World of Warcraft is an aging titan, a MMORPG set astride the field which none may challenge. It lays claim to over ten-million subscribers, or at least, it did until recently. The grip of the titan has loosened, and around one million subscribers have fled its shadow for other realms. Blizzard explains the drop in subscriptions with the the usual mentions; a long release cycle without content, an older game. There was also the elephant demon in the room, Diablo 3, which competes with World of Warcraft with the strength of the Blizzard name. Can the upcoming Panda Island Pokemon expansion re-invigorate the titan? Rock, Paper, Shotgun has the story.
For a long time, it’s been obvious that gamers are dissatisfied with World of Warcraft. They’ve simply been playing it for too long. They’re tired. The only reason more players haven’t left is that they can’t, since no other game on market is as developed as WoW, or run with the same impressive skill.
Unless some other company steps up to the plate with the same level of polish and professionalism shown in WoW, then Blizzard really will remain its own competition.