WoW: WotLK - How Warcraft Reigned Supreme in 2008

Another year gone, and Blizzard's World of Warcraft remains the unrivaled champion of the massive multiplayer online (MMO) genre, and - in many ways - PC gaming in general.
At its feet lay 2008's pile of would-be "WoW-killers" left charred, battered, and wondering what Blizzard's four-year-old creation has that they lack.
"WoW-killer" is the marketing kiss of death in this town. Just as sure as "iPod-killer," or "Google-killer" is for digital music players and internet search. But the money's too good in the MMO genre for there not to be a constant stream of challengers. And there's profits to be had by owning the number two - hell, the twenty-second-best selling MMO out there.
But why can't anybody beat WoW after all this time?

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But WoW does it all with grace. The game has refined - arguably homogenized - the formula of an extremely complicated and intimidating genre, and made it approachable to everyone - including women - rather than the usual serious male-gaming audience.

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