Post by Morreion on Jul 9, 2021 21:10:52 GMT -5
The Game Archaeologist: Why 2008 was one of the wildest years for MMORPGs (Massively OP)
When the calendar flipped over into 2008, two factors started to converge to make for what we all assumed was going to be an epic throwdown. The first factor was a growing fatigue with World of Warcraft from broad sections of its playerbase. Remember that most MMOs at this time only offered subscriptions, causing many players to pick a single game to enjoy. And for around 10 million people, World of Warcraft was that title.
But the problem is that it had been that title now for over three years, and even with the subscriber count increasing during the Burning Crusade expansion, the churn was significant. There was a growing eagerness to branch out and try the Next Hot Thing.
That brings us to our other factor, which was not one but two up-and-coming MMORPGs positioning themselves as that Next Hot Thing. Funcom had been working on a follow-up to Anarchy Online with Age of Conan, a brutal, adult-oriented game that eschewed WoW’s cartoony nature for barbaric brawls. Meanwhile, Mythic Entertainment had grabbed the rights to make a Warhammer Fantasy online game, and was following up its own Dark Age of Camelot with another RvR game called Warhammer Online.
Both of these titles shared similar traits: They were made by established MMO developers, they were follow-ups, they drew off of powerful geek IPs, and they were angling for more of an edgy, mature tone. While we are now looking at this situation in hindsight, it’s vital to understand how large both Age of Conan and Warhammer Online loomed over the MMORPG industry at the start of 2008.
People still assumed that World of Warcraft was the new normal rather than an extreme outlier, and so there was a lot of expectations that a really well-done modern MMO could break Blizzard’s stranglehold on the industry. So the confluence of bored WoW players and two exciting WoW alternatives meant that a showdown was in the making.
But the problem is that it had been that title now for over three years, and even with the subscriber count increasing during the Burning Crusade expansion, the churn was significant. There was a growing eagerness to branch out and try the Next Hot Thing.
That brings us to our other factor, which was not one but two up-and-coming MMORPGs positioning themselves as that Next Hot Thing. Funcom had been working on a follow-up to Anarchy Online with Age of Conan, a brutal, adult-oriented game that eschewed WoW’s cartoony nature for barbaric brawls. Meanwhile, Mythic Entertainment had grabbed the rights to make a Warhammer Fantasy online game, and was following up its own Dark Age of Camelot with another RvR game called Warhammer Online.
Both of these titles shared similar traits: They were made by established MMO developers, they were follow-ups, they drew off of powerful geek IPs, and they were angling for more of an edgy, mature tone. While we are now looking at this situation in hindsight, it’s vital to understand how large both Age of Conan and Warhammer Online loomed over the MMORPG industry at the start of 2008.
People still assumed that World of Warcraft was the new normal rather than an extreme outlier, and so there was a lot of expectations that a really well-done modern MMO could break Blizzard’s stranglehold on the industry. So the confluence of bored WoW players and two exciting WoW alternatives meant that a showdown was in the making.
Ahhh, the good old days when a new AAA MMO came out every year. I miss those times.
