Riccitiello: Warhammer won't rival World of Warcraft
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Jun 22nd 2008 at 3:30PM }
Serving as the CEO for a high-profile game publisher means having responsibilities beyond just attending the occasional meeting or PR function. Many gaming industry executives also find themselves moonlighting as Flavor Flav-esque hype men (and women) for their company's blockbuster releases. Then again, some leaders take a different approaching to promoting their big titles, replacing boisterous claims with cautious, realistic optimism. Then there's a third group of leaders, who etch their upcoming games into their flesh.
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello fits neatly into group number two, as his comments to a group of investors concerning EA Mythic's upcoming Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning demonstrates. Riccitiello plainly stated that "Warhammer Online [will be] a strong entry in the MMORPG space," but will not "rival WoW." We appreciate Riccitiello's candor, but with Warhammer out of the running, we're beginning to wonder what it will take for a title to knock Blizzard's billion-dollar baby from its position atop the crest of the MMO dogpile.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
OMGOMG @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:40PM
The only thing that will dethrone WoW is WoW 2.
Josh Warner @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:15PM
There will never be a WoW 2; Blizzard has made this pretty clear with the expansions (all of which amount to a huge overhaul and practically a new game). Just take a gander at WotLK, they are drastically changing the 'old world' of Azeroth with that patch. How this affects all 20 people who haven't upgraded to Burning Crusade or WotLK is unclear.
They've even said that at some point (not WotLK) there will probably be a graphical overhaul of the client. Being brutally honest, graphical overhaul + new content pretty much sums up the appeal of 95%+ of all sequels (I'm really staring at you, Madden, but this applies to most). If Blizzard can keep doing this in expansions and even patches, there is no real need for them to release a WoW 2.
Also, the grammar nazi forces me to point out that in the first sentence, it should be "...comments ... demonstrate." rather than demonstrates.
jynxycat @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:42PM
WoW will dethrone itself over time, as did EQ.
UltimateQ @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:17PM
That is fairly logical. I never even thought about that.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:29PM
What do you mean, that it will introduce unpopular content? Or that it will become boring and have a drastically reduced amount of subscribers?
jynxycat @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:47AM
Both.
Look at DAoC, EQ, or Ultima.
All were immensely popular for their time, and did nothing but implode on themselves.
Bigfoot @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:43PM
I think the only thing that could WoW from #1 would be a Pokémon MMO.
Bigfoot @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:02PM
I suck at forming complete sentences after work. I meant the only thing that could knock WoW from #1.
mutd1999 @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:46PM
What will it take? Either what Bigfoot said, a properly made Star Wars MMO, or World of Starcraft. ;)
Or for that matter, a Sci-Fi MMO done right...we need a change from the damn fantasy games!
Will @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:18PM
amen :( I've never been an MMO person, but I'll probably hop on the next Sci-Fi one to come out. I don't feel like playing Eve and it's pretty much the only option.
John S @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:47PM
WoW is just too big and too polished of a game at this point for anything to dethrone it.
Blizzard has made the game fun for all (for those who enjoy MMOs) types of players and player skill lvl's. Plus they are constantly adding new material to the game on a monthly basis, and now we are coming up on its 2nd Expansion. WoW will reign as king for a long long time.. like omgomg said until WoW2 or WoS
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:31PM
WoS won't happen; it would directly compete with WoW, but not enough for them to have an excuse for abandoning their WoW subscribers. It'd be pretty painful for them.
Jouten @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:52PM
"...we're beginning to wonder what it will take for a title to knock Blizzard's billion-dollar baby from it's position atop the crest of the MMO dogpile..."
I don't think it's possible anytime soon unless it's Blizzard themselves. I don't understand the WoW Phenom myself since I like EQ alot better. I'm thinking about Warhammer's potential as a new MMO for me to try, but I think they should just let the end product speak for itself and try not to over-hype it and all should be fine.
offday @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:17PM
Just wondering, do you still play EQ?
I remember before WoW came along, it was EQ that was ruining marriages and controlling people's lives. Now it's WoW. And I just started playing WoW, so pray for me. :P
dark_inchworm @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:56PM
"it's position atop the crest of the MMO dogpile."
AGH! MY EYES!
ITS, NOT IT'S!
JerJerBinks @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:46PM
While I agree with your grammar complaints, the only to truly make that sentence better would be to replace dogpile with shitpile.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:33PM
That's certainly a matter for your opinion. Personally, i thought the sentence as it is already implied it and, well, the more subtle an implication is, the more awesome it is.
Ratfoot @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:58PM
Maybe if they show the facts that Blizzard has been copying Games Workshop with Warcraft (WH) and Starcraft (40k)and use that against them it will show how unoriginal Blizzard really is.
Tasogare @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:18PM
What the hell are you talking about? It's not like Warhammer invented the fantasy genre, and Blizzard took from it's stylization for Warcraft...that's it. Everything else about the Warcraft franchise is original content.
And as for Starcraft ripping off 40K....what? If you're talking about Space Marines then please come up with more convincing evidence.
Think before you post, it saves others braincells.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:42PM
Ok, Ahem. In Warcraft the races have always been diverse (i mean, like, characterisations within one race), wheras in Warhammer the races are all stereotypically monochrome. As for the games, well, I've played DoW and it felt like some sort of punishment; all of the missions were the same but with a slight adjustment. Not just that, but it simply can't compare on the multiplayer scene with Starcraft... Or Warcraft 3.
Warhammer has probably got some awesome stories to it, but I can speak from experience that the Warcraft story is brilliantly rich. As for Starcraft being just 40k. Hell no. Just... No. Hell, if you really wanna argue who invented using orcs 'n' what-not first, then that would surely be Tolkien.
The point is that using a fantasy setting can't be copy-righted; especially when each is so unique and interesting for their own reasons. In fact, I was thinking of writing something in a fantasy setting. It would be free reign to go for a loads of things; some treatments of Fantasy don't even remotely touch on the same themes.
jynxycat @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:50AM
To deny that Blizzard hasn't taken many ideas from the Warhammer franchise is flat out absurd.
LaughingTarget @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:09PM
Dethrone WoW in raw subscriber numbers? Probably won't happen any time soon by any game. 10 million is huge for any game, let alone an MMO. WAR will dethrone WoW in pure PvP enjoyment. WoW was builtas a PvE game with PvP shoehorned in, WAR is PvP from the ground up.
WoW will remain a sales anomaly for a long time.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:12PM
Well if we're including console MMOs into this discussion I think a GTA MMO for 360 and ps3 would easily knock WoW off in terms of subscribers
Jakka @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:52PM
It'd also knock WoW off in terms of worst community ever.
It has been established that GTA Games are made with casual tards in mind.Just like Halo,CoD4 and Gears.Why do you think they sold better than Mass Effect or BioShock? They were more appealing to the casual audience.
Now imagine that all those Madden-playing retards suddenly jumped onto an MMO.It would be a nightmare.Imagine all the eight-year-old.Think of the entire XBL community playing in the same world.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:51PM
Oh my, you certainly made me laugh. There's only so many different missions you culd give people, and then, what, would you have exp? Levels? Weapon tiers? What happens when one person armed with the BFG-9000 decides to go kill every other player for fun?
Not to mention the fact that GTA fans are extremely fickle; how the hell would you pitch, to someone who plays games casually, that they should pay a monthly fee simply for the privilege of running around a city shooting people? Hell, the fact that it would be packed and would, inevitably, have people camping the hospital where you'd respawn would just enrage.
And then there's lastability; one of the reasons I love WoW is because of the setting and the rich back-story. I don't give two shits about mobsters, and there would only be so much you could do to keep things interesting.
Also, there's balance; what you've preposed would be a developmental nightmare, which would likely result in a game that plays very scarcely like a GTA game. Then your pitching a game to people who actually won't want to play it and you've got a marketing nightmare. Seriously, did you actually think about this idea?
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:54PM
There's no need to think about it. Rockstar said it's the next logical place to take the series, and when it's released it will sell more than WoW almost immediately like every other GTA game does. Whether it pans out well or not is none of my concern, I just stated the obvious.
Tasogare @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:25PM
How exactly is that stating the obvious? You've done nothing but spout a mindless, unsupported opinion born of base fanboyism... GG on your "deductive" reasoning, but that is not a franchise that caters to an MMO environment.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:52PM
Well, no, because you're trying to tell me that a game can be made that features GTA gameplay and yet is an MMO (something fundamentally contradictory anyway) and that out of the usual GTA audience you can assume that a majoity of the fan-base will subscribe to it, when in all likliness it would be a minority. Most would either just play the free month, or would simply skip it because they want to play GTA and not an MMO. It's a terrible idea.
Sizer @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:28PM
I know quite a few players who are fairly bored with it and describe the raids they do as work, but they keep going back because their friends are there and because they're just slogging along till Lich King comes out. So I think WoW will hang on just from sheer inertia (and as a one-time addict, it certainly is excellently designed).
For me, I bit the bullet and hopped to Age of Conan and like it quite a lot. The combat is far more interesting, and the M-rating actually makes things much more visceral and adult (and I don't mean boobies). But I know I'm in the minority willing to make the leap.
offday @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:20PM
I would love to play AoC if my computer could handle it. But it can't. So it's cartoony WoW for me. Which I'm ok with actually. I enjoy WoW's graphics.
LaughingTarget @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:41PM
I prefer WoW's graphics over Conan's. AoC is way too realistic for its own good. Sure, the game is a technological marvel, but excellent art direction is far better than a simple mimic of reality.
OMGOMG @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:55PM
Maybe if WoGTA came out. MAYBE.
theturtle363 @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:58PM
you mean APB?
j.howlett @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:18PM
i want ultima to come back
GRT @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:35PM
This is last week's news.
Casey R Williams @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:49PM
Yeah, gotta dethrone WoW. Of course that means in numbers, not quality or innovation. So, no one is realistically expecting to make a more addictive an compelling game... I guess WoW is a perfect game then. So the only way to compete is thematically. If people want to compete with Wow, then they should just remake it with ninjas or giant robots or special ops soldiers perhaps. That's why I haven't played it, I'm just not a fantasy fan. Put it on Cybertron and I'm there.
sifer2400 @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:49PM
at this point nothing will dethrone it to many addicts
theturtle363 @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:00PM
I play WoW, but i kinda hate that nothing ever has a chance of dethroning it. Without competition there's no reason to improve, and it really hasn't improved
littlemonkey @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:10PM
You know, maybe the concept of these threads needs to shift from what game is going to replace WOW to what game can do as well as WOW...
Residentevil72501 @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:27PM
Actually they said that the WoW graphical overhaul IS coming in WoTLK, however the big upgrades they said would be opinional because they want to keep the games minimium requirements the same, as not to exclude any current subscribers.
juju187 @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:28PM
why would anyone want to play a game where the main man doesnt even strive to be number 1.
were happy with a few thousand suckers than the whole pot...
EA Strikes again
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:05PM
Because sometimes you just can't be the best, and you have to accept it. I think it's a good lesson...
*2 hours laters*
...And that's why friendship is the best thing ever!
Tasogare @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:20PM
It has nothing to do with not wanting to be number 1, they're just being realistic. There's no way it's possible for the game to come out and instantly grab up 10 million subscribers, nor is WAR even in the same vein to do so. He thinks it will do well and will provide competition, but he does not think it will steal the show, as they are entirely different gameplay styles.
Mutagenaric @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:54PM
I played WoW for a few months a few hours every week... Yeah, it's fun, and yeah it's pretty adicting sometimes. But after a while I really just got tired of the constant grind and total lack of plot. Or even moments where you can make a plot up in your head. I dunno; I love the concept of MMOs, but I've never played one that felt well-executed. And the level-systems always end up leaving skill by the side.
Sure, once you're at 70 (80 soon) it's all about skill, tactics, and what classes counter what, but getting to 70 is not an instantaneous process. I'd like an MMO where different classes play completely differently, an involved story, and player interactions that actually can change the world.
Anyone read The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson? There was something sort of like this in that book... it was like a movie/play/video game of sorts, where the plot was being moved along by people working with the company who designed it (something like that anyways). Obviously, this would mean a lot of work on the company's part, especially if there are more than one or two servers, but I think it'd better justify the monthly subscription fee.
Yes, I know this would never work, at least with the technology and mindset we've got now. I can dream, though...
Cicadymn @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:24PM
"Sure, once you're at 70 (80 soon) it's all about skill, tactics, and what classes counter what"
LMAO
Brian @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:38AM
If someone could produce a MMO for consoles that both PS3 and 360 could share the same servers, then that may possibly have a chance.
I don't see anything able to knock off WoW on the PC when PC gaming in general with the exception of WoW players is in decline.
Avkiwi @ Jul 15th 2008 1:31AM
"If someone could produce a MMO for consoles that both PS3 and 360 could share the same servers, then that may possibly have a chance."
The game is called Final Fantasy XI.
PC, playstation2 and Xbox360
But like WoW, the game itself can get boring and it's only the social side thats keeps you coming back.
Eric T @ Jul 3rd 2008 3:09PM
A very well made Knights of the Old Republic (StarWars) MMO or DC Universe Online (ComicBook) has a chance to come close to catching WoW. But we have to measure all games that come out in relation to where WoW was at the same time at launch.
My first few months playing WoW at release was painful. My realm server crashed every 2-3 days and lag was very painful (was on a pvp server).
So any good to great game that comes out needs a 1 year to polish itself before real WoW comparisons can be made.
Avatarn @ Aug 12th 2008 4:43PM
All I can say is I leveled to 70 in WoW and once you get there what is there left to do? Oh you can go to more dungens and try to get better gear blah blah blah. All I can say is for anyone who did play DAoC that the RvR or PvP aspects of the game is what made it fun after you leveled as high as you could go. Yes you can still do PvE but once your tired of the grind and you want to just go out and have fun you can go out on the frontier and kill people. WoW failed when it came to PvP, the instances suck AV sucks, WSG sucks, EoTS sucks they are all terrible and pointless because the stuff you get out of it you can get better in PvE. So if you like Pve stick with WoW. All the players who actually like PvP will go to warhammer and belive me i'm one of them.