The Old Republic Can Challenge World of Warcraft

EA Games boss Frank Gibeau explains to Industry Gamers why he feels the Old Republic is capable of challenging WoW’s MMO space dominance, the main reasons apparently being that WoW is old hat, Star Wars has universal appeal, and there is much more connectivity to the world for The Old Republic.

“When I play World of Warcraft, you go and get your quests, and you go and do your quests, but it feels more like doing a shopping list at times,” Gibeau explained. “[Our game] is more about talking to characters, learning what’s going on, investing in it, getting emotionally attached to it. You can still go in accessible ways and grind out quests if you want, but at the same time there’s a higher-level story that’s carrying you through The Old Republic. It operates across multiple classes from Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitors, bounty hunters, spies, troopers, to Jedis. it’s a really fantastic world.

“On multiple levels we’re highly differentiated and different from World of Warcraft. We’re not being slavish or imitating them at all. We’re doing our own thing. We’re doing our own unique way. BioWare and Blizzard have been around for almost the same period of time. They’ve built incredible audiences. They have their own unique cultures, and they do things very differently. They’re both very successful RPG developers.”