Notes

World of Warcraft Considers Compromise for Fans

World of Warcraft contemplates a compromise for its fans



The company behind World of Warcraft responded to an online petition that asked for an online server to host the original version of the game.



Blizzard Entertainment no longer operates servers for the original WoW so some players have set up their own.



The company stated that giving its approval to pirate servers could be detrimental to its legal rights. However it was contemplating adding a stripped down realm to please its fans.



One former WoW developer asked for the original game to be "preserved".



World of Warcraft is an online multiplayer game where players travel across a vast area as they complete quests and interact with other gamers.



In 2010, when it was at its peak, World of Warcraft attracted almost 12 million subscribers however, the game currently attracts about five million paying players.



The original game that was released in 2004 has been updated and has new installments which some players claim have materially changed the experience of the game.



Although technically illegal, some fans have set up their own servers in order to play standard WoW.



On 10 April the popular fan-based server, Nostalrius, which has 150,000 active members, was shut down because of threats of legal action from Blizzard Entertainment. The server was shut down triggered the creation of a petition with 240,000 signatures.



"The honest answer isthat the failure to safeguard against intellectual property infringement could harm Blizzard's rights." Blizzard wrote in a forum post.



"There is not a legal way to safeguard Blizzard's intellectual properties and also grant an operating licence to a pirate server."



Blizzard would find it difficult to challenge any future abuses of its franchise due to the nature and law of intellectual property.



The firm stated that it couldn't operate its own server for the original game "without much difficulty" however, it was considering whether it was possible to create an "pristine world" within the new game to please fans.



A pure realm could emulate some aspects of the gameplay of the original WoW in the most recent version of the game.
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"In essence, it will turn off all acceleration for levelling, including character transfers and heirloom gear, character boosts and Recruit-A-Friend bonus points ..." the company wrote.



"We aren’t sure whether this version of a fresh slate would be appealing to the public and is an issue of discussion."



Fans on WoW message boards reacted with mixed feelings to the suggestion.



One player said, "I would love to see a flawless server that was updated to the latest version of WoW so you could build a community around it , without being stuck in the old version."



However, other fans were less favorable: "From a personal stance that a perfect world isn't exactly what I want. Nothing in a pristine realm fixes the major issues of WoW's retail market for me."



Another adds: "When you actually start writing down all the improvements to the game since vanilla you can see why it's a shame to let it die... the number of people who are influenced by nostalgia is astonishing."



The closure of fan-run servers like Nostalrius has highlighted the difficulty in preserving games from the past for historical record.



On Tuesday, game designer Mark Kern who worked on the original WoW, said: "WoW is an important game, and it's part of history in gaming However, there's no legal way for people to play the earlier versions or to see the source of it all.



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