Loose Threads: Is World of Warcraft Mobile a good idea?

There is something magical about seeing a complex game run on a tiny piece of hardware, which is perhaps why the World of Warcraft Mobile rumour simply refuses to die.

Propagated with little substance, in large part by WoW die-hards who need to would love to take their unchecked addiction beloved pastime with them wherever they go (not that they get out much – joke), the various WoW Mobile rumours that have cropped up over the last two years have been hard to take seriously.

Or at least until Blizzard went and posted recruitment adverts looking for various mobile software engineers.

Now this does not necessarily confirm that WoW is the game these recruitment adverts are intended for (after all, Blizzard commands various popular franchises besides WoW) but it does give us a good excuse to toss the bone of discussion back and forth until it is picked clean.

So, last week, we asked:

Is World of Warcraft Mobile a good idea?

To which you unanimously shouted "NO!" at the top of your lungs. First to do so, in fact, was hunter_alien:

"World of Warcraft is a way to complex game for a mobile phone. There is no way I could see it working. A Warcraft game (RTS/TBS) could work well, on the other hand. Who knows, maybe we could be dealing with a port of the first game. "Anyway, I see three possible options for a mobile phone Warcraft game: 1) A Warcraft port. 2) An original Warcraft game (possibly a TBS, that suits mobile phones better). 3) A WoW stat checker (see what's happening with your AI controlled character all the time, for example) for a small monthly fee, of course."

Well it's good to get some criticism with a healthy side order of constructive suggestions. A real-time strategy game based on the WoW universe could be a great fit for mobiles and a clever way of bringing the franchise across without shoehorning an ill-fitting experience onto the hardware.

Mandark was thoroughly in agreement, stating:

"There's little point trying to squeeze the PC version of World of Warcraft on to mobiles. It must be bad enough getting the client to work properly for all the configurations of PC out there, never mind trying to get a compatible working client for mobiles as well. "With the current level of technology, it's probably more practical to create a mobile-only MMORPG. The content can then be honed for mobile devices. I've said before that any Warcraft game will sell well because the brand is so strong now. I also think a game like Runescape would work. The latest phones look more than capable of running a game like that and it is quite fun – EverQuest-lite! Kids like it too and there's lots of chat. "I'm not sure about how subscriptions would work though but the Runescape model seems to work. Have the basic game free but offer subscriptions to access more areas and features. In terms of subs I think you've got to be looking at £1 or £2 per month and allow people to buy in discounted blocks."

Again, good suggestions, but would a mobile gamer be willing to pay the sorts of monthly fees associated with MMOs like WoW? Chances are that a serious mobile MMO player (were the titles available) would already have to shell out a reasonable whack on an unlimited data contract to ensure that everything is affordable from the operator end. Mind you, an extra £1-2 isn't likely to be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Next to wade in with a big fat negative was danskmacabre, though he had a little more to say than just that:

"The level of technology the AVERAGE mobile is at, I would say NO, it's not really up to the task yet. "But then it might be ready for the cutting edge mobile phones, but then do the sort of people that buy the BEST mobile at premium prices actually play MMORPGs? "I would be more tempted if a WoW type game came out for the PSP (I doubt the DS is up to it). But even then, I bet there'd have to be corners cut to make it work."

It's strange that we haven't stopped to consider if the game is a good fit for mobiles customer-wise. It's a fair point that even if a perfectly scaled and usable version of World of Warcraft was achieved on the technology end for mobiles, would there be enough people interested in such a hardcore game to justify what would no doubt be a difficult and expensive development process?

As for the PSP getting a Blizzard MMO, the user base might be more keen but with wi-fi as the only connectivity option, the game's mobility would no doubt suffer.

Entering the discussion late as usual, SetsFireToPoshHammer found plenty to concur with, but little to add. Tsk:

"WoW is just too technical a game, requiring too much of a time investment to ever be a good fit for mobiles in its current form. "Visually I am sure phones aren't far away from being able to replicate WoW as it is, but I really don't think that the control schemes will ever be up to it. An app that lets you check up on your AI characters would be good I suppose."

Last in was Accelorata Jengold who performed his usual trick of waiting from the sidelines while the more eager posters do the hard work beating the topic down, before moving in to enjoy the spoils:

"Here's the problem with WoW on mobile. "You and your clan have just finished tooling up and battling your way through a considerable chunk of Azeroth. You are just about to launch into the big confrontation against a level infinity character (or something) that this has all been leading up to when, your bus arrives and you have to drop out of the game to fumble for the correct change. "It just isn't practical to have such a deep and involved MMO on mobile, even if the tech was up to it, then it would still be best suited for playing at home and if that's the case, why not just fire it up on the Mac/PC? If Blizzard does something mobile in the WoW universe, it ought to be something tangential to the core experience if you ask me."

So that's it then, I think we can say with certainty that as far as our readers go, World of Warcraft Mobile is a bad idea, though perhaps something that relates to the game's universe is still potentially a big draw.

So as ever, on with next week's topic:

What's the ideal flagship game for the iPhone?

Answers on a postcard will get you nowhere, so be sure to visit the forum (where extra details can also be found) to vent your spleen on this topic.

That's it for now. Click 'Track It!' to be sure not to miss next week's discussion and happy posting.