world-of-warcraft-system-requirements
Latest
Blizzard releases system requirements for Warlords of Draenor
There are a lot of updates on the way in Warlords of Draenor, and with all the updates to models and environments and graphics and UI, a lot of players have been wondering just what they'll need to run the next expansion without a hitch. The good news is that Blizzard has finally released the system requirements for Warlords of Draenor, both minimum and recommended. The bad news is, if you're still on an older system, you might be needing an update to run the next installment in World of Warcraft's ongoing story.
World of Warcraft no longer compatible with Windows 2000 in Mists of Pandaria
Community Manager Bashiok made an interesting announcement this morning -- as of the upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion, World of Warcraft will no longer run on machines using Windows 2000 as an operating system. Microsoft itself ceased supporting this version in 2010. Those who are currently using Windows 2000 should upgrade before Mists is released, if you'd like to continue playing WoW. One of the big benefits to playing World of Warcraft has always been that it can be played on a variety of systems, from the exceptionally small and outdated to the current, top-of-the-line models. I always found that a fascinating phenomenon, and it made good sense -- after all, if you want the max number of players able to play your game, you want to make it available with the widest software and technology possible. Yet there's a drawback to this; if you want to continually make that content available for older systems, there's only so far you can go updating content. As a game that just celebrated its seven-year anniversary, WoW absolutely needs to keep updating in order to remain competitive. With new MMOs coming out all the time, a game that is seven years old starts to lose its shine. Continuous updates make sure that it stays just as fresh as it did in 2004. You can't keep those updates rolling if you're trying to support an operating system that is now 12 years old. I think, however, we're safely in the territory where most people have moved beyond Windows 2000, so this shouldn't affect a huge majority of players, particularly when Microsoft itself has already phased out support for the operating system. What this does do, however, is make me look forward to Mists of Pandaria and what it has in store.
