Is WoW dying?

Discussion in 'World of Warcraft' started by devonbomer, May 27, 2015.

  1. Fozz

    Fozz Well-Known Member
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    In Quarter 1 2015, subscriptions were at 7.1 million. In Quarter 2, 2015, subscriptions are now at 5.2 million (or in that area). Based on the numbers, yes, it is dying. Will it ever completely die? I do not believe so. There will always be loyal fans who continue to play. I personally still enjoy playing. However, I don't enjoy it as much as I did during BC or WOTLK, and I think many people feel the same. Although the new LFR system makes raiding convenient, I feel as though it cheapened the experience. I also miss the necessary community that existed prior to LFR.
     
  2. jbepp

    jbepp Well-Known Member

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    I personally think that it's slowly dying. It's not as popular as before and most the new expansions feel forced and you really get to enjoy the lore that used to make WoW so intriguing. It's still far from dead, but it's slowly decaying.
     
  3. moneyman

    moneyman Well-Known Member
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    This is a phenomenon that happens with every little bit older game since there are new games up coming on a regular basis all the time and therefore players will abandon the old ones they play rarely.
     
  4. p4lse

    p4lse Active Member
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    WoW is definitely dying. With the huge growth of games like DotA2,LoL,etc into E-sports scene, the popularity has gradually shifted towards them. The people who still play WoW are people who have started long back and refuse to quit. The number of new players entering WoW is very less.
     
  5. moneyman

    moneyman Well-Known Member
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    This happens with every old game. World of warcraft is dying slowly since new players getting into the game is lower than people quitting it. Therefore I haven't seen anymore WoW advertising as much as before so maybe they are going to make the most money of it whilst people are still playing it.
     
  6. razer

    razer Well-Known Member
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    I heard they screwed something up with one of the recent expansions, which made a lot of people leave the game permanently.
     
  7. flickerthestar

    flickerthestar Well-Known Member
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    Wow is fine, but old Wow is dead since a lot of old players are leaving but I guess that's just the natural order of things as you grow up. I don't think it will be dying anytime soon however. With the movie coming out next year I can foresee a spike in new players and it is rumored the storyline set up from the first version is coming to an end so that should bring back a few old players to at least see things to a proper end.
     
  8. Jboh

    Jboh Active Member
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    While Blizzard has been losing WoW subscribers for some time now, I think Blizz would have to mess up badly for the game to die out completely. The only way the game will truly die is if Blizz decides to move on to newer and better things. Or if they decide to release a new Warcraft MMORPG.
     
  9. Cereus

    Cereus Well-Known Member
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    Honestly Blizzard's gonna have to come out with a new version of WoW. Everything the game's built on is a decade old. Blizzard lost a lot of players when they upgraded all the base requirements to run the game. The reason why so many played WoW was in part due to its low hardware entry to the game. Newer MMOs are more resource intensive. So for the sheer amount of content for the low hardware entry point- it was ideal for a lot of people playing on handme down computers, ect. The other chunk of players who quit WoW wanted something more engaging and updated with the best of what they liked about WoW coupled with prettier graphics, ect. so they migrated over to FF14.
     
  10. HalfBeard

    HalfBeard Well-Known Member
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    Subscriptions have been dropping for years, but there are still so many players it's still very much alive. So if one calls it dying,
    it's doing so very very slowly.
     
  11. Nytegeek

    Nytegeek No namby pamby hand holding over FUD. EXTERMINATE!
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    I think with some of the recent subscription numbers people are forgetting to factor in players paying with game gold. In the USA virtual currency and items that sell for money are taxed as property, so I doubt the players that payed with game gold were included in the subscription numbers.
     
  12. Cereus

    Cereus Well-Known Member
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    According to the Q2 reports- Blizzard is down to 5 million subs. We have yet to see their Q3/4 reports which will prolly be out at the end of this month or start of January. At their peak a few years ago they had 10. Prior to WoD the subs were holding steady at 6-7 million. Meanwhile FF14 has 5 million subs, up from like 1 mill. It is slowly dying, but WoD has seen a really steep decline as other previous WoW players have migrated to other games.
     
  13. Nkara

    Nkara Well-Known Member
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    I totally agree about the cycle. I have been around WoW since BC, and it never fails. People hang it up for a bit, new expansion pack hits, they come back, they reach endgame, get bored and leave again, and then repeat with the next expansion. I petered off after MoP, because I couldn't juggle the baby-rage, college courses, and WoW at the same time....so WoW was canceled. Now that I'm graduated, the baby is in school, and I have a few days to myself without work, I have considered coming back.
     
  14. Nytegeek

    Nytegeek No namby pamby hand holding over FUD. EXTERMINATE!
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    The cycle you refer to is a drop in the bucket. Look at the numbers. It is a steadily increasing decline since Wrath of the Lich King.
     
  15. Nkara

    Nkara Well-Known Member
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    HalfBeard said it best, a few responses up-- if this is dying, it is a slow, slow death. This "steady decline" you speak of has been going on now for how long? 7 years? I wouldn't necessarily start calling for last rites anytime soon. There are still new subs coming in, even if the long-term players are leaving. Not everyone is leaving for good. Some come back.

    "Dying" is so final....I don't think this is anywhere close to the end.
     
  16. Nytegeek

    Nytegeek No namby pamby hand holding over FUD. EXTERMINATE!
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    Steady as in it continues to decline. It isn't slow. Look at the numbers. Every quarter it is worse.
     
  17. Nkara

    Nkara Well-Known Member
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    You see the glass half empty, I see it half full. Yes, the numbers are going down, but it isn't as "doom and gloom" as you're making it out to be. Theres still a significant fanbase, there's still interest (did you NOT watch BlizzCon?), there's still life in this thing. It may not be as it was back at the peak, but it is still alive and kicking.
     
  18. Nytegeek

    Nytegeek No namby pamby hand holding over FUD. EXTERMINATE!
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    Half full or half empty are ridiculous angles. I'm a realist. The decline is likely worse than I have indicated here.
     
  19. Nkara

    Nkara Well-Known Member
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    To each their own, I guess. I find declaring death on a program that still has millions in subscriptions ridiculous, myself, but we may just have to agree to disagree on this point.

    Until Blizzard says that there will not be another expansion, there will be an end date to the subscriptions, or some other type of announcement that declares that WoW is dying/dead, then it is not dead. No matter what anyone thinks.
     
  20. Nytegeek

    Nytegeek No namby pamby hand holding over FUD. EXTERMINATE!
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    World of Warcraft was never that great anyway. Most of the features and ideas good in it are borrowed from other MMORPGs, Blizzard does not innovate. They were never the largest MMO by subscriptions, contrary to popular belief. That title goes to Runescape. People think WoW is this big innovative game and cry about it's impending demise, but it was never that good or much of a factor in the genre other than being noticed. WoW is the McDonalds of games, it may be all over the place and used by millions, but they are still serving crap.