by Talespinner » Sat Jan 14, 2017 3:56 pm
I disagree that handicapping the Elysium server, advertising the hell out of it towards any voice no matter their popularity, or even trying to convince retail WoW fans will not cause Blizzard to make legacy servers immediately.
Sure, having an even greater amount of demand through these multiple sources could speed up the process, but I do not think it would be anything major.
I strongly believe that Blizzard has done some thinking about legacy servers. To quote IGN's interview with Ion Hazzikostas:
"'If we could just flip a switch and make it happen we already would have done that. The project is basically akin to launching a new game. The same way people say you should make Warcraft 4, it's a big discussion. It's something that requires a lot of deliberation,' he said. 'Basically, it's complicated and we're still discussing internally, but it's something we're taking seriously.'"
I know many people believe this is a lie intended to bait the private server audience into waiting for something that could never truly come, but I believe it. Blizzard knows the passionate demand and profitability of creating legacy servers. Many people ask why they haven't been releasing it, and I think the answer is that they wish to release it perfectly. A release that will take years to convince the investors, the higher-ups, hire staff, Q&A, and more.
Handicapping vanilla servers doesn't seem to be a well-thought-out choice. Sure, you could always advertise to Blizzard more, but I believe that meeting with the head honchos themselves has done as much as anybody could do. I believe that maintaining what support you've given Elysium would be positive, in fact, as it provides an opportunity for those curious or longing to vanilla to develop a firm opinion without having to purely base them off of 10-year-old memories. Keeping the code around will provide a more authentic experience without bugs soiling it, and keeping characters will maintain Elysium's massive community.
I completely understand others sacrificing their characters on the Elysium Project to fully commit themselves to Blizzard's official legacy servers. I, too, would have waited. But I do not know whether or not I could afford the time to play Vanilla years later, years that I believe no amount of bonding, campaigning, or converting could change.