Many of the more than five million subscribers of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) “World of Warcraft” are still hooked on playing the classic version of the game.
They still prefer playing the original game that was free from all the changes and updates that came its way from 2004 until today. That is exactly the reason why the Nostalrius fan-run server became a hit because it hosts gamers who want to play the classic “WoW” game.
A few years ago, game developer Blizzard Entertainment has given up hosting the classic “WoW” game because its subscriber base has reached a total number of 12 million sometime in 2010, which is a world record.
After Blizzard gave up the operation of servers for the original “WoW” game, some gamers have decided to set up their own, in what critics describe as vanilla servers, which they also know were technically illegal. Nostalrius was one of them.
Early this month, Blizzard decided to shut Nostalrius down and other servers over what the developer claims as a direct infringement of its intellectual property rights.
Nostalrius has 150,000 active members and the fan that was running the service closed it down after a threat of legal action was issued by Blizzard Entertainment, details BBC.
Defending its move
Blizzard Entertainment defended its move on Nostalrius and the other servers when it explained at its forum site that it was just protecting its intellectual property rights.
The developer said that there is no clear legal path to protect its intellectual property and grant an operating licence to a pirate server. It added that if they turn their blind eye on the pirate servers, it would only be difficult for them to challenge other abuses to its “WoW” franchise in the future.
It also pointed out that it could not operate its own server for the original game without great difficulty but admitted that because of the numerous demands from “WoW” gamers, it was really considering the opening of pristine or new servers to host the classic game.
Blizzard had to appease the fans because after it shut down the Nostalrius server, it sparked a petition which has attracted more than 240,000 signatures from “World of Warcraft” gamers.
If any, the closure of Nostalrius and other fan-run servers has also highlighted the difficulty in preserving modern video games for historical recording purposes, notes Engadget.
Mark Kern, who was part of the original “WoW” game development team, said that “World of Warcraft” is an important game that is undoubtedly part of gaming history. But there is no legal way at this time for people to enjoy its earlier versions or see where it all started or came from.
Kern said that unlike the old days, they can’t just boot up a floppy disk or slip in a CD-ROM, citing that the original game is gone from the world forever and legacy servers are the only way to preserve “World or Warcraft” as a vital part of gaming culture.
Playing ‘WoW’ though a dance mat
Blizzard Entertainment has not seen this one coming but a New Zealander is playing “World of Warcraft” in a unique way. Instead of using the usual mouse and keyboard or joystick to get through to the levels of the game, Rudeism is playing “World of Warcraft” using two dance mats.
Based on the video of how Rudeism is playing the game, it looks as if though he is demonstrating a new dance step for a Zumba class. The way he does it really looks good to keep himself fit but for the gamers of “World of Warcraft,” Rudeism really looks weird.
There is nothing that can prevent Rudeism from playing “World of Warcraft” using two dance mats but he actually made some rules for himself which include no text chat and he cannot go beyond having one macro, which should be in the form of dance as well.
Rudeism is looking to become the first “World of Warcraft” player to play the game from level 1 to 100 using dance mats. While others may find him looking very absurd, the New Zealand native seems to be enjoying himself playing “World of Warcraft” using dance mats.