New World of Tanks blog, from a different perspective

Greetings fellow tankers, some of you may know me from the game, others may not. I'm a long-time (closed beta) World of Tanks player, and have been a huge fan of the game ever since before it was officially released. Obviously tanks are much more popular and lucrative of an idea for a video game than anyone ever thought, and this game has proven that much at least. I believe other game companies should pay attention to what Wargaming has done with this game, and try to create some kind of competitive market, because as we all know, competition creates better products. Of course, Gaijin, the developers of War Thunder, are currently in the process of doing just this, but they're really the only ones I've heard of who are even attempting such a thing, which in my mind makes no sense. Does anyone not see that Wargaming is obviously very, very successful with this free-to-play online player vs player armored warfare game? If you don't believe me, here are a few links that may show some good examples of what this company has been able to accomplish:

http://worldoftanks.com/en/news/20/wargaming-acquires-gas-powered-games/

http://www.vg247.com/2013/08/02/wargaming-acquires-total-annihilation-and-master-of-orion-franchises/

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/29/wargaming-acquires-day-1-studios-for-console-development/

http://ftr.wot-news.com/2013/11/02/wargaming-buys-a-30-percent-share-in-a-bank/

Now, all of this said, let me get back to the roots of what I hope to accomplish with this blog, and believe me, it is not to advertise Wargaming's success. Rather, I intend to look at this game from a different point of view, one that is both very experienced with the game, and at the same time, a bit weary of Wargaming's antics, of which, there are many, and well documented. This isn't to say that I've not had a ton of fun playing this game (and still do at times), and also spent a ton of money, as many have. It just starts to get a bit old, as the company continues to have success, and continues to ignore almost everything the community says, has rather pathetic customer service, quite bad North American servers (Telia.net), and keeps releasing FOTM, known-overpowered, paper tanks. That is, tanks that weren't ever built in real life, and many of which weren't even a prototype, and Wargaming simply made them up out of thin air.

Where did this come from?

Personally, I look back to the days of the release of the game back in April 2011, and think that the game was much better. Yes, it had it's flaws, but it was much more pure and simple, and there wasn't all this power creep going on. The level of play was simply much better than it is today, this is a result of the game not being advertised as widely as it is today, among other things.

If only Wargaming would take a step back, take a deep breath, and realize that they can be just as successful as they are today, if not moreso, if they simply stayed more true to history, and not fantasy. By making the game more historical (and not their version of history), they would have a more realistic game, eliminate much of the powercreep, and make long-time veterans like me much more interested in playing. This isn't to say I don't play anymore, I still do from time to time, but I'm not the hardcore grinder I once was. At any rate, I'm not saying they need to turn this game into a tank simulator, but it also doesn't need to be World of Wargaming's Paper Tanks. There is a balance you could have, such as the one War Thunder might possibly achieve, that is a happy medium. Perhaps Gaijin releasing ground forces is the wake up call Wargaming needs.