Is the increasing amount of WoW expansions putting new players off?

[Orangetai420]

so, hang on a minute...

the argument here is that:
"you know, a game with no real progression roadblocks or catch-up difficulty would be a real turn-off to a new player because of how much game you get for one initial investment"

how does that make any sense whatsoever?

if you're brand new to MMOs in general, chances are good you don't even know what the concept of 'amount of content' really even means.
if you've been playing MMOs before and are just trying out WoW, the fact that WoW has no catch-up roadblocks means the amount of content is just window dressing and/or more game for your buck.

i find it nearly impossible to conceive of how the number of expansions in WoW could be a problem for anyone.

This.

Unless you've played mmo's before and you already know that most of the game is played at max level I would imagine that having 5 expansions for a low price would seem like a great deal.

[Courierrawr]

No it is not. With CRZ there are a lot people going through the world, you can experience all dungeons while leveling etc. Only old raids and dailies are abandoned.

Raids and heroic dungeons are the majority of the content each expansion, going through leveling zones that have become mostly abandoned and watered down dungeons is nothing.

[Krowz]

It costs $80 right now with no promotions to get up to MoP and that comes with one month of game time. The way a lot of new players will look at it is I pay $80 now just to start and in 30 days I'll have to pay yet another $15. Its definitely off putting to many. I think the expansions should just unlock the new levels; not zones, classes, or races. If a person wants to play a orc warrior when they start, they only have to but the battle chest and then every other expansion when they get to the appropriate level, but if someone wants to start off as a panda monk then they have to drop all of the money at once just too start. Kind of silly imo

[MrExcelion]

Yes, I too feel that the price is offputting outside of sale times. It shouldn't cost more than 39.99 total to play WoW. The problem usually is they won't take the previous expansion and put it in the Battle Chest until 2 more are out (as in, Cata won't be in the battle chest until the one after MoP is out). You shouldn't need to buy Cata.

To Blizzard, maybe they feel this financial limit is a deterrent to new players not experiencing old world content too quickly, just like the 25 dollar fee is a deterrent to server transfers. And a sub is a sub to them. But they don't realize a lot of players just want to get to the endgame right away to PVP or raid with their friends, not questing. I've had one friend add it all up and he said no when he saw it was going to be like 80 bucks + a sub fee (maybe it's cheaper now)

[TJ]

It costs $80 right now with no promotions to get up to MoP and that comes with one month of game time. The way a lot of new players will look at it is I pay $80 now just to start and in 30 days I'll have to pay yet another $15. Its definitely off putting to many. I think the expansions should just unlock the new levels; not zones, classes, or races. If a person wants to play a orc warrior when they start, they only have to but the battle chest and then every other expansion when they get to the appropriate level, but if someone wants to start off as a panda monk then they have to drop all of the money at once just too start. Kind of silly imo

On Amazon, it's currently 34.55 pounds which works out at 51.88 dollars for all expansions (Battlechest + Cata and MoP) which is the cost of a normal new game roughly. I'd say that's a massive bargain. On the contrary it should attract more players at that price.

[Asmekiel]

It costs $80 right now with no promotions to get up to MoP and that comes with one month of game time. The way a lot of new players will look at it is I pay $80 now just to start and in 30 days I'll have to pay yet another $15. Its definitely off putting to many. I think the expansions should just unlock the new levels; not zones, classes, or races. If a person wants to play a orc warrior when they start, they only have to but the battle chest and then every other expansion when they get to the appropriate level, but if someone wants to start off as a panda monk then they have to drop all of the money at once just too start. Kind of silly imo

Is that from the battle.net site? Developers' own websites always sell their stuff at higher prices than local stores. Right now I can get WoW + Cata + MoP for €38,99.(~$50) A game like AC3 cost the same here and Crysis/CoD/Fifa, you name it, are more expensive than that.
Price isn't the reason new players might be looking up to playing this game, it's the amount of expansions I think. When I started playing in WotLK I already had the feeling I missed a lot of the game, imagine how that must feel now for people having missed out on 2 more expansions.

[Armourboy]

I would say the number of level may be off putting to people, but the number of expansions wouldn't really be. I'm just guessing but probably what is happening most of the time is that people buy that initial 80 levels and then wait for the other two to see if they like the game. Depending on how casual they are, that can take a while and by the time you get around to buying the last two the sticker shock isn't as bad. I also have a strong feeling that Blizzard see's an increase in new accounts when they do those massive price slashes ( where you basically get everything for $35 ) otherwise they wouldn't be doing them as often as they seem to lately.

[PBitt]

I think they need to start making combo packs when a new expansion that includes Vanilla and all previous expansions together. I know they have Vanilla, TBC and Wrath together but they really need to throw Cata in there too, more so than cost purposes, it just makes sense for clarity. I can easily see how someone who didn't know much about the game and didn't have any friends that played could purchase the initial set then buy MoP before seeing they are missing an expansion.

[CaptainArlong]

No, it's the price. No one wants to buy an expansion for $40 for such an old game, and then pay $15 a month for again, such an old game. If Blizzard stopped making expansions and updated all the ancient player character models, then people would think it's worth it.

[Clockwork Pinkie]

They should just release the expansions for free, they'd have far more players that way, having to pay $80+ dollars + $15 a month is absurd.

With every expansion here on out they're having it so you get the older ones free, BC is free, next expansion, Wrath will probably be free. It's no different than any other game out there. Gaming ain't cheap.

[TJ]

I think they need to start making combo packs when a new expansion that includes Vanilla and all previous expansions together. I know they have Vanilla, TBC and Wrath together but they really need to throw Cata in there too, more so than cost purposes, it just makes sense for clarity. I can easily see how someone who didn't know much about the game and didn't have any friends that played could purchase the initial set then buy MoP before seeing they are missing an expansion.

Well, tbh.. on the websites it says that you need the other expacs. On Amazon for example, "Important: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and The Burning Crusade expansion packs are required in order to play World of Warcraft: Cataclysm". It's not Blizzard's fault if you don't research a buy.

[Asmekiel]

With every expansion here on out they're having it so you get the older ones free, BC is free, next expansion, Wrath will probably be free. It's no different than any other game out there. Gaming ain't cheap.

Wrath is already free with the base game. Every game that didn't have WotLK attached yet got a free upgrade.

[randomnamegenerator16]

With every expansion here on out they're having it so you get the older ones free, BC is free, next expansion, Wrath will probably be free. It's no different than any other game out there. Gaming ain't cheap.

Wrath is free now.

[Deleted]

Imo they would attract more players if they bumped up the free trial to level 50 and made all expansions free except the latest one

[Softbottom]

Coming from everquest many years ago what they did once shadows of luclin came out (3rd expansion) they sold everquest original/ruins of kunark/scars of velious in a trilogy 3 pack for like $40. After that whenever there was a new xpac they would sell all previous ones minus the newest one at $40. Now they have like 15 xpacs and still sell vanilla with 13 xpacs for $40. WoW should do this eventually.

[Kathranis]

The amount of expansions? No. Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King are now included with the base game, which retails for $20. Cataclysm retails for $20 and Mists of Pandaria for $40. They can be found much cheaper and often go on sale for as cheap as $5, $10, and $20 each, bringing the whole set down to just $35. It's also got a free trial, somewhat limited though it may be.

In terms of price, the monthly fee is a bigger mitigating factor, especially with how many free to play alternatives there are. World of Warcraft is definitely the cream of the crop, far, far better than 99% of F2P games on the market, but costing a monthly fee does immediately turn off a lot of people. Of course, it also comes with numerous benefits and WoW's subscriber base is strong enough that it'll pretty much remain profitable until the end of time.

The other problem with attracting new players is simply the age of the game. It has objectively outdated graphics, which will certainly put off some new players, but even beyond that the game has just been around for a long time. If someone were going to become a World of Warcraft fan, chances are they'd have started playing by now. Others are put off by the idea of joining so late in the game and either having to learn it or catch up to their friends.

Anyway, if World of Warcraft ever has a dramatic drop off of active subscriptions, Blizzard's still got the B2P or F2P conversion in their back pockets, which will undoubtedly cause the playerbase to skyrocket. I don't think that'll happen for another several years, but it's always an option.

Anyway, I don't think I've ever heard someone say, "Oh, boy, I'd love to try WoW but it's got like four expansions! That's too many!"

No, it's always either, "I don't have enough free time to dedicate to that sort of game," or "I don't want to have to start from scratch and catch up," or "I don't want to spend that much money every month," or "I'm worried that I might get obsessed and it will consume my life."


Edit: Bolded the part about how the base game and the first two expansions are included together, because I can't believe there are still people who don't know that.

[Deleted]

It's not the price really, it's the many levels new players have to go through. Even as a veteran player, having to level 10 (now 11 for monk class) characters to the respective expansion's max level was indeed pretty off setting, and that's even with heirlooms and big know-how's. The problem is, even if they speed up levelling in game, no-one will see that it's actually not so long to level anymore, they'll just see all these levels before they even buy the game and go like "meh, **** that".

---------- Post added 2013-03-03 at 08:08 PM ----------

No, it's always either, "I don't have enough free time to dedicate to that sort of game," or "I don't want to have to start from scratch and catch up," or "I don't want to spend that much money every month," or "I'm worried that I might get obsessed and it will consume my life."

Also this, especially that last part. I have many friends of mine who checked WoW out (didn't play it, just saw it) and though they'd be too obsessed with it if they started.

[Paulosio]

Blizzard is getting more than enough money off subs to fund content development, people only buy the expansions once, that's $40 every two years, meanwhile they pay $360 in sub fees between those two years.

The game has been out a long time and the sub price has never increased. With inflation taken into account i'd imagine they are making a lot less off subs than they did in the past. I suppose the blizzard store helps keep their incoming money at a similair level despite this.

[Scummer]

I'm not sure, but I see what you mean.

Money wise it's not a problem. It costs £35 for the Battle Chest, Cata and MoP - which seems reasonable. It's also worth noting that new players are not obliged to buy Cata or MoP so they do not have to spend lots of money to begin with. WoW also goes on sale relatively often which is worth bearing in mind.
So no I don't see pricing being a problem at all. A person can spend £10 and get 1-80 content and a months subscription and thus aren't pigeon holed into dishing out large amounts of money to try out the game. Additionally if I'm not mistaken they removed all playable races limitations with MoP, so a new player has the option to play Worgen, Goblin or Pandaren as well. Also WoW has a very easy to understand trial version.

The other thing that came to my mind was the idea that levelling from 1-90 would be a challenge. However experience need to get from one bracket to another is always reduce by a significant margin with each new expansion. Then there's recruit a friend to help them as well.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Not the number of expansions, the number of continents.