New and old MMO games challenging WoW anew
World of Warcraft (WoW) is definitely the strongest and most successful MMO video game out there today. This is not say though that there is no competition. Truth be told, there was a general feeling around the industry during the start of WoW‘s dominance that developers should stay away from the genre in the mean time.
But it looks like things are changing now. As BBC reported, there are other games out there other than WoW that belong to the same genre. And we can’t help but agree. Even Funcom game director Gaute Godoger agrees. Currently, Funcom is in the last stages of development for Age of Conan and it’s planning to give Blizzard a run for its money. Godoger commented,
We need other strong games that can make people understand that there’s more to it than WoW. It’s for adults. We did not want to be a teen-rated game, we wanted to have the possibility of making a game that takes the licence seriously. Players want to be more active in combat and know that their skill as a player matters.
Aside from Funcom, Codemasters is in a very good position now to take some slice off WoW‘s user base with the release of The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar a couple of weeks ago. Just like Conan, Codemasters is hoping that the lore’s installed fan base will be drawn to the game. According to VP and GM David Solari,
Having that brand or licence is very valuable for getting a ready-made audience. The very least you have to do is make a great game. For the first time we have allowed players to shape Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Players want something they can feel they can own themselves.
Lastly, LucasArts is looking to make a comeback in the MMO genre as several changes and revamps are being planned to Star Wars Galaxies. It was released back in 2003 and is also relying heavily on the license’s strength. Galaxies Producer Jake Neri commented that while they are happy with WoW‘s success, they are pretty sure that their game will remain a strong competitor,
The player base for MMO games has exploded. We see new people trying the game all the time. Galaxies was one of the first MMOs.There was no handbook on how to do these things. They make the place come alive, just by their playing style.
Via BBC
World of Warcraft (WoW) is definitely the strongest and most successful MMO video game out there today. This is not say though that there is no competition. Truth be told, there was a general feeling around the industry during the start of WoW‘s dominance that developers should stay away from the genre in the mean time.
But it looks like things are changing now. As BBC reported, there are other games out there other than WoW that belong to the same genre. And we can’t help but agree. Even Funcom game director Gaute Godoger agrees. Currently, Funcom is in the last stages of development for Age of Conan and it’s planning to give Blizzard a run for its money. Godoger commented,
We need other strong games that can make people understand that there’s more to it than WoW. It’s for adults. We did not want to be a teen-rated game, we wanted to have the possibility of making a game that takes the licence seriously. Players want to be more active in combat and know that their skill as a player matters.
Aside from Funcom, Codemasters is in a very good position now to take some slice off WoW‘s user base with the release of The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar a couple of weeks ago. Just like Conan, Codemasters is hoping that the lore’s installed fan base will be drawn to the game. According to VP and GM David Solari,
Having that brand or licence is very valuable for getting a ready-made audience. The very least you have to do is make a great game. For the first time we have allowed players to shape Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Players want something they can feel they can own themselves.
Lastly, LucasArts is looking to make a comeback in the MMO genre as several changes and revamps are being planned to Star Wars Galaxies. It was released back in 2003 and is also relying heavily on the license’s strength. Galaxies Producer Jake Neri commented that while they are happy with WoW‘s success, they are pretty sure that their game will remain a strong competitor,
The player base for MMO games has exploded. We see new people trying the game all the time. Galaxies was one of the first MMOs.There was no handbook on how to do these things. They make the place come alive, just by their playing style.
Via BBC
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