Read it here: article 31 Aug.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/08/blizzard-co-interview/

Apparently Blizzard knows WOW copies don't work.

Like I always said MMO's can be so much more than fetch me this to gain levels.

Of course the expansions will come too, but AT LEAST Blizzard knows you have to publish in another direction to make an alternative.

Let's wait and see.

A word of caution on the following:

"Micro-transactions are cool. Will we ever do them? Maybe. It’s all a matter of if the game supports it. If the gameplay experience and the local business model supports it, then I can see that happening, potentially. That’s not something we’re talking about for any of our current games, but that doesn’t mean that won’t change. We also try to change with the times. We try to see how the markets are evolving, and how they’re flexing, and we want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for each of the markets. We’ll see; time will tell."

I suppose a maybe is better than a no and then do a 180 and implement RMT, like Cryptic did.

I still won't play a subscription based game that has any kind of RMT mall on it.

blizzard doesnt need to suppliment their cash influx.  They can afford to turn out a better product for a cheaper fee than most other companies. Close down those other companies, then add in the account management stuff they did with WoW.

too bad won't be another 3-4y before we see this product.

Wired.com: As the business guy, though, how do you feel about micro-transactions?

Sams: I think they’re awesome for the right game. It’s all about the game. It doesn’t matter what you’re business model is: it matters what your game is. The game is the thing. If you have a great game and, the companies that really do it right — and I believe we do it right — are the ones who focus on the game and wrap the business model around it, not the other way. That’s the wrong order, and you’re not going to end up getting a good game, or at least a Blizzard-quality game.

Wired.com: But from a business perspective — as Activision Blizzard, it’s not just the fans, but the stockholders you have to answer to…

Sams: We are part of a public company, absolutely. And we do have shareholders, but our shareholders are not only the people that own stock in our company. There’s another whole contingent of people that are also shareholders that don’t hold that piece of paper, and that’s our players. Those people are the ones that are causing the paper-holding shareholders to make their money. Those are the people who are voting with their pocketbooks, those are the people that are the very most important. Everything comes as a result to what their decisions are. If we deliver on the promise for the games, they’re going to vote with their pocketbooks. If they vote with their pocketbooks, the paper-holding shareholders are going to be happy. So it’s in the shareholders’ best interest and Blizzard’s best interest to focus on those gamers. The true shareholders. And when they hold the keys and we give them what they want, they take care of all the rest.

This line of thought is what make a company develope good products. I think Blizzard is putting other companies to shame. Blizzard still love the games and makes money as a consequence. Other companies love the money and make games just to get that money. They don't care at all about the game or the gamers. Hope I'm not getting a 7 day ban for saying this

RMT *gag*.

Imagine if their next game was F2P(RMT) - You'd have the usual blind Blizzard fanboi tossers AND the peasant scum that are F2P players.

The world would dissolve.

[Edit] I wouldn't hold anything against Blizzard if they did an RMT game. So many people would pump money in buying stuff from there Blizz would make a lot of money fast (more than they do now :o)

I cant believe that Blizzard can do something innovative. If they do so I will be very pleased, but up to then I'm very skeptical.

Originally posted by Wintersbite

 

Imagine if their next game was F2P(RMT) - You'd have the usual blind Blizzard fanboi tossers AND the peasant scum that are F2P players.

 

The world would dissolve.

 

 

[Edit] I wouldn't hold anything against Blizzard if they did an RMT game. So many people would pump money in buying stuff from there Blizz would make a lot of money fast (more than they do now :o)

Why do you have such a prejudice against players of other style? Some players like P2P, more like F2P. Its up to individual i say. They pay with their own money, not yours...

Back to the topic, looking at WoW now, i say rmt is a great possibility for their next mmo. They may even implement it into WoW when their subs start to drop.

Maybe along the line of, buy pots for faster leveling, since players always complain that leveling is too slow...

Personally i will see if rmt  is in the game ,whether it will affect the game play or just cosmetic before i decide.

Buy scrolls and level up your weapons, and im out...

Come on non-tank spank style MMO.

FPS, adventure, RTS, Sims!?, Flight Sim, the legendary sandbox?!... I must know!

Come on something other than tank/heal/dps.

It will probably be sufficiently good that people will end up playing both.

Originally posted by Zorndorf

Read it here: article 31 Aug.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/08/blizzard-co-interview/

Apparently Blizzard knows WOW copies don't work.

Like I always said MMO's can be so much more than fetch me this to gain levels. 

"unlike anything that has ever been done before" is the hype machine.  It will be similar to multiple pre-existing games, it'll just be a new twist on the formula and (in all likelihood) quite fun.

They're not avoiding a WOW copy because it wouldn't work.  A WOW copy from Blizzard would work.  They're avoiding it because they want to maintain the stranglehold on MMO income, and you don't do that by putting out a non-stellar sequel, SOE-style (no harsh insults meant for EQ2, it's an alright game; it just failed to hit the ball out of the park.)

Originally posted by iZakaroN

I cant believe that Blizzard can do something innovative. If they do so I will be very pleased, but up to then I'm very skeptical.

However, if Blizzard does make a MMO in a different genre (this is most likely the case and they certainly have lots of small company games to pull from) it will likely be a significant success. If it is a sucess then it will open up innovation form smaller developers because inventment money will open up for games in that genre. Win, win for everyone. People that like Blizzard get their new game and the whiners get whine about the new wave of clone games.

I don't see how another successful game by Blizzard will open the innovation floodgates for other companies. The past experience indicated that the only floodgates opened were the ones that let the copycats out.

A little early to see i think. WoW is still Blizz first mmo. Throughout the 5 years i believe Blizz have learn about  mmo and see the lesson from other companies.

If they can copy from other mmo and make it so successful, than i believe they can come out with new/ innovative ideas for it...

"Unlike anything that has ever been done before", that has to be a joke. Since the beginning of time all Blizzard did was copying other games, so its very unlikely to see something new ;)

Originally posted by Xasapis

I don't see how another successful game by Blizzard will open the innovation floodgates for other companies. The past experience indicated that the only floodgates opened were the ones that let the copycats out.

Just because the innovation in "copycat" games was executed poorly doesn't mean that it isn't there. As the number of genres of top title games expands so does the types of games investment dollars go to. However, new games must differentiate and we get innovation which unfortunately is often poorly though out or poorly executated.

The next Blizzard MMO will be a Star Wars: The Old Republic clone. Bioware is the only company right now , that is doing anything new in the MMO industry.

Originally posted by Zorndorf

Apparently Blizzard knows WOW copies don't work.

 

So do they know if EQ copies work?

Originally posted by purewitz

The next Blizzard MMO will be a Star Wars: The Old Republic clone. Bioware is the only company right now , that is doing anything new in the MMO industry.

I'm not so sure about that, from the looks of it Bioware is making a console MMO, instanced and restrictive. I'm sure it'll end up being a fun game, but an MMO, I don't know ...

My completely unfounded guess at why their new MMO is going to be different is heavy use of their phasing technology to dynamically change the game world as you progress through the storyline.

Similar to what ToR is doing, but I'm guessing that Blizzard's MMO will have a completely open world with landscape/game changing events taking place in real-time instead of instances.

Also, I call dibs on the first "Blizzard's new MMO is just a WoW clone." thread.

Originally posted by Dameonk

My completely unfounded guess at why their new MMO is going to be different is heavy use of their phasing technology to dynamically change the game world as you progress through the storyline.

Similar to what ToR is doing, but I'm guessing that Blizzard's MMO will have a completely open world with landscape/game changing events taking place in real-time instead of instances.

Also, I call dibs on the first "Blizzard's new MMO is just a WoW clone." thread.

 

That's what I think too. Imagine worlds or planets that change according to the conquering or destruction of bases/landscape.

If we have learned one thing from past Blizzard games is that they always progress from the last techniques shown in their previous games. And so you simply would ask: what are the latest techniques they used in recent years/months.

Keywords for this are: open world (seamless without much loading ), flying, mounted combat, phasing, real-time destruction, siege mechanics, bring the player not the class, .... and clustered servers to regroup players.

Those keywords will certainly be " in ".

They would want to avoid AT ALL costs to have "just a WOW clone".

Whatever it will be, it will be done for the masses, which is a small disappointment already.

WoW will one day be F2P ... you heard it here first.

so thats what happened to StarCraft: Ghost! it's become blizzards ground breaking, story oriented, multi-player rpg! .... didn't one of the old screenshots show Nova with a "laser" like sword......

Originally posted by iZakaroN

I cant believe that Blizzard can do something innovative. If they do so I will be very pleased, but up to then I'm very skeptical.

Well they are planning to gut their game out in a means that hasn't been tried since SWG with NGE so I won't say they're never willing to take any risks.....hmmmm

Personally I'd be enthusiastic to see them try and make an MMOFPS...lol

Well, the major difference is that they are gutting the game world while maintaining intact (and improve with guild levelling) the game mechanics. I doubt you'd see a uproar of SWG proportion if they kept the classes intact and just remodelled the world around them.