Originally Posted by
Thage
Aye. As much as one will catch me hustling for FFXIV (it's a genuinely-enjoyable game, IMO), and as much as Blizz seems to be treating them quite seriously as competition (to the point of mirroring their 77-day patch cycle to Blizz's best effort), and as much as they're really the only other big dog in pay-to-play at the moment, it still tops out at I think 1.5-2mil registered accounts. FFXIV didn't have the perfect storm opportunity and it's still fighting the negative impact 1.0 had on its reputation.
Meanwhile, a post-BFA expansion that marries the best concepts of Classic and retail, I think, could see a return to form. Almost definitely not a 12-million return to form, but a resurgent audience nonetheless. And that's what's really got me happy Classic is happening. It's a control group, a static snapshot of the game where you can study and see what holds the test of time over years, something you can't really get with a two-year expansion cycle and large systems changes every expansion. Well, that and historical preservation--the game had a huge impact on the gaming industry and helping push games as social hubs and games as art as concepts. Anything of historical significance needs to be preserved, and WoW 1.X is no different.