Gamespy Poll - EQ2 vs. WoWFollow

First off, yes I realize this is silly..I am bored at work what can I say.

I was surprised to see so many votes in favor of WOW. To each their own I suppose...I cast my vote toward EQ2 personally lol..

My first guess is that Gamespy is not a popular place for EQ2 players to visit, or maybe EQ2 players are too busy enjoying the game *shrug*. Oh well, another meaningless poll? (marketing gimick)

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/569/569110p1.html

I don't know others but I don't visit those sites frequently, let alone vote.

I agree that more kids will look at those sites, but the average age of a "gamer" is 28.

Ohhh, really? Is this why you made this ever so sarcastic post about the two gamespot reviews side by side in the WoW forums?

http://wow.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=21&mid=1101838612168293005&num=20

All of you who base your decision on what to play by game review websites (who's main source of revenue is from advertisment from gaming companies) make me sick. Try a game, if you like it.. play it. If not, don't go trying to cram your opinion down other's throats.

I'd wager that it was your sockpuppet trolling these forums with the exact same links this morning.

Edited, Tue Nov 30 16:34:52 2004 by subvert

Blizzard has made some very good games. WC, WC2 and SC being their three greatest creations. I know some people, like me, were very skeptical of WoW because of the terrible system called Battle.net. It was a unique system in that it provided a place for people to play games for free online, so I give them credit for that.

The problem is the servers were constantly being trolled by PK Guilds who did nothing but collect ears for fun using programs that hacked their characters to make them Godlike characters. This turned me off from online gaming for a while because I am someone who likes to cooperate than compete.

RPGs should be about cooperation, sports games are for competing. *shrugs* That's just my 2 copper worth on that opinion though.

As for game review sites, yeah I tend to go there just to get a feel for a game before I try it, but I rarely listen to them. Those sites and the gaming mags are basically trying to ***** out the latest & greatest from the bigger game companies, so I tend not to go by their opinion, but the opinions of people who enjoy the same kinds of games I do.

As a side, I'd trust that poll's validity as much as I would any poll found on GameFAQs.

Wow...and I thought the guys in the FFXI was insecure about their choice in MMOs. We have one guy generalizing sites such as Gamespot and Gamespy, stating that they attract the kiddies. All I have to say is this: would you have said the same thing if EQ2 was winning in popularity in those sites? I think not.

As for the person stating that it was all about the marketing, he is partially right and partially wrong. The marketing of WoW was simple, to the point and was basically drawing those who enjoyed the revious entries of the series. EQ2 went down a similar route, trying to make their stance on how MMO became popular in the first place: because of them. Here is the biggest problem: It became a battle of reputation. EQ in general had some mixed press regarding the game and how it effects others. This added to the fact that the game created problems that all MMOs face by design, such as the level grind. Not to mention the frustrations found ingame and the bugs that drove people mad with anger during certain points of the game (some still suffered) They see that in EQ and apply that to EQ2.

I'm not going to comment on EQ2 much because I simply haven't played the game yet. I can't really say I would, either. The game doesn't attract me much. The art direction, EQ's past reputation and time sinks pushes me away from the game. I have played WoW and as you can tell, it's my new home. I love the style, the pacing and I love how fun it can be no matter how long I have to play. In other words, there are things I wanted from a MMO that EQ2 didn't have...so I went to WoW. Simple.

Just play what appeals to you more and quit complaining how the popularity of one game is hurting the success of the other, okay? EQ2 isn't going offline anytime soon...

My comment is not completely uninformed. I have played WoW. It struck me as a "cartoony" game. That screams kids to me. Sorry, that's how I see it. I never claimed that zero adults play it. Even I enjoy watching cartoons from time to time. I also never mentioned "bnetkiddies." You invoked that term yourself.

I disliked WoW for two reasons. One was the afforementioned "cartoony" look. The second was that I saw nothing new or innovative in the game at all. It had the exact same elements, and only those elements, of every other MMORPG I have ever played. They didn't come up with anything new. In fact the only thing I found was that rogues could stun from the front, allowing them to run around and backstab for insane damage. Interesting idea.

Here's something that may surprise you too. I trust SoE about as far as I could throw them. I played an enchanter in EQ1. SoE totally destroyed the enchanter class with PoP and every expansion that followed. Yet I picked EQ2 to play. Why? Because it looked more enjoyable and innovative to me. When I played it, I had fun, I did new things...WoW felt like a mix between EQ1 and FFXI with Warcraft III graphics.



No....but is EQ2 winning in popularity on those sites? Obviously not. So what exactly is your point?

In fact, since we're asking rhetorical questions, allow me to ask one of my own. If WoW came out in the exact same form as it is now, only under the name of an unknown producer instead of "Blizzard," do you think it would be nearly as popular as it is?





Edited, Wed Dec 1 09:32:02 2004 by DEDefiler

I agree with you DEDiler. I too played WoW beta and I felt the same way.

Oh and on a side note, you can stun from the front and backstab in EQII as well. I use that tactic frequently on my predator, Cheap Shot, turn off attack, run around the side or back, Sneak Attack, that is the tactic. You have to turn attack off so you do not break the 5sec stun. =)

Edited, Wed Dec 1 11:13:19 2004 by qaedar

Edited, Wed Dec 1 11:12:25 2004 by qaedar

Quote(Gamespy and Gamespot are both frequented by people that play console games.

Many younger people play console games.

Many younger people are attracted to WoW.

I would guess for every 25 14 year old Junior High kids that voted for WoW, one adult voted for EQ2 simply because more kids (/gasp) play games than adults. Kids are also, as mentioned above, more likely to frequent these sites.)

What a shovenistic, racist, ageist person you are I guess I will definately not play EQ2 if you are there life is too short to deal with people like you. WOW is played by 15 times the amount of people as EQ2 so they can't all be kids and I can list about 100 people in my guils that are 30 and over.

This entire thread is pointless and meaningless. Votes are not going to count for anything. People playing aren't either. If you like a game, you will play it. That's that. If a game is catered to a specific audience, that's also fine. You will either find that you fit in or don't in that audience. Because 1 billion viewers watch the Superbowl each year that's not going to make me want to watch it. Because CSI is the most viewed or highly rated show on TV, that doesn't make me watch it. I don't enjoy Football nor do I watch TV or CSI for that matter. Different tastes for different folks.

What caused me to post in this thread is ishomishu's post. Blizzard games (all of them) are catered to a specific audience and DEDefiler created a post trying to decipher that audience. Now ishomishu comes here and calls him sexist, racist and ageist because he believes that WoW caters to that audience. I'm sorry, I don't usually use this word (I'm not MJ) but that's just ignorant and an attack against DEDefiler.

I believe, and I posted this a while ago, that WoW attracts the WC, SC, Diablo, etc. crowd which has done nothing to enrich my gaming. Not in one of those games did I find a community that I fit in or that I enjoyed being a part of. That is the reason I will stay away from WoW and that is what I wrote in a previous thread that I created. I have found communities in UO, EQ, DOAC, FFXI and now EQII that I felt welcomed and a part of. I was in the WoW forums for 30 minutes and found not 1 interesting subject or post. Everything was, to me, garbage. I was not what so ever impressed by the juvenile attitude in the WoW forums.

Now, those forums do not speak for the entire WoW community but they are one of the vast majority which I do not wish to deal with during my play time. Posts like "I will kill you in PvP" or "My class is so much better than yours" are, to me, pointless and meant to inflame and cause trash talk.

I read a post that someone made saying "EQII is so much better. You start off on a boat when a dragon comes and burns the boat and a goblin escapes. You have to put out the fire and kill the goblin and.. ." The post goes on and on how the player learns how to play the game using quests and through the story. The next reply was "I don't need some stupid story to tell me how to kill a goblin. Just put me there so I can get to the killing! I don't want to waste my time with this crap." That is what separates the EQII community and game from the WoW community and game.

So you're calling me sexist, racist, and "ageist" based off of what I've said about who's playing WoW?

I'm gonna stop with this arguement now folks, I think that quote pretty much reinforces anything I've said so far anyway.

Edited, Wed Dec 1 14:16:43 2004 by DEDefiler

This whole thing started from WoW users trolling these forums. To be honest, I couldn't care any less about WoW or who plays it. I do mind people coming in here and telling me I should play WoW because a website told me to.

Any game made by Blizzard is going to destroy any other game in the same genre in any type of poll, based purely on the company's massive fanbase. The problem with polls on sites like Gamespy.com, as stated before, is that they are pretty much rigged from the start - the types of people that peruse those sites are generally the types that will buy the latest game because the advertisements compelled them to - not because the game itself is good or bad.

I'm not knocking on WoW, either - I participated in the beta, and was impressed for a while, but it simply isn't my type of game. It comes off as SWG with prettier colors and better quests - not exactly my cup 'o' tea. If my focus was a PVP experience in the endgame, I wouldn't be playing EQ2. Instead, I am looking for a game which satisfies my soloing and partying needs, with a rewarding crafting system. EQ2 has that, and WoW does not.

Polls can't be trusted, or expected to be fair. Just look at this years elections.