Now that Lum readded the old archives I can save two comments I kept searching.<\/p>\n
The first chunk is about the success of WoW and my personal crusade to find out the real reasons instead of just dismissing and trivializing it. The comment was written the 23 November, when the game was just released. It’s valid even more today with its 2 millions of subscribers. My “ultimatum” at the end of the first message was also correct even more than I expected.<\/p>\n
The second is about another personal crusade about shifting the focus of the gameplay on other elements than just combat.<\/p>\n
— 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?<\/p>\n :)<\/p>\n My predictions seem to be correct. Now call me \u2018fanboy\u2019. We\u2019ll see in six month or a year if the subscriptions will fall or will keep raise. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll found around a new bunch of \u201cexcuses\u201d about why the game is indeed a long term contender.<\/p>\n The process of \u201cOh, but we all knew already about all this happening\u201d is already started. Everyone! Jump on the bandwagon! QUICK! I wonder why any other company hasn\u2019t tried to create a better WoW five years ago if it was that expected and easy to build.<\/p>\n Sure, there\u2019s no innovation at all. This is why 600k supposed players are going to play *this* game. It\u2019s just a miracle. Or \u201cBlizzard\u201d, or another excuse to dodge the *merit* of *why* this happens.<\/p>\n The \u201cboring shit\u201d is about to collapse. You\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n Now go on with the sarcasm, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n I feel a well hidden but consistent dose of hypocrisy. Quite spread around. About something I\u2019m sure: WoW will be successful because of the \u201cdiet coke\u201d marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Diet coke marketing for the win!<\/p>\n P.S. But going defensive is simpler and doesn\u2019t requre any effort. Keep going.<\/p>\n I wonder if I\u2019ll be ever able to see some professionalism in this genre. And for \u2018professionalism\u2019 I don\u2019t mean being polite (aka known as: \u201c(a) anything that can be construed as talking negatively about competitors is wildly unprofessional\u201d<\/i>). But being honest and unpretentious. Trying to accept the weakness and the mistakes, trying to learn from them with some humility.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t happen and EQ2 subscribers will match WoW\u2019s subscribers (low or high), it will mean that I\u2019m an idiot. <\/p>\n — The advancements in the genre must be understood and anticipated with some honesty, not being dismissed and trivialized. Nor they need to become a banquet for elitists trying to jump on the bandwagon.<\/p>\n The \u2018proven success\u2019 doesn\u2019t \u201chappen\u201d. It needs reasons. Now it\u2019s extremely important that peoples understand those reasons without trivializing them. This is why I pointed to the presentation you prepared about the mass market in April. It\u2019s where there are some *valuable* points to consider and learn. Once again. WoW is an occasion to learn that. But the general attitude doesn\u2019t seem to accept this and will probably miss this occasion. Or will misunderstood it completely.<\/p>\n And I \u2018lecture\u2019 because I can. Because I don\u2019t have to face the consequences. This allows me to be able to move and to learn quickly. To not fear to be wrong or disliked and try to improve on my own. Since this is my situation I\u2019m going to use the related benefits.<\/p>\n And I criticize because I like to receive critics. For others they are annoying, for me they are useful. <\/p>\n — If a prediction is wrong it means that the considerations made as premises of that prediction were wrong.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the point. <\/p>\n
\n(source<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\nAnd keep minimizing what WoW does, blame the brand and the kids and repeat that it\u2019s just EQ 1.5 with more \u2019shiney\u2019. Keep trivializing, keep dismissing. (Oh, but it\u2019s just a stable client with a polished interface, come on)<\/p>\n
\nOr 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 \u2018mass market\u2019 and this genre that he posted around April. Then consider what WoW accomplished there and consider what any other mmorpg hasn\u2019t. And why.<\/p>\n
\nIt wasn\u2019t an \u2018aimed\u2019 accusation. I simply dislike when something successful is suddenly dismissed and trivialized. What I dislike is an attitude that I see raising everywhere (and not only in this genre), I accuse directly that. Even if it was just my own wrong impression in this case.<\/p>\n
\nMaking prediction isn\u2019t useful as a practice in fortune telling. It is useful because there are reasons behind those predictions.<\/p>\n