The Casual Gaming Trend in World of Warcraft

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It’s not much of a surprise to anyone who has played World of Warcraft in the last two years that the game has been drifting toward being a casual oriented game, one that tries to draw in more players and keep them happy by giving them things to do at all levels so they don’t have to devote hours and days at a time to enjoy it. This has certainly worked out for Blizzard and its shareholders, but how well has it worked out for players who have been with WoW since day one? That depends on who you ask and whether or not you are looking at the big picture.

Probably the best thing about the more casual style of play is that it causes Blizzard to make sure to add lots of fun things to the game.. Achievements, reduced requirements for getting mounts, lower XP requirements to get to the higher level content and a slew of events held throughout the year all add a great deal of depth to the WoW universe and for hardcore players who are constantly playing through the same content trying to earn that new epic shield or pair of spaulder, all this extra stuff makes a great change of pace and adds some depth to your gaming days. After all, life isn’t one dimensional. Why should your game be?
The Cons of the Casual Play Trend
On the flip side, all that time spent putting new content into the game in the form of Achievements, non-combat pets, and lower level instances has drawn away from resources Blizzard previously poured into raiding content and things for more devoted players. Surprisingly, the highest level raid for Level 80 players is significantly easier than the top raids for Level 70. Raid sizes are now 10 and 25 men as well. Players who reached Level 80 in the first few days of the expansion have been reduced to waiting around for the higher end raids that are eventually coming. In the meantime, these players are stuck grinding Achievement or spending all their time in PvP while they wait..

While there are drawbacks as well as benefits, I think attracting casual gamers to WoW is good for the players, the game, and Blizzard in the end. Remember that Blizzard needs to make money to stay in business, and more players means more income. With increased income there’s an increased ability to keep developing new content for all levels of player. It might seem like the faithful are getting shortchanged, but it is the price we have to pay to give the company the resources to develop new content in the future that might not otherwise get the go ahead.
Are you interested in staying up with the trends in WoW, whether toward casual gaming or anything else? If that sounds like you, you should find out more about the Warcraft Formula, a continuously updated guide to all things WoW.