Quote Originally Posted by 'kadaan',index.php?page=Thread&postID=200923#post2 00923
Considering there's really no real information about the game other than that it's in development, I doubt we'll see a release for at least 5 or 6 years. Who knows where WoW will be in that time.

Also, if WoW drops to say, 6 million players by then and the new MMO takes half the playerbase and gains the same amount back, that's still 3m in WoW + 6m in the new MMO for 9m total. I'm sure many of those 3m will keep active WoW subscriptions, so it's win-win for Blizzard.
This purely my opinion, but I think 5-6 years is about right.

WoW has 3-4 more expansions in it, if we go by 1.5 years for each, by the time WoW is done, the new one steps in.

Diablo III can have an expansion or two in that time.

Starcraft can have all 3 versions out, and maybe a couple of mini-expansions.

If you think about it, there's no way they can ship a new MMO in less than 5 years from right now. If they hold to their usual standards, just the story and lore that needs to be written alone is years of work and polish.

The real gamble here is, will MMOs still be as big as they are now? Or will some other form of game take over? Take a look at Guitar Hero, and Rock Band. A couple years ago, who knew they'd be as HUGE as they are? (And yes, a Rock Band MMO would be...awesome). They hit the jackpot with WOW, but there's no guarantee it will happen again.

Blizzard I'm sure are well aware of the issues, and that they alone are their only competition, and they have to be very careful of their strategy. They also will want to grow their subscriber base, not just move it around.

I was talking about this with a friend who has contacts in the gaming industry, and we both agree, in terms of job security, the best place to be working right now is Blizzard - if you're good, and on the right team, you can look at a decade of job security right now just finishing the existing games and their expansions, let alone new titles.