Think maybe WoW could buy out LOTROL?
Yes or no, and if yes, could the two games merge somehow or wouls it just be a separate type of game such as Starcraft?
Thanks
Q
I can’t think of any practical way the two games could “merge.” They’re both sword and sorcery games, but are materially different and have completely different looks, backstories, etc.
Of course Blizzard COULD buy them, but why would they want to? World of Warcraft is the single most financially lucrative video game that has ever existed; they’d be insane to do anything to screw with it.
Well, they could probably acquire Turbine, but there’s no guarantee they’d gain control over LoTRO, which (depending on the wording of the agreement) is probably owned by their publisher, Midway. Granted, Activision-Blizzard has more money than God and could probably buy them out too, but one has to wonder why they’d want to.
They’d be competing with themselves, now while this works in certain regards (“Galaxy of Starcraft” may attract a separate subset of Blizzard’s target audience), another Sword and Sorcery game isn’t going to be worth it.
I don’t understand what you mean by “merging” them though. Do you mean make them one single game? Absolutely not, they run on two entirely different building blocks (engines) and even if they were the same, the level progression, damage at <level> and gear balancing are completely different. I suppose they COULD at most make money transferable at some sort of exchange rate… but what’s the point? Not to mention there’s no in-game justification for it (not that there needs to be, but I think it’d be a little off mailing 250 gold to your Hobbit Minstrel).
Merging: Yeah that was what I meant, but I see your point, Jragon, thanks.
So, okay, do you think that LOTROL will just continue to be Avis to WoW’s Hertz or would WoW’s overwhelming popularity force LOTROL to fold?
I would not want that to happen, even though I had a bad experience wirth LOTROL (bought a corrupted download, as it was explained to me) because I’d like folks to have a choice, but wouldn’t it be inevitable (keeping to Sword & Sorcery gaming only)?
Q
No way LOTROL folds, unless Turbine has some sort of corporate meltdown. To use a different example, It’s worth noting the original EverQuest will turn 11 years old next month and still has a dedicated fan base. I think that’s astounding; one of the most sadistically hard games ever to gain any sort of popularity in the PC market, which several times essentially threw away thousands of customers by jacking up the system requirements, and it’s still going strong 11 years after its original release. How many other games have a lot of people playing it regularly for 11 years?
Lesson: You don’t need to be the biggest kid on the block to make money in the MMORPG market. You just need enough people paying you a few bucks a month to keep the servers running and the network admins paid. LOTROL has more than enough customers to keep rolling.
WOW has not really eaten the other MMORPGs to get to where it is; there is still EQ, EQ2, LOTROL, and I think even Ultima Online’s still running. Even Asheron’s Call is still up, if I’m not mistaken. WOW has brought new customers into the heavy-duty online gaming market to become the monster it is.
Here I go hijacking my own thread again, but I was wondering if Blizzard would like to get a letter from me telling them how much I am enjoying their game, and how it’s keeping me sharp with EOAD?
Not exactly sure who I would send to, or if you guys might have an “in” somewhere, and I am sure not asking for any freebies, but I 'd like for them to know that I have already gotten three of my EOAD buds signed on, and we’re having a ball with the gaming.
I’m high level with my 13 Warrior and some of the quesus/rules are hard for us to understand, but I just wanted Blizzard to know they’re providing with us with some very god mental exercise.
Thanks
Bill
I play both WoW and LotRO. They are both “sword and sorcery” MMO’s, but IMO they are different enough from each other enough to be viewed as “standing apart” from the other.
LotRO graphics are more demanding, tech wise, I think. Closer to “real” looking than WoW. Not as many pastel colors.
LotRO has a setting (MiddleEarth) that I have always wanted to “see” since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
I think Turbine has some type of agreement with the Tolkien estate in what they can do with the game (LotRO). So a “merge” between the two franchises is out of the question.
Did you take advantage of the “recruit a friend” offer?
No. Didn’t see it till I got back on today, and they’d already signed on before that.
Anyway, I can’t ride yet anyway, right?
Thanks
Bill
There used to be an accelerated experience bonus for being grouped with a person whom you signed under the “recruit a friend” program. (Triple earned exp, stops at level 60.)
I was going to answer this but more tentatively since I haven’t heard anything about a merger since I just assumed it was so insane it would never happen due to exactly this licensing.
The same thing did happen with the LoTR tabletop game put out by Games Workshop: LoTR story and characters could never mix with Warhammer, 40K or any of their other GW universe products, even merely using the models as a stand-in.
And I’m one of those crazy fucks they enforce these agreements for, as I do not play LoTR games specifically so I won’t dilute my enjoyment of the franchise by making it less amazing through gaming, and having it merge with a game I do play would do that as well as dilute it through stupid cross-merging.
I was going to form a guild with my friends called “The Feebs”.
Whatta y’all think?
We’d probably be the first Alzheimer’s Guild, right? 
Q
Still is. My bennies are up tomorrow. 