The Doom and Gloom

I'm a little behind the curve on the WoW front, but now it seems my Guild has been infected by this mass exodus from WoW a lot of bloggers are ranting on about.

I'm surprised by this for a few reasons.

In all the online games I've played, around this time of year, EVERYONE unwinds via a holiday, out with the family more, down the park with the kids, socialising at the pub more, whatever it is, they do a bit more of that.

Why not, in this dribble soaked country of ours, if there is some decent sun, we should get burnt pink asap!

So there is a lot of doom and gloom associated with this summer vacation from PC's.

I've found its usually covered up in different forms though.

A lot of blogs have said its based on people falling out of love with the game. Misery loves company and all that.

This is true in most cases, but often happens with all games, not just WoW, so those people are really just scare monger's, since WoW is still hugely popular, and for all those that leave WoW, a great deal actually come back, with a different view on what they wish to do while playing it.

Darth @ wow alone is doing what I reckon the rest of the ones leaving are going to do. Myself included.

Leaving WoW isn't permanent, but just allows players to focus on other things over the summer, then come back. As with most things in life, breaking the grind of the same daily thing is good sometimes.

There is a slightly different variation where guilds experience loss, often related as well. It comes in the shape of people you've recently let into the guild, and occasionally a slightly more long standing members, announcing they are looking for a more active guild. It usually takes this form :

"I'm moving to play in a guild that raids in more endgame content"

But really means, they don't want to be in a guild that is about to go south over the summer side of activity.




Its not that I don't agree with everyone being so gloomy about the guilds of the EU taking a hit in activity, its just that all games I've ever played online have this trend. Often this is also followed by a new game picked up at the end of summer to replace that distant memory of a past favourite one.

For WoW however this trend is somewhat flawed. I mean this because we all usually come back. There isn't yet a game that can replace WoW at the end of your summer break, and for now, we are all the happier for it.

To date I've stopped playing WoW three times, at the end of each three month subscription, and plan to do the same at the next intermission. Having some time off helps, I'm moving house, so it works out quite well for me.



Realistically there is going to be little change in the trend of WoW and its associated players, just that everyone is getting a little more vocal about it shows there is still interest in the old girl yet.

The doom and gloom is over rated and i for one won't be convinced WoW is tanking. Its summer, and I'm off to enjoy it the way I want to, WoW isn't back on the dusty game shelf, but will just get a little less time from me and everyone until the summer is over.