The New York Times Celebrates 20 Years of Orcs, Guilds and Memes in World of Warcraft

Live Posted 10 hr 11 min ago by Archimtiros

WoW was a social network before social media, and continues to prove that the connections made inside it are
just as real as any other.

Politicians have used WoW as a campaign tool, in an attempt to connect with younger, disaffected voters.

A ‘South Park’ episode about WoW won an Emmy, and continues to be one of the highest ranked episodes in the show's history!

There is a high-minded academia within WoW, extending to Blizzard's own Student Art Contests and even university sports as well!

WoW showed that subscription services could pay off, despite long-time criticisms of the model and similar games shifting to more freemium styles.

WoW said orcs could be heroic, offering players an entirely new perspective.

A meeeeeeeeme is booooooooorn, after Leeroy Jenkins took the world by storm and continues to this day.

WoW provided a case study on epidemics, with the Corrupted Blood incident marking the first online instance of uncontrolled plague to affect millions of real people.

Celebrities are not immune to WoW fervor, from Jamie Lee Curtis, to David Harbour, Kristian Nairn, Henry Cavill, and many more.

Steve Bannon participated in WoW’s fringe economy, eventually using Chinese gold farmers as a conceptual framework to help build an audience for Breitbart news.

Players opened their wallets for WoW. Whether supporting charity pets or getting their own extravagant mount, players purchase them in record numbers, despite the sales being one of the game's most hotly debated controversies.

Successful games can make bad movies, though its reputation and reception have improved over the years.

WoW jargon spread to the alt-right, attempting to co-opt "kek," though the the Horde translation of "lol" may be seen less often these days as players can much more easily communicate with each other now.

‘I’m a Night Elf Mohawk’ was another wildly successful celebrity campaign in a time where video games were just starting to reach the wider television audience. More recently, the 20th Anniversary celebrated the return of the infamous Mohawk Grenade to engage a whole new generation of players!

Cryptocurrency developers were inspired by WoW, purportedly being an inspiration for the creation of Ethereum, although the creator later retracted the claim.

Many women found WoW welcoming, which Blizzard has fostered through several events and scholarships.

WoW merged our modern worlds, bringing the digital world into the physical with a wide and ever evolving line of props, toys, card games, and more.

WoW is a place to love and to grieve, again proving that the relationships formed online can be just as real as those in person.

WoW became a virtual stage for artists, with Blizzard continuing to foster their development and celebrating some of the best talent in the industry!

WoW harnessed the power of nostalgia, first by bringing back WoW Classic, changing up the game with a fresh spin, and then starting all over again! More than ever before, World of Warcraft has strived to provide something for everyone.

Comment by lizymariePaywall, can't even view site D:Comment by James961This article reads like AI trash. Also the NYT's post has a paywall and so most will be unable to view it.Comment by MrScroogeI love our home. And I'm glad you're all in it. It just wouldn't be the same without you <3Comment by huntsudeadya not creating a acct just to view $%^&Comment by James961ya not creating a acct just to view $%^&Comment by xgrukekComment by PriestessAurI hate that this is behind a paywall.Comment by KenjiT28And for a postive change of pace in the comments section:

I've played Warcraft since I was 12, in 1994, and love the world Blizzard created. It has allowed me to make lasting friendships all over the world.
While working overseas I made fast friends with people who can't speak English when they saw a WoW screenshot wallpaper on my phone.Comment by KainoI don't play currently, but haven't disabled wow head discord notifications even though I don't read any of the articles.

wow changed my life. And I am thankful for that, but not cata

Hate away, but the mere fact you are reading this comment justifies why I wrote it

So much love for this.. Well,... EverythingComment by draconicmankekComment by SinRFun Fact!

"He Who Has No Life" was modeled after Joeyray Hall, Artist for Blizzard. He still has the Emmy on display to this day.Comment by Tyneic"Many women have found a place in the Cosby Suite throughout the years and were happy to settle for pennies rather than sue because Blizzard would've buried them in legal costs."

Yup, truly a reason to celebrate. AI news articles really are funny these days.Comment by ArktiqStorm'Orcs can be heroic' Reminds me of that incredibly entertaining Extra Credits video. Thanks for the laughComment by markdallSounds about right - sure as heck wouldn't be any reason to celebrate humans, night elves, etc.

Hey fellow Alliance, remember that time we got called a slur (bY a CoNtRaCtOr as though that makes it okay) at Blizzcon and then a Blizz VP apologized for the slur in general but not to how Alliance players were characterized? (Both would have been nice.) You can google it if you want! That was a thing that happened.Comment by AlustrielSo many comments, and far too many of a subversive if outright negative perspective. Sad, so bloody sad.

I'm happy that these folks made a lasting impression on so many people lives. Laugh and be angry at having to pay for a subscription or the license to use that game software, everyone knows that code has bugs in it and every piece of engineered software can't possibly go through every ridiculous scenario to find flaws before release, look at Windows, full of bugs every version since it came out after DOS 6.2. So, whatever, get a job if you don't have any money or just don't complain and realize not everyone shares your opinion.

Try getting hit by a car and almost killed, wake up in a hospital and have to live there for half a year, then roll out in a wheelchair thinking you'll never walk again. Have a few more surgeries, and take five years before you can walk again and drive.

FYI: for some people, while coping with disastrous and life changing experiences, WoW was a new and "take you mind off of the depressing thoughts and haunting images of almost dying" memories. It kept away the worst of the worst so to speak and brought back desire and determination to a bleak life outlook.

To each their own I say, I enjoy this game and I see how it has impacted many people lives, most for the better, some not so much. Companies, organizations, agencies, all of those things are just like people in that they all have their ups and downs, they make good choices and bad, people are not perfect and neither are the businesses we buy products or services from, they try to give us what we want, satisfaction, excitement, some depth, but not everything always works out that way. Even if it does, some who experience it do not agree with others because they are themselves behind a wall of expectations that only they can breach to find that whatever it is they are seeking.

Nuf said.Comment by DruidBernI like the Warcraft movie though.Comment by DezziaI love how one of my comments is deleted for being "political", when literally all I did was quote a line that was in the article itself, word for word...

The mods on this site are absolute clowns. What standard are you even operating on here?...Comment by TrantsI love how one of my comments is deleted for being "political", when literally all I did was quote a line that was in the article itself, word for word...

The mods on this site are absolute clowns. What standard are you even operating on here?...Comment by AlterraiaSecrets finders need to scour this article as this is something we'd expect Blizzard to have something hidden deep within.Comment by ScaryfoxSo many comments, and far too many of a subversive if outright negative perspective. Sad, so bloody sad.

I'm happy that these folks made a lasting impression on so many people lives. Laugh and be angry at having to pay for a subscription or the license to use that game software, everyone knows that code has bugs in it and every piece of engineered software can't possibly go through every ridiculous scenario to find flaws before release, look at Windows, full of bugs every version since it came out after DOS 6.2. So, whatever, get a job if you don't have any money or just don't complain and realize not everyone shares your opinion.

Try getting hit by a car and almost killed, wake up in a hospital and have to live there for half a year, then roll out in a wheelchair thinking you'll never walk again. Have a few more surgeries, and take five years before you can walk again and drive.

FYI: for some people, while coping with disastrous and life changing experiences, WoW was a new and "take you mind off of the depressing thoughts and haunting images of almost dying" memories. It kept away the worst of the worst so to speak and brought back desire and determination to a bleak life outlook.

To each their own I say, I enjoy this game and I see how it has impacted many people lives, most for the better, some not so much. Companies, organizations, agencies, all of those things are just like people in that they all have their ups and downs, they make good choices and bad, people are not perfect and neither are the businesses we buy products or services from, they try to give us what we want, satisfaction, excitement, some depth, but not everything always works out that way. Even if it does, some who experience it do not agree with others because they are themselves behind a wall of expectations that only they can breach to find that whatever it is they are seeking.

Nuf said.