WoW turning 5! Samwise shares a memory

November 13th, 2009, 6:55 am · 29 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

The countdown has begun. World of Warcraft, the most successful game to come out of Orange County, turns 5 on Nov. 23.

This marks the fifth anniversary of the chilly night thousands of local fans stood in line at Fry’s Electronics in Fountain Valley to buy the game at midnight. That was also about the time I started covering Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment,which had just a few hundred employees. Seems like yesterday.

WoW, Blizzard’s first and only massively multiplayer game, wasn’t expected to be a huge success. The company hoped to attract just a few hundred-thousand gamers willing to pay a monthly subscription to play. Today, there are more than 10 million players worldwide.

I’m working on a story and am looking for reader memories of WoW or the original game, Warcraft, which turns 15 this year. Tell me your story and you just may make it into the newspaper. E-mail me or comment below.

Samwise shares a memory

What am I looking for? Stories like one I just heard from the fabulous Blizzard artist Sam “Samwise” Didier (pictured on right during my visit to Blizzard’s Irvine headquarters this week).

While many Blizzard fans recognize the name, they may not recognize the face. However, because of public events like the BlizzCon fan convention, Didier may soon need to slip those shades on everywhere he goes.

The story goes something like this. Didier was waiting in his car at an El Pollo Loco drive-thru sometime after a BlizzCon event. The cashier had his head down when Didier drove up to the window.

“He was taking my order and then looked up and said, ‘Hey, you’re Samwise. I liked your show,’” recalled Didier, a bit bewildered. “I think he meant the concert at BlizzCon.”

Art-schmart … good enough. Didier happens to also be lead singer for the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain band, comprised of Blizzard employees, including cofounder Mike Morahime.

Tell us: What’s your favorite personal WoW memory?

With this post, The Gadgetress welcomes Blizzard back into the blog. For those interested in just Blizzard coverage, check out the Blizzard page, at ocregister.com/blizzard, for tons of exclusive photos and older stories.

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Vidi says:

November 13, 2009 at 7:42 am

What I remember about WoW is how the folks at Sony Online Entertainment panicked and completely altered their “Star Wars Galaxies” to be a clone of WoW. This completely ruined Galaxies and it has been unable to recover ever since. That is my WoW memory.

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Hagen says:

November 16, 2009 at 10:29 am

Unfortunately, SWG had already been ruined by Hologrinding. I played from a month after launch until the release of WoW. SWG did have a better character generator and actually separated how abilities work in PVP and PVE to a much greater degree. I’m sick of my WoW PvE getting nerfed b/c of PvP.

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Gabe says:

November 13, 2009 at 8:21 am

I remember calling in sick or leaving work early to get into raids. I remember when being able to Tank Drak in UBRS was a big deal, because you could probably get into Molten Core soon. I remember when having a epic item was actually impressive.

I also remember the drama as people broke up with relationships they made in RL, for developing relationships in the game.

I miss it, but at the same time… I’m glad its out of my life.

Randy says:

November 13, 2009 at 8:34 am

What I remember from the original Warcraft I had to train my own men to become stronger and bigger. Had to build your own fort and go train. The higher I get in the castle I could train footmen and knights. Your peon’s would reply when you need them: “zugzug, work work”, Had to put my peons to chop trees to get wood for my fort, peons to get my food, peons for gold. They were my “wokers” and they would say “as you wish”. Your fort would be under attack then had to get your peons to help protect your fort and search for more ground. I now have the WoW set up and enjoy the fun! I too, am one of the 10 million subscribers.

Maura says:

November 13, 2009 at 9:19 am

Not a memory, but just wanting to share how I enjoy watching my kids self-regulate. We have two WoW accounts, and they come in and out of being really into it. I love seeing them play with their friends, one on each of our four computers. They have spent days playing, and then when it’s nice out, they might prefer to go out and play a pick-up game of football, or maybe at the end of a day of playing, want to get down to the beach to get in some body boarding. I just wanted to share how in our family *not* regulating their game playing time has worked to allow them to regulate themselves; they don’t treat gaming as a forbidden fruit of which they must consume as much as possible, because they never know when it will be taken from them.

Katrina Harrison says:

November 13, 2009 at 10:24 am

I was about 8 years old when the first Warcraft game was released. My dad was really into computers at that time and I can remember our first with Windows 3.0.
I enjoyed sitting at the computer table until the late hours of the night watching my dad play Warcraft. It wasn’t long until I took over the controls and started playing it myself. My favorite thing to do while playing was that I wouldn’t let that Map complete until I had every single Mine and Tree harvested. I played through Warcraft 2 and 3 and eventually settled into World of Warcraft ( a little late, started in 2007) where I continue to play with my dad, as well as my husband and two brothers.

Ted says:

November 13, 2009 at 11:48 am

I remember yelling at my sisters after they picked up the phone and killed the modem connection while playing Warcraft against friends.

Remember later bringing Corrupted Blood into SW and plagueing all the noobs! Epic multiple-day AV’s and getting Rank 14 gear only to have Blizz give it away near the release of BC.

Domina says:

November 13, 2009 at 12:15 pm

The countdown has begun. World of Warcraft, the most successful game of all time, turns 5 on Nov. 23.

Fixed.

me says:

November 13, 2009 at 12:48 pm

I remember all the time my boyfriend spent playing the game and ignoring me. Ah yes WoW what a wonderful help you have been to all relationships since your invention. Thanks for making me realize what a selfish lame jerk that guy (and many others I am sure) was.

Quigley says:

November 15, 2009 at 10:44 pm

You’ll never understand males of the species if you insist on writing your own rules for them to follow. We’re drawn to adventure, challenge, and high stakes. If that’s missing in our daily lives, we’re more susceptible to “replace” it with things like WoW. Sounds like your boyfriend was thoroughly p-whipped, both at work and at home, and used WoW as his escape from a life of drudgery into a virtual life of adventure. What’s sad is that this isn’t a rare or even uncommon phenomenon. It’s everywhere. Men are pussified by the demands of modern life, which seeks to homogenize them, stick them in a cubicle, and make them as safe as possible.
Men aren’t meant to be safe, and most women aren’t attracted to “safe” men anyway.

Post Reply
- Rawr says:
  
  November 18, 2009 at 8:05 pm
  
  /agree with Quigley. I on the other hand, am a female. I have no issues with my boyfriend playing wow, I’d prefer it actually. I have played wow for close to 4 years now. It never ruined any relationship I’ve had, so I guess the girl who’s complaining just didn’t understand how to maintain her own relationship. WoW is an amazing game to play, for men AND women. I think it’s pretty awful to point the finger at a game, for ruining someones relationship. Should put a mirror in front of yourself, and then point; that is the only person that is to blame. Anyway, congrats WOW on making it to 5! Hopefully many more birthdays to come!
  
  Post Reply

Glider says:

November 13, 2009 at 2:25 pm

I’m so happy that WoW has made it to 5! It has been my favorite game since it was released, and they have added so much great content over the years. I’m sorry to hear that wow ruined your relationship to the commenter above me lol

OC Real Estate Genius says:

November 13, 2009 at 2:27 pm

I remember after playing for 3 years I typed in the command that gives you an actual accumulation of time played (I think it was /played). Lo and behold I saw that I had quite literally spent 1/6 of my life over that time period playing WoW. I promptly self-regulated and terminated my account. I am so much more productive in life now. But, it really was an excellent game. Once in a while I miss playing it.

aninonymous says:

November 15, 2009 at 10:13 am

Our oldest was about 8 when video games first came out. I did not want to let him have one because I thought he should be outside playing in the fresh air, etc. My Dad convinced me that the games were good because they were interesting, promoted all kinds of thinking skills, quickness, etc. So, our son got a video game. After that, every single photo of him is him playing on the computer…..
But today, he has made a career out of WOW, and he absolutely loves his work.
These games, especially WOW are like the invention of the printing press. They have unleashed the imagination, expanded art and literature and let the user participate in the creation. I think they are great. Thanks, Popi!

Christine says:

November 15, 2009 at 4:48 pm

I broke up with my boyfriend over that stupid game!

VoiceofReason says:

November 15, 2009 at 5:36 pm

Nobody who plays WoW has any memories because they’ve wasted their life on a made up dream world.

spare me says:

November 15, 2009 at 6:47 pm

My son played this game for his entire junior year of high school and now regrets every minute he watsed on it…although he did make some extra cash selling his “characters” on line. Thank goodness he’s moved past that ….

Arcrypta says:

November 15, 2009 at 8:00 pm

I remember the Ron Paul march on New Years day last year when we had thousands of Ron Paul supporters marching from the Gates of Ironforge to Stormwind and on to Orgrimmar. Granted we all died in the end but at least we took a stand in support of our nation’s principles rather than selling out.

QC says:

November 15, 2009 at 8:19 pm

After our son was born, my husband and I didn’t get out much for date nights so we started playing WoW together. We moved our computers right next to each other so we didn’t have to use the chat feature in the game. We had so much fun and we were both equally addicted to it. To other players, we were just two characters in the same guild so when we grouped they never knew our RL situation. One day, another character was questing with us and we explained that we could hear each because we were married. And he responded with, “hey, I didn’t know you could get married in this game” so I jokingly told him you had to be a lvl 20 and you had to speak with the priest in Stormwind at the Cathedral of Light. It took me a few literal sentences to really get him to believe that we were actually a married couple sitting at home. We all got a good chuckle out of the misunderstanding but I think my Priest was pretty in love with his Paladin. To this day, we make sure to hearthstone to our favorite inn and head up to the virtual bed and lay down before we log out.

Mely says:

November 18, 2009 at 8:03 pm

This is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard– my fiancee and I are the same way! Good to know others are out there /wink

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Ben says:

November 15, 2009 at 8:24 pm

I started playing during the beta test because a friend of mine was a Blizz tester and I was letting him stay in my condo. He let me use his test account, which didn’t really make up for finding him sprawled on my couch in a pile of fast food when I brought a date home.

gameon says:

November 15, 2009 at 10:24 pm

what i remember the most is that i never saw my buddies again. they got trapped in the matrix. but i still saw them on sushi nights.

never got into wow. but i hear its good. you can only waste away on so many games. so im gonna save it and wait it out till starcraft comes out.

Dawn Irvin says:

November 16, 2009 at 6:46 am

I started playing WoW because of 2 famous youtube videos a friend showed me (Leroy Jenkins and the crashed funeral). I went out and bought the game, rolled my first toon, and was addicted before I even made it out of the starting area. At some point I had to kill a pig named Princess who patrolled a pumpkin patch with 2 little pig guards and the three of them killed me over and over and over. Frustrated, I begged my husband to get an account, roll a character and help me kill her. He did. That was 3 1/2 years ago. We have 15 level 80s between us and still play together. So Princess? Yeah … she’s my favorite WoW memory.

Bustopher says:

November 16, 2009 at 7:32 am

Favorite memories are all about working together with other people to bring down a hard boss, or helping out a fellow guildie who got jumped by the other side and then cleaning those bad boys out. For the frakkin’ Horde, yo.

Online or not, its still about people. Maybe some players need a bit more moderation, or need to talk a bit more about their hobby with significant others. But trying to remove something entertaining and harmless from someone’s life when you don’t even understand it is probably not a good move.

Ed says:

November 17, 2009 at 10:16 am

My favorite memory was quitting. I played for almost two-three years. The last year was off and on. Game was fun. But in the end, decided real life, real people, and the outdoors was more fun. Plus it put an extra $200 bucks in my pocket annually! I’d sooner use that money on myself then pad the wallets of the wanna be rock stars that work at Blizzard. Sorry I met some of you folks and you people think way too much about yourselves. But hey people are the ones paying for your cars and homes so who am I to say. I am not a hater, it’s just how I feel. It’s just a game folks. Met some nice people, some good people, but more often than not, I also met folks that really need to get out more and get a life. Stop working on your gaming skills and start working on your real life social skills. Grats to Blizzard. Happy 5 Years WoW!

Dustin says:

November 17, 2009 at 11:17 am

My wife and I both play as a shared hobby, and have since just after the original release in 2004. We used to raid together, and though she has since left raiding, we both play regularly. For five years this has been a great common interest, and particularly now that we have a young daughter, it is a fantastic way to spend some leisure time together at home during naps and after the little one’s bedtime.

Back in the days of Molten Core, I was raiding and she was still leveling. We had been dating for years, and had recently begun to discuss marriage, but nothing concrete had been said. She knew that there was a particular +fire resist ring that I desperately wanted for MC, but did not have the gold for. She saved up all of her gold, purchased the ring, and mailed it to me in game along with a wedding proposal.

So we’re sitting together, she mentions ‘hey, you should check your mail, I sent you a present.’ She leans over my shoulder, and I open my mailbox…. forgetting that I had a mod at the time that would auto-open all mail, extract the attachments, and delete the mails themselves. I was super pleased about the ring, but never even saw the proposal.

Luckily, after a few minutes of disbelief and frustration, she told me what she had sent, I immediately agreed, and we were married within the year - and that mod was removed permanently.

Mely says:

November 18, 2009 at 8:10 pm

My favorite WoW memory is finally downing Vezax with my guild. We worked so hard for a few good weeks to get so far and wiped several times on him. But when we finally killed the General, good moods all around, and cemented our core raiding team.

People want to bash it and complain about players wasting their time and money on the game, but there ARE players who do not take it to the extreme. If someone says they watch 3 hours of TV a day and another person says they play 3 hours of WoW a day, the WoW player will always receive stares and comments about being “addicted”.

All things in moderation, WoW included– when people’s lives fall apart because of the game or their “need” to play it, that is when it becomes addiction.

In short, I guess I just wanted to say that not all WoW players are addicts that ditch school/work/real life for the game and people can do things such as raid (and raid regularly) while still living a normal and productive life.

Everyone needs some down time, and for a lot of WoW players, the game is their time to relax and have fun.

Oh just a mage... says:

November 20, 2009 at 1:35 am

My favorite WoW memory did not come from the game itself, but rather from what the game gave me. Some excellent companions and hilarious friends.
Just simply spending all night on vent, talking to my guild about random stuff has created some great lasting memories for me. When our GM would get completely wasted and then try and put together a VoA group and actually getting through it all. (Our GM was MT) Or when we went to H VH and the entire place glitched out, and one of the portals never closed so we had to continuously fight guys coming out of there, while fighting the guys out of the real portal, too.
I miss that guild. Those were some fun times. :]

Oaeca says:

November 20, 2009 at 10:32 am

I’ve played MMOs for almost… 6 or 7 years with my 2 brothers and my stepdad…

Greatest memory of any MMO (Including wow) is the first 3-6 months of playing where absolutely everything is exciting and 3 or 4 years down the line we have time to reflect back on “the good ole days”. I still have some SS of my lvl 10 Tauren Warrior that I deleted years ago… (I took them because my comp bugged out underwater and it was the only way i could find the treasure chest). Lok’tar Ogar, for the Horde.

And for all the haters… and women who claimed it ruined their relationship…
1. Gaming is better for a person’s health than movies. There could be research for it somewhere but it’s unnecessary seeing as simple use of the brain and possible movement outweighs sitting down without using the brain or moving.
2. I you ever made your BF sit through a movie he hated, he went with you anyways. And I doubt you ever took the time to game with him, even though he probably didn’t even ask you to or if he did didn’t force you into it.

Also seeing as my guild of 2.5 years finally called it quits… Gotta miss all the memories of my peeps. Im sure everyone here remembers people from across their years of gaming, and like myself still talk to people they dont play with anymore.


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