First there is the 800 pound gorilla in the room called World of Warcraft. Then there a myriad little insect like
bites coming from the micro transaction free to play MMOs. So can a game company even make a mark with all this competition? I would say yes the can. WoW is ailing, lets not mince words, it was a exceptionally done MMO for its time, however, it suffers from a lack of innovation at this point. Don't mistake me for thinking that WoW won't survive, no game will be a WoW killer. People have invested their lives into that game, many of them will keep playing just because of that. So WoW will remain good, if not exceptional, but it will just be a 400 pound gorilla in the room instead of the 800 pound beast it is now.
The question is can any game recreate the magic and amass a sizable fan base before some inevitable WoW
2 comes along? We have seen licensed games that hoped to appeal to a player base come out, notably Warhammer and Star Trek, but both failed to recreate the magic. Undoubtedly, this was partly because both had flaws(to me both appeared to be rushed out before the game was fully fleshed out). I put the jury out on Lord of the Rings until the free service launches. However, the greatest competitors to WoW in my mind were the games that took the MMO genre turned it on its head. Guild Wars, for example, did the whole axing of service fees, which it helped it stand out. Then there is devoted fan base of EVE Online, which I think is a amazing concept that is poorly executed, but that's a thought for a another day.
So whats on the horizon of MMO's that has got me interested? Well for starters there is Guild Wars 2, which I
think could be the best thing since sliced bread. Dynamic action oriented game play? Yes please! However, that seems to be the same drumming as the much lampooned Tabula Rasa, which barely lived before going belly up. Then there is the new hopefully for the title of 800 pound gorilla, Star Wars: The Old Republic. From what I've seen this is the one that is going to feel the most like WoW, but I am hypothesizing. With that said its got three things going for it: interesting game mechanics (like a cover system), a powerhouse company that is known for the excellent settings it creates and an universal IP way more powerful then the original Warcraft. Finally there is my sentimental favorite DC Universe Online. So its in the hands of a company that has yet to make a standout MMO since the original Everquest over 10 years ago (well I suppose Free Realms is popular, if not what I would consider a real MMO). But come on, its got, literally, an all star cast. And Mark Hamill voicing the Joker, once again. Fuck Yeah.
