Originally posted by Ilvaldyr

Originally posted by Angorim

I really hope that's not the case.  I could just as easily seeing that backfire, though.  A lot of WoW's success comes from the fact that it was already established as a well-known IP.  Another factor was that it attracted a lot non-gamers and people who had never played an MMO before to the genre (which is both good and bad).  If there's one thing that history has shown, these people only play WoW and nothing else.

Blizzard has already stated that this is an entirely new IP, with no previous backing.  That rules out one of the factors right out the gate.  The second one could prove fatal, even for them.   Then again, I'm merely speculating at this point.

Yup, speculation is pretty much all we can do given that Blizzard hasn't released any real information on their new MMO. For all I know, it could be a sandbox with FFA PvP.

While it's undeniable that brand recognition and marketing brought many players to WoW, those two things don't explain Blizzard's success at player retention. I don't believe that these "new to the genre" players only play WoW and nothing else. Rather, I believe that it's the quality of the core gameplay WoW offers (and that no other MMO really does) that keeps them playing.

I would agree, though not neccesarily the quality but the style that is offered that retains them. 

While you are right in the fact that there are other factors then the two that I mentioned in their success, the point I was making is that this specific demigraphic that will only play WoW's gameplay style.  They look for it in every other game.  If it's not identical, it's inferior.  If it's the same, it's a laughable clone.  And then there is the super casual demigraphic that also falls under this category.  While I'm all for everyone being able to play and enjoy their game the way they want, I personally have more then a few hours a week to invest in a game I enjoy.  I hate seeing games dumbed down or simplified to allow for quick "bursts" of accomplishments to keep this particular crowd satisfied. 

I'm all for a balance, personally, but there seems to be a larger market for this which they've targetted quite well.