And so the Machine beeps on

So WoW subs are only down by 100K. The WoW community on the whole is delighted with the news, taking it as proof that WoW has stabilised. I hear the word stabilise & I think of intensive care and life support – it’s always heartening to know your loved one is stable but deep down you fear they’re never going to tap dance on the kitchen table again. Still, ask any dinosaur, stable is better than extinct.

Reading some comments over on Blizzard Watch there is a view that the remaining 5.5 million subs are the diehard fans who will never leave  WoW –  new content or no new content they are there for the longhaul(or until they too go the way of the “definitely not tap dancing again” dinosaur).

But perhaps some of them are like me – not quite a diehard fan, but not a fair weather fan either. Last year I subbed, unsubbed, then subbed again. I got bored with WoW then re-enthralled with WoW. Even now, during the same play session, I can run out of things to do then suddenly think of something and become overwhelmed with things to do. Generally my view on whether I want to be in Azeroth or not has little to do with the content of the latest expansion (and certainly not the latest raid) and far more to do with my feelings about life in general. In the right frame of mind Azeroth, like life, offers limitless opportunities for fun and stimulation. In a different frame of mind it reveals itself to be the ultimate time waster, a meaningless distraction until my bones turn to dust.

Anyway undoubtedly some people returned to WoW because they are excited about Legion. Whether that expansion will deliver what they want remains to be seen. There is likely another contingent too that will never leave WoW – some habits are too hard to break, some habits mean too much to break. Then there are those like me – here today, gone tomorrow, back again the day after. It’s not that I’m disloyal – I don’t really understand loyalty when it comes to a game. I reserve that for my loved ones (however hard they sometimes make it). It’s just that sometimes I want to do other things. Sometimes the power of its pixels wears rather thin.

Now is not one of those times. Right now I’m part of the 5.5 million. Right now I’m helping it stabilise. I’m helping the machine sound its rhythmic beep.  But nothing lasts forever.