in development for far longer then BFA has even been testable.... wtf you talking about mate...?
Classic was announced as being started, same day as BFA was announced...
we were in the peak of Legion... so no, classic is in no way a response to "the game is dying we must deploy classic!"

- - - Updated - - -

The graphics are cartoony, but everything else is/was (precata) pretty serious.

Scooz me what?
do you forget mr bigglesworth was in vanilla?
or that vanilla had ALOT of poop quests, so did tbc, and wotlk.
i can think of atleast 2 poops quests from tbc RIGHT NOW
talbuks in nagrand, felhunter in hellfire.
also the garphics, they were super cartoony, do you forget how warcraft looked

"Me am not that kind of orc.... work work... zug zug... it aint easy being green...."

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

OSRS is very popular, I'm sure Classic has the potential to follow that trend.

- - - Updated - - -

do you forget mr bigglesworth was in vanilla?
or that vanilla had ALOT of poop quests, so did tbc, and wotlk.
i can think of atleast 2 poops quests from tbc RIGHT NOW
talbuks in nagrand, felhunter in hellfire.
also the garphics, they were super cartoony, do you forget how warcraft looked

"Me am not that kind of orc.... work work... zug zug... it aint easy being green...."

"Poop come out sideways"
'One day me have booterang"

[shadowmatrix]

In my opinion only if Classic is successful there will be endless crap posting by the Classic crowd everyday.

If unsuccessful/mediocre/normal all the classic crowd will be put in quarantine by the retail crowd. (they will make fun of us everyday until we die)
But the crap show will end pretty soon in this scenario. (couple months maybe)
They will make fun of us until we die though

You are giving both sides far far too much trust, both will act like spoiled children. There is a reason Blizzard stopped reporting subscriber numbers.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

It cracks me up that these dumbass "titles" even exist....

[Zarc]

But.. Nostalrius bled 83% of it's playerbase in 12 months. Nostalrius is proof that it's going to have a massively populated launch, and crumble down to the dedicated few within months. The whole point of releasing classic isn't because people want it, it's because Blizzard want to get the people bleeding from Classic to play retail.

I wasn't arguing against player loss, I even explained how I myself quit once I hit level 60 on Nostalrius. What I was arguing against was your claim that people would realize that "damn leveling is really boring". What I found was that leveling was great in vanilla compared to retail and that is why I played on Nostalrius for a few months, and many former naysayers on Twitch seem to have discovered as much too. As for PvE endgame beyond 5-man dungeons, I'm just not personally interested in that anymore in either retail nor classic. So yes, I will only play classic for a few months as I too suspect many will. Won't be going over to retail though, will return to waiting mode for the next expansion and hope that Classic is a success so that they can make the game more like Classic again but with an ever-increasing level cap and evolving story.

[MoanaLisa]

Won't be going over to retail though, will return to waiting mode for the next expansion and hope that Classic is a success so that they can make the game more like Classic again but with an ever-increasing level cap and evolving story.

It's possible I suppose that classic may influence the other side. It might be a more sensible approach to say that the two games satisfy different audiences and as a business decision you'll do better to keep it that way.

[Relapses]

You are giving both sides far far too much trust, both will act like spoiled children. There is a reason Blizzard stopped reporting subscriber numbers.

That's not the reason.

They stopped reporting them after they stopped mattering. I'd argue they stopped mattering far before Blizzard stopped reporting them but it doesn't stop people from creating absolutely brain dead arguments using the subscriber chart as iron-clad "evidence" of whatever they're saying.

- - - Updated - - -

But.. Nostalrius bled 83% of it's playerbase in 12 months. Nostalrius is proof that it's going to have a massively populated launch, and crumble down to the dedicated few within months. The whole point of releasing classic isn't because people want it, it's because Blizzard want to get the people bleeding from Classic to play retail.

Close. I'd argue from the other direction though. It's not to get people playing Classic to play retail. It's to get people who play retail to stay subscribed.

[Cracked]

Scooz me what?
do you forget mr bigglesworth was in vanilla?
or that vanilla had ALOT of poop quests, so did tbc, and wotlk.
i can think of atleast 2 poops quests from tbc RIGHT NOW
talbuks in nagrand, felhunter in hellfire.
also the garphics, they were super cartoony, do you forget how warcraft looked

"Me am not that kind of orc.... work work... zug zug... it aint easy being green...."

Wow, one cat vs the tone of the game. Yes, there were easter eggs. But the undertone had always been rather dark in old WoW world.