Has Blizzard lost sight of its audience? Or has its audience genuinely changed?

[Claymore]

This is a line of thinking I've only recently started going down, so please forgive me for any thoughts that may be poorly-worded, or even poorly thought-out.

I don't think it would be a great revelation to say that, the Blizzard that exists today feels quite different to the Blizzard that existed in 2004 and prior. There are literally countless factors that could be attributed to that. Maybe times have changes, maybe the people there have changed... who knows.

However, I've noticed noticed recently that there seems to have been a pretty dramatic shift in the kind of people that Blizzard is trying to appeal to.

Back in the day, Blizzard made games that were primarily about "badass dudes doing badass things". All of the women were presented as hot, secondary characters to the men. A lot of that stuff probably seems dated today, but it's also part of what Blizzard's identity was; Blizzard's games were the Gaming equivalent of 70's and 80's Metal albums.

I think Overwatch is the most easily-identifiable example of Blizzard's shift in direction. Overwatch contrasts every other Blizzard IP is that it was almost Disney-esque, and as character backstories began getting revealed to be more and more "inclusive", it became clear that Overwatch was going for a very different vibe, likely chasing a very different audience.

Which is good, for a lot of reasons, but I think a particularly smart decision because it was such a contrast to their other existing properties.

The thing is, though, is that it would appear that Blizzard has begun moving all of its IP's closer to that sort of vibe, instead of keeping each franchise as it were.

I noticed the past several years -- without ever really putting it together -- that Blizzard's online store had stopped offering "cool" items. There are no more cool action figures, no more killer t-shirts or a lot of really cool artworks. Instead, we see a lot of women's clothes, more leggings than you can shake a stick at, and virtually all items and swag are "cute" instead of "cool".

Battle for Azeroth marked a decided shift in WoW, in which *only* female characters were being put into meaningful positions of authority, something seemingly carrying over into Shadowlands. Focus is put more on relationships than believable events, often at the expense of any sense of logic or consistency. Characters that would make sense or have history in the series are sidelined to make way for more female characters. The new book also makes it a point to make sure we all know that Matthias Shaw is gay.

It's a... strange situation.

It's not that any of these changes would be "bad", but they feel wildly outside of what "Warcraft" was. Are they reinventing the wheel? Or just updating the wheel for more modern audiences? I can't help but feel, it feels like perhaps Blizzard is trying to cater to an audience that simply isn't the core audience.

When Lord of the Clans came out, one of the "lessons" of that book is that, as a leader, it is Thrall's responsibility to wage war upon those who would threaten his people and their freedom. He wasn't a warmonger, by any means, but he also understood violence as the necessity as it is in the Warcraft universe.

I wonder, if Lord of the Clans was written today, would Thrall have reached the same conclusion? Or would he instead going to any lengths, risk literally anything, in the name of peace? Would the old Thrall be a case of "toxic masculinity"?

Because that seems to be how Anduin and Baine are written, and they can't help but feel horribly inconsistent with the franchise they star in. Anduin Wrynn, as he exists now, would not have survived in Wrath of the Lich King, nor would Baine have. I believe that is why so many players who these two in particular contempt.

But also, look at Jaina; the once voice-of-reason. Until Cataclysm, and then she became "a bad bitch". Sylvanas, too, fills that same role, although in her case that's kind of where her character started anyways. Anduin literally fills the exact same role that Jaina once did, but Jaina can no longer carry that role because... what? It would make Jaina look weak? They don't want another male character in a position of authority?

At least with Sylvanas, they've been generally consistent in terms of personality. I honestly find her a little insufferable how much she operates under "the rule of cool", that she can basically do anything and is always "one step ahead of everyone else", and something-something "four-dimensional chess". I actually thought the character would've felt a lot more 'human' and could've grown a lot as a character if, after Arthas died, if she had a legitimate break-down and maybe show some vulnerability. But nah; she hurls herself off a cliff, sees the afterlife and decides "No thnx!" and that's basically been her entire character arc. Gotta make sure she stays "cool".

I dunno. I may be totally off-base here. This all just really feels like it touches on some of the shift with Blizzard and what it seems to see the audience as. It feels like they're making WoW for a completely different audience than it used to be for, and I wonder if that is to blame for some of its issues now.

[Jonnusthegreat]

Women are a huge, largely still untapped market in PC gaming. Women also tend to love 'inclusive' stuff as well. They know men will still buy the game because they are gamers. It's about getting women. Even if they lose 1M men and gain 1M women, it's a net gain for them overall because those new players will drum up more free advertising. Then, they switch the pendulum back and the men come back.

[Unholyground]

Both if we are honest, most of the target audience is in their 30's now and life changes, and people change and grow as well as their time/priorities.

[Mirishka]

You've made a fundamental mistake in assuming that there is, or ever was, a singular 'audience' for their games. There's a huge spectrum of players that play this game, with a huge spectrum of playstyles. It might feel like doom-n-gloom on forums like this one, but for every person screeching about Blizz and whether or not they even play their game (narrator: yes, they play it), there's probably a thousand or more that don't give a shit about whatever has the vocal minority in an uproar.

Yes, the game has changed. Yes, gamers have changed. That's the world for you. But there are still plenty of people who enjoy Blizzard games just fine.

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Women are a huge, largely still untapped market in PC gaming. Women also tend to love 'inclusive' stuff as well. They know men will still buy the game because they are gamers. It's about getting women. Even if they lose 1M men and gain 1M women, it's a net gain for them overall because those new players will drum up more free advertising. Then, they switch the pendulum back and the men come back.

I don't even know where to begin with how dumb this post is.

[Beatman]

I agree. Warcraft is in desperate need of some male badassness.

[Andonais]

Blizzard changed the game away from many core mmo things and lost alot of its audience many who still play are just fixated on instanced content.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

The world progresses and so does blizzard there’s really no reason to think that the people there would stay same for 30 years and still be in the old 70-80’s mind set that the majority of people have moved away from. Just look at Metzen’s comments about over watch and wanting to make characters his kids and other kids could relate to he the company And the world as a whole progressed past the old tired half naked women being useless while muscle man hits things very hard.

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Blizzard changed the game away from many core mmo things and lost alot of its audience many who still play are just fixated on instanced content.

You missed the point of the thread.

[Fumu]

Woman here who couldn’t care less about female leaders in games or whatever. That being said, it’s just as funny when people clutch their pearls at seeing all these female leaders. Who cares? The pixels won’t take your cojones away, promise.

When it comes to WoW I’d be much more concerned about balance issues, systems upon systems, gutted classes, bad ideas like Pathfinder being carried over into SL, the wussification of Torghast to please the masses, 4 Covenants coming but everyone going Venthyr because Blizzard STILL haven’t learned their lesson, AoE cap being implemented all wrong, etc.

[DarkAmbient]

How to appeal to contemporary markets without alienating your older core fanbase? Tough thing to get right. Ultimately you have to appeal to new generations to keep the business going. The oldies either adapt or move on.

[Hyeonh]

It's not that they lost sight of it's Audience it's that their seeking a new type of Audience, the one that has a larger spending culture on games. In Asia. Everything else is just lip service. Even their inclusive efforts are suspiciously omitted the second it goes into Asia, specifically China. Diablo Immortal is a product of such thing, same with hearthstone.

[Louz]

WoW to video games is what The Simpsons are to TV shows.

As for the merch... I wouldn't take that as a factor, they still make useless collectibles, it's that a piece of clothing from Chinese sweatshop comes much cheaper to make while more likely to be bought, that is my opinion on that.

Reaching to women audience is something that simply makes sense from business perspective, as women (according to an article I read a while ago) are more likely to buy stuff with real currency - think skins or grind skips, or when it comes to mobile games, extra lives.
My anecdotal evidence only supports that, may I add

Another thing is the constant chase after "player engagement (formerly MAU)". Everything calculated not to be fun, but to keep people occupied for an hour every day and don't you dare to miss one!!!

However - with Overwatch, they really dropped the ball.

And I'm not talking about the character bio with all diversity checkboxes and shit - as that has absolutely no influence on gameplay, only to wave the rainbow flag like "how do you do fellow gays".
I'm talking about the entire game having this weird hugbox vibe where you have to give everyone a trigger warning when you're about to sneeze. That game director (or whatever his position was) having a meltdown over "mean forums posts" was just a cherry on top.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Another thing is the constant chase after "player engagement (formerly MAU)". Everything calculated not to be fun, but to keep people occupied for an hour every day and don't you dare to miss one!!!

that’s not how MAU works like at all. If you log in every day it’s no different then logging in once or twice a month.

[Louz]

that’s not how MAU works like at all. If you log in every day it’s no different then logging in once or twice a month.

Yeah, I know.

[Blackmist]

The audience has changed. You're in denial if you think it hasn't. Look how many people actively progress mythic raiding - it's barely any. WoW is a game for casual play, farming cosmetics and very easy gratification - the opposite to how it began. And that's okay - it just depends on what player you are.

That's... how it's always been.

The same people that were clearing Naxx back in the day are the same people clearing Mythic raids now. It's just now there's more for shit players to do other than farm things to sell to the players with too much time on their hands.

[MoanaLisa]

Something has not been totally right with Blizzard development since Titan went down in flames. But the other side of this is true as well: the market has changed, player demographics have changed. The game is showing its age and Blizzard is showing its development conservatism and unwillingness to take serious risks with what now is yet again their tentpole IP. Yet again, because the post-Titan Blizzard can't come up with any new games so it's been almost six years since Overwatch was announced. The result is that a disproportionate percentage of its income is now reliant on a single title. Blizzard in the pre-Diablo III years redux.

Blizzard is now safe, conservative, unwilling to really rock the boat too hard. If you want to see something truly different you should look elsewhere.

I understand this sounds all negative but in truth there is value to maintaining the fidelity and familiarity of an IP like World of Warcraft. They are not wrong from their perspective to play it safe.

I do think they have misread their audience though. That might be because they use a self-reinforcing design that channels players into doing certain things and then those that look at Blizzard metrics view those players as enjoying the things they're channeled into simply because they are there.

[arkanon]

The audience has changed. You're in denial if you think it hasn't. Look how many people actively progress mythic raiding - it's barely any. WoW is a game for casual play, farming cosmetics and very easy gratification - the opposite to how it began. And that's okay - it just depends on what player you are.

This is entirely wrong - wow was ALWAYS the casual friendly alternative to more "hardcore" mmos like EQ. Im still blown away by the number of people who think it was ever "hard" or "hardcore" in its early days - it simply wasnt. The difficult content and long farms came much LATER in development, and it is substantially more challenging in every single way than it ever was pre cata.

[Dug]

You can tell who only read the title and not the OPs post. This is just another Women Bad whine thread and it's not even subtle about it.

[MoanaLisa]

You can tell who only read the title and not the OPs post. This is just another Women Bad whine thread and it's not even subtle about it.

I read it. I just decided to answer it as if the gender stuff wasn't there. There's actually a decent discussion topic to be had around this.

[Hellobolis]

gaming was a boys thing in the past. it's only recently that it's become more widespread, both in terms of age and gender.

PC gaming is still one of the more male oriented sectors of gaming though, so i think a lot of the stuff blizz does is politically motivated rather than trying to reach the mythical wider audience motivated.

i think the biggest change on blizzard audience has been missing out on the moba generation though. they haven't had a major hit between wow and overwatch and i wouldn't be surprised if that's caused a significant age gap in their audience.

[Thelxi]

Not to be too contrarian, but if anything I'd say that they are now more focused on their target audience than ever before.