WoW and WAR go head to head
October 20th, 2008 by Colin Temple
Blizzard COO Paul Sams has said that his company is starting to see players returning to World of Warcraft (WoW) after briefly leaving to try out Mythic’s MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR).
“We’ve seen a significant number of people, well over half, that cited Warhammer as their reason for leaving – they’ve already returned,” Sams tells GamesIndustry.biz.
Sams went on to point out how difficult it is to launch an MMO, but says that he greatly respects the Warhammer Online team and expects they have the best chance at taking on Warcraft and it’s nearly 11-million subscriber base.
Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs wanted to clarify that WoW’s renewed accounts shouldn’t be taken as a sign that WAR isn’t doing well.
“One thing about MMOs is that people play multiple games,” said Jacobs. “That’s one of the reasons I was very surprised by Paul’s comments. He knows that people may play WoW and they’ll play WAR and maybe even a third game at the same time.”
Jacobs also said that his company has plans to offer WAR updates to compete with Blizzard’s launch of the next WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. He agrees that his company will be a main contender, saying that it’s “the beginning of a rather lengthy battle with the guys at Blizzard”, and that it’s far too early to make a call on WAR. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
