Advertisement

Thousands queue for midnight 'Warcraft' game sale

DDP/The Local
DDP/The Local - [email protected]
Thousands queue for midnight 'Warcraft' game sale
Guess they don't get out much. Photo: DPA

Thousands of online gaming fans came out to queue outside more than 100 Berlin electronics stores for Thursday’s midnight debut of "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King."

Advertisement

One shopping centre counted more than 1,000 gamers eager to get their hands on the next installment of the role-playing computer game. Leaders of the American producer Blizzard were on hand to sign autographs for fans.

The company says "World of Warcraft" has more than 10 million players worldwide. The comic book-style graphics create a fantasy world where players pit their powers against one another as dwarves, orcs, warriors, priests and magicians.

Media expert Jörg Müller-Lietzkow, from the University of Paderborn, told news agency DDP that games like "World of Warcraft" are changing the media world. Television stations are struggling to keep up with the allure of online games because they are interactive, he said.

Online roll playing games have positive sides, Müller-Lietzkow said, because they require complex problem solving and bring people into contact with individuals they wouldn’t meet in daily life, encouraging virtual communication skills.

But people can also lose themselves in a virtual world, he said, encouraging parents to cultivate media competence in their children by regulating time spent online.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also