World of Warcraft was released in 2004 and the Blizzard-produced MMO was one of the most innovative and popular games when it launched. Almost two decades and eight expansion packs later, WoW is still on top of the MMO world. Popular streamer and MMO veteran Asmongold gave his take as to why World of Warcraft has stood the test of time.
WoW dwarfs the competition with 116.72 million players, according to MMO Populations. The competition for the top spot is seemingly fiercer than ever, though, since WoW hosts only 1.11 million active players. Final Fantasy XIV topples the MMO behemoth in terms of active players with 3.06 million users.
Despite the recent controversies surrounding Activision Blizzard and player criticism levied against the latest expansion, Shadowlands, WoW has largely maintained its status. While speaking on what makes a long-lasting game, Asmongold shared what he believes is the secret to a game—and why it applies to WoW.
“I think that every game, what a game lives and dies by, is its fundamental gameplay. Like how this game plays on a fundamental basis,” the OTK founder said while roaming New World‘s Aeternum. “Is it a fun game to play, or is it not a fun game to play?” A game’s responsiveness is also a “big thing,” according to him.
Applying his thoughts to WoW, Asmongold defended his longtime primary game: “Everybody memes on WoW for, like, a lot of legitimate reasons, but, like, the WoW combat is, like, super responsive and it’s really, really good.”
Asmongold continued to praise the combat systems of the MMO. “Even if you go back and play WoW Classic, it is still really, really good,” he said. “It’s so smooth.” The MMO veteran expressed that this was one of Blizzard’s greatest achievements: “That’s the unironic Blizzard quality that everyone wants.”
Though he’s exploring other MMOs more than ever, Asmongold still reveres World of Warcraft and the systems that made it the world’s leading MMO.
Published: Dec 26, 2021 03:47 pm