I have to assume that if WoW launched now the graphics would be better, but still cartoony.  I really think that it would be lost among all of the other titles that are out there and be seen as nothing special, much like the fate of almost every MMO to come out lately.  While there were MMOs back then, WoW sort of hit the jackpot of the right time and the right place and it is very difficult to replicate those condtions with so many options available right now. 

I guess what is more impressive is that WoW is able to hold on to so many subscribers, given the abundance of choice we currently have.  There are a lot of really good MMOs out there but WoW still stays on top of the mountain.

Originally posted by Tindale111
yes i was genuiinly interested. but dont forget wow pinched most of its ideas from EQ :)

And just about every game after it.

There is something strange about WoW that just keeps pulling me back.

To answer the title of the thread: Yes.

If the WoW that was released 8 years ago would be released now it still would be successfull. Back then WoW was almost - but not quite - an old-school MMORPG, heavily influenced by the mechanics found in EQ and DAoC. That's how Blizzard got it's WoW fanbase.

What all the other games (a.k.a clones) did wrong was not to copy the WoW from 8 years ago but to copy the WoW as it is now. Currently WoW is an old game slowly losing subscribers. And that's what the clones copy: an old game losing subscribers.

Originally posted by remyburke
No, but only because it looks like dogshit visually.

It's sad when so many seem to think this equals the success rate of a game. Mechanics>Graphics....ALWAYS.

WoW would'nt be WoW if released today.

We would be calling it today another 'Evercrack Clone' if released today.Even though it is a EQ Clone on steroids.

WoW changed alot for mmorpg's and for people that are playing them now, it's pretty much the benchmark on what players look for in a mmorpg today (sadly me being part of the Evercrack Generation).

But if sure would be interesting in WoW never existed, think about that one and how mmorpg's would be different today.

Not to derail the thread, but I believe we would still have Star Wars Galaxies amoung many other still around.

Originally posted by Goatgod76

Originally posted by Tindale111
yes i was genuiinly interested. but dont forget wow pinched most of its ideas from EQ :)

And just about every game after it.

and then every game copies WoW. So I guess the only credit can go to the very first games, because the original ideas were done then (even if implementation and execution of those ideas are better). 

Originally posted by Derros
It depends on what we mean by "Now", now as in a game thats very similar in gameplay to several previous games (post wow MMO market),  or now as in WoW never having been released and thus no real casual friendly games like it having existed?

Very good question.

Originally posted by Tindale111
yes i was genuiinly interested. but dont forget wow pinched most of its ideas from EQ :)

no, it did not.

WoW and EQ share genre similarities.  Outside of both games placing a strong emphasis on game world/lore (one of the big keys to their successes), they share little in common outside of those genre similarities.

Originally posted by FrodoFragins
They would have released an MMO with group finders

the interesting question is this:

would group finders exist without wow inventing them?

Originally posted by grimal
No.  See my sig.

That's a hell of a sig.

Completely sums up my thoughts on WOW's timing and success in one tight little nutshell.

Before we answer what WoW would be like if it released today we have to first answer the question: what would the MMO genre be like today without WoW?

WoW has influenced nearly every major MMO release since it came out and even many MMOs that was released before WoW.

Without WoW as the genre leader a different MMO would have taken its place as the MMO to be emulated. That would have likely been EQ2.

So, for the past 8 years nearly all MMOs would have copied EQ2. But without WoWs influence on EQ2(and there was a lot) we dont know what direction SOE would have taken EQ2 so therefor we dont know what the MMO genre would be like today in a world without WoW.

Originally posted by Thorbrand
Vanilla WOW would be to hardcore for todays gamers. That is what made it successful at launch.

     Vanilla WoW was cake for former EQ players:

A. no death penalty

b. could solo easily and mobs 4-5 levels above your character

c. raids were smaller

d. former eq players actually understood concepts like single pulling and crowd control

     I think WoW would do just fine today but everyone would be calling it a Rift clone (Of course Rift wouldnt exist if it was for copyuing and pasting WoW though)

If it would be released with its current graphics and gameplay.

No. It would totally bomb.

Actually there are P2P games now that are better (all considering)

Only thing WOW would have for itself is size of the content. If it would be released with same content size as at its original release. It would be total dud.

You have to understand. WOW was a perfect storm. There was nothing like that when it released. And it was polished , run on most of PCs and had great brand name and hype behind it.

To have same impact today you would have to release something like HALO the MMO , or WOD with all its advanced graphic and sandbox elements.