The Flame Game

By Ellie Gibson Published 16 January, 2007

That Burning Crusade launch in full.

Last night, HMV Oxford Street found itself surrounded by warlocks and orcs, warriors and night elves, paladins and mages and priests.

Well, in actual fact, it was surrounded by lots of 18 - 24 year old men in casual sportswear and a few dozen people who'd bought some face paints and tried experimenting with tin foil and old curtains. There were also some women and old people, so beloved these days of cash hungry games companies and tabloid journalists who have run out of ideas for stories about Manhunt.

The point is, there were an awful lot of people. Around 1500, according to HMV games boss Tim Ellis, which is four times the number of attendees they were expecting for the launch of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

And HMV weren't the only ones to get a bit of a shock. Speaking on stage in the moments before TBC officially went on sale, Blizzard bigwig Itzik Ben Bassat picked a peck of pickled pepper - sorry, told the crowd - "To be honest, I was a little bit concerned. I didn't know what the reaction was going to be... This is a great surprise, to see all these people coming here to celebrate the launch."

"There isn't a greater moment than to see all these people and to know that we're touching so many people," he continued. To which one extra-excitable WOW fan shouted the reply, "You can touch me any time."

Waiting game

'The Flame Game' Screenshot 1

First in line to pick up his signed copy of TBC was 22 year-old Raleigh, a physics student from Tunbridge Wells in casual sportswear. He'd turned up at 5.30am that morning, and by 8am he'd been joined by a few more eager WOW players. But they left after being handed wristbands by HMV staff with a gentle "Move along, there's nothing to see here, come back in 12 hours or so and sorry you've had to carry those camping chairs on the tube for no reason."

Naturally, Raleigh returned that evening and took his rightful place at the head of the queue. For his efforts, he was awarded not only with a free copy of the expansion pack but also the original WOW collector's edition, the trading card game and no less than three t-shirts. He also got a mouse mat and a collectable action figure, which to be honest he looked less than impressed with.

But it was well worth the wait, according to Raleigh: "It's just great to experience the atmosphere, meet new people and make new friends."

Unkind people might say that Raleigh could do with making a few more new friends, on account of him having two level 60 WOW characters to his name. "It took me about 12 days played to get my Paladin to 60 and about eight days for my hunter," he said, "And I've played my Paladin for about 107 days now."

Those are 24-hour days - so, assuming Raleigh stopped playing with the hunter after eight days, that's 2760 hours in total. Which is equivalent to more than an entire year's worth working weeks. With no holidays or fag breaks.

But those unkind people would be missing the point - that WOW is a very social game. Not just because you get to befriend people from all over Europe (not all of whom are 14 year-old Norwegians who want to know if you're really a girl and if so whether you like sex), but because you can play with friends from the real world.

Chain reaction

'The Flame Game' Screenshot 2

That's certainly the case for John, a 29 year-old mechanic from Slough, who turned up for the TBC launch in full chain mail. "I just like the environment, making new friends, meeting people really," he said.

"I played Warcraft games from the beginning, and it's just gone from there. My best friends and friends from work, they all play it, I've got them into it."

John also said he finds the game relieves stress at the end of a hard day - "I like it because you can completely forget about work." So when he's not beating panels, he likes to relax by punching rats? "Yeah."

But for other WOW players, such as 26 year-old Dave from Rochester, the social aspect is not the main attraction.

"It's the fact that there's always another goal to progress towards - just the experience of defeating new encounters, new bosses, new dungeons," he said.

"I'm looking forward to The Burning Crusade because there are more instances to do, there are more things to kill, and we need more new things to do." Like kill new things, presumably.

Dave was another attendee who turned up in costume - which in his case meant a witch's hat and green face paint. Standing next to him was Lenny, 19, sporting purple horns and co-ordinating outfit. She explained why she decided to make the effort and queue up: "We were told there would be freebies, which helped, and it's a good excuse to wear a corset."

Age concern

'The Flame Game' Screenshot 3

But not everyone got out the fancy dress - unless there's a WOW class we haven't heard of that's modelled on 52 year-old consultants from Biggleswade. "Most gamers are middle aged. Most of them are professional people - they do it to relieve stress and get a bit of relaxation, basically," revealed David, a 52 year-old consultant from Biggleswade.

David hadn't intended to queue up on launch night, but his plans changed earlier that day. "I came here to get my hands on the collector's edition. I did pre-order from HMV but I had an email this morning to say that I wasn't going to get a copy, so this was a last ditch attempt to get my hands on one. They said they haven't got enough stock, but obviously they've got enough stock for tonight."

But having to join the queue hadn't dampened David's enthusiasm for WOW. "Both my boys play it, so it's a thing you do together as a family. The main thing I like about it is you've got millions of people online from all over the world, all races, all religions, all sexes, and everybody's on an even playing field. There are no barriers at all." One love, etc.

Also in the queue was Laura, a 39 year-old data manager for a games company (she wouldn't tell us which one, probably because we'd only go and put it on the Internet). She's been playing WOW for 19 months and joined the queue at 7am - despite a few concerns about The Burning Crusade.

"I think it is quite expensive for an expansion pack. There were some things that I would have liked added in that weren't. But then again, it's World of Warcraft - so people are going to pay for it."

Cash converters

'The Flame Game' Screenshot 4

Indeed, as as recently announced by Blizzard, there are now 8 million people who are willing to pay for it - and that includes 1.5 million European gamers. According to Ben Bassat, top industry insiders once warned Blizzard that WOW would never work in Europe, because none of us like online gaming and none of us would be prepared to cough up £8.99 a month for the privilege. Hahahaha.

"We discovered that there is a huge online gaming market in Europe, and it was an opportunity waiting for us," Ben Bassat confirmed. Hence the establishment of Blizzard Europe, which now employs around 700 people, and the midnight launch event for TBC. It's the first time Blizzard has held such an event in Europe, but it won't be the last.

"Don't forget that we have two more franchises that we love - Diablo and Starcraft," Ben Bassat told the crowd.

"We haven't forgotten that we have these two franchises, and what I can tell you is that I look forward to standing here in a few years, or whenever it's going to be, and celebrate with you the launch of the next Starcraft or the next Diablo."

That might be sooner rather than later. "As a Starcraft player I can tell you that I hope it wouldn't go a decade - we launched Starcraft in '98 - I hope it wouldn't go a decade before we stand here and celebrate the next Starcraft together," Ben Bassat said, to cheers from the audience.

But last night was really about World of Warcraft, and about Europe's 1.5 million players - hundreds of whom were prepared to stand outside in the cold and queue, and dozens of whom were prepared to risk getting the paint happy-slapped off their faces on the night bus home.

"At Blizzard, we're really dedicated to what we do," Ben Bassat said. "We do it out of passion, we do it out of love; we love games, and we love our games."

"And we love you," someone shouted. To the tune of £8.99 times 1.5 million per month, it seems.

You can read our first impressions of The Burning Crusade here. Coming soon - an exclusive Eurogamer TV interview and footage of the launch event. We'll also be interviewing Ben Bassat on top business website GamesIndustry.biz, which by the way is chock full of top business information for top business people about the top business of games.

In the meantime, if you've been playing The Burning Crusade since 12.01am and have already named your baby pet murloc and reached level 70 and obtained nine flying mounts - don't write in.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (57) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • alimokrane #1 5 years ago

    OMG ... I cant believe people are actually going nuts over this ..... Pure Addiction!

  • thefishmonger #2 5 years ago

    I went over to HMV Oxford Street this afternoon. It reeks!

  • Cloudane #3 5 years ago

    I am glad I have never played those sort of games in my life.

    Seriously, those who play WoW for hours every day need to get out more.

  • gypsumfantastic #4 5 years ago

    Why?

  • jiveguy #5 5 years ago

    Vitamin C from the sun. Otherwise you die. Thats what my granny told me.
    Edited by 1 at 16/01/07 @ 14:29

  • gypsumfantastic #6 5 years ago

    I'm a priest! I can heal myself!

  • rudedudejude #7 5 years ago

    I find it quite funny the amount of people who have been so desparate for a Collectors Edit because you get a free pet or somethink lol

  • El_MUERkO #8 5 years ago

    i may buy this on the way home from work

  • Darren #9 5 years ago

    I loved World of Warcraft when I bought it at launch following the beta trail and played it extensively for around two or three months clocking up over 300 hours of gameplay. Then I stopped playing it as I got hooked on Oblivion on the Xbox 360 and found it very difficult to get back into WoW. Now I can't see what all the fuss is about really and aren't even slightly interested in the Burning Crusade.

    That said, I will admit that for those 300 hours, WoW was possibly the most enjoyable and addictive game I'd ever played in my 27 years of gaming.

  • jglover4 #10 5 years ago

    Good article, very amusing read.

    Me, I'm over my addiction to WoW. Thankfully.

  • drunkymonkey #11 5 years ago

    Oh yeah! WoW bashers! How surprising!

    Anyway, moving on, I'm getting Burning Crusade for my birthday. Should be fun, although I'm not really going to be able to see the benefits unless I make a new character, as I'm nowhere near 58 (level you need to be to get through The Dark Portal).

    I am not prepared, sadly.

  • captainrentboy #12 5 years ago

    Fucking nerds.... :)
    You should have seen the greasy,trench coat wearing bastards going insane in my store yesterday,firstly because we weren't opening at midnight,and secondly because we were short stocked on the collector's edition.
    Get outside,it's not good for you being glued to a monitor 24/7.

  • lennon #13 5 years ago

    @Darren - Completely the same here. Although I am tempted to go back.

    I joined the beta and then played the full game when it came out for well over 250 hours and at the time would have told you it was the best game ever. I have tried to get back into it a couple of times but I just cant get into it that much any more.

    The reason I am tempted to go back is that apparently there is a little more variety in the types of quest and the dungeons have been shortened to make for smaller quicker instances. I havent got time for it at the moment but once I have seen a few reviews it might be time to rejoin.

    Oh and there is a nice new feature for finding groups for dungeons and quests.
    Edited by 1 at 16/01/07 @ 14:49

  • FunkyRenegade #14 5 years ago

    Is it just me that thinks it's pathetic to bash people for what they do with their life?
    Don't be so retarded.
    If you don't like it, don't play it.
    But there's no need to be a dick to people who want to play it.
    And I think the two new races are awesome :]

  • mkreku #15 5 years ago

    Ok, did I miss the complimentary pictures of Ellie..? Surely there has to be a few pictures of her with green face paint and a corset? :|

  • jiveguy #16 5 years ago

    The best way to play WoW is on your own, just doing quests and getting one or two other people involved if you need help. All that guild and raid nonsense just stresses people out while at the same time the thin veneer of community they offer adds to peoples addiction.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #17 5 years ago

    I started playing WoW a while ago. A friend of mine with who I chat a lot over ICQ since he lives nowhere near me (different country to be exactly) played too and after a while it kind of replaced ICQ. We were mainly talking and playing WoW was more of a "side quest". Of course we did not stop playing once the other left but kept on playing. It is a strange addiction. I cannot really describe it, the game design definetly has something magic about it, although it is really repetitive you keep on playing.

    I stopped when I was level 40 something though because I spent the last couple of levels in Stranglethorn and was getting killed a lot by Allies and it got sooo boring I could not believe it. Since there is no real story or goal I could not find a reason to continue playing. It was a lot of fun though when I was active.

    Maybe I'll start again one day.

  • jonsaan #18 5 years ago

    It's wierd how gamers split into groups and infight. Each to his own everyone:)
    Surely the fact that we are all posting on a gaming site forum marks us out as 'nerds' or 'geeks' or whatever in a lot of people's eyes. The fact that some of us are calling others nerds for playing warcraft is just too ironic for words really.

  • HyperShadow #19 5 years ago

    Sad for queueing for a launch of a video game product?

    How many people called those who lined up for ungodly hours for console launches geeks and nerds?

    I'm sure there is something that you'd be excited about that others find wierd.

    But seriously, preorder from GAME or somewhere, I got mine yesterday and was playing it before 0001.

  • TonyCocaCola #20 5 years ago

    So you was playing it about 0000 then?

  • rudedudejude #21 5 years ago

    "Oh and there is a nice new feature for finding groups for dungeons and quests."

    tbh with all the money they're raking in I'd have hoped they could add in some good improvements and at least bring the gfx up to date a little. It doesn't look like this add on really ads much graphically, it's basically just more monsters and quests to grind through.

  • urban #22 5 years ago

    elllie, while it was a hilarious article, don't be such a sadist hey?.

    And we love you ellie!!!

  • captainrentboy #23 5 years ago

    I hope people weren't taking my comment too seriously,I realise the massive irony of calling some MMORPG guy a nerd whilst I am sat at my pc desk typing away on a game website about my job in Game,hench the giant smiling face at the end of my comment.
    But the other bits I mentioned are the way I (Sadly I suppose) generalise them due to the majority of W.O.W players who I interact with in work,they do tend to be rather greasy and whiffy looking(Partly due to the hours and hours they spend sat playing the game no doubt),and a large percentage of them seem to believe they are infact Neo.
    But there's no denying they are a friendly bunch of lads and lasses,much nicer talking to them than it is talking to some gobby,continuously swearing chav.

  • dripping_brain #24 5 years ago

    Does Starcraft really count as a franchise? I'd have thought a gaming franchise would require the release of more than 1 title in a series to qualify for that tag.
    Then again, he probably just means because it also has rubbish merchandise in other mediums.

  • lennon #25 5 years ago

    @Adam_T I dont think upgrading the gfx is a great idea personally. If you start doing that then you might be knocking out those that could once play it. The visual style of the game really gives it a lot of its atmosphere.

  • Merlinho #26 5 years ago

    Starcraft did have an expansion as well I suppose. And it sold more than many franchises added together.

  • absolutezero #27 5 years ago

    I think Wow is a rather good game, I played one of the free trails for a week and enjoyed the game mechanics. However, theres a reason I never started paying for it. I can't stand the community, they seem to be the most whiney, childish, quick to anger bunch of players outside of Xbox Live.

    Everywhere I went I saw people complaining about the game, yet there they were still playing away. Constant streams of non-English WoW talk Lvl 34 Prk Tak Fls with EP. Awful starting quests that made me picture doing exactly the samething but against slightly bigger enemies, being killed the first time I followed a friend into a PvP area. All these games feel like they pander to those with no lives, if your a casual gamer with say other games to play, or even consoles with games to play there, you simply don't have the time to play something like this. It demands all your free-time all the time. Thats just deeply depressing.

  • Clive_Dunn #28 5 years ago

    For those of you that went - didn't you feel a little stupid dressed up as a WoW character on the bus home ?

    To be honest, if I'd have seen any of you I'd have been very tempted to bully you.

  • Laserbream #29 5 years ago

    A BIG HELLLLOOOOO TO THE SNIDE BRIGADE!

    How much do we owe you for your much needed judgement about our lifestyles? Pro-bono you say? YOU ARE SAINTS ON EARTH SIRS

  • Skooch #30 5 years ago

    The Burning Crusade isn't a great name, they should have called the expansion pack " World of Warcraft: Freaks and Geeks".

    /calm down people, tis merely a joke

  • Clive_Dunn #31 5 years ago

    One feels Laserbream needs to spend 26 hours hunting for the rare WoW sense of humour drop.

  • Laserbream #32 5 years ago

    I beg to differ - my tricorder detected vast amounts of the isotope snidentium-40 from both the article and the comments, a telling sign of gamers who like to piss all over other gamers. And I ain't talking about golden shower action here, I am being metaphorimacal.

  • lennon #33 5 years ago

    "To be honest, if I'd have seen any of you I'd have been very tempted to bully you."

    That would be dangerous. You may have been hit by a +1 mace. ;)

  • Laserbream #34 5 years ago

    "That would be dangerous. You may have been hit by a +1 mace. ;) "

    Now THAT'S a proper joke about geeks :)

  • lennon #35 5 years ago

    Nyuck Nyuck! With the freeks and the geeks and the whizzing robots and flubber!

    /runs off and hides in a darkened corner with a odd feeling of shame

  • MrChuckles #36 5 years ago

    I got to level 39 pretty quick and then realised i was spending half the time running between quests and then never played it again.

    Found (for my statty, combat addled brain) that City of Villains was a lot more fun. Load game, kill things until bored, turn off game. No running, hurrah....

  • vane101 #37 5 years ago

    God look at those photos - old blokes, women, studenty geeks. Where's the annoying 13 year olds who keep wanting to duel you every 2 seconds?!

  • CrunchinJelly #38 5 years ago

    Just look at the fucking state of them.

  • EmiliasHorse #39 5 years ago

    I was at the shop this morning eagerly awaiting my copy of the BC. Several other people were also waiting, one looked the spitting image of the guy from SouthPark World of Warcraft episode (The uber player killer who has "No life at all";).
    I had a pang that I was no better and then I thought who cares? I love WOW and I am a Horse for godsake.

  • space_ace #40 5 years ago

    hey
    someone burned my crusade

  • Amnesia #41 5 years ago


    I have to say I thought the article was a bit snotty about the people lining up for the event for a game that has 8 million participants. We should be a long way past sneering at people who are the biggest followers of the biggest game on the planet just for being the biggest followers of the biggest game..... These respondents are obviously going to be the first in the queue and as the most dedicated people it's pretty obvious that they will have relatively extraordinary levels of commitment to the game. This is not a difficult logical proposition.

    You might not have meant it but I think this piece came across as rather sneery, slightly superior and a bit in need of a crack round the head in its 'we're a bit superior' but actually-not vein. I felt more sympathy for WoW players of which I am not one than for this article.

  • BlackZam #42 5 years ago

    How could they screw up with the collector's edition???

  • captain_cupcake #43 5 years ago

    @Amnesia (iirc) - true, but there were a few tongues in cheeks, heh.

    I am concerned - I have an addict's gene, but have managed to hold out; yet I've been given discs, an account, chums to play with. I am worried I may never recover. Please advise.

  • jamespo #44 5 years ago

    Who gives a crap about the collector's edition... and a cautionary tale:

    A mate of mine lives with someone who works for a few months, saves enough to live for a few months and spends the entire time playing warcraft. Coincidentally enough, despite claiming he doesn't play Warcraft much any more his "contract ended" on Friday.

    He also played on the US server until it launched over here and sold his character for $500.

    When the loser's copy didn't arrive in the post he was up at 9.15 and back by 9.30 today...

    Yes he has no girlfriend... ladies I can give you his details if you like

  • Downside #45 5 years ago

    longgg dungeons requiring 40 ppl all using the same RAID mod grinding for tier 1 gear or reputation, made the game v dull for me. Breaking point was when, mid raid, our healer had to go AFK because his Dad had asked him to do the washing up. What was I doing playing a game with kids? So I gave up and got a 360.

    So why did I go and buy BC today and start leveling a bloodelf character?? I need help, obviously.

    As for the no life thing, most of my WoW mates are married with both partners playing the game - I know, go figure!

  • masterson #46 5 years ago

    I do love it when people accuse others of being no-life saddoes on a video games website's forum without appreciating the irony. I guess they're just taking a break from their hectic "Fonzie" style lives to post here in-between screwing hot chicks and driving fast cars...

  • TonyCocaCola #47 5 years ago

    Yeah thats what im doin here. But I drive a speedboat fighter jet type thing

  • Psi #48 5 years ago

    absolutezero if you think wow and xblive are bad, please check out battlenet

  • ZuluHero #49 5 years ago

    "having two level 60 WOW characters to his name"

    only 2? Lightweight :p

  • loopy #50 5 years ago

    ""having two level 60 WOW characters to his name"

    only 2? Lightweight :p"

    Agreed. I know of at least 4 people in the guild I'm in who have 4 level 60 characters, and one has 6. :o

    Madness.
    Edited by 1 at 17/01/07 @ 09:16

  • mkreku #51 5 years ago

    I got a closed beta of WoW to review a few billion years ago. I started a paladin and had a blast. Then, two weeks before retail launch, they completely changed the way paladins worked (going from being active battle participants with spells and skills and stuff to passive onwatchers that can heal once every three seconds or something). So when I got my account for the retail (free.. woo me..) I played it for three months, pulled my paladin up to level 60 and then left the game with three months still remaining on my account. I don't know if it was the change to paladins, the fact that I now had to deal with thousands of twelve year old kids or the end game that was boring, but I just couldn't see myself playing it any longer.

    Speaking of which, anyone interested in buying a slightly used level 60 paladin with no gear or gold whatsoever to his person? :p

  • nach0king #52 5 years ago

    "I am glad I have never played those sort of games in my life.

    Seriously, those who play WoW for hours every day need to get out more."

    ---

    That's a bit unfair: as the article (rightly) points out, these games can be very social. I played WoW for several months with my friends, but also made some new ones from further afield. A couple of them I still talk to, despite the fact I no longer play. Inasmuch as gaming can be "ranked" by "not needing to get out more-osity", WoW, when played with others and in something approaching moderation can be a healthy hobby.

  • ZuluHero #53 5 years ago

    "As for the no life thing, most of my WoW mates are married with both partners playing the game - I know, go figure!"

    I guess polygamy would make for a pretty lethal grinding/levelling machine :p

  • poisse #54 5 years ago

    It's not dissing for the sake of dissing, it's just pointing out that not all gamers are alike. Certain gamers like to spend hours per evening bashing troll after orc after rat AND give Vivendi 9 pounds a month for the 'privilege' AND not get out/wash enough (sorry about the cliché but just look at those pictures!) and others enjoy susprising, innovative and varied console gaming... and the rest of their lives too.

    But I think Ellie said all this better than any of us in her highly amusing piece:

    "...John, a 29 year-old mechanic from Slough... said he finds the game relieves stress at the end of a hard day - "I like it because you can completely forget about work." So when he's not beating panels, he likes to relax by punching rats? "Yeah."

    But for other WOW players, such as 26 year-old Dave from Rochester, the social aspect is not the main attraction...

    "I'm looking forward to The Burning Crusade because there are more instances to do, there are more things to kill, and we need more new things to do." Like kill new things, presumably."

  • DX #55 5 years ago

    "susprising, innovative and varied console gaming..."

    I almost giggled.

  • AOFanboi #56 5 years ago

    People who do activity X for hours indoors need to get out more. Where X is painting miniatures, reading books, watching television, dusting and washing the floors etc...

  • SpeedyThing #57 5 years ago

    "I guess polygamy would make for a pretty lethal grinding/levelling machine :p"

    You'd imagine that to be the case but the reality for me and my missus was that playing together caused too many arguments!! In the end we ended up just playing on the same server (and side) and doing our own things until she had trouble and I came swooping in as her knight in +1 Shining Armor.