Weekend Topic: Salvatore says World of Warcraft is 'on the slide'

R.A. Salvatore, the mastermind behind The Forgotten Realms, said recently on the R.A. Salvatore Forums that World of Warcraft is, "on the slide, I fear." In an interview with Ten Ton Hammer last May, the acclaimed author talks about achieving a level of "god-like power" in a game and then yearning to "rewind it" or "change the channel." One has to ask, is he the only one that thinks this?

It may or may not be important to note that Salvatore is the lead writer for 38 Studios' project Copernicus, another fantasy MMORPG.

"No insult intended to Blizzard at all," he wrote on the message boards. "Thanks for years of good gaming, but I see the end in sight."

As a little background, according to the interview with Ten Ton Hammer, Salvatore said he moved on, "reluctantly," to WoW after playing Everquest.


"EverQuest had gotten to the point where you really couldn't play alone because you were too high of a level and they were going in weird directions," he said. "You were going to the moon and to all these different planes. It really didn't give me that fantasy thrill anymore. So we were ready to move on."

The author praised WoW for its polish and ease. However, "I think I'm on the end of my WoW campaign days."

"I don't blame anyone for that," he explained. "I think of an MMO an awful lot like a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. After a couple of years, the characters are god-like, you can't rewind it, and maybe it's time to go on. Once I lose the sense of adventure, it's time to change the channel."

Blizzard is planning to change-up the world of Azeroth with next year's expansion, Cataclysm, but is that a sign of the game's end of days? Is it "on the slide?"

Of course, WoW isn't going anywhere, but will subscriptions fall and level out to a more typical point, settling in with other MMOS?


For veterans of a five-year-old game, is doing a couple of quests in Duskwood that you've always skipped over or a 5-man really enough to keep you from hanging up your sword and board for a new land and universe to explore?

I'll leave the questions for you to answer.

As for myself, I reciprocate Salvatore's feeling regarding the achievement of "god-like power" in games. For me, the best part is starting off anew. The top of the power ladder is boring for me. I like the struggle of the fledgling adventurer.

What about you? Do you fall in line with Salvatore's thinking? And do you think WoW is on the decline?