No, it won't.

For some, and for some it wont.

Not a chance.

Nothing will replace the big one for most people. However, I do think Conan will exist rather nicely as number two for a very long time, even moreso when they keep piling on the polish.

From what I've seen, Conan is more desirable to those who have been there, done that, have grown tired of the big one , well, because they been playing since November 2004. Any game, no matter how much you polish it, is still the same game at the end of the day, and three to four years of heavy playing will cause you to hit the eject button at some point. It's the point you realize that the big one has definitely started to show it's age, and the mechanics have largely remain unchanged. It's the point when you realize that the big one can release expansions, but unless it does something dramatically different, it's the same deja vu, the same song and dance, and the same one trick grind pony.

But those are just the vets. Casuals and newcomers will lap up it's sparkly goodness until Blizzard shuts down the servers years and years down the road.

For me personally? It already has replaced the big one. I'm not entirely sure I can resist the expansion, but I simply don't have the dedication I used to have to jump back on that treadmill again. Conan feels different - for now. If at any point it stops becoming fun and becomes like the big one, I will probably pack it in as well. But rest assured, it's still the most fun I've had since I stepped into Azeroth for the first time, so consider me hooked.

I saw this, and noticed that it specified AoC. I find it interesting because I've found my replacement for WoW; however it's not AoC. I haven't even played AoC yet, and likely won't until I can do it free. EVE however, has very much replaced WoW for me. It's a huge breath of fresh air, has a good feel to it and with the right corp it's a blast.

To answer the original question: yes, absolutely. But then if EA hadn't canned UO:2 I'd probably have played that and never given the big one a second glance... so not sure if I fit the WoW player mold.

Man I gave EVE a shot, it's so damn purty. Unfortunately I am not smart enough to play

Really though, I wish I had like, 6 months to just lock myself in a room and figure out how it all works. It seems like once you get past the steep learning curve it becomes pretty incredible. I hear they are having 3D human avatars soon?

WoW replaced EQ which replaced UO as the big one. Given the size of the market at the time, they are all equivalent successes. They all still have hardcore followings, and I find it unlikely they will ever shutdown. If wow has hit the same stage as the others, which I believe it has, we will see these emerging mmos take a significant share, the diehard will stay, and many will go back and forth, a month here and there, but it will never be the same. Wow isn't a special unique flower, its just the most recent in the cycle.

It could, but only if they fix a lot of bugs within the next three months.

Fixed.

These are the statements that make me absolutely nuts. I'll agree with you that right now WoW is a far more polished MMO than AoC. You simply can't discount the fact that Blizzard has been patching and fixing WoW for almost 4 years. They still continue to fix things that were broke in the original version. Am I the only one that remembers how almost every patch screwed up the Ony encounter?

But please stop acting like WoW was the best MMO launch ever. To do so is just an outright distortion of reality. The WoW launch was a horror show and stability was horrific for the first 6 months after launch. Yes theres a crapload of stuff in AoC that needs fixing and I believe will be fixed. They just need time.

To judge a game just released against one they've been patching for years is just ignorant.

I played a little WoW but never could get past the artwork. I enjoyed EQ2's art but had issues with solo-ability and progression in the early stages. Kunark made it much more bearable but my time was such I couldn't get into it. AoC's art is fantastic and so far, me likey. We'll see how long it takes me to get to 40 even though.

I quit Wow at least a half year ago. I ran into the same MMO-agnostic problem I always do, my life schedule just isnt compatible with raiding. That being said, I will return to WoW for Wrath of the Lich King I'm sure to experience the new content and hopefully reunite with GWJer friends. I had a lot of fun with the new content (well, the content that I saw) in Burning Crusade. I'm not big on re-experiencing content to level up alts, and this is one fundamental problem I had with how I tackled WoW. I rolled on a PVE server and after being introduced to the harsh reality and impromptu battles of PVP, I had wished I had started on a PVP server. In a way, it was just too late.

So, that is where my hope lies with AoC. I love the background setting, and I'm hoping that the random adventure of world pvp gives me an alternative to raiding. I actually dont know anything about the raiding potential of AoC, but I'm trying not to read up too much on the game and just relish the freshness of the environment, the quests and the gameplay.

WoW will remain the 800 lb gorilla (well outside of the one we have at GWJ), but I don't think its an either / or scenario. The market has grown, each has its strengths and attractions to players. My hunch is that even more than WoW, LOTRO is going to be more affected by gamer population migrations to AoC because it offers an equivalent iconic gaming setting and some new twists on gameplay mechanics.

btw, I dont think i've won a pvp encounter yet (sigh)... but then again I'm only lvl 16...

AoC will replace WoW for a lot of people, but it won't dethrone it as what some are calling "the big one". I do think that it will become the most successful post-WoW MMO for quite a while, barring a WAR miracle.

As for whether it will replace it for me, we'll see. I'll first have to play it on a fast computer and experience the real deal. I'm leaning towards a yes. I love the fact that it feels very Neverwinter Nights-ish to me; the art and the mature setting and all really create a cool atmosphere, an atmosphere that I have been looking for.

The people who are 80 are officially nuts. The exact same thing happened with WoW, and the exact same thing happened with Burning Crusade. Any MMO is going to have max characters within the first couple of weeks, that's pretty much a given.

I just hit 50 and I was in the early access program. I've goofed around on a few other toons, and I spend a LOT of time reading through quests and taking it easy - and I still have another 30 freaking levels to go! As a heavy alt player, I eventually got the 1-70 in WoW down to about 240 hours. I can easily see this being in line with leveling to 80 in Conan, and this falls in line with their quote of 275 or so hours to max level.

There is a ton of stuff planned for end game which has me excited. It's not just raid or die, and that makes me happy.

I tend to avoid discussions like this. The desire to extensively judge one game against another is a good way to hammer down to what your feelings on the genre as a whole may be, but the conversation often ends with back biting and getting caught up in semantics.

Once you've established why you like one game and dislike the other the productive part of the discussion is over. I'm enjoying AoC for the same reasons I enjoyed WoW, rabbit definitely has the right of it there.

It's okay to prefer chocolate ice cream without hating vanilla - transcend the duality people!