because it is

Because there's so many subscribers!

well, it's not so wierd, wow and that kind of game gives ppl, the chance to akt out, and get away from everyday's work and worry, so they use wow to relax and have some fun, meet other ppl, without the need to leave the house/room.
it olso let the shy and lonely ppl the chance to say and act the way they want to without the worry and fear of retribution.,.

my point is that it let's ppl have a sosial and independent alternet life.
they can meet fellow ppl with the same intrest and life style.

Cause its good?

cuz Blizzard left offline gaming and spent all money in that pre ready universe.. there is no turning back from that point.. by the its not good but still popular.. but they're loosing it..
i've played 30 months City of Heroes.. best thing in CoH, its very detailed full customizable shapes of avatars.. erhmm i mean heroes... from lvl 1 you look very heroic without the powersets..

But mostly spreading thing about WoW, its **cross platform game**
..that US residents can play in Mac's or some new tech boogie grandma's..

I think it's a pretty average game these days, from what's on offer to people WoW should maybe step their game up to match, graphics for one thing I believe really need some working on, I mean they're looking seriously dated these days.

Apart from graphics, the story line needs to changed in such a way that people feel that they're following something, or affecting something in some way. Not just the regular kill 10 so-and-so, or deliver this to so-and-so. The kind of quests, where all you do is read the objective.

As for why it's still so popular, that's just some pretty basic maths, it's and MMORPG, which means it can never be completed (or shouldn't do if Blizzard know what they're doing), therefore you can just pick up and play no matter when you want to start. This simply results in exponential growth as people get friends and family involved and so on.

People stay with the game because of the fact you can't complete it, everyone's always after that elusive next set of armour, or next level weapon. Add to this the very cleverly slow rise in level cap, and you keep playing because you want to stay ahead.

Of course, this all only works because of the chance of bragging rights, you want people to see you in full Tier 6, or with a giant glowing axe on your back, you want them to "inspect" you to find you must've maxed your enchanting level to get the enchants you have.

And of course, WoW offers the simple indulgence of casual chat. The thing that most people say is the most drawing aspect of the game is simply the social side of it, how much this links to my point above, I leave to you.

Anyway, it I could have a closing statement, it would be for Blizz to release WoW2 as a free download to its subscribers. But as we don't live in cuckoo land, I'd settle to see WotLK live up to the hype.

There are over 10 million subscirbers because they work to keep the games fresh and challenging while providing a farily safe online experience for gamers. I don't quite understand why they can't shut down the in game spamming for gold purchases and power leveling but my gaming experience has been very positive and if I have an issue with a gamer being overly unfriendly or not a good gamer they take care of it through direct and indirect means.
I can't say other games don't do this because I haven't started an account on another game but I don't feel a need to split my time when I enjoy this game.

If I may add as well to why their game has so many subscribers, and why they probably wont do a big jump in Graphics is because... believe it or not, but not every gamer in all the countries in the world can afford a giant of a gaming computer. WoW can be played on a pretty basic computer by now a days standards of PC's coming out. That means players in other countries dont have to spend extra money to get a big enough system for playing. If you've seen screenshots of SC2 for example the graphics engine in there is no more then it was for Warcraft 3. Starcraft is Huge in south korea, so they want to keep the fanbase interested in their games by not requiring a $1500 or more pc to play.

There are many reasons for WoW's continuing success... it has a firm history behind it (the Warcraft RTS series) that allowed for a varied cross-section of gamers to easily adapt themselves to the MMORPG format of gaming... a format that was once the domain of only a few. It was published by a brand-name with a history of successful games such as Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo... so they had previous successes to leverage into the creation of World of Warcraft. Blizzard's grasp of interface mechanics and controls was also key... allowing for a yet wider playerbase to quickly master the controls and take command of their characters. The controls behave smoothly and offers up a well thought-out system of advancement that is simple on one hand, but allows for a good deal of complexity and interplay on the other.

These factors all contribute to the large pool of players, which is itself a powerful draw to social gamers who want to have conversations and/or adventures with friends (both on-line and real-life) and associates in a virtual/fantasy atmosphere. Blizzard simply added the right elements to the staid and mostly similar formula that composed the MMORPG's before its time... breathing new life into the genre and becoming the standard by which newer MMORPG's will be judged.

- Vaatarau

Bliz is staggeringly overrated...period. they make the game, THEN they screw it up with every patch that they've developed for it. many have quit coz the game has become unplayable in many areas. the very fact that more than 80% o the players r KIDS says it all: spam spam n more spam...instead o givin kids proper direction, a BIG MMO game is shoved their way...Bliz is after the money imo. as long as they see green, they really don't care what else happens. that's y they're so busy suin other companies for TRYIN to make their game easier to play...it's all bout the money. try to change my view o them n their game? sheesh, that's like tryin to rewrite my own genetic code...good luck!

To each his own. I hope you find a game you like and enjoy.

first, where are your statistics from? last i heard 70 or so % of the players were ABOVE 18, 2nd, there isnt much spam, when ther is, its stopped,unplayable in many areas? please elaborate.. i can play in every area, and patches? wtf? patches are the only reason we still play, face it, if you want to blame patches go ahead... just go back to the days of raiding mc with no nerfs to any bosses and also no loot in silithus.
and if you hate wow, please leave the forums, nobody enjoys people that troll forums to post negative comments

Why is this constantly being posted as "news?"

We've read countless articles that supposedly analyze the "formula of success." Let's just put it to rest already, and agree that WoW is the top dog in the mmo market, and leave it at that?

players above 18? registered maybe, who plays the chars is some kid :)

kids dont have creditcards to pay monthly :)

I have 13 and I use a credit card that my mom created for me. I'm not like that wannabes 13 years old kids that think they are the best :X Its because that ones that I don't like to say my age

ITS ALL BULLSHIT, THIS FOKIN THING THAT'S GOING ON SINCE BLIZZARD MERGED WITH ACTIVISION.
" OMG WHY IS BLIZZARD SO COOL THAT THEY MADE 10 MILION SUBS "
STFU SRSLY I SAY U DUMB MOTHAFOKERS

THE BILION MOTHERDFOKER DOLLAR QUESTION IS SIMPLE " CUZ THE GAME IS MADE FOR NUBS "
THATS THE FOKIN ANSWER

WOW SUCKS.

Dude... You write like a 12 year old girl, so stop taking bullshit.

Qoute: "... many have quit coz the game has become unplayable in many areas..."
A: Many have quit? No, no, no. The are 10 million players! Many have started t play the game, your all wrong.

Qoute: "... the very fact that more than 80% o the players r KIDS..."
A: And how old are you? Or should i say: "hoe old r u?"... The very fact is that there are lots of players above 18.

True and False! :)

They don't have credicards to pay monthly, but they have money to buy game cards.

No comment. Just lol. If u dont like wow, wth are u doing reading news or articles 'bout the game?

Well the fact alone that they spent over 70 million alone in research and development, while other companies spend less than 20-30 million. They have an astounding success record with all of their games like Diablo, Starcraft etc. I once read an article a while ago that stated people bought the game just because it was from Blizzard and they knew it would be a great game like all the rest.