"World of Warcraft would be 'in bad shape' without embracing the casual revolution"

[Osmeric]

http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/23/465...ing-the-casual

Chilton says MoP has proven to be "very successful" for the company, game would be in "bad shape" without push to appeal to casuals.

[Chaosturn]

Okay. And?

[chrisisvacant]

Agreed. Not a fan of every single choice made, but overall I agree. The game had some very vacant and gaping holes in it before they started innovating the genre by putting in extra shit for people to do. It's a more developed game now than it ever has been. Anyone saying anything less is a total troll with emotional problems.

[Dakhath]

Why is this a surprise? The "casuals" are the overwhelming majority of subscribers which means more money.

[Daltin]

Feels like OP wanted to stir some emotions when in reality, it's common knowledge. This is 'Sky is blue' type of article.

[Deleted]

This is pretty obvious. Especially when the only two categories people come up with are casuals v hardcore.

There is no point catering an MMO to hardcore people only. It's not a good business model. If you cater to casuals you get more happy subscribers.

[Rixis]

It's supposed to come across as a surprise because the vocal people are the ones that hate the way the game has gone etc.

[Osmeric]

Feels like OP wanted to stir some emotions when in reality, it's common knowledge. This is 'Sky is blue' type of article.

I posted that because we are still seeing reactionary nonsense about how the sub declines are because of the casual focus, and that things would be great if they'd just get back to a hardcore design.

[Pull My Finger]

Feels like OP wanted to stir some emotions when in reality, it's common knowledge.

Well I'm not so sure it is, considering the fact that every day, new useless threads are being made on how WoW is dying® because of accessibility and how it could have twelveteen squillion subs if LFR was removed and the game was super-duper-hardcoar!

[Djuntas]

Money, money, money....Inn a game developers world...

Why would this be a topic OP?

[Deleted]

While it's worth noting WoW has always been the most accessible MMO compared to it's rivals (Even classic was still easier to get into than, sya, Everquest) I do agree it may be for the better that the game is focusing on being a game rather than a lifestyle.

[Lazy Gecko]

I just have no idea what the definition of casual is anymore.

[Pull My Finger]

Money, money, money....Inn a game developers world...

So, you work for free, I take it?

[enchanted]

Err and? I really don't believe anyone likes to sit for 6+ hours on the pc nowadays for an endless grind like back in vanilla. It's good blizzard decided to make the game more casual friendly since 80% if not 90% of subs is mostly casual players.

[Deleted]

So a business went with the times, making their product have a longer lifespan? What's the news here?

[chrisisvacant]

I just have no idea what the definition of casual is anymore.

Someone who doesn't want to raid high for 20-30 hours a week. Someone who doesn't want to spend off-raid nights farming raid mats.

[Daltin]

The demographic of a typical MMO player was a very small window. Yes, there will be people that aren't the norm. You'll have your 60 year old MMO player and you'll have your 15 year old MMO players.

The key demographic is getting older, and finding things to do with their time that aren't MMO related. In order for this game to survive, it needs to be marketed towards the younger generation of gamers. Unfortunately, that generation would rather play things like Candy Crush and Call of Duty.

It's sad to think about, but it just seems like it's time for RPGs to be cycled out for a while until they make a triumphant comeback. Like pogs.

[turboblake]

Ring Ring
Yes Hello? 5 years ago called, they want their hot topic back!

[Aeluron Lightsong]

The demographic of a typical MMO player was a very small window. Yes, there will be people that aren't the norm. You'll have your 60 year old MMO player and you'll have your 15 year old MMO players.

The key demographic is getting older, and finding things to do with their time that aren't MMO related. In order for this game to survive, it needs to be marketed towards the younger generation of gamers. Unfortunately, that generation would rather play things like Candy Crush and Call of Duty.

It's sad to think about, but it just seems like it's time for RPGs to be cycled out for a while until they make a triumphant comeback. Like pogs.

Now who's saying the Sky is falling. No RPG's will still be a thing.

[Daltin]

Now who's saying the Sky is falling. No RPG's will still be a thing.

Huh?

It's called business. RPGs themselves will never go away, but the MMO market is a very cyclical thing. This is fact, and can't be disputed. If Warcraft hadn't come along, it's incredibly likely that the MMO genre would have gone the way of single-player arcade games. Those have made a comeback in the vein of smartphone apps. Things you can play on the bus, on the train, on your lunchbreak, on the toilet, whatever.

When Warcraft finally loses it's steam, the MMO genre will go through a dark period until the new power horse arrives. I'm not some doomsday sayer. I still enjoy WoW, and I fall into the "key demographic" that I described above. It's still 'fun' to me. I don't get bored easily, I don't have ADHD like it seems like 50% of children under 15 have these days.

When you can look at this from a business side PoV, and not a fanboyish "It cant happen to us" mentality, it will make better sense. I am -not- saying your PoV is fanboyish, but generally speaking those who claim WoW will never die are of that mentality.