BlizzCon is less than a month away and I'm actually somewhat excited about it. I've never cared too much about the event itself, but I do like the buzz it generates, and it's always interesting to watch the newest WoW expansion cinematic. (I used to check that out even while I wasn't playing WoW.) My favourite was probably BlizzCon 2018, when we got more news about the impending release of Classic, as well as an early playable demo that people could access even from home.
Maybe it's because I'm feeling more invested in WoW again recently, but I can't help but feel that this BlizzCon is going to be a big one for Blizzard, after a four-year break thanks to the pandemic, the company's reputation seemingly hitting rock-bottom, and a lot of general player discontent after Shadowlands.
I was quite surprised when I got a pop-up on Battle.net the other day that invited me to buy BlizzCon tickets, because I thought those things always sold out within minutes - as it turns out, they usually do and the first two waves did as well, but then they added what was supposed to be a third "wave" and demand simply wasn't there, meaning the wave just turned into a placid sea of unsold tickets, much to the consternation of the BlizzCon subreddit. There are other factors involved in this that may not have anything to do with a general lack of interest, such as the chosen venue apparently having more space than before and ticket prices having increased substantially, but... it does make you think.
Specifically, the thing I keep thinking about is that even if they manage to avoid any outright PR disasters this time, there's still a lot of room to simply put on a disappointing show. Like I said in my "What's Next for WoW Classic?" post from February, Wrath Classic transitioning into Cataclysm seems pretty likely, but while I'm sure that there are plenty of people who'll play that, I really struggle to picture its announcement being something that crowds of fans would cheer for and get excited about. Meanwhile, I've seen the Classic community get increasingly hyped up about the idea of "Classic+" again - something I still don't expect to happen, but all that hopium would make a plain old Cata Classic announcement an even bigger disappointment in comparison.
The retail community has a similar dilemma in my opinion. About a month ago, Wilhelm made a post about what the next retail WoW expansion could be, and in it he expressed surprise at how vehemently some people were opposed to the idea of a pirate theme, something that seemed like a "perfectly cromulent suggestion" to him (and which also taught me a new word - thanks!) However, Dragonflight is also a perfectly good - I would even say much better than expected - expansion... yet the lack of grand announcements about its success seems to indicate that in a post-Shadowlands world, simply making another "perfectly acceptable" expansion isn't enough anymore to excite the legions of current and former WoW players.
Instead I've seen a lot of speculation about another "world revamp" - never mind that Blizzard seems unlikely to ever want to do another Cataclysm - plus I'm not even sure the majority of players would actually love to see one all that much, considering how many people flat out ignored the revamped old world in Cata. Either way, my point is that people aren't simply longing for another trip to a newly discovered land mass where we gain a few levels via questing and then tackle a new raid. They want something extraordinary that will excite them in a way that Dragonflight apparently hasn't.
Another factor that has been fuelling all this hype has been the return of Chris Metzen - something that is completely going over my head, as I had played no other Blizzard game before World of Warcraft, and I think the first time his name came to my attention was in the context of people talking about characters in WoW being modelled after him - such as one of the Christmas quests centring on Metzen the reindeer, or how he was supposedly treating Thrall as his personal self-insert - things that are neither here nor there in terms of his skill as a storyteller. Not to mention that I was starting to have issues with WoW's storytelling long before he originally left Blizzard, and have actually been enjoying it more again recently...
Ultimately I foresee one of two different outcomes for this year's BlizzCon. In one, Blizzard mostly remains tone-deaf to the hopes of the dedicated fans and announces a very generic new WoW expansion alongside Classic Cata. The Metzen project might turn out to be something wholly unrelated to WoW itself, such as a Warcraft TV show or a Warcraft 4 RTS. All of these would be of interest to some people, but wouldn't bring players back to WoW en masse.
The other option is that they actually do something unexpected with retail WoW, Classic or both. Now, the problem here is that Blizzard has historically been rather conservative with these things, espousing an attitude of "we know what works so we'll just keep doing that". Even in their better days, they were known for refining things, not being innovators. That's precisely why we thought WoW Classic was never going to become a reality... but then it did, so they're capable of defying expectations sometimes.
In a similar vein, I feel like Dragonflight has been rather revolutionary in terms of just how much Blizzard has been willing to deviate from old design mantras with it. I mean, they put an auction house in Valdrakken, for Christ's sake! Plus I love that they're clearly treating Dragonriding as a feature that's here to stay and have been working on integrating it into the rest of the game, which would make it the most "permanent" addition to the game since Mist of Pandaria's pet battles. (I mean, Garrisons are technically still in the game, but clearly not intended to be used anymore.) With that in mind, I wouldn't totally put it beyond them to come up with something out of left field, like a housing expansion, something that's long been on the "nah, never gonna do that" pile. I do remember hearing Ian say in an interview a few years ago that they were aware that this was something players want, but that it would be a bigger project that would take a lot of time... could that time be now?
I'm not saying that I'd personally want a housing expansion in specific - I'm not even that much of a housing enthusiast in other games to be honest. But I do like the idea of being surprised, and of Blizzard showing that they aren't completely creatively bankrupt and still willing to try something new every now and then. I'm just not at all convinced that they're up to it.
Posts
Why is leaving comments so hard for Google? I have spent more time trying to leave this comment than I spent writing it. I had to open up Chrome to do it eventually.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I do go back and forth between "Has Blizz run out of ideas for WoW?" and "EQ is coming up on expansion 30! Pull it together Blizz!"
WoW is very much in a position where it is unlikely to be able to do anything that would bring in a million new players. But there are tens of millions of people who have played WoW and catering to them, already somewhat invested in WoW, feels like the only right path.
Of course, WoW Classic has been doing that for four years now.
But they could take the time to do a new major game system like housing and find it to be a draw even if the adventure side of such an expansion was a little less lore heavy. As long as you get 5 dungeons and however many raids, you're good on that front, right? Right?
I'm also a little mixed on Metzen. He is from the golden era, so Yay! But he also oversaw his share of stinkers and he is mire in WoW of the past as you note. Still, he could bring some spice that would appear to that installed base.
I appreciate that you made the effort to comment. I actually struggled for several minutes myself just now to leave this reply... I really wish Google would sort that out.
DeleteI'm having a decent time playing two versions of WoW casually, but I've seen a lot of comments from lapsed players about how they are just not enticed to come back unless there's some major change. So there's definitely a feeling of ennui in the air, with WoW still being reasonably popular, but rapidly declining in cultural relevance. And while I agree that they're not going to attract millions of new players at this point, it does feel like they could be doing a lot better.
Weird. I don't have that issue, but it might be a Wordpress vs. Google issue.
DeleteIt appeared to largely due to Blogger rejecting Firefox as a browser. I had to go to Chrome to get Blogger to acknowledge that I was logged in.
DeleteI also use Firefox, but sometimes it works fine. Conversely, I've had the same login issue when trying to comment on Edge. 🤷
DeleteI'm a bit leery about Chris Metzen coming back to Wow. I'd rather the Dragonflight team try to go their own way than to recycle the things Chris Metzen used to do. He's had his time with the game, so let us see what new voices can do.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Classic goes, I suspect Blizzard will follow the pattern of offering old expansions until either one old expansion tanks or they catch up to the expansion just before retail. Then I could see them restarting the whole process with Vanilla or Burning Crusade. I don't see them doing a Classic+ as that would likely need as many people to develop as Retail currently uses and I don't think Wow makes enough profit to support two teams of that size these days.
All this said, while my enthusiasm for Wow has reached 'meh' levels, I will likely resub for the next expansion just to see it. I have a feeling I'm now a part of that bit of the player base who checks in for a bit and then leaves until the next expansion. A nostalgia junkie I guess. ^_^
Yeah, Metzen deserves a lot of credit but at the same time he oversaw his fair share of nonsense storylines, and I feel the last thing the game needs right now is to go back to old formulas. We'll see what exactly he's supposed to be up to.
DeleteAnd your prediction for Classic is basically the formulaic path... and while I don't believe in Classic+ either, I do wish they'd come up with something more, e.g. a way to transfer between the two modes or something. Just anything to show that they're not just milking the nostalgia with minimal effort.
I'm not a fan of Chris rejoining the WoW team either. For all the people who are happy that Chris is back, it needs to be said that he was large and in charge when Warlords dropped. And that the focus on the player as found in the recent iterations of Retail WoW came about when Chris ran things as well. So I don't really expect much of anything to change from a World of Warcraft perspective. Retail is basically, well, Retail, and if you deviate from the formula that has been handed down for a decade or more, you risk losing the people who are left. If you want to make changes, you have to create an entirely new iteration of the game. Not Classic, not Classic+, and not Retail. Maybe a WoW2, but I think they're better off going battle royale or mobile. I hate saying that, but that's where the money is, we gamers' opinions notwithstanding. For all the terrible takes on Diablo Immortal, it has made Blizz a ton of money, and the suits will want more of that.
DeleteI've heard much about Chris Metzen's return but hardly anyone has mentioned the "Executive" in his new job title. This likely means that he's not a decision maker but a consultant, someone the team can call on, or not, to advise them. In the same way Spielberg was an Executive Producer on the new Indiana Jones movie but in practice he had very little involvement in it. Any Metzen is better than no Metzen but I don't expect major changes as a result of this hire.
ReplyDeleteAs for Dragonflight, I often see YouTubers and influencers raving about how good this expansion is but I'm not convinced. Yes, Dragonriding is great and yes the content is more frequent but it's still the exact same formula as every expansion since Legion. Every patch is now a variant on Legion Invasions, with it's own currency, it's own rep grind and gear that's out of date by the launch of the next patch. Honestly, outside of a radical (and risky) major overhaul, I don't think there's much that can be done to bring back players like myself that have quit during Dragonflight.
And if they are going to overhaul the game then perhaps it's time for a WoW2. Subs have probably dropped low enough for Blizzard to be considering this as a possibility now. Risky move though so they might limp along for one more expansion first.
I'm not sure if that's what you meant to do, but it sounds to me like you agree with me on many WoW fans wanting something bigger out of the next expansion? Things like the gear resetting every patch is not something I like personally either, but I'm not paying too much attention to gear at my casual level, and this is something that's been in the game since Wrath of the Lich King, so I wouldn't specifically mark Dragonflight down for it. At lot of people liked or at least have been content enough with that sort of system for a long time.
DeleteWoW 2 is an even bigger pipe dream than Vanilla+ and I don't think it'll ever happen. The current game is so massive in terms of world and content, creating a new version would require a huge time and money investment with no guaranteed pay-off.
Yep, I broadly agreed with most of your points though I'm more optimistic than you are in regard to WoW 2 or Classic+. I think the latter is certain to happen, along with various variations on rulesets and progression servers. And WoW 2? I think it's a very serious possibility for an announcement at next years Blizzcon/WoW's 20th anniversary (I also think they'll be a Starcraft 3 announcement next year). They'd be daft not too. But Blizzcon is just days away so let's see how foolish I look by the end of the week :)
Delete