The QueueMar 7, 2016 11:00 am CT

The Queue: Overwatch release date, and old legendaries, games, and priorities

Phew! I made it past my first return Queue without the end of the world happening.

Let’s see how I do this time … maybe there’s some controversial answer I can give. Oh, I know! I’ll talk about how amazing my chili recipe is instead of talking about games.

SAMERT ASKED:

How did the Overwatch releases date leak happen, is it legit?

It’s legit.

This likely happened because IGN ad operations folks (either internally or externally) got the ad images early and put them in the system, set them up to be displayed at some date and time, and went about their merry way. Or there was some tech failure on the part of IGN’s systems; either way there was some accidental push of the ad creatives early. When that happened they went on the site, and boom. Release date leaked. This kind of mistake is quite uncommon in large web businesses, but it does happen now and then; especially when you’re dealing with thousands of ad buys a year on some of these sites.

I should note here too that we don’t have any embargoed information or anything, but we’ve been hearing unsubstantiated rumors for a while that it’ll be released around there. So it all matches up.

KELSTEN ASKED:

Q4tQ: Does anyone else feel like WoW is winding down? A lot of the stuff they’re marketing as exciting new features in Legion could, if you cast a cynical eye on it, appear to be marketing sugar-coating for the lack of innovation, withdrawal of support and less passion for the game. The focus on class fantasy (and the like it or lump it attitude to some of them); the artifact weapons; only four leveling zones…you could argue that it’s all a way to streamline and strip back on workload.

Blizzard themselves are strangely quiet; they’re hardly pushing Legion at all, whether in terms of player interaction or traditional marketing. Look at the way they market new heroes in HotS or new expansions in Hearthstone; they could easily do this sort of thing to generate interest in Legion. Send active and ex-players emails introducing each new zone or lore figure – no spoilers, but enough to pique interest.

To me it’s beginning to look like WoW is less of a focus for the company, whether because they’re making so much money elsewhere, or simply because it’s so old, but it feels like WoW is now something they’re happy to just keep ticking along in the background rather than putting effort into.

I don’t really think so. WoW is certainly past the prime population stage, but I don’t think it’s past the prime of its life. Blizzard continues to inject serious content into the game, and they’re constantly refining their systems to make it more and more modern. Graphics, game play, looting, story, etc… all of it is really under a constant state of evolution.

I disagree that they’re not innovating with the class halls and surrounding story and technology. They’re doing exactly what many have begged them to do for years — provide unique storylines that make playing alts worth it. If anything I think they’re going more in-depth in this expansion than others. To me that’s not throwing in the towel and shrugging off the game, it’s making a firm commitment to the playerbase and game itself.

You do bring up correctly that WoW is less of a focus, however. But it’s only less of a focus in that there is more focus to spread around. If before WoW was using 50 out of 100 mana at Blizzard HQ, now it’s using 50 out of 200. They’re not, as far as we know, subtracting resources from the WoW team. Instead other resources are being added to other teams; their HR operations is a force in-and-of-itself, constantly recruiting and hiring top-tier talent from around the world.

All this isn’t bad, either. The better the other games go, the less reliance there will be on WoW to be the cash king at Blizzard, and the more risk they’re going to be willing to take in WoW innovation and evolution. If WoW was the be-all-end-all of Blizzard Entertainment, then they’d be protecting the golden goose like nothing else. Now, since there’s clearly other super successful franchises, they’re going to be more likely to push the game and story forward in new and interesting ways. I don’t think we’re always going to like the end result, but it will be a fun ride.

RAZZAK ASKED:

QftQ: What do you think would be a fun/interesting way to ‘dispose’ of legendaries when they’re no longer relevant?

Please don’t destroy your legendary gear! They’re able to be used in Timewalking dungeons and have their full effect, which is pretty amazing across the board. Keep them, cherish them, and use them — they don’t just need to be a fun non-transmog item to stick on and sit outside a bank with anymore. They’re useful, and please make them great again!

VALENCEMAGI ASKED:

Q4tQ: did you play through ye olde RTS games, and did you use the cheats when you did?

I love all the old RTS games. They work pretty well with modern systems, too, although there needs to be a bit of fine tuning here and there. They’re quite good for a trip, now and then.

One of the most fun things I do when playing through them is to pick out all the things that made it into WoW in one way or another; things like class abilities, locations, individual builds, and attitudes of certain characters. It’s fun to observe and pick up on the subtle evolution of the story and thought process as the franchise moved from an RTS to a gigantic MMO.

If you haven’t done so in a while, I highly recommend playing through them. If you want use cheats, but after 20 years of playing these games it should all be second nature by now, one way or another.

I kid. WhosYourDaddy for life.

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