So, what's with this forum's hatred of Shadowlands?

[Kyphael]

That's part of the problem. People have been acculturated to brand loyalty. That's a toxic consumer feedback loop, because it skips the quality checks that should make for discerning consumers, and would be responsible purchasing behavior. As a result, many brands have realized that it's not about the product but about the branding and the marketing, meaning they now pump all their money into better selling mediocre products than into making better products. That was the core promise of a market economy, and it's being undermined by people too complacent to demand quality.

Ultimately, WoW is the way it is because we allow it. And the argument of "well it sucks but there's nothing better around I guess" really doesn't fly anymore in a world of overabundance like today; at least for most people. All that's needed is a shift in consumer behavior, i.e. overcoming the laziness of complacency and seeing what else is out there. We only have so much time, but there's never been more ways to fill it; and we really don't need to let companies get away with mediocrity.

Without going too far off topic, it's the price we pay for becoming a fat cat society. Even looking for engaging entertainment can be a chore now. It's as much a societal issue as it is a consumer issue. It's much easier picking up the next WoW expansion, whether it's rotten or not, then seeing what else is out there, as much as it is going through McDonalds drive-thru instead of either making your ideal burger or finding one that's actually delicious.

We want content now, as quickly as possible, without having to think much about it to fill the allotted free time we have so we think we're enjoying it, when in many cases, it's not the case, because as quickly as people finish consuming something, they turn around to criticize it to whoever will listen, be it online, or in person.

WoW has its place, and it's earned it because people continue to buy it, so they get what they deserve, but like McDonalds, boy does it suck.

[Biomega]

Without going too far off topic, it's the price we pay for becoming a fat cat society. Even looking for engaging entertainment can be a chore now. It's as much a societal issue as it is a consumer issue. It's much easier picking up the next WoW expansion, whether it's rotten or not, then seeing what else is out there, as much as it is going through McDonalds drive-thru instead of either making your ideal burger or finding one that's actually delicious.

We want content now, as quickly as possible, without having to think much about it to fill the allotted free time we have so we think we're enjoying it, when in many cases, it's not the case, because as quickly as people finish consuming something, they turn around to criticize it to whoever will listen, be it online, or in person.

WoW has its place, and it's earned it because people continue to buy it, so they get what they deserve, but like McDonalds, boy does it suck.

I'd say most of that is a convenient myth. It really is not hard or time-intensive to find alternative products, it's just psychological reluctance to abandon known brands. The effort isn't the problem, the thinking is. In other words, people would rather stick with the old than taste the new - even if that is more work or more expensive. Which is the weirdest part of it all.

That's just a result of the way brands have integrated themselves into the substrate of identity formation, and it's why so many people get so irrationally upset when someone disagrees with them on a product they enjoy. It's a tribalistic defense mechanism kicking in because the brands have managed to embed themselves in people's personal identities - you attack the brand, the person feels attacked as well. A more cynical outlook would be that people don't want to hear flaws about products they've invested themselves in because that makes them look foolish for supporting a product with flaws; but I think that's just an overcomplication and some ideological pareidolia. It's just a very basic psychological mechanism of belonging, and of defending the in-group, nothing more complicated than that. It's just that products have managed to sneak into that kind of in-group thinking through branding to hijack that mechanism.

But it's not really all that hard to break free from that kind of habit. It's not like this is some kind of mind control. It's just an exploitation of a psychological blind spot, and once you shift perspective even a little bit, things come into focus again and you can avoid them with relative ease.

[Kyphael]

I'd say most of that is a convenient myth. It really is not hard or time-intensive to find alternative products, it's just psychological reluctance to abandon known brands. The effort isn't the problem, the thinking is. In other words, people would rather stick with the old than taste the new - even if that is more work or more expensive. Which is the weirdest part of it all.

That's just a result of the way brands have integrated themselves into the substrate of identity formation, and it's why so many people get so irrationally upset when someone disagrees with them on a product they enjoy. It's a tribalistic defense mechanism kicking in because the brands have managed to embed themselves in people's personal identities - you attack the brand, the person feels attacked as well. A more cynical outlook would be that people don't want to hear flaws about products they've invested themselves in because that makes them look foolish for supporting a product with flaws; but I think that's just an overcomplication and some ideological pareidolia. It's just a very basic psychological mechanism of belonging, and of defending the in-group, nothing more complicated than that. It's just that products have managed to sneak into that kind of in-group thinking through branding to hijack that mechanism.

But it's not really all that hard to break free from that kind of habit. It's not like this is some kind of mind control. It's just an exploitation of a psychological blind spot, and once you shift perspective even a little bit, things come into focus again and you can avoid them with relative ease.

The same exploitative sales and marketing ploys employed on children to buy shiny new things of little or no substance and questionable quality. Funnily enough, WoW can no longer hold a young adult or child's attention nowadays, but it's good at doing it to the loyal aging subscriber-base and the few new players it might have engaged in recent years. I don't even know what point I'm trying to make without being unintentionally insulting anymore.

[Biomega]

The same exploitative sales and marketing ploys employed on children to buy shiny new things of little or no substance and questionable quality. Funnily enough, WoW can no longer hold a young adult or child's attention nowadays, but it's good at doing it to the loyal aging subscriber-base and the few new players it might have engaged in recent years. I don't even know what point I'm trying to make without being unintentionally insulting anymore.

Well the point is, WoW isn't alone in that. That WoW can't capture new, young gamers is mostly due to the fact that it's over 20 years old. None of those people were even alive when WoW came out. That's not really surprising, and in fact it's more surprising that people say this as if to imply that somehow a 20+ year-old video game should be expected to do that. It's a ludicrous notion from the get-go.

That being said WoW does have a new-player problem in that it is too bloated and convoluted and poorly designed for a contemporary title, but that's beyond the target audience. It would never attract 12-15 year olds in any event.