The WOW Factor

In the 1980s, the Japanese Auto Makers burst on the scene and revolutionized the car industry. They didn't do this by offering anything new, or by creating a paradigm shift. They simply offered a better product. These cars were more reliable, better made, and with more options for less price. Americans started to purchase their vehicles en masse and it created a panic within the Big Three US auto companies. The Big Three in turn made wholesale changes and re-engineered their cars to be competitive with the much more reliable and better made Japanese ones.

World of Warcraft is the MMORPG equivalent of what happened to the Big 3. Right now there are a few dominant MMOs, that have been staying in cruise control. When WOW is released, the industry will have to combat a stunning, well coded, detailed re-engineered MMO masterpiece. Once Blizzard releases their baby, I predict many will flock to it for the same reasons they bought Toyota's and Honda's, it is a better product.

There is no revolution or wholesale design change when one looks at WOW. It offers many of the things that Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot offer. What differentiates WOW from these two, is it has fixed the problems that plagued many, and is a far superior product. The graphics are nice and do not require a Cray to run. The quests are done much, much better. The land and immersion is superior.

Worlds of Warcraft will not kill any of the big MMO players. Mainly because these games are not about the world, but moreso about the people one is playing with. However, it will hurt them and cause them to look closely and makes changes to try and stay competitive.

At the end of the day, WOW will release not only a single powerful MMO, but it will cascade changes across the board and advance the genre moreso than if it were something completely different.