It’s just a dumb old game, with old graphics, that nobody in the world cares about, right?
Recently, I was hanging out with a friend, and we were talking about video games. We got to talking, and all of a sudden, the topic of the new WoW classic that came out comes up. Immediately, my friend makes a grimace look and rolls his eyes.
“I don’t understand why people care about that crappy game. It’s old. The graphics suck. There’s nothing new. It’s just the same game all over again. Why would they bring it back when they could instead make newer and better games? I think the whole hype around it is stupid.”
This totally shook me to my core. I couldn’t believe how unfamiliar, and well..ignorant, my friend was about WoW. I quickly change the conversation, lest I get into a bad argument with him. We then proceeded to talk about something else, and that was that.
However, afterwards I started to think about what he said. Yes, the game was very old gy industry standards. Yes, the graphics were definitely 2000-tier, and honestly, it wasn’t really anything new. In a sense, the game was and still is about nothing, since there really are no hard expectations when you play it. And, his argument about perhaps game companies focusing on newer game development wasn’t a bad one. In fact, many game development companies often try to rehash or refurbish old games that are successful (however to be accurate, this doesn’t mean video game players will enjoy them as much).
This whole thinking begets the question--How is WoW classic succeeding and having players by the millions by it out, when there are plenty of newer games, with new content, and better graphics, and often backed by larger amounts of money, struggling to attract players? I mean the video game industry is extremely competitive, and the vast majority of new video games fail and don’t turn a profit for their creators.
So, I decided to spell out for my friend the main reasons from my point of view why WoW is NOT a dumb game. Why WoW is one of those classic games that DEMANDS to be brought back.
My reasons for why WoW is a special game, and why people are excited for it’s remaster
Reason 1: The group/friend camaraderie you’ll find in WoW is unlikely you’ll find in any other game.
Reason 2: An incredible amount of lore and content and story for anyone willing to invest in the game. Many games that have similar levels of lore written into the game are more point and click games, where you just read through text and click through dialogue options but rarely do any combat or fighting.
Reason 3: Some challenges, especially in very hard dungeons, require an incredible amount of planning, thinking, and cooperation with other players in order to complete them, which you will not find in the vast majority of current games that are being made
Reason 4: The incredible amount of freedom and exploration--you are free to explore the vast world, tackle quests from all over and delve deep into dungeons or raids. The game holds tons of secrets, references and Easter eggs from pop culture. Content is king and is very much the case for WoW classic, capturing the adventurer heart.
The overall point I’m making for my friend is that, yes, on the surface, bringing WoW doesn’t make much sense if you look at it like you would any other old game. However, Wow is a very special game, with several combined aspects and features that you wouldn't find anywhere else. To write off WoW classic as just a money grab means that you don’t understand the place it holds in video game history. It’s an incredible experience to play it, and anyone who looks down on it’s reemergence does not understand how good it is.
