World of Warcraft more than just a game?

Ya know... there was a game called EverQuest... released say... 7 years ago... That they were saying the exact same things over. I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day with all the same MMO fears/comments/analyzing over WoW that I did over EverQuest in 2000. Aren't we done realizing that yes it's a new world, socializing, sex, and marriage occur through it, and the future of it will be much more immersive than today? Oi...

hmmm, I'm debating whether or not I want to see some of those wedding photos or not.

Either really funny, or really sad, or both, or there's a ice cube's chance in hell that there's a hot wife, but I doubt it. Hot chicks don't live in their mom's basement.

"In 20 or 30 years...there will be a world that fits the fantasy of any life you want to lead"

Oh brother... What VISION he has! 20-30 years from now, I want less WoW, more JETPACKS!

It's still just a game, and everything else after it will be. But labeling something a "game" doesn't mean it's just strictly for entertainment purposes; the word "game" itself takes on totally new meaning

"Tennis" is just a game. But there are tons of clubs for that game, opportunities to meet people through them, and it's a very open and social activity. That's where games like WoW are heading (or are at)- they are sort of the online version of the weekend tennis game (or 24/7 game if you want Rank 14 :) )

WoW itself is very open. It's not a super traditional fantasy game, most gamers are familiar with the Warcraft Universe or Blizzard, and like them. To me that has been the key to WoW's success- the graphics and world are open to any newbie or type of gamer, not just strict pencil/paper RPGers


You can meet your future wife or husband through a game of tennis, or even at a tennis event, and already have something great in common. The same with WoW and other games where you can "meet", socialize, have fun, and maybe take it higher

"Either really funny, or really sad, or both, or there's a ice cube's chance in hell that there's a hot wife, but I doubt it. Hot chicks don't live in their mom's basement."

~You'd be suprised.
1) The demographic for MMOs are generally way higher in age than other games, so usually they live on their own.
2) Tons and TONS of housewives play MMOs to kill time and get some variety in life. The more that play, the chances go up of attractive females playing.
3) Just because you play a game, doesn't mean you're ugly. Good to know you have a third grade mentality over this. Check any like EQFaces type website and look through the female photos. Everyday average females, not the hideous beasts like their male counterparts that delve into MMOs or RPing are.

I believe the "in 20 or 30 years" thing was covered in an anime.. hrmm.. .hack//SIGN? Several times the characters complain that the lines of virtual and reality are becoming more and more unclear. And the main character ends up meeting up with another character in real life by the end.. they're both female, but whatever floats your boat, wheelchair-girl @_@

Actually, I know several people who have met in MMOs and then IRL, and have great relationships now. I used to essay-roleplay with a bunch of people around the world several years ago, to this day, we still stay in contact with each other.

People look down upon meeting others "on the internet" but isn't the internet's purpose to make the world smaller so you CAN meet all those people you otherwise would never have known existed? That's my take on the internet, though its not like I'm looking for an active relationship, I like mine the way it is, but I'm always into more friends.

To use another line said in .hack//SIGN a lot (important: a LOT) 'to each his own.' d=

"there will be a world that fits the fantasy of any life you want to lead"

Whatever happed to chasing our dreams in real life? You know, a little thing called The American Dream! So, instead of trying to better our real lives, we'll just buy our fantasy life in a game?

"...with fuzzier and fuzzier lines between virtual and physical realms."

Makes me think about the "Furry" culture...fuzzy.

The MMO players in general and WOW players particularly are an embarrassment to the rest of us casual gamers. I wish they would stop printing stories like this…

"Whatever happed to chasing our dreams in real life? You know, a little thing called The American Dream! So, instead of trying to better our real lives, we'll just buy our fantasy life in a game?"

~What's wrong with having the option to chase ANOTHER dream other than the one that's right for you? As earlier mentioned, to each their own. What sounds like a grand life to you (having two kids, white picket fence, house in suburbia... the "american dream"), sounds like shit to others. Maybe someone wishes they could live on Middle-Earth(who hasnt at one point?). Well now that option would be viable for them. *shrugs* life is whatever you want, you really hold no right to judge or discourage someone from doing what they feel will make them happy. Hell, look at the Matrix, there's always the possibility we are already living in a virtual world. You say "that's just a movie!", but there's honestly no way of telling. What we feel is real is simply impulses of the brain. If you can choose the world around you to make yourself feel content and whole, why would you not?

I'm inclined to agree with #4 (Ahms).

Name me even ONE activity where people DON'T try to be social?

Find me a SINGLE activity that has NEVER been used to get laid, find a date, get hitched, etc.

Bars, clubs, concerts, chatting, BBQs, church, videogames, parties.....they are all the same.

If you get people together (even virtually), they will (virtually)interact. It's really that simple.

Interaction --> attraction --> intimacy --> commitment.

Seriously, people. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

christopher7xii, Everquest sat at roughly 450,000 people during its heyday, WoW is sitting at 7 million. Sure the analysis may be a rehash but Everquest never took that information mainstream the way WoW has.

Amen to what Ahms (#4) said.

But seriously, why just WoW?

Penthouse MMORPG... I'll see ya in 20 years!

I once "heard" a wise man say, from within a virtual world: "This world exists at the sufference of the real one."

I'm as gung-ho about these virtual spaces as anyone, but let's be realistic here. People won't be able to "live" in a virtual world so long as reality is out there to forcibly pull them back, by requiring they eat, sleep, and earn a living.

You guys should rent the movie Brazil.

The human brain can fight off reality pretty well.

"World of Warcraft more than just a game?"
Yes. World of Warcraft... is a Feeling
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c5Ru0X9G7GU

Thank you, #16. I was just going to bring up that movie. :)
On another tack, no one said that people were going to be widely *substituting* game environments for the real world. It's more of a supplimentary inclusion (for most, anyway). Add to that the fact that people don't go into WoW purely looking for the social interaction - there are chat rooms for that. Scorn thos if you must, but at least there are other elements to engaging in MMOs. Plus, not all of the social interaction is with people you don't know. I started out playing because a friend of mine did, who I didn't get to see very often. Before I knew it, I had my boyfriend playing it with me, and now even my roommate/best friend and I will spend some evenings with our laptops playing from within (gasp) the very same room!
Certainly there are some sad, sad losers to be found in the game world, and some definite idiots (how i mine for fish?), but who can't find those out in the real world - especially in what you might call an acceptable social-interaction situation, like a party or a baseball game?
None of these things are more dangerous or more strange than the other. Some people just aren't used to them yet. So while people who go to bars and clubs may be uncomfortable trying to interact in a virtual world, it's for that *exact same reason* - not some loserish lack of skill - that people interacting in MMOs don't feel comfortable in bars or clubs.