Must WoW go Fully PG to continue to Thrive?

[WraithKingOstarion]

was just thinking about the direction of the most recent expansions and how in some cases the over-arching themes may still be mature or have some semblance "adult seriousness" ... the portrayal of the story, the direction of it and even the character development have been increasingly more kid-friendly. being that it is a video game and it's a fantasy setting and MMO kind of game, does WoW need to fully go PG in order to thrive? does it need to cater towards the age of demographic of, let's say, 8 - 13, primarily?

in essence, much similar to motion picture ratings and tv show ratings, remove heavy images of gore, remove swearing, remove sexually explicit imagery and even the implied variations of those things. to write more over the top/cartoony stories or characters (like how Bwonsamdi is portrayed) but with hints of seriousness.

my thoughts on it:

- it's much easier to catch the imagination of children/younger people in a fantasy MMO setting than it is for the majority of young adult/adult players.

-it is easier for children/younger people generally to not be so cynical towards the direction of the story/lore as well as the flow of balance of the game/classes/game systems.

now personally I do --not-- think Blizz needs to make WoW go full "PG" and they can afford to still cater to a more mature demographic of players ... yet it just feels like that is the ultimate direction of to take the game the other way.

in light of speculative news about Activision being balls deep in Blizz's creative process and dictating what to and what not do, i could imagine the best course of action is to target that younger demographic who are using their allowance money (or just mom and dad's credit card) to pay for this game per month, buy cool and funny things off the Blizz Store, and keep them engaged for years to come... whereas the more cynical and realistic thinking young adult/adult has no problem spending their money on another product/game.

i can't be the only one who feels this way? maybe i am.

[Varodoc]

Ah yes, there's nothing that allures 13 years old people like a good old mass genocide to kick off the expansion.

[Aucald]

I never quite understood the functional difference between PG and PG-13 in American MPAA ratings, so difficult to say really.

[WraithKingOstarion]

Ah yes, there's nothing that allures 13 years old people like a good old mass genocide to kick off the expansion.

thanks for reading.

wait you didn't, nvm.

it said "should it" ... not "it has gone PG" .... you dingus

[Arrashi]

Quite the opposite, it should go all out R-18.

[WraithKingOstarion]

Quite the opposite, it should go all out R-18.

i think the Warcraft universe would look very very interesting if it were portrayed in a rated R sense.

[Nerovar]

I mean, if that's what they're going for then they're doing a horrible job. Genocide and warcrimes aren't generally what I'd expose my kids to. But I definitely agree that much of the storytelling, dialogue and the increasing focus on certain characters has taken a different route (though I don't know whether I would necessarily call it "kid friendly"). Things like the Undead are increasingly neutered (just look at that Derek + Calia cringefest) and have been turned into a whinier versions of pre-cata Undead (maybe they made them more emotional so people can relate to them? idk).

Also do you honestly think that WoW is still attractive to younger audiences? Blizzard should cater to the people who already play the game (and have done so for several years) first and foremost. Most people who are addicted to WoW are older now so if anything, they should make the story a bit more mature. They should get a better team of professional writing monkeys first though.

[Arrashi]

i think the Warcraft universe would look very very interesting if it were portrayed in a rated R sense.

Patch 8.3 cinematic but with music replaced by "Ram Ranch". Lets face it, this is what community really wants.

[Varodoc]

thanks for reading.

wait you didn't, nvm.

it said "should it" ... not "it has gone PG" .... you dingus

Hmm, no, last I checked it says that the themes of BfA only have a semblance of maturity left and that the storyline is basically kid-friendly.

To which I reply, and continue to reply, that there's nothing more kid-friendly than thousands of civilians burning at literally the beginning of the story.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Have it go R instead.

The only thing that keeps the game thriving, is regular content and content that's designed with player enjoyment in mind rather than later design philosophies.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

...No, Its already pretty teen and adult oriented, its just not Witcher 3 esque or absurdly gore filled.

[Kyphael]

I never quite understood the functional difference between PG and PG-13 in American MPAA ratings, so difficult to say really.

Movies labeled PG 13 are not considered suitable for children under 13. PG still suggests parental guidance, PG 13 suggests the film is appropriate for individuals over that age. It might have some low level swearing and young adult themes like raunchy teen-level dating (like Breakfast Club.) Meanwhile, PG is probably just regular PG violence like dinosaurs tearing people apart, something that might frighten children younger than 13.

[MatthiasLehner]

1. When I was a teenager, this game was new and fresh, without other alternatives.

2. There is a list full of far more fresher, fun to play, free to play, catered towards the younger demographic games in year 2020. This game is NOT for new players, and most of the new players just happen to have a close friend who's already into the game. This game's average demographic is probably 35+ (I can't count how many players I meet on this game who are already parenting teenaged children)

3. Unless there's a complete overhaul, this game really doesn't have a strong appeal to the majority of the market. I've been teaching teenagers ranging from 12-17, and even college students on the side in the past 5 years in one of the 4 biggest cities in North America. There's about ~400 students that I did a survey on, for my personal project related to video games, and there have been 40 students who heard of WoW("I saw it on Twitch" "I saw the ad" type of exposure), and NONE of them have any idea what the game is about, or want to play the game. Reason being they don't want to play a game that none of their friends play.


WoW relies more on the customers who either have their community in this game or loyal to the franchise.

This game catering towards teens is a long gone story, I'm pretty sure. I mean honestly, if you play other games that's in the market nowadays for perspective, you realize how much this game's lacking in terms of dull technology with limited customization, visual effects, game play and more.

[Kyphael]

And in my opinion, no. Starcraft should be PG, Warcraft PG13, and Diablo Rated R. They each have a demographic. Warcraft doesn't do much with its teen rating, especially with the story, but some zones and elements wouldn't fly as strictly PG like some of the darker themes of Old Gods, cultists, religious zealotry and borderline satanic themes with The Legion. Don't need pissed off parents writing letters to Blizzard complaining about why their 8 year-old wants to sacrifice his kid sister to N'zoth.

[LordVargK]

No <13 year old will start playing WoW anyway. The game is 15 years old, looks at least that old, HAS A MONTHLY SUB, it's biggest streamer on twitch looks like a child molester and the community is unfriendly to newcomers and kids in particular. There are 3 ways to play the game: Singleplayer, Pug-ing and playing with friends and guilds. Why should someone this young play WoW as a Singleplayer game when there are TONS of better, cheaper options on the market?
How could someone not be discouraged as a newcomer if he has to play with randoms all the time and get shit on in (leveling) dungeons, let alone m+? I remember when I started in WotLK, tanked as retri pala with tank aura until level 54 or so, then got flamed for something I had no clue I was doing wrong and lost interest immediatly.
And how many guilds are willing to play with <13 year olds? The only way you get a guild is if your parents play the game as well and then catering to the parents is more promising than catering to the child.

So yeah, there's no way to make WoW interesting to (young) newcomers anymore and any change to make WoW more "beginner-friendly" (story alone is not enough) will drive more people away than it attracts. That has already happened with the whole pruning affair, which was not that much of a success...

[CrawlFromThePit]

was just thinking about the direction of the most recent expansions and how in some cases the over-arching themes may still be mature or have some semblance "adult seriousness" ... the portrayal of the story, the direction of it and even the character development have been increasingly more kid-friendly. being that it is a video game and it's a fantasy setting and MMO kind of game, does WoW need to fully go PG in order to thrive? does it need to cater towards the age of demographic of, let's say, 8 - 13, primarily?

in essence, much similar to motion picture ratings and tv show ratings, remove heavy images of gore, remove swearing, remove sexually explicit imagery and even the implied variations of those things. to write more over the top/cartoony stories or characters (like how Bwonsamdi is portrayed) but with hints of seriousness.

my thoughts on it:

- it's much easier to catch the imagination of children/younger people in a fantasy MMO setting than it is for the majority of young adult/adult players.

-it is easier for children/younger people generally to not be so cynical towards the direction of the story/lore as well as the flow of balance of the game/classes/game systems.

now personally I do --not-- think Blizz needs to make WoW go full "PG" and they can afford to still cater to a more mature demographic of players ... yet it just feels like that is the ultimate direction of to take the game the other way.

in light of speculative news about Activision being balls deep in Blizz's creative process and dictating what to and what not do, i could imagine the best course of action is to target that younger demographic who are using their allowance money (or just mom and dad's credit card) to pay for this game per month, buy cool and funny things off the Blizz Store, and keep them engaged for years to come... whereas the more cynical and realistic thinking young adult/adult has no problem spending their money on another product/game.

i can't be the only one who feels this way? maybe i am.

The bigger problem is that in the world we live in, where people consume stuff at an insane rate, it's extremely difficult for an old game to get new players, and even harder if the game has to change to pierce in a new market. The chances of success in doing that are slim to none. They already made OW to target that demographic, they don't need to do it with WoW and they shouldn't.

[Video Games]

Varian got blown to bits while yelling in agony. Kid friendly

[Echeyakee]

Hm, maybe it should. In a way, for me personally, it always was.

Sure, there are a lot of serious themes being touched on through the lore and history of the games, like the enslavement of dragons, the experimentation on live people, the general implications of forsaken plague, war crimes and genocide, racism and implied horrors of old gods. But for some reason I've never taken them seriously, they have never really invoked any strong emotions in me.

Even during wc3 days, the story was more of a backdrop to custom games I've played, something to experience and them move on. And in wow there is no sense of impact, consequences, or stakes. There might be horrible things happening and the world is, once again, in danger, but for me it matters little, it's just the new coat of paint to what will be the exact same gameplay. For the players, it matters little what is happening in the world, 'cause they are still gonna go farming daily quests and reps, go raiding or doing dungeons, and maybe pvp a bit.

When Garrosh was going insane, persecuting any race that is not orc, specifically the whole goblin slums thing, I, as a goblin priest, felt no change. I was still free to do whatever, so as I've said, there was no impact. Or, more recently, when I followed Sylvanas' orders, as she was still the rightful warchief, and it all went sour, there were no consequences of my choice. I was not reprimanded in any way, despite actively supporting horrible acts. And it's not something I would of expected to happen, mind you. That is the limitation of trying to tell a story in mmo, because you still need to treat players equally. At the cost of feeling involved in the story in any meaningful way.

For me it's been akin to watching a kid's shenanigans. Something like "Aww, look at that new villain we have, isn't he adorable?" or "Oh Anduin, he's up to his depressed monologues again!".

So I do think that a more lighthearted approach will suit wow better. The zany style of Saturday morning cartoons, or maybe sitcom approach, where crazy things happen on regular basis, but at the end of the episode everything goes back to normal. Because that way the inherit flaw of telling a story in in mmo is less apparent, and players are simply free to enjoy the wacky adventures, not expecting any long term arcs.

But that is just my personal opinion, based on my view and experiences in the game.

[Onikaroshi]

PG-13 basically means no nudity or blood. Suggestions of sex are allowed but not actual sex, and you can have violence but it can't be graphic. PG is both things tuned down - violence is mostly just funny things and no sex, just kissing.

Not entirely true.

PG-13 from experience can have: Mild amounts of blood, generally no gore; One scene of exposed breast or nipple, but not extended shots; one use of the word "fuck" or similar.

PG can also have implied sex or motions of sex but no nudity.

[Granyala]

That would be a definite no, MMOs are not for 8 year olds.
The community factor alone sees to that.

You can control your content but you can't really control the community, so 12 and above makes sense.