Every time i go to a MMO blog, check some gameplay on youtube or even just browsing through some forums what i always see are these 3 words.

"WoW is better"

Now don't get me wrong, i like playing WoW, (lvl 80 Hunter, Horde, Emerald Dream... if anyone is intrested)

But what i don't understand is when everyone compares all the other MMOs to WoW.

Now I understand that WoW is currently the most popular MMO out there... but that dosn't mean every other MMO is a copy of it.

Take for example EVE. People commenting stuff about how EVE is boring and WoW is better...... seriously... WTF?
How can you compare a Sandbox, Sci-fi, MMO to a End-game, Fantasy MMO?

It's like comparing Nacho Cheese with Fish sticks... it just dosn't work.

I also don't know why people are talking about the "next WoW killer" for each new MMO that sounds cool.  Does WoW really have to die? As long as the game is good, and makes me pay $14 a month then I'm fine even if WoW dosn't die.

Seriously what is with people and this addiction of WoW = MMO?

For me, it doesn't matter if it's a sandbox or not, but WoW is the only game where I can spend more time because it's enjoyable to me. Other games, I couldn't last more than a month and sometimes less than a week.

WoW is the best Massive Multiplayer Online game ever created! Kudos to Blizzard!

edit: typo

Originally posted by snowyjoe

Every time i go to a MMO blog, check some gameplay on youtube or even just browsing through some forums what i always see are these 3 words.

"WoW is better"

 

Now don't get me wrong, i like playing WoW, (lvl 80 Hunter, Horde, Emerald Dream... if anyone is intrested)

But what i don't understand is when everyone compares all the other MMOs to WoW.

Now I understand that WoW is currently the most popular MMO out there... but that dosn't mean every other MMO is a copy of it.

Take for example EVE. People commenting stuff about how EVE is boring and WoW is better...... seriously... WTF?
How can you compare a Sandbox, Sci-fi, MMO to a End-game, Fantasy MMO?

It's like comparing Nacho Cheese with Fish sticks... it just dosn't work.

I also don't know why people are talking about the "next WoW killer" for each new MMO that sounds cool.  Does WoW really have to die? As long as the game is good, and makes me pay $14 a month then I'm fine even if WoW dosn't die.

Seriously what is with people and this addiction of WoW = MMO?

 WoW is better then Eve, and Nacho Chesse is better then fish sticks, imo.
You can compare anything...

When you are as big as WoW, you become the standard is which everything else is guaged by...
whether it how to do something right (PvE) or how to do something wrong (PvP, Crafting)

Oh and Eve is Boring... I try to get into it... 3 times now... still can't play it for more then a few hours, before hitting uninstalling.
It very niche... and boring to most people...

Originally posted by snowyjoe

But what i don't understand is when everyone compares all the other MMOs to WoW.

They only compare other games to WoW because WoW is currently the largest installed base out there. But you're right it won't remain so forever (Cough cough release of AION). Before WoW everyone compared all games to Everquest 2 as it was the biggest and before EQ2 they compared everything to Ultima On-line becuase it was. And before UO...oh wait that was the first one nevermind...

Point is if you're going to compare something, might as well compare it to what the majority of folks know. I don't like Blizzard. Blizzard screwed me over and I will never touch another Blizzard game again but I still have no issues with people comparing things to WoW.

WoW is just a copy of EQ2 with some things updated just as EQ2 was a copy of UO with a few things updated. All MMOs have so much in common they might as well all be called clones of each other. They steal each other's ideas, rework things 100s of times and constantly try to outdo each other. Glad they do, that's why there are so many good games out there.

Now excuse me while I go back to playing Aion.

Originally posted by VABeachDave

Originally posted by snowyjoe

But what i don't understand is when everyone compares all the other MMOs to WoW.

 

They only compare other games to WoW because WoW is currently the largest installed base out there. But you're right it won't remain so forever (Cough cough release of AION). Before WoW everyone compared all games to Everquest 2 as it was the biggest and before EQ2 they compared everything to Ultima On-line becuase it was. And before UO...oh wait that was the first one nevermind...

 

Point is if you're going to compare something, might as well compare it to what the majority of folks know. I don't like Blizzard. Blizzard screwed me over and I will never touch another Blizzard game again but I still have no issues with people comparing things to WoW.

 

WoW is just a copy of EQ2 with some things updated just as EQ2 was a copy of UO with a few things updated. All MMOs have so much in common they might as well all be called clones of each other. They steal each other's ideas, rework things 100s of times and constantly try to outdo each other. Glad they do, that's why there are so many good games out there.

 

Now excuse me while I go back to playing Aion.

 

 

don't you mean EQ1.... I know EQ2 came out before WoW and all... but it was only like 2 weeks...

Yes WoW Became the Standard because they ripped off a bunch of people, made what they wanted to happen, well, happen, and they spent a metric Ton on Advertising to try and make it Cool to play.

Many people I know still don't consider it an RPG, but more of an Adventure game.  They're opposed to Role Playing in any manner, and bringing about that WoW is an RPG is appalling to them.

The problem with WoW now that it is the standard is that people have a reference point to look to.  They may not realize it, but their nose is up WoW's arse.  They compare all other games to WoW, and when something tries to be different, and if they can't make the WoW correlation to a feature another game has, then they usually reject it or complain about its inferiority to the Standard or they don't understand it.

WoW caters to children.  WoW holds your hand.  WoW makes things easy.  WoW makes you a dumb/lazy MMO gamer and I hate to say it.  And because of this, if you try to make things different or challenging, with a different control scheme, the foundation gets shaky.

Originally posted by kumoblade

Yes WoW Became the Standard because they ripped off a bunch of people, made what they wanted to happen, well, happen, and they spent a metric Ton on Advertising to try and make it Cool to play. 

alotta games take the best parts of other games and try to make them better... it's just the nature of game development.
WoW wasn't the 1st to do this.

Now about advertising, they didn't really do any major ads until well after the game was already a commercial success.

I understand that WoW is big and all and is "the" MMO for most people.

But WoW's target audiance and other MMO's target audiances are completly diffrent >.<

Like Eve would target people that like sandbox and epicness

Guild Wars would target soloers and Pvpers

Warhammer online targets Pvpers

Chronicales of Spellborn try and target the FPS "twitcher"

It makes sence if a MMOs dosn't suite someone... because it wasn't made for their likeing?

WOW:

Combat System:  Good

Spell System:  Good

Polish/Reliability:  Excellent

Themepark Design:  Fail, this really sucks

Steampunk in Fantasy World:  Fail

Death Penalty:   Fail, too light

Challenge:  Fail, too easy

Originally posted by pencilrick

WOW:

Combat System:  Good

Spell System:  Good

Polish/Reliability:  Excellent

Themepark Design:  Fail, this really sucks

Steampunk in Fantasy World:  Fail

Death Penalty:   Fail, too light

Challenge:  Fail, too easy

Whoever said WOW  was supposed to be a Theme Park design? Whatever you think that is supposed to mean... and WOW never was, isn't and probably never will be a Steampunk game, so I don't understand what the hell you are talking about?!!

WOW is quite easy and has certainly got a lot easier since launch, but hey they have 11.5m subscribers which blows every other MMO clean out of the water (in reply to the OP that obviously, is why everyone compares every MMO to WOW). Blizzard is a company, companies are meant to make money and they are!

I think WOW is fun. I don't play much lately but only because I have been played nearly since launch and it gets boring, but I still think it is the best MMO on the market.

Many people believe that most popular equals best.  I don't.

Many people think a game like EVE is boring. I don't

Many people think WOW is the best game ever. I don't think a "best" game exists, as that is entirely subjective for each gamer.

But WOW is the 10, 000 pound gorilla in the room and every game is compared to it as people try to determine if game xyz is an improvement on what WOW already provides.

Does the new game have better crafting? PVP?, Raids? etc? 

The comparisons are endless, and again, very subjective.

In order to get FFA full loot PVP many DF fans are willing to overlook its shortcomings in other areas, while the average gamer won't be so forgiving.

Originally posted by kumoblade

Yes WoW Became the Standard because they ripped off a bunch of people, made what they wanted to happen, well, happen, and they spent a metric Ton on Advertising to try and make it Cool to play.

Many people I know still don't consider it an RPG, but more of an Adventure game.  They're opposed to Role Playing in any manner, and bringing about that WoW is an RPG is appalling to them.

The problem with WoW now that it is the standard is that people have a reference point to look to.  They may not realize it, but their nose is up WoW's arse.  They compare all other games to WoW, and when something tries to be different, and if they can't make the WoW correlation to a feature another game has, then they usually reject it or complain about its inferiority to the Standard or they don't understand it.

WoW caters to children.  WoW holds your hand.  WoW makes things easy.  WoW makes you a dumb/lazy MMO gamer and I hate to say it.  And because of this, if you try to make things different or challenging, with a different control scheme, the foundation gets shaky.

 

You make it sound like mmo's are suppose to be work. There video games buddy that are meant for enjoyment. To think otherwise means you take these games far to seriously and should really think about going outside.

On many games i have played, people got frustrated that WoW takes away alot of potenial players... I guess thats the reason why many people get mad at WoW and want it to die (me 2, because in my opinion WoW is not good for the amout of cash they make)... but whatever :P

Originally posted by maniacfox

Originally posted by pencilrick

WOW:

Combat System:  Good

Spell System:  Good

Polish/Reliability:  Excellent

Themepark Design:  Fail, this really sucks

Steampunk in Fantasy World:  Fail

Death Penalty:   Fail, too light

Challenge:  Fail, too easy

 

Whoever said WOW  was supposed to be a Theme Park design? Whatever you think that is supposed to mean... and WOW never was, isn't and probably never will be a Steampunk game, so I don't understand what the hell you are talking about?!!

WOW is quite easy and has certainly got a lot easier since launch, but hey they have 11.5m subscribers which blows every other MMO clean out of the water (in reply to the OP that obviously, is why everyone compares every MMO to WOW). Blizzard is a company, companies are meant to make money and they are!

I think WOW is fun. I don't play much lately but only because I have been played nearly since launch and it gets boring, but I still think it is the best MMO on the market.

You miss the meaning of his post, about the steampunk thing. Well it's not really steampunk, in wow, but it's the tech in WoW he is talking about. Motorcycles, Mechs, flying machines... this stuff to a fantasy purest do not belong.

I hate the terms themepark and sandbox... I perfer calling them Quests based and Open ended...
Because all games have a theme and most MMOs have a sandbox element to where you deside what you wanna do.

Themepark Design: Fail, this really sucks
I like it, and it works for me.

Steampunk in Fantasy World: Fail
this works ok in WoW, but I understand why you don't like it.

Death Penalty: Fail, too light
It's still a corpse run... with a 10% durabity lost in PvE, or skip the corpse run, and take a 25% durabity lost with a 10 minute debuff.
This hardcore nonsense...

Originally posted by pencilrick

WOW:

Combat System:  Good

Spell System:  Good

Polish/Reliability:  Excellent

Themepark Design:  Fail, this really sucks

Steampunk in Fantasy World:  Fail

Death Penalty:   Fail, too light

Challenge:  Fail, too easy

 

 

The combat system is better than good as is the spell system.  Few MMOs allow for split second interupts, where you can watch what the your enemy is doing and counter his skills with yours on the fly. 

Before WOW,  "themepark" and MMO didn't exist in the same sentence.  Much like FUN and MMO didn't quite go together.  Much like Polish and MMO didn't cooexist.  What did we have that was closest in design...EQ, DAOC, AO?  The only thing similar to a themepark they had was waiting around for extended periods of time. 

WOW is steampunk in only the most basic terms with Gnomes.  Why even bring it up?

The death penalty actually delivered, because it was the only MMO where I never wanted to log off in frustration after I died.  A sting is all death should do.  Also, in the begining death DID hurt, but as gold began to flow more, the sting became less and less, but thats with every MMO.  Death should NEVER be frustrating.  Any MMO that does it will always be niche.  Eve's death penalty doesn't matter to people who buy ISK, so its all relative.  Eve's penalty is all based on a financial hit, but when your ISK is limitless death becomes pointless as well.  So I can say EVE's death penalty fails also for some people.

Easy to lvl to 80 solo.  So what?  Easy to understand?  Thank GOD!!  Easy to jump in and play for a 1/2 hour?  FINALLY!!!  WOW is as challenging as you want to make it.  Lvling to 80 is not the be all end all.  Its not SUPPOSED to be challenging.  Its supposed to be FUN.  Whats challenging are the raids, WITHOUT an FAQ.  Hitting the tops in the Arena.  Plenty of the Acheivments are quite difficult.  So unless you can show a character in the armory thats accomplished everything WOW has to offer, you can't say the game is easy.   Its gotten easier, YES.  So what.  People are still playing.

Warcraft does the majority of the goals it sets out to do exceptionally well.  From performance to style to catering to many different playstyles it just does an exceptional job at delivering quality.

Obviously wow and eve do not make a very good comparison, because they are two different types of games aimed at two different types of players.  People who enjoy one may not enjoy the other which is why you will see comments like "Eve/WoW are fail and boring".  Some people blur the lines between not being attracted to a gameplay style and how the quality of a games design.

When people compare wow to other similar games it is pretty easy to see the differences and most likely why you hear the issue brought up so many times.  If you compared each in a point for point matchup (again comparing similar games), wow will almost certainly come out on top by a good measure.  While it may not be the most enjoyable gameplay for everyone, it certainly is one of the best crafted mmos on the market if not the best.  Yet those are two different aspects that people often use interchangeably. 

It also does not mean that other companies cannot create engaging sandbox type games or innovate in other areas.  Players will not rebel against as long as it is well made.  Players certainly enbraced wows quest based solo friendly focus after years of harsh "hardcore" gameplay.  The problem isn't that players demand wow clones, the problem is that most other companies cannot even deliver a decent game on release for a number of reasons. 

Originally posted by snowyjoe

Now don't get me wrong, i like playing WoW, (lvl 80 Hunter, Horde, Emerald Dream... if anyone is intrested)

But what i don't understand is when everyone compares all the other MMOs to WoW.

That's the burden of being Kingof the Hill. :)

Now I understand that WoW is currently the most popular MMO out there... but that dosn't mean every other MMO is a copy of it.

Most MMOs are variants of the same DikuMUD design. Since most people are familiar with WOW, it's the one people will often use in a comparison. Prior to WOW, EQ was the posterchild for Diku-style  MMOs.

I also don't know why people are talking about the "next WoW killer" for each new MMO that sounds cool.  Does WoW really have to die? As long as the game is good, and makes me pay $14 a month then I'm fine even if WoW dosn't die.

For almost ten years MMO gamers have been talking about the' [OlderMMO] killer' despite the fact that no MMO has ever caused the downfallof another. One consistent characteristic of most MMO gamers is that they either cannot or do not wish to learn from history.

Scientific analysis

MMO

Flip the word upside down you get WWO

Move one letter you get WOW.

There you have it, WOW is the closest thing to MMO out there.  To the unscientific eye....WoW = MMO.

Originally posted by snowyjoe

Every time i go to a MMO blog, check some gameplay on youtube or even just browsing through some forums what i always see are these 3 words.

"WoW is better"

 

Now don't get me wrong, i like playing WoW, (lvl 80 Hunter, Horde, Emerald Dream... if anyone is intrested)

But what i don't understand is when everyone compares all the other MMOs to WoW.

Now I understand that WoW is currently the most popular MMO out there... but that dosn't mean every other MMO is a copy of it.

Take for example EVE. People commenting stuff about how EVE is boring and WoW is better...... seriously... WTF?
How can you compare a Sandbox, Sci-fi, MMO to a End-game, Fantasy MMO?

It's like comparing Nacho Cheese with Fish sticks... it just dosn't work.

I also don't know why people are talking about the "next WoW killer" for each new MMO that sounds cool.  Does WoW really have to die? As long as the game is good, and makes me pay $14 a month then I'm fine even if WoW dosn't die.

Seriously what is with people and this addiction of WoW = MMO?

Umm, you're talking about a few different things in one thread. First you complain that people think WoW is better, then you complain that people call things WoW clones, and lastly you rant about apples and oranges.

I'll say one thing. People compare MMORPG's because they have monthly fees. As long as they have monthly fees and take months to complete, people will compare them to see which are the better time and money investment. The question should be, why not WoW? In my opinion, WoW is better. It doesn't make EVERY other game out there bad, but I'd say most are lacking a lot compared to WoW, sci fi MMO or not. Also, when you talk about comparing MMO's, it's usually the features you compare, not the sub genre (sci fi, fantasy etc).

Originally posted by snowyjoe

Every time i go to a MMO blog, check some gameplay on youtube or even just browsing through some forums what i always see are these 3 words.

"WoW is better"

 

Now don't get me wrong, i like playing WoW, (lvl 80 Hunter, Horde, Emerald Dream... if anyone is intrested)

But what i don't understand is when everyone compares all the other MMOs to WoW.

Now I understand that WoW is currently the most popular MMO out there... but that dosn't mean every other MMO is a copy of it.

Take for example EVE. People commenting stuff about how EVE is boring and WoW is better...... seriously... WTF?
How can you compare a Sandbox, Sci-fi, MMO to a End-game, Fantasy MMO?

It's like comparing Nacho Cheese with Fish sticks... it just dosn't work.

I also don't know why people are talking about the "next WoW killer" for each new MMO that sounds cool.  Does WoW really have to die? As long as the game is good, and makes me pay $14 a month then I'm fine even if WoW dosn't die.

Seriously what is with people and this addiction of WoW = MMO?

It's a simple numbers game.  It is the easiest game to use as comparison because it has had the most people play it, so in a discussion, it is the best reference point for MMO's.  This would be true even it it wasn't the most polished game in the genre.

Most people who are interested in MMO's have at least tried the game, hence the reason it is used as the most obvious reference point.  Seems pretty simple to me.  Here's a question, why do people still ask questions like the one you asked when the answer is so obvious?