BlizzCon 2013 Announced

[sandwich_bird]

The irony is that MMOs are rarely profitable.

I don't know about that. Some have been unprofitable for sure but if the vast majority was that unprofitable, I assume that you wouldn't see that many MMOs still up and running.

Anyways, speaking of WoW killers, if there is to be one new MMORPG to rule them all, I suppose it should have those requirements:

-Be released during the transition phase (I agree with RC on this)
-Be an extension of an already highly popular franchise; this also assume AAA polish (sorry to say it but, Mass Effect looks like a decent choice even following the recent perceived decrease in popularity. Another contestant that may not sound as obvious might be LoL.)
-Be more than a typical mmo rpg (decent attempt by Guild Wars 2 but still not enough....)
-Fully allow user's creativity in some way(think maybe Minecraft, Mod Nation Racers, etc)
-Do not base the entire revenue stream on traditional monthly payments systems (it's clearly out of fashion)

At least, that's what I can think off the top of my head.

[DemolitionSquid]

I'm MILDLY excited for Elder Scrolls Online... but the whole faction specific races thing always kills it for me. I always play Argonian, but I have a friend who plays Khajit and another who plays Orsimer so none of us end up in the same ESO faction. Its fucking crippling.

[Hawki]

Anyways, speaking of WoW killers, if there is to be one new MMORPG to rule them all, I suppose it should have those requirements:

-Be released during the transition phase (I agree with RC on this)

Assuming such a phase exists. I guess the closest one gets to transition phases with WoW is the time between expansions. GW2 released a month before MoP and did quite well, whereas MoP has the slowest rate of purchase for any WoW expansion thus far. If MoP had come out first, wonder if things might have been different?

-Be an extension of an already highly popular franchise; this also assume AAA polish

Which could easily go the other way, if one assumes the brand is a selling point.

(sorry to say it but, Mass Effect looks like a decent choice even following the recent perceived decrease in popularity.

Truth be told, it would make far more sense for Bioware to make a ME MMO rather than ME4. Forgetting that TOR exists for a moment, there's no real reason or way to go beyond ME3 without snubbing the fanbase (again), and in-universe, there's only about forty years of prequel material to go with assuming that there has to be at least the option of a playable human, not to mention it limits the stories that can be told. A MMO would suit that era far better IMO.

But no, ME4 it is. Not my choice, but then again, we know how much Bioware respects the worth of player choice now don't we?!

(Actually kind of over it, but couldn't pass up on the opportunity.)

Another contestant that may not sound as obvious might be LoL.)

Um...yeah, pretty much. I understand there's some background lore and story to LoL, but that it's the kind of background/story that you can find in DotA for instance. The type that you can pick up on if you want, but people laugh at you for trying. But that's just my impression.

I always play Argonian, but I have a friend who plays Khajit and another who plays Orsimer

Lizards, cats, and orcs? You're a traitor to humanity! To Oblivion I cast ye!

[DemolitionSquid]

Lizards, cats, and orcs? You're a traitor to humanity! To Oblivion I cast ye!

I would have thought the fact I never play Terran might have clued you in earlier.

[Quirel]

and in-universe, there's only about forty years of prequel material to go with assuming that there has to be at least the option of a playable human,

So what? Why do we have to limit ourselves to...
Oh, right, I forgot. The ME universe revolves around humans.

Carry on.

not to mention it limits the stories that can be told. A MMO would suit that era far better IMO.

Meh. Even if the era would work well for an MMO, that's not the only venue for stories to be told in. Think I'd like a return to the way that the original ME played.

But no, ME4 it is. Not my choice, but then again, we know how much Bioware respects the worth of player choice now don't we?!

(Actually kind of over it, but couldn't pass up on the opportunity.)

I'm mostly over it as well. But if there's so much as a single katana in ME4, then I hope that the Good Lord has mercy upon their souls, because I won't.
Whips are on the blacklist as well, even if they are made of energy.

[Hawki]

So what? Why do we have to limit ourselves to...
Oh, right, I forgot. The ME universe revolves around humans.

Carry on.

And pretty much every other sci-fi universe, or at least in as much that humans/near-humans/humanoids are present at least. If you leave newbies without something to latch onto, your universe's accesibility is going to go down the tubes very quickly.

Meh. Even if the era would work well for an MMO, that's not the only venue for stories to be told in. Think I'd like a return to the way that the original ME played.

In what way? The Mako? The lack of thermal clips?

Gameplay aside though, I don't think a repeat is that viable. Your average RPG-quest is going to involve a great deal of change in a short amount of time, but in this case, it's a catch 22. Too much change, and it's made iffy why this change wasn't brought up before. Too little change, and the player feels jipped, ala Dragon Age 2. Tie the storyline in with canon events too much, and you're limiting choice, and we all know how that went down with the last game.

Looking at Bioware's line-up, they've only ever made two games that don't have the letters "RPG" as part of their genre. So if it leaves an RPG or MMORPG, I think a MMO would be more suited in that even if it doesn't have a primary storyline, it can still last based on multiple smaller ones.

[hyde]

They really need to schedule their BlizzCons around game releases. A BlizzCon after a major release with not much else to announce is pointless. We might get a Diablo 3 expansion sneek. If not, then the whole thing is just pointless.

Unless their's information about Titan, in which its pointless to all non-MMOers.

BlizzCon is now an bi/annual pilgrimage for the majority of Blizzard customers, WoW/MMORPG players. Just look at the costume contest results, anything involving "Sex Appeal" and "World of WarCraft" won the majority of the votes, and there were 2 SC entries in a pool of 20 dominated by WarCraft and a token Diablo contestant. But this is expected. Though I thank Blizzard for cancelling 2012 and not making it an annual pilgrimage event.


I suspect 2013 Blizzcon will have LOTV Sneak Peak, and a massive Titan reveal from their leaked schedule (accounting for delys). Their launch strategy with WoW final expansion + Titan appears to be launching them at the same time, which makes no business sense to me due to cannibalism, but maybe they realize too many WoW subscribers have already ditched so it wouldn't matter.
According to the leaked schedule, WoW X5 + Titan are slated to be released simultaneously by the end of 2013. Speculating now, I think the Titan launch date might be a "hard date" one given the twilight stage of WoW's life, we could possibly see a Titan reveal in the next 4 months - so no reveal at Blizzcon then. If I am wrong about Titan completely, this year will be a very boring Blizzard year in regards to announcements since nothing but WoW/SC2 expansions are stated to be announced. That would be a pretty boring BlizzCon to be, but that's what 2011 Blizzcon was all about - Pandas.

[Quirel]

According to the leaked schedule, WoW X5 + Titan are slated to be released simultaneously by the end of 2013. Speculating now, I think the Titan launch date might be a "hard date" one given the twilight stage of WoW's life, we could possibly see a Titan reveal in the next 4 months - so no reveal at Blizzcon then. If I am wrong about Titan completely, this year will be a very boring Blizzard year in regards to announcements since nothing but WoW/SC2 expansions are stated to be announced. That would be a pretty boring BlizzCon to be, but that's what 2011 Blizzcon was all about - Pandas.

I just realized how little enthusiasm I have for Blizzard's games anymore.
I don't think any force on Heaven or Earth could get me interested in WarCraft, and Mephisto would have to offer HIS soul before I'll give Diablo a try. StarCraft... well, I haven't been keeping up with the news on HotS*.
Hope Titan is something new.

*A side effect of having grown up on dial-up is that I rarely watch vidocs/gameplay footage.

In what way? The Mako? The lack of thermal clips?

Exploration, lack of cover-based shooting, etc.

Tie the storyline in with canon events too much, and you're limiting choice, and we all know how that went down with the last game.

No, we all don't. Explanation please?

Looking at Bioware's line-up, they've only ever made two games that don't have the letters "RPG" as part of their genre. So if it leaves an RPG or MMORPG, I think a MMO would be more suited in that even if it doesn't have a primary storyline, it can still last based on multiple smaller ones.

I'm not sure that the next Mass Effect game needs to be 'epic' in scope. I think Bioware could do a smaller game set in the lawless Terminus Systems and let the characters carry the story. I mean, characters are Bioware's strongest point... when they're not trying to write homosexual romances. >.>

[Hawki]

I suspect 2013 Blizzcon will have LOTV Sneak Peak, and a massive Titan reveal from their leaked schedule (accounting for delys). Their launch strategy with WoW final expansion + Titan appears to be launching them at the same time, which makes no business sense to me due to cannibalism, but maybe they realize too many WoW subscribers have already ditched so it wouldn't matter.

According to the leaked schedule, WoW X5 + Titan are slated to be released simultaneously by the end of 2013. Speculating now, I think the Titan launch date might be a "hard date" one given the twilight stage of WoW's life, we could possibly see a Titan reveal in the next 4 months - so no reveal at Blizzcon then. If I am wrong about Titan completely, this year will be a very boring Blizzard year in regards to announcements since nothing but WoW/SC2 expansions are stated to be announced. That would be a pretty boring BlizzCon to be, but that's what 2011 Blizzcon was all about - Pandas.

I don't think the release schedule can be taken as hard evidence of anything. Phoenix has never had any word on it, nor was there a mention of a D3 console release. Also don't think X5 will necessarily be the last expansion pack. Last I checked, there was between 9 and 10 million players playing WoW. Unless there's to be a massive shift of staff to Titan for whatever reason, there's no reason to drop WoW from a financial standpoint. 5 expansions is a lot, but it's still small fry compared to how many expansions the EQ and UO series have been getting over the years. And if Titan is indeed a MMOFPS, then it's not really competing with WoW. RPGs and shooters are very different beasts.

But I somehow doubt we'll get a Titan reveal as BC2013. More counting on a D3 xpac reveal along with a WoW one.

No, we all don't. Explanation please?

As in, the lack of real choice presented in the original ME3 ending. Pre-established canon didn't play a role there, but it would hinder choice in pre-established events.

I'm not sure that the next Mass Effect game needs to be 'epic' in scope. I think Bioware could do a smaller game set in the lawless Terminus Systems and let the characters carry the story. I mean, characters are Bioware's strongest point... when they're not trying to write homosexual romances. >.>

It could work, especially if the protagonist is indeed a mercenary character (remember reading that somewhere, could be wrong).

[Alar]

I'm not sure that the next Mass Effect game needs to be 'epic' in scope. I think Bioware could do a smaller game set in the lawless Terminus Systems and let the characters carry the story. I mean, characters are Bioware's strongest point... when they're not trying to write homosexual romances. >.>

You take that back! FemShep x Tali shall be a romance for the ages! D:<

In all seriousness, I'm still expecting announced expansions for ALL their major titles, with the small chance of Titan or a Warcraft IV. And the chances of a LoL MMO are probably slim... don't get me wrong, I really like LoL, and I actually did keep up on the lore (back when they posted the newsletters that ranged from lore tidbits to being chocked full of story) back when they actually had a writing staff doing more than just coming up with champion bios and leaving it at that.

They have a huge player base to tap, and if even ten percent of the people who play LoL decided to buy the MMO, it would probably be a financial success. Even so, it just strikes me as... unlikely.