Originally Posted by
Biomega
Not in the least surprised. WoW is too old a game to show growth anymore, the best they can hope for is a slower decline. Don't misconstrue this, by the way; WoW is and remains the giant of the industry and the go-to standard. They have improved their game considerably, and continue to do so. But improved content or not, it is still a game that is almost a decade old now. You cannot maintain those amazing numbers with such aged technology and concepts, but that's okay. Blizzard is very aware of this, and will slowly begin easing over its player base to whatever new title they bring out (Titan, most likely), a process that will take a few years. WoW is still doing quite well, and certainly magnitudes better than any competitor.
Of course, it's not as though they aren't still making mistakes. MoP's timesink-galore alienated a lot of players and/or made them very angry. The expansion's overall theme's reception was mixed and divided, and apparently did not do as well in the eastern markets as some people thought. Then again, those markets tend to emphasize eye-candy a lot, and WoW just isn't up to par in that respect.
Personally, I was quite pleasantly surprised by the quality of MoP's raiding content, but taken aback by the rest; 5.2 was consequently a very good patch for me (and even made me resub). ToT is a great raid, and the daily/grindy content was kept at a minimum. The game is 8 years old and it shows - but for me, there just isn't a viable alternative right now (and believe me, I've tried). I'm very much looking forward to BlizzCon this year and the hopeful revelation of the next generation. WoW was great and all, but as we see it just won't continue forever.