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James Wallis WDS Article Author, Frontiers Nerd, Star Trek Geek, Console Inventer Wannabee... View all articles | Contact author

CCP's CEO and EVE Online boss Hilmar Veigar Petursson has posed the question: Why make a World of Warcraft clone? There are two approaches in the development of games in the MMORPG market today: The first would be to be like WoW while the second involves innovation. For Petursson, the second choice seem like a better option.

He spoke about this topic in an interview with Games Industry saying that "I just don't understand why people do yet another fantasy game. Why make a clone of World of Warcraft?" He then went on saying that it is the "perfect implementation" of the said game in the genre so it's time to focus on developing something new. This point of contention is not new and there have been numerous attempts at taking down the "T-Rex" of the MMORPG world.

Some like EVE Online and Second Life have decided to target a different niche in the MMO world and have been relatively successful in their attempts. A comparison with WoW becomes a mute point considering the different audiences that these games cater to. Now those who stick with the current formula and are trying to take on WoW on its home turf have been fighting a losing battle.

Given that The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar has received some success, but you have to consider the technology and the core story that is driving the game. The technology is similar (and we use the term loosely) to that of World of Warcraft. The storyline and world in which LoTRO is in happens to be one of the most, if not the most influential stories for medieval fantasy. Petursson gave a theory on why some developers are still trying this approach.