Company News Blizzard Entertainment 20-Year Anniversary

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Blizzard Entertainment

<p>First of all, let's start with this <a href="http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/b20/videos.html#blizzard-retrospective" target="_blank">Anniversary Retrospective Video</a>.</p>
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<p>Furthermore, <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/33209/Interview_Blizzard_COO_Sams_Says_Many_Years_In_Front_Of_WoW.php" target="_blank">Gamasutra interviews Blizzard COO Paul Sams</a> about the company's 20-years history.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But while future expansions for <em>World of Warcraft</em> and <em>StarCraft II</em> are poised to move millions, and <em>Diablo III</em> already has enviable buzz, Blizzard now has to answer the question that its competitors have had to try to answer for the past six years: Can you beat <em>World of Warcraft</em>?<br /> <br /> Blizzard plans on answering that question with its upcoming unannounced "Titan," the codenamed full MMO that will follow <em>World of Warcraft</em>'s extraordinary success.<br /> <br /> "I believe [it's] the most ambitious thing we've ever attempted," Sams said. "And I feel like we have set our company up to succeed on that. We have some of our most talented and most experienced developers on that team. Many of the people that built <em>World of Warcraft</em> are full time on that other team." <br /> <br /> That expertise in working with the most successful MMORPG in the world for the past several years will prove vital for the success of the new MMO. Sams assured that <em>World of Warcraft</em> is still under the watch of experienced staff, even though key members are moving onto Titan.<br /> <br /> "We've spent a lot of time over the last number of years transitioning those people off [of <em>World of Warcraft</em>], and having great people below them that were trained up by them to run <em>World of Warcraft</em>," Sams said. "Those people have been doing it for the last couple of years without the assistance of those people that created it."<br /> <br /> "So, I think we've effectively protected that business as it relates to our development resources and capabilities," he added, "and at the same time taking some of those other folks that had all that experience and unleashed them on this new thing."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And there's <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2011/03/07/after-two-decades-in-games-blizzard-continues-to-capture-hearts-minds-and-wallets/" target="_blank">another interview with Paul Sams</a> over at VentureBeat.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I will tell you something. When you look at our brand, players support us and trust us. From our perspective, you get very few opportunities to build that trust, to keep that trust, and if you deliver a game that does not meet their expectations and it&rsquo;s just okay, it&rsquo;s acceptable, well then you breach that trust. We are very thankful to have the players that support us. They consistently vote with their pocket books that we are fulfilling their expectations and their wants and dreams as it relates to games. And we are very mindful about what those people feel about us, what they think about our games and whether or not we&rsquo;ve addressed their wants and needs. We are very connected with them. We&rsquo;ve got a few thousand customer service people. I think we have the largest service group of any video game company in the world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What's wrong with this guy? Other developers don't give a fuck about *trust* or *meeting the expectations* of their fan base and are more concerned with reaching the players who play FarmVille or Modern Warfare because they're more numerous.</p>
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[Kane]

What's wrong with this guy? Other developers don't give a fuck about *trust* or *meeting the expectations* of their fan base and are more concerned with reaching the players who play FarmVille or Modern Warfare because they're more numerous.

Unironically, their fan's expectations have lowered over the years.

 

[xemous]

How do you mean their fans expectations have lowered over the years. Please explain.

 

[Krash]

Lowered expectations or not, Blizzard is p. much the best developer out there. It's just too bad they mostly don't make games to my taste.

 

[Micmu]

Best developer out there for what? Jewing money out of idiots?
They don't even make (proper) single-player/LAN games anymore, just fat clients for their fucking online services.

 

[bonescraper]

None of their games hooked me up for more than a few hours, except the original Starcraft. They're the most overrated developer in the history of digital entertainment. Fuck 'em.

 

[Grunker]

What's wrong with this guy? Other developers don't give a fuck about *trust*

Yeah, 'cause it is really giving about *trust* when you remove all LAN-options from your games.

 

[crazy_dave]

Best developer out there for what? Jewing money out of idiots?
They don't even make (proper) single-player/LAN games anymore, just fat clients for their fucking online services.

 

[jiujitsu]

None of their games hooked me up for more than a few hours, except the original Starcraft. They're the most overrated developer in the history of digital entertainment. Fuck 'em.

Says you. I've spent more time playing WoW or Diablo 2 than any other game in existence. Same goes for many people. They might not make classic rpgs, but the games they do make are fun and addicting as hell. That's their biggest drawback, really. It's hard to take a break. I've been playing Diablo 2 again since November and I just quit yesterday. I still can't stop thinking about it.

WTB Diablo 3.

 

[Yeesh]

Best developer out there for what? Jewing money out of idiots?
They don't even make (proper) single-player/LAN games anymore, just fat clients for their fucking online services.

Did you forget about the free online play and patches for Diablo II that they've been providing for more than a decade? How much do you think the average WoW player spends per hour of entertainment when you break down that $14.99 per month? Or those Starcraft II fanatics who have been playing online matches week after week on Blizzard's servers nonstop for nine months?

The vast, vast majority of us want to play online. We want a central server to keep track of how well we're doing versus everybody else, and to be part of a system that can at least TRY to control the cheating. I understand that LAN games are important to some people, but with fatter pipes and online play becoming so much more prevalent as the years have passed by, the removal of LAN is actually stopping how many people from enjoying the game?

Blizzard kicks ass, supports their products for the long hall, and offers more value, more gaming per dollar than any other mainstream gaming company ever has.

 

[attackfighter]

Blizzard kicks ass, supports their products for the long hall, and offers more value, more gaming per dollar than any other mainstream gaming company ever has.

WoW fanboy detected. There are people who spend ludicrous amounts of time playing other mainstream shit, like CoD or Oblivion, and they don't have to pay subscription fees. How worthwhile Blizzard's games are in terms of cost/entertainment is really subjective, and there are plenty of people who favour alternative devs in that regard.

And really they haven't made anything good for years. Diablo 2 was the last "great" game they made, since then they've only shat out WoW, WoW expansions and SC2 the Horrible. They're living off their brand names and WoW revenue at this point.

 

[Xor]

I really hope Blizzard realizes what a mistake battle.net 2.0 was and integrates some of the features people have been asking for into it by the time Diablo III comes out.

Still, Blizzard is my favorite non-RPG developer. Historically they've always had a good balance of listening to consumers when they need to, and they developed groundbreaking services like battle.net. Also, they supported their games far, far longer than most developers, even releasing patches that removed the CD checks from their older titles a few years ago.

I don't know if Diablo III will turn out to be as good as the first two games, but I'm hopeful. It'll probably still be a day one purchase for me.

 

[Yeesh]

WoW fanboy detected. There are people who spend ludicrous amounts of time playing other mainstream shit, like CoD or Oblivion, and they don't have to pay subscription fees. How worthwhile Blizzard's games are in terms of cost/entertainment is really subjective, and there are plenty of people who favour alternative devs in that regard.

Hmmm, that's right. There ARE people who play single player games and non-hosted multiplayer games without subscription fees. What an insightful point. I guess every single fee-based MMO since the original NWM has been a huge ripoff by your logic, since you can get more value out of just playing Minesweeper for free.

I'd better be quiet, I don't want some lofty member of the elite thinking I like an awesome company who makes great games and supports the shit out of them. Please don't call me a fanboy again! I promise I don't like anything in the world and never have!

 

[Deleted member 11480]

They're the most overrated developer in the history of digital entertainment. Fuck 'em.

 

[MajorNova]

Well the are best developer out there, just not for making games, they are making money money money and dont give a shit about games at this point.

 

[Jim Cojones]

The vast, vast majority of us want to play online. We want a central server to keep track of how well we're doing versus everybody else, and to be part of a system that can at least TRY to control the cheating.

That's why you should be disappointed that Blizzard forces you to play Starcraft 2 using their servers. In their past games you were able to use Battle.net but you could also play on others like iCCup which, despite being non commercial, is generally regarded as a much better service.

 

[Yeesh]

That's why you should be disappointed that Blizzard forces you to play Starcraft 2 using their servers. In their past games you were able to use Battle.net but you could also play on others like iCCup which, despite being non commercial, is generally regarded as a much better service.

I admit Starcraft was never my thing, so I can't speak to that. But I can say that I wouldn't want to play WoW or Diablo offline or on a private server because what's the point? Who cares if you find some awesome item if you're playing in a single player mode or a private server where anyone can just type a console command and get it? The whole point is for it to be online in a world where everybody is playing by the same rules. I suspect a lot of people feel that way about their Starcraft 2 rankings, but again that's outside my area.

EDIT: And does anyone who thinks Blizzard sucks actually have a complaint about them other than that they don't make traditional CRPGs and that they're popular, well-regarded, and successful? I'm curious about the hate.

 

[attackfighter]

Hmmm, that's right. There ARE people who play single player games and non-hosted multiplayer games without subscription fees. What an insightful point. I guess every single fee-based MMO since the original NWM has been a huge ripoff by your logic, since you can get more value out of just playing Minesweeper for free.

Those were only two examples. TF2 has dedicated 3rd party servers, it's been on sale for less than a monthly WoW subscription's cost, and it has a large fanbase who've derived a huge amount of playtime from it. For many, it's a better deal than WoW.

And yes I do view MMO's and other subscription fee games as rip-offs. I've never come across one that was good, and their prices are relatively extortionate. Maybe you enjoy WoW, but that's just your personal taste; don't pretend it's greatness is universally recognized.

EDIT: And does anyone who thinks Blizzard sucks actually have a complaint about them other than that they don't make traditional CRPGs and that they're popular, well-regarded, and successful? I'm curious about the hate.

They've raped or are in the process of raping all their classics. It would've been for the best if they went out of business right after D2 was released.

 

[Yeesh]

Those were only two examples. TF2 has dedicated 3rd party servers, it's been on sale for less than a monthly WoW subscription's cost, and it has a large fanbase who've derived a huge amount of playtime from it. For many, it's a better deal than WoW.

And yes I do view MMO's and other subscription fee games as rip-offs. I've never come across one that was good, and their prices are relatively extortionate. Maybe you enjoy WoW, but that's just your personal taste; don't pretend it's greatness is universally recognized.

Sooooo let me see. You think all MMORPGs are a rip off, despite the fact that the only successful ones have had monthly fees since the birth of the genre, and therefor Blizzard rips people off because they use exactly the same model as everyone else? Man, I am chastened. And you don't want me to make the mistake of thinking that just because a few weirdos like me might have enjoyed WoW, that means it's a good value?

You realize it's not just me, right? We're talking about the most popular and most successful MMORPG of all time. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but 11 million fucking people like it just fine. They don't just like it enough to torrent it, they actually like it enough to pay money for it month after month. Do you honestly believe that they're all being fooled into thinking they're having fun when they're really not?

You probably do.

They've raped or are in the process of raping all their classics. It would've been for the best if they went out of business right after D2 was released.

How utterly specific. You think Starcraft 2 is the same kind of rape-tastic break from Starcraft as Fallout 3 was from Fallout 2, do you? I think you must have a very, very low tolerance for change of any sort then.

You have a problem with Diablo 3? That's funny, because all we've really seen is the fucking artwork. Oh, but graphics are the very heart of the game, aren't they? Very Codexian.

Yes, you've certainly proved your case. Blizzard is raping the fuck out of the classics, producing shoddy, unsupported, unrecognizable crap as sequels. What a money grubbing, fly-by-night company that offers no gaming value.

You've got nothing. You're just bitching to bitch. What did they do, steal your girlfriend or something?

 

[Ferran]

MMOs aren't games, they're more like slot machines, designed to addict you into hunting loot and leveling up.
I know it's a comedy site, but this article explains it better:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

STOP PLAYING THIS SHIT!!

 

[Yeesh]

I stopped playing WoW well before the second expansion game out, and now they're on the third. Not that playing other games is any more or less of a waste of my short time left on this earth.

But this persistent myth that MMORPGs are somehow tricks and people shouldn't be enjoying them is just bullshit. Stupid, stupid bullshit. Do they try to keep you playing? Absolutely. What fucking kind of game doesn't?

 

[malko_sundervere]

I stopped playing WoW well before the second expansion game out, and now they're on the third. Not that playing other games is any more or less of a waste of my short time left on this earth.

But this persistent myth that MMORPGs are somehow tricks and people shouldn't be enjoying them is just bullshit. Stupid, stupid bullshit. Do they try to keep you playing? Absolutely. What fucking kind of game doesn't?

Just because something sells well, friend, doesn't mean it isn't shit. Give some concrete reasons why WoW is *good*. On the Codex (as far as I've witnessed), all games are shit unless they prove themselves otherwise.

 

[Ferran]

I stopped playing WoW well before the second expansion game out, and now they're on the third. Not that playing other games is any more or less of a waste of my short time left on this earth.

But this persistent myth that MMORPGs are somehow tricks and people shouldn't be enjoying them is just bullshit. Stupid, stupid bullshit. Do they try to keep you playing? Absolutely. What fucking kind of game doesn't?

They don't want you to play WoW because it's an entertaining game, and I'm sure you know that.
MMOs are not challenging, don't have good and entertaining gameplay mechanics and can barely have a story. There's only grindan(that's the whole goal of these games, make of that what you will). It's the ultimate rip-off!


How can you like this crap? :poop:

 

[Pika-Cthulhu]

Gotta say, when I played the Blizz money printing machine it wasnt bad, then I realised ho fucking abysmal the community is, and its just a game lobby now with great solo play material.

 

[Bigot_]

Gotta go with yeesh on this one, blizzard hasn't "raped" any of their classics to any large degree, if you take into consideration the attraction/game mechanics that made those classics hits in the first place.

Just because something sells well, friend, doesn't mean it isn't shit. Give some concrete reasons why WoW is *good*. On the Codex (as far as I've witnessed), all games are shit unless they prove themselves otherwise.

MMOs are not challenging, don't have good and entertaining gameplay mechanics and can barely have a story.

You two are blindingly fucking stupid

You're seriously trying to judge the worth of an mmo by using codexian single player RPG standards? What, are you going to try to tell me quake, TFC, and wolf ET were terrible shooters because they had no meaningful C&C or deep storyline?
MMOs and RPGs might as well be two different genres, considering that the major focus/attraction of an MMO are completely different from that of a classic single player RPG.

People don't play MMOs for a *snort* deep, complex story, they don't care about C&C, or any of that shit that everyone here (including me) values so fucking much; the same way people don't play shooters for the character development or puzzle games for the graphics.