The End of Warcraft? Whats Next?

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 9:11 AM

We are on the brink of something new and exciting.   Less than 48 hours from now players will be jumping into new computerized habitats.   Taking on new challenges and new frontiers.   Mists of Pandaria will be open wide to show the best that the designers,  graphic artists,  quest developers and minds at Blizzard have to offer.

Along for the ride will also be the detractors from Blizzard.   With the simplification of the game to many long time players,  Blizzard is taking a chance with Mists of Pandaria in its simplification of a long standing titan of a game.   It wants to remain the granddaddy of the MMORPG games and beat down the competitors that are nipping at it's heels.

For Warcraft to survive it will have to again be the innovator of the gaming world that it has been for years.   Games such as Rifts and it's event system,  Cities of Heroes with it's complex character creation system have opened up the eyes of gamers to what a massively multiplayer game could be.  Games that present a Free to Play system have challenged the old ideas of a subscription based 
system.

The naysayers have unofficially announced that Mists of Pandaria will be the end of World of Warcraft. 
Blizzard at times have shown a reluctance to make changes from time to time with the basic structure 
of the game itself.  With players clamoring for faster updates,  more content and better challenges 
they will continually go to where their hunger is satisfied.  Whether that is continuing with World of
Warcraft or searching for other games to feed on.

Here at JMTC central I don't believe it is all that dire of an outlook.   We are less than 
48 hours from that experience that ever player receives with each expansion.  
The Oooo and Ahhh of new lands.  Of the joys and Frustrations of new monsters and new quests.   
The new lore that always interests me when I read it for the first time.  That genuine excitement that
I get when I open up my first Christmas gift of the year for myself.


There will always be critics to anything creative.   Sometimes they are right,  sometimes they are wrong.
But they will always exist no matter how something is presented.   The proof will be the players that
stay with the long running champ.   That fill up the boards with how awesome a game can still be no 
matter how old it is.

This doesn't mean I don't believe that Blizzard needs to keep changing.   They cannot remain in stagnant
thought that some games fall into.   Creative boss mechanics and quests along with tapping into other
sucessful parts of other games can bring the necessary boost into the product.   New graphics 
technologies will bring a new sensation to players views of the World of Warcraft.

But if Blizzard chooses to live on its laurels and not continue to lead in MMORPG innovation,  it will
fall by the wayside and become it's own WOW killer.

Good Luck and Good Hunting