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MMORPGs like World of Warcraft can be immune to the economic downturn because of the high value they offer compared to other forms of entertainment, Blizzard has said.
Speaking to VideoGamer.com hours before the midnight launch of expansion Wrath of the Lich King at HMV Oxford Street last week, Blizzard executive Paul Sams said the MMO genre has the “opportunity to be touched less” than rival entertainment, like film, as long as the product is “priced fairly”.
He said: “If you’re struggling, £20 (for a cinema ticket in London’s West End) is not, like nothing, that’s something, right? And you haven’t even bought any snacks, and heaven forbid if you have a date with you! You got to set some money aside right?
“For £8.99 you can play as much as you want over a month, and it’s an interactive experience where you meet new friends, and it’s transportive. So if the experiences that you’re having in your real life are challenging, let’s say you’re concerned about your job because the economy is challenged at this point, or you’re unhappy with something else, you can go be heroic and go do things that are entertaining to you, you can meet new friends, you can see old friends. It can take you away from the difficulties that you may be facing at that moment and allow you to do something where you feel really cool.
“So I think that that’s positive, and no matter how bad the economy is people want and need to be entertained. If you look at the value that we provide for £8.99 a month, versus the other forms of entertainment, there’s no cheaper entertainment. When the economy is difficult, things that are inexpensive, that are immersive and a ton of fun, especially when it’s the most inexpensive form, why not?”
The current economic downturn, which in the UK is almost certainly leading to a recession, coupled with the credit crunch, has resulted in wide-spread job losses and a billion pound government bailout of the banks. There is a feeling, however, that the video game industry may prove immune to recession as a result of a growing ‘staying in is the new going out’ mentality.
World of Warcraft is currently the most popular MMORPG in the world, with a whopping 11 million subscribers. Last week it launched the game’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, which drew 2,500 to its midnight launch at HMV Oxford Street. It is expected to be the biggest-selling PC title of the year.
Sams added: “As a result of the fact that we’ve announced 11 million, people ask me how is it (the economic downturn) affecting us. It’s candidly and thankfully not.”
