First of all despite what I may come across as about to say, I do not think classic is a terrible idea in the sense of playing on nostalgia.
But I do think Classic is a terrible idea.
Classic is that example of a game where instead of moving forwards with new ideas, the best one is to revive what is basically a dead idea in the event the game is no longer doing well.
Theres a reason final fantasy 14 1.0 is never comming back, let old things die.
It is, undeniably true Classic has been a financial success and market success in terms of bringing old players back to the game, but its longevity will be its real test, and I am pessimistic about it.
But more than that, I am pessimistic about Retail.
This feels like the ultimate surrender from blizzard, the acceptance that the once bygon era of a great titan has finally passed, and while it is true we will continue to get expansions, we will continue to get new content possibly for years to come.
The soul of the game died when they released it to an older version of itself.
It has never been a truer statement, that the only thing that would finally kill wow, is wow, and they were right.
Even if you love or hate classic, there is -no- denying this is the beginning of a slippery and inevitable downward slope a can of worms that cant be closed. The game now has two realistic paths forward, and both are pretty bleak:
1.
Commit to classic, and retail, keep both going as one overlaps the other in popularity over time, I can genuinley and I do believe they -will- soon be making retail a Buy to Play title in order to get people to play Retail for free while paying for Classic, as it seems like a pretty logical compramise.
But even that would be disaster for blizzard, revenue wise it'd be a great incentiviser, but reality wise, it'd be a damning future for the game.
2.
Let wow die a slow, and painful death, rather than giving it the ending it deserves, after 15 years, after legion's final chapter we really should have just started really thinking about a sequel to wow, rather than an endless ongoing story.
The issue is that a timeless game is only so timeless till the rust cant be shaven off anymore, the game lost its magic, its soul, it lost what made people attached to it, people come and go from wow now more than they ever did, and the irony now, is that they do it, to play wow or rather a version of wow.
Again, I know this all sounds bleak, but I want to look at it more from a sober POV.
I was 16 when I first played Classic 14 years ago, the game has come a very long way since then. It is the end of an era, but I wish it had been an ending that felt more deserved than this.
Watching a franchise I "love" literally get beaten like a dead horse to inevitably choking its last breath is a sad way to watch wow fall. I loved this game once and in my heart I "still" do love this game, or at least I want to, I wanted to feel the magic I felt then.
But ... I admit, for the first time, I think I might actually let go.
Ive been playing 14 lately and reminded of what an idea can look like when someone works heart and soul into improoving it. Shadowbringers felt like the end of one chapter of 14 but it also felt like an ending, a fantastic ending that leads us into new waters. This game doesnt feel like it ever has an ending to chapters, just endless "to be continued" cliffhangers, where they cop out of killing main villians for fear of running out of them. Likewise, they never commit to killing heroes because then they'd have to flesh out the non linear main characters.
When was the last time you saw Moira Bronzebeard get a main role? Or saw Gallywix do something significantly story relevent that wasnt about his self-indulgant profits?
When was the last time you saw these characters actually develop. The irony is the most char development ive seen in BFA is Jaina and Thrall and while its good to see both got their needed love, same with Saurfang and Baine, the two iconic chars of this expansion, Sylvanas and Anduin, are largely shoehorned into backstory chars with an almost completley absent presence.
Talanji played her role and is now just side character material, Tyrande who had a major stake in this story is just, getting nothing out of it, and should have been a major if not "the" biggest player in the Azshara story with Malfurion, both having the biggest personal stake in that.
Instead, we get Lor'themar does something, Jaina does something, Genn does something, Thalissra does something.
Its hollow, empty, soulless, like the game.
As I said...
I am pessimistic because it feels like the "end" of an era, the end of the things that gave this game that rush and soul, all the refferences to the past feel there, and connect well, but the present, the future? Neither feel like they have a direction, or a purpose.
It'd be nice if we knew where this was really "going" but it just feels like endless seasonal improvs from a writing team with no real clue what they -want- anymore.
I cant keep lying to myself and say "I forgive you" when I know its time to stop, classic was the towel thrown in, the sign they just "gave up" because they saw the potential in playing on nostalgia, than developing the future.
Id say if anything, if I could beg blizzard to do one thing.
Make the next expansion the last, make WoW 2, its "Time" to move on, give us new characters, new stories, and a new journey to start over from the beginning, a chance to rewrite the book, a chance to end one saga, and start a new one.
Make the subscription between games shared, by all means, you already have with classic, its a non excuse to say that people wont pay to play a new wow, nevermind an old one.
Ive wanted a new wow since Legion, I really hope after WC3, after the magic that made me love this franchise, blizzard has one last ounce of inspiration left to give us something -new- and interesting.
So its... a bitter sweet kind of hope, im sad to see the end of one legacy, but the last shred of hope I have left, believes they will end it rightly, and give us a new legacy to begin.
TLR buddy!
The game lost its soul, im hopeful for the future but not for the game thats there now.
Id like to see wow 2, or WC4 then WoW 2, but I fear the devs are too content with Classic and will use it to get lazy with development, and effort.
I want to like the game again, the game I knew with my friends 14 years ago, but im content to say im playing a new MMO at the moment, and im not sure if ill come back this time.