I found an old comment I posted on Brokentoys right at WoW’s launch, when people were still skeptical about its success and value. It is quite amusing to read now :)

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So, the time has come where I point out you and Haemish discussing on the old WT.o that no mmorpg, not even WoW, will reach the 400k mark in the near future?

:)

My predictions seem to be correct. Now call me ‘fanboy’.
And keep minimizing what WoW does, blame the brand and the kids and repeat that it’s just EQ 1.5 with more ’shiney’. Keep trivializing, keep dismissing. (Oh, but it’s just a stable client with a polished interface, come on)

We’ll see in six month or a year if the subscriptions will fall or will keep raise. I’m sure I’ll found around a new bunch of “excuses” about why the game is indeed a long term contender.

The process of “Oh, but we all knew already about all this happening” is already started. Everyone! Jump on the bandwagon! QUICK! I wonder why any other company hasn’t tried to create a better WoW five years ago if it was that expected and easy to build.

Sure, there’s no innovation at all. This is why 600k supposed players are going to play *this* game. It’s just a miracle. Or “Blizzard”, or another excuse to dodge the *merit* of *why* this happens.

The “boring shit” is about to collapse. You’ll see that. Everyone that will keep with this type of blindness will be repaid with an even bigger failure. WoW is a (still weak) proof that sometimes something good happens. Even if 90% of the elitists will keep refusing to accept it.

Now go on with the sarcasm, it’s the only way to keep this defensive, jaded attitude. Go on to repeat the same old misunderstanding. You have to complain and whine, no matter of what happens or why it happens.

I feel a well hidden but consistent dose of hypocrisy. Quite spread around. About something I’m sure: WoW will be successful because of the “diet coke” marketing.

Diet coke marketing for the win!

P.S.
Or perhaps, if you want to be honest and have some modesty and humility, go read what even Lum directly wrote in the presentation about the ‘mass market’ and this genre that he posted around April. Then consider what WoW accomplished there and consider what any other mmorpg hasn’t. And why.

But going defensive is simpler and doesn’t requre any effort. Keep going.

I wonder if I’ll be ever able to see some professionalism in this genre. And for ‘professionalism’ I don’t mean being polite (aka known as: “(a) anything that can be construed as talking negatively about competitors is wildly unprofessional”). But being honest and unpretentious. Trying to accept the weakness and the mistakes, trying to learn from them with some humility.

To finish a last note: what I wrote has a value only if WoW is going to overwhelm EQ2. If it happens it means I was and am right. If it doesn’t happen and EQ2 subscribers will match WoW’s subscribers (low or high), it will mean that I’m an idiot.