World of Warcraft. It can't be argued that the MMORPG behemoth deserves its acronym as it steamrolls over the competition month by month. But why exactly is this? What is it about WoW that has made it such a huge success? I've been thinking a lot about this question, and I think I've got an answer.

[Disclaimers]

To begin with I'd like to state that this article examines WoW as it originally existed.
It's popularity was apparent even then, which leads me to believe any changes since then
have been minor supplements to the new player attraction and not major causes. The
population growth of the game has remained largely consistent with surges centering around releases in new territories and the expansion. This article is largely a matter of opinion, and I encourage you to disagree and post in the comments an intelligent retort, but please do not just post to bash needlessly.

Find Part I Here



Part II: The Proof: Where 10 million people come from

In order to understand the popularity of WoW, it's important to understand who exactly their demographic was. I think it's fair to suggest that every one of the first avatars to explore Azeroth was controlled by someone from one of three distinct groups:

A) Blizzard fans. Of course, people who had been playing Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo for years were excited to try the newest from the infallible Blizzard. Many from this group had already enjoyed a taste of online RPGing through Diablo II, and no doubt this made them malleable towards the idea of offering Blizzard a monthly tribute for an expanded experience.

B) MMORPG fans. People who had played Anarchy, Everquest, Lineage, Final Fantasy XI and so on who knew the genre they belonged in and were excited for the next big thing.

C) People brought into the game by others from group a, b, or c.

Certainly there are other types of players, but these merely outline those first few immigrants.

Every IP-based MMO has members of group A. Fans of the particular story or property that are excited to take the plunge into an online world based on their favourite title. Anarchy Online. Final Fantasy XI: Online. World of Warcraft [Online]. Age of Conan. These are some of the most devoted players. They may move on from the game, but not to another MMO; just to the next greatest thing from Developers Inc or on hiatus until another content patch. Even when they do try another MMO, it is only until the beckoning croon of their mother game calls again.

Every MMO also opens with a large amount of members of group B. The players who participate in betas, are trumpeting the next big thing, and always looking to the horizon. Some of these players eventually settle down, but most move on. Some other players became this type of player with WoW as their first MMO, attracted more to the concept than one specific iteration or avatar. Needless to say, today these players would make up only a tiny fraction of WoW's population, most having moved on. But in the beginning, they would be prominent.

So I've established that every MMO can welcome an opening surge of members of group A and B. These players most likely make up the majority of any MMO launch, as members of group C would be far less willing to pay a monthly fee for an unproven product. Though World of Warcraft outsold any other MMO launch to date with approximately 1.3 million units sold in the first few days, this discrepency is not enough to explain the currently giant lead it holds. For example, Final Fantasy XI, a game similarly represented by a popular IP, sold over 400 000 copies in the first days of its launch (combining the American and Japanese launches). This difference in numbers can be attributed solely to the difference in size of group A; Blizzard has a much large more dedicated fanbase than Squaresoft.

And yet now suggesting a 13 to 4 of Blizzard over Square in the MMO market would be ludicrous. World of Warcraft has over 10 million subscribers to Final Fantasy's 500 000. That's a 100 to 5 ratio. Has Blizzard's A fanbase grown much more rapidly than Squares?

That argument makes little sense, given that Blizzard's main product since the launch of WoW has been The Burning Crusade, an expansion pack. I am left to assume then that the huge influx of World of Warcraft players comes from group C: those brought into the game by someone else.

So we know that World of Warcraft succeeds where others don't because it attracts a market that the others ignore: the market of people who care for neither Blizzard nor MMORPGs in general. There has to be something then that attracts a new player, and keeps their attention for hours upon end as they continue to happily pay Blizzard month by month.

I've told you that the difference in Blizzard's market share comes majorly from group C.

I've told you that the major difference between World of Warcraft and other MMOs [for the first six months] was none other than the golden exclamation mark.

I'm left with one conclusion: that the main feature that attracted and kept millions of players who would be otherwise uninterested, that kept people like no MMO before it, was the golden exclamation point.

So what is it exactly that makes it so damn enthralling?

[Part III will discuss what it is about Blizzard's quest system that inspires its popularity.]