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Largely considered the biggest MMO, World of Warcraft (WoW) has controlled the market in ways not seen in years. But has it's time come?
Still running on the old $15 a month subscription model and graphics that are looking more and more outdated every year, the mighty WoW may soon collapse to newer ideas. Such as the Free-to-play microtransaction model put forth by Nexon and Turbine. Or the setting, the Tolkeinesque medieval fantasy world once a hallmark of the genre pales in comparison to the Sci-Fi settings of Star Trek and Star Wars: the Old Republic.
Yet WoW is still hailed as lord and master of the MMO world. I believe it is time for a coup.
WoW offers no features unseen in Free-to-play games such as Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited and the Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO is not yet free, but it will be soon) other than celebrity endorsements. So why do so many cling to it like a newborn babe to its mother?
Additionally, in order to play WoW, one must first purchase the software, then pay $15 a month just for the privilege of playing the game you own! Furthermore, when one pays $15 a month, if you forget to play your fill that month or can't, that's $15 wasted. I have barely touched my copy of DDO in the last 3 months, if it hadn't been free, i would be out $45 for my lapse of memory. Perhaps the "addictive" quality of WoW is not because of enjoyment, maybe they're just trying to get their money's worth!
Other games have innovated and created fresh features in the tired old grinding gameplay of WoW. Aion: Tower of Eternity gives you wings and lets you fly, Vindictus plays like a Hack-n-slash action RPG, and in LEGO Universe players literally build the world around them.
Only time will tell what fate awaits the emperor of MMORPGs.