The reason I left wow after playing only for 4 months is simply I do not like the game, I dont hate it,I do not care about it,I am not jelous of the people that play that game(in that case I would never canceled the game) So things are simple people choose not to play wow for the only reason and that is we dont like the game.

Wow's player base is not 8 million,that are sold copies,playerbase is somwere between 500 000 - 700 000 active accounts.

Originally posted by Thrage

 

Another problem people have is that right now, there is nothing better than World of Warcraft on the market for MMOs.  This frustrates people who are dying for a breath of fresh air, but all of the other MMOs out at the moment just aren't nearly as fun as World of Warcraft.  It's like going from dating a supermodel to only being able to pick up fat chicks.  Sure, they're nice, and they're kind of fun, but it's not going to compare to previous experience, and you probably won't stay with them long.  Other MMOs are unfamiliar, with less community, likely less features, and tend to be 'meaner' to players (experience debt, forced grouping, long grinds, etc.).

I think people don't try other MMO's because of the high "barriers to entry."  Let me explain.  First, you have to decide to give up on that max-level night-elf you are carrying around and start over with a level 1.  Next, you have to convince a major portion of your guild or group of friends to do the same.  I could stop right there.  It's a tall order at that point. 

But there is more.  You have to learn new gameplay and a new crafting, questing, Min/Max system.   Finally, we come back to psycology again.  You feel like you are already behind the pre-order / beta test people and in an old game, you are WAY behind everyone. 

I think it is an over simplification to say, "people don't leave WoW because every other game is teh sux."

its funny how many people take the word hate for what it is in forums. i mean do people really mean hate? or do they really mean " i dont like it at all" ? i would think its more the latter. myself i played wow for 12 months. i dont like it now. simple as that i got bored of it but played for longer than i should as there was nothing else to play that got my attention. i dont hate wow at all its a very polished game...just doesnt offer enough to keep me interested that's all. but as for all this psychology crap, come on people the very people posting about the haters are making it look like they have a deep pyschological problem with the haters! i mean how ironic does this seem? to me its simple, you all enjoy arguing about this subject thats why you will post again and again on the same subject :)

when this one runs dry well all find something else to disagree about....if not well then hell lets make something up :)

I still don't understand why do wow-fanboys call wow-haters jealous. Criticism is not jealousy. Is it just a problem that you don't want to read posts that criticize WoW?

I played WoW for a very, very long time.

I've raided for a very, very long time.

I don't hate it, in fact I used to love it.

For me, the only times I really didn't enjoy what I was doing was when I had to do it alone. When I was without a guild, when none of my friends were online, etc.

When friends were online we'd chat and do stupid things, it was a blast. Even running the same instance for the 20th time was still fun just because of the people I played with. We'd do I'll kinds of nutty stuff like misdirect onto the healer and pull entire rooms... Yeah, sometimes we'd wipe and be cursing each other's name, but it was fun.

Once I got really serious into raiding again in TBC, for a while it was great. I was seeing new content, downing all kinds of bosses, getting really great gear... It was a great Guild with great friends....

But as always, the guild got too big. We'd get stuck at a boss for a couple of weeks. We'd see sub-par performance from the same people. We'd see officers playing favorites. All the drama.

It was then I realized that I was leaving my job to go home and log into my second job. It was nice to be needed and feel important, and to be respected and revered by others... but what was the cost?

I realized I was stuck and I needed to get out. So I used my moving into a new place as an excuse to stop playing for a week.

I haven't been back since and it feels great.

Yeah, I still play MMOs but very casually. I still play other games like Halo, but a lot more casually. And yes, I'm very hyped for WAR and very interested in TcoS but I NEVER want to get to the point I was at in WoW.

So, to answer the original question...

The Psychology of WoW haters?

I think either you've played it too much and are too burned out or you never got into it and can't see what all the fuss is about. Everyone who is comfortably in the middle of those two extremes is probably still playing WoW and really enjoying it.

just my 2 cents and story :)

I think a  big reason people "hate" WoW is that people claim it is near perfect.  There are players that go around spreading word about how good WoW is.  The way they talk about it is similar to religious zealotry.  Yet many of these players that praise it so highly have nothing to compare it to.  Most of the players that play WoW are new to the MMORPG scene. 

Do you remember the first movie that you ever saw? I'm sure you thought it was spectacular.  You might have told your friends how great it was and that nothing could be better.  Then you experience another movie.  Maybe it wasn't as good as the first, maybe it was better.  Either way, you now have something to compare the original movie to.  This is similar to the primacy effect.  To the people that have been playing MMORPGs for a long time, they don't understand why these WoW zealots cannot look at the game objectively.  How can you praise every aspect of a game when you have nothing to compare it to?  That's like saying Gili was a great movie when it was the only movie you had ever seen.  With your very limited experience it might have seemed spectacular, but in all reality you have just watched one of the "worst" movies ever. 

Don't take this as a slam against WoW.  I'm not saying WoW is Gili.  I don't think WoW is a good game, nor do I think it is a bad game.  I play it, but just to pass the time until something better comes a long (and because my gf likes it).  I like certain aspects of the game and dislike others (I dislike the loot whore aspect most of all).

What it all boils down to is that zealots piss people off no matter what they are following.  Some people just ignore the game because of it, others go on a "crusade" against it.  Some of these "crusaders" go around bad mouthing WoW in every way possible just to try and make people see the game differently so that they aren't just blindly following it.  Others...well I'm not sure.  Some people just get kicks by inciting flame wars.

Originally posted by Thrage

It's like going from dating a supermodel to only being able to pick up fat chicks.  Sure, they're nice, and they're kind of fun, but it's not going to compare to previous experience, and you probably won't stay with them long.

Ok, I'm a guy and even I was insulted by this comment.  I know you're just using a stereotype to prove your point and you probably don't really mean it, but still you could have found a better way to say it.  There are beautiful "fat chicks" to use your words that are very much worth staying with.  If anything it's the other way around and the it's the supermodels that probably won't make for good long time companion's. Please, next time show some tact.

And all you women out there that aren't supermodels, never fear there are guys out there that aren't supermodels that would love to date you. 

Originally posted by Pappy13

Originally posted by Thrage

It's like going from dating a supermodel to only being able to pick up fat chicks.  Sure, they're nice, and they're kind of fun, but it's not going to compare to previous experience, and you probably won't stay with them long.

Ok, I'm a guy and even I was insulted by this comment.  I know you're just using a stereotype to prove your point and you probably don't really mean it, but still you could have found a better way to say it.  There are beautiful "fat chicks" to use your words that are very much worth staying with.  If anything it's the other way around and the it's the supermodels that probably won't make for good long time companion's. Please, next time show some tact.

 

And all you women out there that aren't supermodels, never fear there are guys out there that aren't supermodels that would love to date you. 

So putting down an attractive girls is ok...but not overweight ones? You insinuate that pretty girls "probably won't make for good long time companions." Talk about a pot calling a kettle black. I have known many kind, sweet, good looking girls.

Originally posted by Vidir

Wow's player base is not 8 million,that are sold copies,playerbase is somwere between 500 000 - 700 000 active accounts.

You are just plain wrong.  It is active subscriptions, pre-pay cards and free first month people.

http://www.blizzard.com/press/070724.shtml