Why the Old Republic is Poised to Dethrone World of Warcraft

Disclaimer: This article is entirely opinion based and does not necessarily reflect market statistics. These are all just observations I have made.

There is a good chance that you’ve heard of World of Warcraft, whether you play video games or not. This Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game (MMORPG, or MMO for short) has become such an enormous cultural phenomenon that it has escaped the confines of its platform (PC games) and made appearances in television shows and movies (South Park, How I Met Your Mother, and Zombieland are the ones I know off the top of my head) and even inspired the web show ‘the Guild’. Something this famous is bound to draw imitators; games like it that seek to steal a chunk of the millions of dollars the game rakes in each month. These games are labeled as ‘wow killers’. I know that Warhammer Online was once considered a wow killer as was the Conan MMO. In recent years World of Warcraft has leveled out in terms of its player base (hovering at 10 million) but so far no other online multiplayer game has come close to taking it out of the competition (or even giving it a challenge). Guild Wars made a valiant effort, but in my opinion, it was never really in the running. It’s a great game but it appeals to the gamers that can’t play world of warcraft, namely because they can’t afford the monthly fee. Guild Wars is free to play, therefore it isn’t exactly shooting for the same market.

So then the question arises; which game will inevitably sweep aside the aging juggernaut? The most obvious answer would be Blizzards next MMO. The company behind World of Warcraft has indicated that it is already hard at work on a new massively multiplayer online game, that will likely be a force to reckon with when it is released. However there is another game (recently released) that I believe has the potential to dethrone World of Warcraft before Blizzard finishes its new game. Star Wars: The OldRepublic is developed by Bioware and it is the first real contender. Here’s why…

A Strong Game Developer

I have reasons for my theory and the first concerns the developer behind this new game. Back when Blizzard first started making World of Warcraft, there was a lot of question about how the product would turn out. The company had a strong track record of producing great games, but could they create a full blown MMO? As it turns out the company listened to the fans of these types of games and sought to eliminate a lot of the pitfalls MMOs had. What resulted was a much smoother experience, one that anyone could pick up and understand without ever having played an MMO before it. Blizzard cared deeply for its games and the quality of their work showed in every corner of World of Warcraft. The game had its bugs and much content would be delivered later, but they quickly established themselves as the standard to beat.

Fast forward to today and Bioware just released The Old Republic. Bioware, like Blizzard, is a strong game developer with a great track record. Not only did they create the highly praised Baldur’s Gate series on the PC, but they also developed one of the highest rated games ever: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. With a passion for creating great games, like Blizzard, Bioware knows what makes a game fun and they know the platform they’re working on. This may be their first attempt at an MMO, but that may work to their advantage.

An Established Universe

When Blizzard settled on an idea for their MMO they chose the Warcraft franchise. For those who don’t know, Warcraft existed long before WoW with three real-time strategy games developed for the PC. The franchise was already known and loved by PC gamers before WoW launched, giving it a leg up right out of the gate. For Bioware, they have the same, if not a greater advantage. They have the Star Wars license, which has a fanbase all its own, and they have the KOTOR audience (short for knights of the old republic). If you haven’t played the KOTOR games you’re really missing out. Bioware managed to create its own timeline and story arcs in a world centuries before the Star Wars trilogies we know and love. They did it so well that there is a unique feel to this prequel world that is separate from normal Star Wars. Even if you weren’t a fan of the world before, you could jump into and enjoy KOTOR. So that gives The Old Republic an immediate advantage over Star Wars Galaxies, an earlier MMO that failed to get a foothold in the market.

A New Setting

It’s no secret that the MMOs dominating the market are fantasy based. It started with Everquest and has continued with WoW. It just doesn’t seem like any other genre can appeal to online gamers. And yet people play Halo and Unreal tournament all the time. So why can’t one of our MMOs be set in a science fiction universe? To me it seems like this market is ripe for the picking. Gamers are looking for something new. The OldRepublic works not only because it is a science fiction setting, but because it is an effective bridge between the genres. I’ve always said that Star Wars is a blend of Fantasy and Science Fiction. You’ve got magic (the force), swords (lightsabers), and wizards (jedi/sith). George Lucas was a genius for meshing both together. But for Bioware, this provides the perfect opportunity to ease gamers into the science fiction genre. It won’t be a culture shock and therefore the game won’t be as intimidating or unfamiliar.

A New Kind of MMO

The Old Republic takes a step away from more traditional MMOs in two ways. The first is Voice Acting. This might not seem like that big of an addition, but when you think about it, which would you rather have; endless scrolls of text or someone talking to you? Other MMOs have given voice acting a shot, but never on a scale like this. Considering the size of these games, voice acting is usually an unnecessary expense. There is just too much dialogue in the game to record all of it. To that challenge, Bioware has said “bring it on” and they hired every voice actor under the sun. By adding voice to their game they have not only made the game more accessible to people who don’t want to spend hours reading while they play. But it has also opened up a much greater potential for storytelling. World of Warcraft has gotten better in recent years with its storytelling, but for the most part MMOs are largely static. The world doesn’t change much despite how many times you save those people or kill those monsters. And you can read lots of stories hidden about the world, but you don’t necessarily feel like you are a part of them. Again, WoW has been getting much better at this, but The Old Republic stands to knock the idea out of the park. With voice acting, it’s going to immediately draw your character into the story, as well as the player. And this can be a bigger draw to a game than people realize. A lot of gamers like to have a story and it can be a turn-off when an MMO doesn’t really have one.

The other change Bioware made is the way in which combat is executed. I've only briefly played the game, but from what I’ve seen It looks like a blend of the more traditional turn or time based attacks and the instant attacks we’re more familiar with on console games. It isn't revolutionary, but coupled with space missions, that break up the traditional MMO play style, it makes the whole experience feel a lot fresher.

Conclusion

So there you have it. Obviously it is still too early to judge the full impact of each game, but I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen from Bioware and they are a trustworthy company to make good games. But, with the release of Mists of Pandaria (World of Warcraft’s fourth expansion) and Guild Wars 2, the MMO world is gearing for one heck of a battle.