Originally posted by Spiider

 Chance is 0. It does not pay as well as WOW-like games. Blizzard is profit oriented company, not innovative and bold. They will let someone else make it and then they will copy it... like with WOW which is copy of EQ and rest of games who were out before WOW.

It's amusing that Blizzard has always focused purely on fun games which have enough depth to keep you playing for years, but now that they've finally got the success they deserved they're a greedy profit-driven megacorporation plotting the downfall of humanity.

Personally I've always half considered Blizzard's "innovation" to be polish, and the ability to take ideas from a bunch of other games and turn it into something truly fun (usually by distilling out the crappy parts, as they did with EQ.)  They're not 100% successful at it, but like the group of people running from a bear it's not how fast you run but whether you run faster than the people around you.

Originally posted by Axehilt 

It's amusing that Blizzard has always focused purely on fun games which have enough depth to keep you playing for years, but now that they've finally got the success they deserved they're a greedy profit-driven megacorporation plotting the downfall of humanity.

Personally I've always half considered Blizzard's "innovation" to be polish, and the ability to take ideas from a bunch of other games and turn it into something truly fun (usually by distilling out the crappy parts, as they did with EQ.)  They're not 100% successful at it, but like the group of people running from a bear it's not how fast you run but whether you run faster than the people around you.

What drugs are you on? Who said greedy megacorporation plotting the downfall of humanity? They are company just like any other, SONY, EA, all the same. Profit is primary goal, they are no charity organisations. You have been watching too many sci-fi movies about apocalyptic future. Blizzard is there to make money. Period. Just like MS got excel and winNT from others and then packaged it as own product this is how Blizzard packages ideas. They are appealing to many people, they have long lasting effect but they are far from revolutionary or innovative. Blizzard is to gaming what Spice Girls were to music. Blizzards knows where the money is, they know who to target and how to sell. This is why WOW is played by 10 million people and innovative revolutionary niche games, like EVE, can't break 500k. The world want's watered down gaming experience, pre-chewed content, instant action, brainless fun. Just because you don't it does not mean other 10 million people don't as well.

I don't play WOW, but I don't hate Blizzard or WOW for what they are. It is the freedom of choice that matters, and those who wan't to play it and pay for it are welcome. Yet I have no expectations that Blizzard will ever walk the groundbreaking path again, those days are long gone for them, now it's about impressing the shareholders and not impressing some nerds who want innovative mmo thrill.

Now get a life and accept that people have different opinions, and that if 10 million blindly chant "hail Blizzard" others should follow is a shitty way to go forward.

I'm sorry, I'd forgotten we can't be silly or use exaggerations here at MMORPG.com.

(Lighten up, man :P )

Judging from what Blizz has said about the new MMO, particularly the statement that "it's not going to be another  WoW" I think that's a clear indication that it will be sandbox, or something close to it.  Of course the definition of "sandbox" is different to everyone.  For me, it would be something similar to a GTA game with the same sort of appeal.  No levels, go anywhere, do anything, kill anybody sort of game.

I am willing to bet some money on the possibility that their next MMO game will be a pretty decent sandbox with lots of bells and whistles. Their not going to compete with theirselves. World of Warcraft definitely has some years to come. I'm not a fan of the game myself, but I can easily see this game last for another five years. Within that period they are going to release a new MMO, or maybe even two. First a major sandbox title that is based on one of their franchises, and then there's going to be a sequel to WoW. And I'm not taking Diablo 3 as their next MMO.

Originally posted by cyan85

Judging from what Blizz has said about the new MMO, particularly the statement that "it's not going to be another  WoW" I think that's a clear indication that it will be sandbox, or something close to it.  Of course the definition of "sandbox" is different to everyone.  For me, it would be something similar to a GTA game with the same sort of appeal.  No levels, go anywhere, do anything, kill anybody sort of game.

I think they most likely meant it wouldnt be set in Azeroth.

Originally posted by Wizardry

Well for one i do not consider anything Blizzard makes to be quality,they are still using a 10 year old game engine and gods knows how many times they plan on rehashing it.The texture use in WOW is of the lowest quality amongst all games on the net,the models are rivaled or bettered by most games and the content is EXTREMELY linear in that everything the players want is in instances.

Instances is also the cheapest form of creating content,it allows the developer the easiest route to making no mistakes,it is basically a chicken shit approach.As for a big budget,they only have a large budget for anything ,because they are horrible at handling money,they can get away with it ,when you have millions of gamers funding their poor efforts.

Square Enix operates a  marginally higher budget than Blizzard but has 8 gaming divisions and tons of games,Blizzard is lucky to have anything going for production and yet they still have to account for their huge over head.

Ok now that i got that off my chest,i just tire of hearing stereotypical BS about Blizzard just because they have a game that has the most subs.

As far as their next game goes,right out of the gate it showed an amateur direction.Why? well because they had already started to make the game,yet they were still looking for a lead director lmao,how is that even possible?That tells me it will be a loosely developed game,just thrown together as cheap as WOW was.

I already threw out my  guess on their next game,and it HAS to be focused around the Redkneck Rampage series they bought the rights to.I mean i figure it is a no brainer,you don't buy an IP just for the sake of wasting money,they obviously have plans to use it and make a game from it.So i expect something along the lines of a goofy GTA type of game,but using the RR theme.Blizzard has a VERY low ability to create,so it will be a game that copies some other game,witch is why i picked the GTA idea,because it is a popular game and it fits the Redkneck Rampage type of theme.

IMO personal opinion...I would fire the guy who thought it was an intelligent move to purchase that IP.Blizzard has made millions from WOW,they SHOULD have the people and the money to build a VERY nice gaming engine.They should also have the ability to create a unique game and not just copy some other game,especially RR,i m still baffled as to that incredibly stupid purchase.

So there is my guess a GTA type of game using the RR theme.

Wow, just wow.  After reading that post you have no clue how things work in MMO production do you?

Blizzard is amongst the most highly respected video game producers specifically for the fact that their games are very polished and of exceptional quality.  That doesn't mean it will appeal to everyone, but good is good whether you like it or not.  Blizzard seemingly always has a game in production.....D3 and the new unnamed MMO right now for example.  Just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean it isn't happening. I'm not really sure where you're getting your information, but I'm guessing much of it is coming from your posterior. 

WoW is using a 10 year old engine because the game has been out for 5 years and was in production for roughly that same amount of time.  I know all the newest games are running on engines only a few months old though.../sarcasm.  Do you have any idea the amount of money and time it would cost to replace a game engine with a newer one?  Let's just say it's not feasible, especially for the behemoth that is WoW.

As for the textures....WoW was released that way intentionally so that the game is playable by a broader audience than a game that requires cutting edge tech to run smoothly.  Available to more people = more subscriptions.  It was brilliant yet simple....so simple other game producers should've figured it out sooner.

The linear quest progression was another reason WoW is so successful....ah, nevermind.......

Look, I get it you're not a fan of Blizzard or WoW, and neither am I, but to post blatantly false stuff as fact, when in fact it is simply your opinion, an opinion which contradicts reality, is just wrong.  I'm not sure why you have such blind hatred, apparently WoW/Blizzard killed your dog, but you really need to let it go.  Railing against a game, using the things that made it ridiculously successful as your argument is just,....well....it doesn't make you look very objective to put it politely. 

 It might have some sandboxy elements like good ways for players to create quality content, but it won't be a sandbox.  No way in hell.  They actually want to make money and a sandbox won't make them enough.  It might make a 10 man indy company some money, but not Blizzard.  They're too big to take that gamble.

Like others have said, Blizzard makes fun games first.  Sandboxes generally aren't games and sometimes just aren't fun.  Blizzard likes people to have a consistent high quality experience and thats not a sandbox at all.   Sandboxes don't provide any sort of consistent experience, which is why most people don't find them fun.   10 people playing a sandbox could provide 10 different experiences and thats a bad thing for Blizzard.  Its about quality control and in a sandbox, the developer hands that control over.  The players just do what they want for better or worse.  Look at how people bitch and moan when something doesn't go EXACTLY right in WOW.   These people can't tolerate a sandbox where everything can go wrong all the time and its often by design or by accident=)  Imagine if Blizzard told someone, "Yes, in our game other players can basically prevent you from ever leaving the starter area."  If you can't hack it, quit."  OR, "Yes, we're going to let you figure out how to play.  There is no tutorial.  Theres no right or wrong."  "If you want a map or an explaination for anything, go look it up online."  Yeah, that'll go over really well=)

Originally posted by Axehilt

I'm sorry, I'd forgotten we can't be silly or use exaggerations here at MMORPG.com.

(Lighten up, man :P )

Damn, I though you are serious. :)

Originally posted by nickelpat

I believe Blizzard will make their next MMO with more engaging combat and crafting, and probably with the mechanics that allow you to craft and still level.

If they make a second game in addition to WoW, that's pretty much what it will have to be.  Very few people are out there thinking "WoW, I wish I could be playing the same game as WoW, just set in the future instead of the past."  The game mechanics are going to have to be materially different.  And, let's face it, they can't be much simpler than they are right now.

It made perfect sense for Blizzard to make a button-flashing minigame that the average six-year-old can easily master.  They had the best engine, so why NOT make it easily accessible to the least-common-denominator of players?  What makes absolutely no sense whatsoever is what most MMO producers are doing today:  re-making the same game that Blizzard has already perfected.

It may well turn out that Blizzard is the only MMO company with enough sense to know that it's stupid to try to compete with Blizzard.

If they have any business sense whatsoever (and they do - in spades) they aren't trying to copy WoW; they're trying to find out all they can about the people who may be interested in MMORPG's, but AREN'T playing WoW, so they can target that market.  Especially the millions of people who played the game for a short while and then left it.  It's safe to say there aren't a lot who left because WoW was too complex to master. 

Blizzard's execs have said their biggest single surprise with WoW was finding out how high a percentage of the players are adults.  Of course children (and drug addicts) represent a sizeable portion of the gaming world.  But they're not nearly as gigantic a segment of the PC gaming community as they are in the console world.  And in the case of MMO's - where you have to consider the number of potential customers who have their own credit cards - lucid adults might even comprise more than half of the customer base.

Right now, WoW is where EQ was six years ago:  more people have left it than are currently playing, and a huge percentage of the people still there are desperate for something new.  Those people aren't going to be stolen by a smoother engine than WoW's, because there aren't that many rough edges left.  If Blizzard can do essentially the same thing they did with WoW, but add a strategic element to the combat system, they'll bring back enough players to essentially double their subscription base practically overnight.  If another company does that first, they'll cut Blizzard's playerbase in half.

Originally posted by Josher

 It might have some sandboxy elements like good ways for players to create quality content, but it won't be a sandbox.  No way in hell.  They actually want to make money and a sandbox won't make them enough.  It might make a 10 man indy company some money, but not Blizzard.  They're too big to take that gamble.

Like others have said, Blizzard makes fun games first.  Sandboxes generally aren't games and sometimes just aren't fun.  Blizzard likes people to have a consistent high quality experience and thats not a sandbox at all.   Sandboxes don't provide any sort of consistent experience, which is why most people don't find them fun.   10 people playing a sandbox could provide 10 different experiences and thats a bad thing for Blizzard.  Its about quality control and in a sandbox, the developer hands that control over.  The players just do what they want for better or worse.  Look at how people bitch and moan when something doesn't go EXACTLY right in WOW.   These people can't tolerate a sandbox where everything can go wrong all the time and its often by design or by accident=)  Imagine if Blizzard told someone, "Yes, in our game other players can basically prevent you from ever leaving the starter area."  If you can't hack it, quit."  OR, "Yes, we're going to let you figure out how to play.  There is no tutorial.  Theres no right or wrong."  "If you want a map or an explaination for anything, go look it up online."  Yeah, that'll go over really well=)

 

Interesting opinion about what makes a sandbox game.