MMO Monolithism

WoW is the first and only MMO I've ever played. Given the popularity of the game, dwarfing any of its subscription-based competitors, I imagine this is true for most of WoW's players.

Throughout WoW's lifespan, there have been a huge number of games to come about that have been touted as "WoW-killers." To rattle off a few, I remember Warhammer Online, Aeon, Rift, Star Wars the Old Republic, and there are probably others that I don't remember.

For the most part, I haven't really been drawn to these, but I do think it's interesting that these are all looked at as threats to WoW.

When I think of conventional video games, I don't think of them as being in any more direct competition than "which do I buy first?" I approach most console games on their own terms. My interest in Assassin's Creed II did not deter me from playing Mass Effect 2 (those were around the same time, right?)

Admittedly, there is a real cost. Video games tend to go for fifty or sixty bucks these days, and that's not negligible, unless you have a large discretionary budget. But even still, it's pretty uncommon for someone to completely write off a game if they get a different one.

But with MMOs it's a bit different. I have been playing WoW for about eight years now. It's impressive that a game has been able to hold my attention for that long, but in order to truly experience the game to its fullest - for example, to progress through its raids, a game like WoW requires a pretty enormous time commitment. Of course, it's fun, so one doesn't tend to mind, but it does somewhat shut out other gaming experiences. A game like Bioshock Infinite will take you only about a week, and that's with moderate play sessions. I can stand back and proudly look on how I completed the game and analyze it in a retrospective manner. Admittedly, WoW has really been more like a series of five games, with each expansion acting something like a sequel, but there's a fluidity between expansions that really comes back and tells us that it is one single game. And given the periodical way that content comes out (and the fact that people complain loudly whenever there's a lull, like right now,) there's basically always something you should be doing in-game, unless you've defeated the final boss of the expansion on heroic enough times to have a full set of heroic gear and/or have a full set of elite gladiator gear.

I defeated Garrosh Hellscream (admittedly only in LFR) several months ago. The story of Mists of Pandaria is really truly finished. Yet I still log in (though only about once a week these days) in a sense to prepare for the next expansion, though I'm sure that any progress I make these days (like upgrading my DK's gear to squeeze out a few more iLevels) will be pretty much irrelevant a day or two after Warlords comes out.

Anyway, the thing that made me think about this is that Wildstar is coming out soon. I've watched videos and read about the game, and for the first time I find myself strongly drawn to another MMO. Now, to point out something: as a Mac user, this is pretty much moot, because Wildstar is, like many games, PC-only. But if it's successful, I could imagine them making a Mac version, like NCSoft did for Guild Wars 2.

Wildstar really seems to be aiming at WoW's audience, with its bright, cartoonish style and a clear dedication to humor. It also does one of my favorite things by mashing up science fiction and fantasy. There's a class called a Spellslinger that's literally a magic gunslinger! The gameplay could be a breath of fresh air for the genre, and it looks like the developers have learned a few lessons in the ten years since WoW came out (like don't do pure DPS classes. Everyone's a hybrid!)

WoW is constantly being retrofitted with new concepts like Garrisons and the talent overhaul, but fundamentally, it's still basically the same game it always has been. And that's a great, fun game. I love WoW's classes and races. I love its world. I'm invested in WoW's lore and I love having a blue undead juggernaut alien anti-demon to go around committing horrific acts in the name of all that is good and holy.

Assuming that they come out with Wildstar for Macs or I get a PC, what then? Well, I would love to check out Wildstar. Yet there's a worry here that by playing one MMO I'd be automatically abandoning another. It's a strange psychology that MMO's create, and part of the reason why I was hesitant to start playing WoW in the first place.

So is the MMO genre inherently limiting? Can there be only one super-popular MMO while the rest struggle with tiny player bases? Is it merely a consequence of the subscription model? I don't know, but I hope that one day I'll be able to continue playing my blue alien anti-demon while getting to know some kind of robot assassin with a kickass hoverboard.