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It looks like WOW is following EQ's design doc to the T. DAOC does this. EQ does this. EQ2 does this. Heck, even Guildwars is following this someways

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=19280

Blizzard COO Paul Sams has told GamesIndustry.biz that the company plans to release a new expansion pack for multi-million selling MMO World of Warcraft every year.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, Sams said, "Starting with The Burning Crusade, every year thereafter we plan on bringing out a new expansion set - so every 12 months."

Ugh.

Uhh, is 1 expansion per year that bad?

Kind of hard to keep people interested in the game if there is no new content... oO

The major problem with EQ doing one every 6 months is that they are riddled with bugs due to being pushed too fast --- and by the time something could be done about them, they are too busy working on the new expansion.

I guess I'd rather have MMOs play out their lifespan and companies innovate and design next gen games.

Expansion after expansion to me is like movie sequels. They're ok, but give me something fresh and new.

Too many expansions ruin the game. I really wish EQ2 would slow down the rate they are doing them.

The problem with slowing down on expansions for EQ2 is that the top guilds are completing everything in only a few months after release. The fix this problem they could add more and harder content for these guilds, but other than that they have no choice but to come out with quick expansions.

I wish they would just make new games once a year to keep things fresh and exciting... you know... instead of adding expansions to continue a storyline or give yourself a sense of accomplishment.

If top guilds are blowing thru content then there's something wrong with the game.

Martrae wrote:If top guilds are blowing thru content then there's something wrong with the game.

What’s your great idea to stop this? How do you stop a group of people playing 10+ hours a day 7 days a week from blowing thru content?

Gidan wrote:

Martrae wrote:If top guilds are blowing thru content then there's something wrong with the game.

What’s your great idea to stop this? How do you stop a group of people playing 10+ hours a day 7 days a week from blowing thru content?

Force them all to get jobs. And if that doesn't work, give them children too!

Either there isn't enough content to begin with....or the content itself is too easy.

Martrae wrote:Either there isn't enough content to begin with....or the content itself is too easy.

If the contents are too hard, you will hear the whinings on all the gaming boards.

If you consider how much money Blizzard poured into making WoW, and how much profit they're making from it via the monthly fees - simply making a new game to replace it would be a really stupid decision.

I'm not sure exactly what would be the best way to go about things, but if they were to make a new expansion every year that didn't simply lead to a huge collection of empty zones, and had very high quality (ie: lack of bugs) by the time the next expansion is put into the works, they'd probably be on the right track.

Blizzard is raising levels, adding tougher bosses, and already uses Mudflation (See Tier 1, 2, 3, etc armor). This is great for the kiddies who were babies when EQ came out in 99, and also didn't experience UO but I think most of the gamer world will get more and more migratory than we were in the past. The hardcore people who play will latch on to something, and WOW is the uberd00d game of the week, but that's neither here nor there.

Sure, Blizzard is making a ton of coin, essentially since all of Korea and half of Asia play WOW, and they are sitting at near double SOE's North American gamer count. However, I firmly believe MMOs have a life cycle and turnover accelerates in most cases. Especially a game like WOW.

I personally would just like to see new things, and think the industry will move towards faster lifecycles for MMOs. Especially as the PS3 and 360 become more mainstream.

I dunno


I'd rather play a game that had a lifespan of 10 years, than 15 games that were only good for 6-8 months each

I'd agree with that~

Completely unreallistic though


Besides the fact I am still playing EQ (thanks to the progression servers)