Conventional games take years to develop and cost millions to market, and rely on big sales in their first few weeks of release to recoup the investment, making the launch of a new game a gamble akin to a Hollywood studio's decision to produce a big-budget film.
WoW's trajectory from its roots as a single player computer game, Warcraft, in 1994 to its continued domination of the online multiplayer game market since its launch in 2004 illustrates how gamers often develop deeply rooted ties with the games they love to play.