Ryan made a comment in passing last week while we were at Best Buy. I saw World of Warcraft on the shelf and said "best game ever", he replied with something like "whatever, FPS FTW". I then said "oh come on... 7 million people can't be wrong". The then said, "oh ya, everyone buying Britney Spears CDs means its good music". I fell on the floor and yelled "touche" thinking that I had been pwned in the face. Until I realized the truth... to me. When you look at how many people buy music, you could in no way argue that 100% of the people who purchase music have purchased a Britney Spears CD. There are a lot, yes. But not everyone. I would argue that a higher percentage of the world's gaming population plays WoW than the percentage of the music purchasing population has purchased a Britney Spears CD.
The other factor to consider is how many gamers have been created because of WoW. I have heard several stories about how people who have never played video games have started playing WoW. One I heard on "The Instance", a podcast for WoW. There was someone who wrote in and said that he had begun playing the game, and his grandparents (with whom he lives) were wondering why he was always in his room playing "that game". He told them about it, and they eventually decided to give it a go! So now they have family night where they all set up their machines and play. So l33t.
The second story was relayed to me by someone in a PUG (pick up group) I ran mara with this week. One of the group members asked how old everyone was. The responses rolled in "16", "19", "14"... all things you would expect. I told them I felt old because I was 26. Then one of them responded and said "whatever man... my old guild leader was a 50 year old mom!". Sweet!
So, in conclusion, based on nothing but assumptions, I would argue that WoW is in fact better than Britney Spears' music simply because it motivates people to get in to PC gaming who haven't been in the past, whereas Brintney Spears' music motivates music fans to stop listening. I am not saying that everyone needs to play WoW, but I am saying that everyone needs to respect it for what it is doing for the gaming community. Eventually people will branch out to new genres like the FPS because WoW has been the soft introduction to PC gaming.
Some gamers are concerned that it will overtake all other PC games because it demands so much attention and time. I know I have put off trying other games because of it. However, like anything that dominates a market, it forces the competition to get better.
IMHO.
3 comments:
You have a good point and I will concede it. I'm certain you are right that a higher percentage of gamers have played WoW than music listeners have bought Britney Spears, and you are also correct (to me) that a lot of non-gamers have become gamers (hardcore ones, even -- your wife reads Thotbot!) as a result of WoW.
I love you Ryan. :)
This conversation is about whether a fantasy video game or a licentious pop music singer is more legitimate in their popularity. LA la La hoo-di hoo-di DOO-da-day!
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