Pokemon Go is the real WoW killer

The Pokemon Go hype is real and it could very well be the fabled WoW killer. Millions have been compelled to go outside capture Pokemon and even “the hard core gamers” are finally leaving their thrones to do the same.

For more than a decade, gamers have waited for the next big mmo (Massively Multiplayer Online Game), the next big game worthy of devoting their life to. Various games have taken the challenge over the years and have garnered lukewarm success, much so that the term “WoW Killer” has taken a sarcastic undertone. This is the curse that WoW inflicts on its challengers. Pokemon Go has been captivating everyone, not just gamers, in the countries it is available to.

A number rundown from Recode calculated that Pokemon Go has reached 5.25 million daily users. SimilarWeb data shows that Pokemon Go rivals Twitter in number of users. This feat was accomplished with the game officially released and available to selected countries, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. As more countries are added to the list, the numbers will definitely increase even further.

Meanwhile, World of Warcraft has been available in all regions and still is experiencing declines in their playerbase. The game developer, Blizzard, has even announced that it will no longer be providing WoW subscription numbers from last year. This makes the Q3 2015 results, which reported a stable 5.5 million subscribers, the last official subscription count. This was the decision that made players doubt the game’s longevity.

Player count is not the only battle Pokemon Go is winning. World of Warcraft requires a good desktop, Internet connection and a monthly subscription to play. Pokemon Go, on the other hand, is free to play with micro transactions, a smart phone, an Internet connection and a good pair of shoes.

Free-to-play trumps the monthly subscription as younger players no longer depend on their parents’ credit cards. Almost everyone has a smartphone, as it is the norm at this age. All that’s missing is the Internet connection for the phone.

Luckily, most network services in Australia provide data along with calls and text. This enables almost anyone to play Pokemon Go anywhere and anytime, a luxury WoW does not have.

Pokemon Go’s low bar accessibility, theme and simplicity fill up a special unique niche. Even with an expansion pack “Legion” releasing soon, World of Warcraft may have a tough fight keeping its numbers. Pokemon Go might very well be the WoW killer we’ve been waiting for. The fairy to World of Warcraft’s dragon.