I've never been a fan of World of Warcraft, and now there's something else to hate: World of Warcraft The Magazine.
Honestly, Blizzard execs are either gamblers or major idiots. Print is dying, magazine and newspaper companies are beginning to fail, but Blizzard wants to launch a whole new magazine for their game ... risky.
With nearly 12 million subscribers, the magazine definitely has a chance. There are plenty of people obsessed with the game, devoting their lives to the game, and now these people get to really bring a part of the game into their real lives. That's great.
The problem is ... there's nothing to write about. World of Warcraft is a pretty straight forward simple game, most people just grind for items all day long with their guild.
No one knows how this magazine will turn out, Blizzard hasn't even released an official press release yet. The official site for this magazine, when it is official, will be www.worldofwarcraftthemagazine.com (great name right? very creative...)
Blizzard should be more focused on their competition and the new MMORPGs being launched.
Here's one new MMORPG that should scare Blizzard execs:
Aion Online
Disagree with me? Then say so in the comments.
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Nazary Nebeluk
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... Oh man, this almost feels like a troll but here goes Firstly, print media isn't dieng. Yes it may be true that certain newspaper collapse under the costs of printing but the Wall Street Journal and New York Times are chugging along fine. Now that's a terrible analogy, but it's a start. Obviously WoW Mag woudn't sell the same amount of copies or to the same sources as those newspapers but if obscure music magazines like Verve and Amplification can survive in a world where CD sales are slumping and the music industry is in a "tailspin" then this mag can definelty find a niche. Especially among the over 13 million subscribed players in the world. And it's clear you never played WoW, because the game isnt straight forward. From talent specs, to gear builds, to cool lore there's lots of depth to the game. A magazine would allow the developers of the game to get to talk about a lot of their content for which no other media exists. They could present clear and well written articles that everyone could read at their leisure instead of posting up some forum garbage. Ultimately the whole thing feels like an April's Fool joke. They already have a monthly newsletter that does all this and the website you name doesn't lead anywhere. It just asks for a login. Im claiming phoney on the whole thing unless you can produce a source. It seems like a nice concept they could play around with, but I dont think it's happening. |
Nazary Nebeluk
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... Oh and Aion brings aboslutely nothing new to the MMO Genre besides the prettiest graphics, yet. Age of Conan was supposed to be the WoW Killer, and so was Warhammer, and the 4 Guild War expansions and every MMO from City of Heroes to Helloy Kitty Island Adventure. It's not gonna happen. WoW has a staying power no other game can emulate. |
Pan Chan
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... Do you really think print media isnt dying? Sure there are still plenty of magazines out there, but even these successful companies realize that print wont be around for much longer. Pretty much every magazine and newspaper I've seen is already putting up several of their feature articles on their website to attract more readers. Why would they do this if print was still going strong? The only future use for print material I see is as a "collector's item" which I guess would work for WoW. So sure there will be people who buy WoW Magazine just to collect it. But I still honestly dont see any real use for it. The game is simplistic and easy, Blizzard made it because they knew that would draw more players, and they were right. I dont know this from first hand experience (I've only played WoW in beta and for a random one week period a few months ago), that I'll admit, but I've known several hardcore players that got annoyed and left because Blizzard made the game easier with every patch. Am I right on this? It seems like you'd know since you play. The only other MMORPG i know of that has a magazine of any kind is EVE-Online. That magazine has been running for a while now, and it does have followers. But there is a huge difference between EVE-Online and a game like WoW. First of all, most of the people who play WoW are younger (compared to EVE at least). Second, events in EVE have a much bigger impact on the game because everyone is on one single server. So the magazine can actually talk about and interview people who seriously influenced the EVE world (go and google EVE EIB Scandal). With WoW, everyone is spread across several servers and while there are plenty of things to do in WoW (I agree with you there), none of it is difficult or overly complicated. The content in WoW can be and already is explained easily by the players themselves. As for this whole thing being a joke, I dont know, it could be. I realize the site doesnt work yet, but a quick search around will yield plenty of information about this magazine. flamewars ftw!  |
