1 year, that's how long I predict this game has left

I agree with your post, but when it comes to long term support of this game, I think comparing it to Diablo 2 or D3 is a bad example. Both of those games don’t require a game population to play or enjoy. HOTS was made as a team game with vs AI primarily for training.

If the game loses too many players it may still be supported, but outside of VS AI, it won’t be playable as intended.

3 Likes

I can always tell who’s a teenager/early twenty something on these forums because of their belief that popularity matters in the long run.

1 Like

Popularity does matter when the population gets so small that you can no longer play the game, or at least play certain gamemodes.

1 Like

I think ppl underestimate WIII reforged, as it will be packed with dota so basically Blizz will be one now selling “classic dota” with updated graphics. So even the mentioned “elitists” will be up to try it out, smartest decission they could ever do.

Also i can;t wait to play Enfos, castle fight, hero siege, footmen frenzy, vampirism fire, battleships (basically moba with ships, check it out!)

2 Likes

That’s not what’s meant by “popular”.

Is Warcraft 3 a “popular” game?

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=warcraft%203&geo=US

It’s search trend is considerably smaller than Heroes of the storm.

https://sullygnome.com/game/Warcraft_III_Reign_of_Chaos

Warcraft 3 has 0.3% less viewing hours on Twitch than Heroes of the Storm.

According to these criteria, HotS, by comparison, has a SIGNIFICANTLY larger presence in the mindspace of the public, yet are you going to tell me that NOBODY plays WC3 anymore and that it’s a “dead game”?

No, don’t be silly. Just because WC3 isn’t the latest craze with the kids (ie popular), doesn’t mean any of those things.

So no, over the long term, being a popular video game isn’t really that important to the players who are continuing to play the games that they enjoy.

1 Like

True, but it still impacts the quality of the gameplay experience.

Any new players who try to get into the game will find a very hostile environment where they will suffer one crushing defeat after another, until they either practice and read up on guides to the point where they can actually compete with the people who’ve been playing the game for years, or they quit.

Any gamemodes that aren’t popular with the diehard fans might as well not exist. Unless you have a group of willing friends, you’re generally stuck playing in only the most popular gamemodes and lobbies.

And if you run into players you don’t like because they’re rude/elitist/griefing/cheating, you’re generally stuck with them. They’re likely to be friends with the rest of the diehard playerbase and thus can’t be kicked or avoided.

So yes, a game doesn’t live and die by how much it’s trending on twitch, but a lack of popularity is still a very real concern for an ongoing multiplayer game.

2 Likes

You never played SC2 did you. I still play. It’s still crushingly hostile to someone who’s played the game for 8 years let alone a new player. Yet people still play SC2, even new players.

Welcome to life new person. It’s generally not ideal for you here. That’s no reason to quit though, as un-ideal as it sounds, it really does have it’s moments. Good luck & have fun!

I just proved this sentiment wrong but whatever, continue to march on with your own internal narrative I suppose.

I’ll hold you to it. If this game is still standing in one year, I’ll expect your resignation from the forums.

2 Likes

Why would the game not be standing?

The OP’s doom and gloom makes it sound like the games servers are going to be turned off, which is the only way I video game can “die”.

Evolve Stage 2 had about 30-60 active players per day but the game was not dead because the servers were still hosted. They’re down now, so yes, that game is dead, but as long as hots is hosted on Blizzard’s servers, it is not a dead game.

2 Likes

Highly unlikely to happen unless something significant changes at Blizzard. Even then, there are often 3rd party solutions if there is enough of an interest for it.

ya thats not happening. if blizz can keep a game as old as D2 up this long with its less than active population i think they can handle HotS with its more active crowd.

Seriously? A game with 30-60 active users could go on for 3.5 years before being canned but a game like HotS with THOUSANDS of active players is on borrowed time for a year or less?

Get out of here.

You’re are misinterpreting my position.

2 Likes

Could you point me to an actual new player in Starcraft 2? I play it occasionally too, but I can’t remember the last time I saw someone asking a total noob question or saying that they’re new. There were a few after the game went free-to-play, but I haven’t seen much since then.

You seem to be implying that these problems are present in every multiplayer game. This is not the case for popular games with a large, healthy playerbase. Even the most unpopular gamemodes in League of Legends, DotA 2 and Overwatch still have some people who will play with you, and if you run across a player you don’t like for whatever reason, you can always avoid them, report them and/or mute them; and even if you don’t, you’re unlikely to see them again.

…no you didn’t. You just downplayed the significance of the issues that come with a lack of popularity.

Plus, for every game like WC3 that still has a diehard fanbase, even years after the game’s popularity has faded, there are a dozen multiplayer games that truly died when the servers shut down, or have become so unpopular that it’s almost impossible to actually play with other people. Lawbreakers, Nuclear Dawn, XCOM 2 Multiplayer, and hundreds of other forgotten titles that neither of us remember.

1 Like

lol

It actually matters in a fully online game.

1 Like

I don’t know why people think Hots is alive. This game is dead since December 13, people just can’t understand it. Devs are gone, Kevin is gone, patches will come less frequent. Plenty of good people (pros and players from higher ranks) uninstalled right after the announcement. A lot of players stayed, but the question is for how long. The lack of players is not very prevalent now, because there was Kid event and Imperius was released, but how will Hots look like after first 2 months without any new content? it will definitely happen sooner or later this year! Hots players got used to regular new content, but what if it wouldn’t come? In my opinion we will se serious lack of players in months…

I think servers will be online for a long time, but without players. Maybe some smaller local servers (like the Singapore one) will be closed or merged, but EU or NA will be online for years. Without players…

I think you have no idea how game server works and the difference between Evolve and Hots!

First of all Evolve had dedicated servers. It means that you lease server from the owner. You gain full control, but have to pay for it. In this case Evolve’s devs leased servers from Valve. The key is you never lease server for a day or for a week (especially if you are big company such as 2K)!! You do it for months or years. Servers were shutdown when they had to renew the lease, but the income was lower than the cost.

However, Hots doesn’t have dedicated servers, because Blizzard has its own ones. There are so many servers for all of their games, so maintain a few more is barely noticeable. But it doesn’t mean Hots is alive!

2 Likes

Caught one! :smiley:

2 Likes

Good. Hopefully when its over Blizzard will pay me all the money they owe me for babysitting all of you for one hour a day.

I’ll link back to this topic a year from now.

3 Likes