I think it’s more the fact that the major streamers or content creators for wow have always genuinely loved the game and wanted what was best for it. That’s important to long term players I think.
For me it was always about watching those guys nerd out about wow and hear their opinions (whether I agreed with them or not) while I was driving and wanted something to listen to, or whenever else I had a break in the day and was thinking about the game.
That’s what I like about them and I especially appreciated preach for all the hours he put in testing things to give his feedback. And he was right about a lot of the bad design direction blizzard took and was a huge advocate for players because of how large his audience was.
People who act as if content creators or steamers have 0 influence over video games are simply stuck in the early 2000s.
These content creates were engaging with many different generations of players far better than blizzard could’ve ever done.
They essentially provided free advertising for them and overtime undoubtedly brought in new players as well as re-engaged with old players. Now with them gone, that’s less advertising for Blizzard.
This game was never going to survive by simply relying on the 30+ year olds to continue playing. It needs new generations to join the game and all those kids are on twitch/YouTube.
I think this is the issue of having the same leadership team for the past 10 years. They are stuck in their old ways and resistant to change. The game really needs a fresh perspective.
Nobody is denying their influence, the problem is not all of it is good
And yes, it certainly does. And that would be best if the devs listened to the players instead of the same dozen people that they assume represent all of us, when they don’t.
Yes, in another time. This is 2021 now. As a business you want your product/service to reach as many people as it possibly can.
Kids born after the year 2000 are on twitch and YouTube. They make their decisions on which game to play based off the content they see on these platforms.
With these streamers no longer playing the game, that becomes less content for the new audience to absorb and less free advertising for blizzard. Same applies to Madseasons videos on YouTube that get 300K+ views a time.
As WoWs original gamers grow old (the 2004-2012 crew) so does their ability to commit to a game. A company requires younger generations to keep it hot in the market. WoW can’t thrive without them moving forward.
That’s his real self. His “streamer” personality is a persona because he’s an entertainer.
I respect the real him though. He’s very thoughtful and intelligent.
Also, I disagree that viewership numbers should be the primary factor on where a games development goes. They can gather useful feedback from them, but they also need to weigh it against everything else. It’s a double-edged sword of getting free advertisement on-top of them turning people off from playing your product. Either scenario… they’re making money. Also, you really shouldn’t be building your brand off of one game. WoW’s an old game and only attracts a middle aged crowd whereas other games mainstream towards a younger generation.
Yes, I am sure the only way kids learn about games is youtube. Not friends that play the game and want to get their friend into it. Not the fact its existed 16 years and has become a game even avid non-gamers know about…
People dont understand how serious is that the most popular streamers and content creators leave the game for other shores. And this didnt start a month ago with Asmon: this started 2 years ago when Arena Junkies closed and a part of PvP community died.
Those things al symptoms of bigger things happening to the game and his player retention. Wow has been in a pathetic design point for the last 3 years. The daily and solo content begins with Anima grinds and ends with Torghast runs. Nothing too great.
Right now I’m doing Layer 12 with 5 stars to get the mount and enter Adamants Vaults. And that’s all the excitement I can get from the game. Last time something like this happened to me were in 7.3 when I was doing the Challenges with my alts and needed to get some gear so when the Mage Tower was up I could finish it. How this could be the apex design of a game for a multi million dollars company? Seriously this is the best a leader of the industry can do?
Like you I think this cataclysm in Blizzard offices is gonna be bad for a while. But I really hope that this creates an opportunity for new leadership, ideas and games. All those old tired people at Blizzard needs to be fired. Their best ideas are behind them, that is clear.
The problem here is that WoW has at its core barely changed. It’s the same game with a different coat of paint.
I quit in 2010 and came back in 2021 and after 11 years the only things I can point at as being “new” was M+, daily/weekly quests, azerite power armor, and some legendary systems. The voice acting and ingame cutscenes were all new to me.
You still had dungeons, raids, arenas, and bgs… and realistically that’s all you spend your time doing. Each expansion might change up how classes play, but yeah… it took me a few hours to get adjusted back to the game.
The game can’t just be stuck in forever purgatory and really needs to innovate itself in new ways. And this is really a problem with the MMO market in general.
Lets put it this way; some of us don’t play WoW that much (anymore). For example, recently I thought, ‘is it worth my time and money to come back to WoW?’, and, ‘I wonder what changes they’ve made to WoW recently?’ So, what would be the logical step to answering those questions? Finding someone who I know to be knowledgeable on the subject. So I typed ‘WoW’ into the youtube bar, found a Preach video, and since I had watched his content before, I knew his philosophies on the game aligned with mine. If he says ‘things are awesome’, I’ll be much more inclined to give it a shot. Conversely, if he says ‘things are horrible’ I’m much more likely to keep steering clear. Nothing wrong with getting advice from someone far more learned on the subject then you are.
Honestly, no offense intended but this is just propaganda to me. I played FFXIV all the way to 49 I think and the story was just dull to me. Its not the reason I quit (I’m just not of fan of the JRPG style). Every story, no matter how layered, has a base story. All that is just to add depth so when I hear answers like this it comes across as the story is still dull but if you play everything and squint its really really good.
I think any leaving is a loss to WoW. But that’s everyone’s decision. And they don’t have an obligation to stay since this is all ActiBlizz’s doing. But I don’t see how they can just change games and keep their audience. It might all be bad news but looks like they will need to transition. And honestly I don’t even know what they will talk about since so much of it has been about problems with the game.
Plus, last I heard Japan and Japanese companies weren’t really out the 1950s with their ideas of what women should and shouldn’t be doing. So aren’t people just setting another company up ala CD Project Red. Now I may be out of date and they’ve modernized. I really don’t keep up with this kinda stuff.
The “WoW is dead” and/or “WoW is dying” has been going on for many, many ages in forums, and it naturally spreaded like wildfire within social media. Plus, the current patch delays, state of the game and harassment lawsuits are gasoline to that wildfire.
Now, when WoW will be "Dead for Good" ? In my perspective, two things must happen:
An official statement from Blizzard saying there will be no more development. No more expansions or patches.
An official statement from Blizzard informing a date when all Servers will be shutting down for eternity.
I don’t think that will happen in a near future (years).
Highly doubt its going to stick as far as Preach is concerned, i like his videos but i’m sorry outside of WoW his qualities as an entertainer aren’t exactly huge.
Asmon will do whatever gives him views or clout, its whatever.
I expect they’ll both be back once that dies down.