Last year World of Warcraft, or WOW, was the pastime of pale faced computer geeks who never left their basement flats. This year WOW has hit the big time. Prime time television adverts featuring the actors of "Mr T" and "Mini-me" have helped increase player numbers to almost 11 million world wide. But what has made it so popular? And why is it so derided by others?
WOW is a world wide phenomenon. When it was launched three years ago by Blizzard Entertainment they could never have expected it to grow so rapidly. Interestingly my first knee jerk reaction was to assume this was the creation of a Japanese, manga inspired computer game manufacturer but no, this company is based in California. Their customer base is now global and it is particularly popular in North America, Asia and Europe.
As a model of online gaming WOW is an incredible economic success. The company's profits are well over £50 million and with player numbers rising, this can only increase further. The initial outlay to start playing wow is about £10 and then there is the £15 a month subscription to allow you to play online. However, ingenious WOW players have tried to recoup some of these costs by selling intra-game possessions, attributes and characters on sites such as eBay.
But what has made it so popular? Is it the characters? the game play? the community? WOW is am enormous step up from the dungeons and dragons games and online text only roll playing games my friends played in school. The fantasy world inhabited by creatures such as elves, dwarves, orcs and mages is akin to a hyperactive Tolkien novel. It is this fantastical escapism which attracts many game players: the ability to desert their true lives and inhabit a magical kingdom. However, what keeps them interested is the WOW community.
The multinational, multilingual WOW community seems to be at the core of why it is so successful. Groups of players organised into guilds play, converse and complete tasks together. From different social, political and economic backgrounds these people are united by a common goal. WOW has permeated their social life to the extent that many individuals spend a significant number of hours a week, or even per day, playing the game. There are stories of new friendships, relationships and even weddings emerging from the WOW community. The WOW players are not just restricted to their computer screens as social events, gatherings and even full blown conferences occur round the globe. However, with any group of intense fantasists, not everyone gets along ...
WOW is a success as an exciting computer game, as a commercial venture and as a dynamic online community. However, like many others I have "lost friends to WOW" and am concerned that the time consumption and financial costs outweigh the benefits. The key difference between WOW and games designed for consols is that computer games which are not online have a defined end: at some point you complete the game. However WOW is a never ending online saga. I have seen the social lives of countless friends disappear when they start playing WOW. In particular WOW should be avoided with addictive personalities. My friends have explained to me in earnest that their social lives had not vanished, they just socialised online instead of in the pub. However, I'd rather go to the pub.
