|
WOW is one of those games that has been around so long you expect this. I don't know how much of it is free games and how much of it is WOW just getting stale.
If you have ever played these "free" games often they are pretty frustrating because to do much of anything cool you have to spend money anyway.
For me, the issue with WOW is that it is forever in between expansion packs and while they do add new stuff periodically between expansions, it isn't a whole lot so players get bored and move to something elese.
They have done a lot of stuff in the last few years to try to hold onto players and I think, considering the global economic meltdown, they have done a pretty good job. Are they what they once were? No. Could they be that big again? It is possible, but not likely, however, I think they might get some of them back for a limited time. They seem to ebb and flow. When the next expansion comes out they will likely see an influx of players returning to check it out.
With 8 million paying players they are still one of the biggest games in the world. I wouldn't say they are in a downward spiral just yet. If six months from now they have lost another 20%+ then I think it would be fair to say they are in trouble.
|