Comment WoW = Britney Spears (Score 1) 701
My answer to the argument "10 million people, it must be a good game!" has always been:
Britney Spears.
Is she good because millions of people adore her? Is that really the definition of good music? Is that the key to her success, she's good? Or did her handlers simply hit on the right combination of sex appeal, catchy pop tunes, and image at the right time to propel her into stardom?
Britney Spears and the manufactured pop music model are why we can't have nice things. They are why it is hard for an indie group or someone who wants to break the musical paradigm to make it big. There simply is no room in the popular culture for any other model, though perhaps for the music industry that will change as online distribution slowly destroys the monolithic record labels.
I think there are many parallels in WoW. It's an ok game. It's catchy. I played it for a few years. But in much the same way that the average pop idol is the sugary part of hundreds of years of Western musical tradition distilled down to a few repetitive chords and drum patterns, WoW is simply the result of taking the most addictive parts of a gaming model that started with MUDs and polishing them into online crack. Addictive, but with little substance. Unfortunately WoW has a stronger hold on the MMO industry than even the record labels have on theirs, as there is no real way to take them down. No "WoW Killer" in the foreseeable future. Unlike a song that lasts a few minutes, WoW can consume an individual's entire free time. I think the best we can hope for is the more innovative developers will be able to peel off some of the new player base WoW has created, and make enough money to keep developing that way.
Britney Spears.
Is she good because millions of people adore her? Is that really the definition of good music? Is that the key to her success, she's good? Or did her handlers simply hit on the right combination of sex appeal, catchy pop tunes, and image at the right time to propel her into stardom?
Britney Spears and the manufactured pop music model are why we can't have nice things. They are why it is hard for an indie group or someone who wants to break the musical paradigm to make it big. There simply is no room in the popular culture for any other model, though perhaps for the music industry that will change as online distribution slowly destroys the monolithic record labels.
I think there are many parallels in WoW. It's an ok game. It's catchy. I played it for a few years. But in much the same way that the average pop idol is the sugary part of hundreds of years of Western musical tradition distilled down to a few repetitive chords and drum patterns, WoW is simply the result of taking the most addictive parts of a gaming model that started with MUDs and polishing them into online crack. Addictive, but with little substance. Unfortunately WoW has a stronger hold on the MMO industry than even the record labels have on theirs, as there is no real way to take them down. No "WoW Killer" in the foreseeable future. Unlike a song that lasts a few minutes, WoW can consume an individual's entire free time. I think the best we can hope for is the more innovative developers will be able to peel off some of the new player base WoW has created, and make enough money to keep developing that way.
