Last week I chatted to Paul Sams, the CEO of World of Warcraft creators Blizzard. The interview is in the paper today, with Sams revealing how he literally bet the company on World of Warcraft. I also asked him whether WoW was killing the PC games market and if MMO's were inherently addictive. There wasn't space for the full interview in the paper, so I've included it in this blog. If you've ever wanted to know which faction - horde or alliance - the Blizzard staff play as or which of the upcoming MMO's has the biggest chance of competing with WoW then read on...
With over 6.5 million paying subscribers, World of Warcaft is the world's most popular online role playing game. Burning Crusade, the first expansion pack for the game, is out later this year. Paul Sams is CEO of Blizzard, the developers of the game, whose previous hits include the multi-million selling Starcraft and Diablo series.
Can you explain WoW to someone who hasn't played it?
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer role playing game (MMORPG), with thousands of people playing at the same time. Essentially you create a character which you can grow by going on adventures and undertaking quests. As you level up you gain access to new skills and strategies as your character evolves.
MMORPG's used to be niche products, so why has WoW crossed over on in the way it has?
There has always been an interest in MMO's but there has been the perception that these were complex games that required a lot of time and had steep learning curves. This put all but the hardcore players off. Blizzard have always tried to create games that were easy to learn but hard to master and that's where went with WoW. We designed the game to ramp up gently and we consider it a failure if you have to read the manual. So we've appealed to non hardcore gamers who want the depth of play and excitement that games offer but without the barriers to entry normally found.
There are other important factors too. For a start you can play pretty much the entire game on your own if you choose to. Most of the other MMORPGs (Everquest etc) require group play and rely on the hassle of scheduling play time together. While you won't see everything in WoW by soloing, you can experience incredible content through the entire game by playing on your own.
We also avoided the harder edged graphics of our competitors by giving WoW a cartoon-ish graphical look that makes things accessible to new players.
Word of mouth has been spectacular as well. You can't just rely on commercials or advertising or brand - people spread the word and get their friends to play. This game has captured the hearts and minds of a substantial number of females too. Girlfriends and wives are playing with their partners and telling their friends about it. Globally around 10% of WoW players are women whereas historically for this genre it was around 2%.
Finally, you don't need a state-of-the-art PC to run the game. We want to be on the bleeding edge of fun rather than technology.
There are a relatively high proportion of women playing, why do you think that is?
It probably started being influenced by husbands, sons, boyfriends but we found in the office that the wives and girlfriends really gained an affinity with WoW when we asked them to test it. There is a real social aspect to the game and it isn't full of gory violence. Both of these aspects are key to wider appeal. We've found the women are just as competitive as the men.
MMO's are designed in such a way to reward progress and keep players interested (and paying). Are you concerned about gamers getting addicted to your game in an unhealthy way?
Historically watching TV, reading and listening to music have been core elements of leisure time. In recent years gaming has grown in this area and has become a big entertainment choice for a lot of people. We all allocate a certain amount of our time to entertainment. Am I reading less now? Possibly, but we all have to manage our time and responsibilities. I've played WoW till late and I've read books into the middle of the night too.
Isn't it in your and the other MMO developer's interests to keep players hooked?
Good games are fun to play, like a good book is fun to read. I'm not sure MMO's are inherently more addictive. It all depends on the individual and how compelled they are to play it. I mean, I read incessantly, but it's all about making balanced entertainment choices.
Anecdotal evidence suggests WoW players play little else. Is WoW killing the PC games market?
For years we've been reading how the PC games market is dying or is dead, killed by this or that generation of consoles. I'm here to tell you that PC gaming is not dead, hasn't been dead and it is not going to die. And rather than killing the market I think WoW is showing the industry that the PC games market is more viable than ever.
What percentage of players actually get through to level 60 (the current end level)?
The game is different depending on what race, class or faction you choose. The play styles, the environments, the challenges are all different. I don't see this as being game over when you get to the level cap (60). Certainly a high proportion of players get through to level 60 and probably more than other MMO games. But unlike other games WoW doesn't' end when you get to the level cap. There a re a lot of different play styles and experiences to try. People are playing this game longer because of the variety of styles. Other games restrict your choice but we try not to, people can make the game play experience very much their own. With WoW you can play for 20 minutes and achieve something.
WoW's success has led other publishers to look at releasing MMO's. Is this a concern? Any advice?
There are very few publishers in this industry who have the money and the stomach to do this. Blizzard has not disclosed the total cost of developing WoW, putting all the servers out, on-going customer service, new content and the rest. But to create WoW the costs were such that the game is in the top 3 of the most expensive games ever made. That means tens of millions of dollars. There would be very few companies willing to dedicate this budget, or the long development time, to one game. As you get nearer to shipping you start to show the game to press and fans. It quickly becomes evident whether your game is worthy or not. Around that time you have to decide whether to commit to millions of dollars worth of hardware, support and long-term bandwidth agreements. This is a daunting moment, and you need to have confidence that your game has enough quality content to get successful enough to cover all of those costs. This is why you have seen a number of MMO's get cancelled. They get really deep into development but get canned at this stage due to lack of buzz or enthusiasm about their game and publishers cut their losses.
There are so many MMO's in development because people see how well WoW has done and they get dollar signs in their eyes. But I tell you, it is a gigantic risk. We bet our company making WoW and fortunately it paid off handsomely. But there are only a few companies, maybe Microsoft, Sony, EA, NCSoft, who have the money to do it. But do they have the stomach for it? To build a market as big as WoW you would have to have a well established and talented team and a franchise you can wrap it around that is well known and has global appeal. If you go into it having a no name team and an unknown franchise you are likely to fail. The bar is now so high.
We were lucky with our parent company Vivendi. They were very nervous but were willing to bet on Blizzard. I'm not sure how many other developers would be this lucky. I look at Mythic - developers of Warhammer Online - who I think are a stellar developer. They have a track record and a great franchise but they lacked the money. Their recent purchase by EA has given them they money needed but now they have to execute and deliver. I think they have the best chance of success out of our competitors.
MMO's have historically been fantasy based. Why is this and can we expect more variety in the future?
Fantasy seems logical when it comes to role playing games as escapism is important. We may see more real life settings, like EA tried to do with the Sims, but fantasy offers you the chance to feel like a hero, wear great costumes and traverse fantastic worlds.
Isn't Burning Crusade just more of the same?
Not at all. Players will be able to grow their characters up to level 70 now. And there are new races, new areas and flying mounts plus a host of other features that will excite Warcraft fans. We are going to continue growing the content when Burning Crusade is released. The plan is to release an expansion pack every year as well as expanding the current content in the game. There won't be any shortage of content. And bear in mind that you don't have to upgrade to carry on enjoying the game and there are no plans to raise subscription costs.
How do you solve the current numerical superiority that the Alliance have over the Horde?
A lot of people think that we introduced Blood Elves to offer the choice of an "attractive" race for the Horde. But there is a lot of backstory and lore that is the main reason for the new races. But having Blood Elves as a Horde race does have value, particularly in Asia where players tend to play more attractive characters. And there are more Alliance players in Asia so this should help the imbalance there. Also, it's not widely known but all of us at Blizzard play as Horde characters.
