I have never played an MMORPG before, unless you count Diablo II on battle.net. I'm planning on getting The Old Republic when it comes out, and when I do, it'll be my first ever MMO. My question to you is, why do you love WoW, or, for that matter, MMO's in general? If I'm going to start playing The Old Republic, should I even bother with WoW, and why?

"I'm Mr. T. and I'm a Night Elf MOHAWK!"

The best reason to do anything. Sponsorship by the awesome Mr. T.

Don't play it. The End.

I was told by several people that WoW makes for great training wheels for other, possibly better, MMOs. Start WoW to figure out what you do and don't like about MMOs. That way, you will be prepared for SW:TOR and may very well appreciate it more if it's good.

No I will not convince you to start playing WoW.

There are 10 day free trials out there. Go get one, and if you find yourself not engaged, then don't play it.

If you want the "MMO" experience, play any number of the free-to-play MMOs or get in on free trials out there to get the idea. No need to spend the cash on any game.

Dungeons & Dragons Online
Atlantica Online
Requiem: Bloodymare
Jade Dynasty
Perfect World International
Runes of Magic
Chronicles of the Spellborn
Wizard101
AdventureQuest Worlds
Runescape
Ryzom

The list could go on ad nauseum but I think you get the idea.

I concur with Kalia, wholeheartedly. I also add Anarchy Online to her list (http://www.anarchy-online.com).

2 words: corpse explosion.

I started playing WoW for the social aspect. Some old high school and college buddies were playing it, and it served as a nice way to keep in touch with them.

Be careful, however... The nickname "WoWcrack" is accurate.

Don't start. It'll steal your soul.

Simple answer: Why not?
Long answer: If you are willing to commit the money, why not commit it to the one that proves to be the most popular? There is a reason why so many people like and would consider themselves pretty hardcore. You don't have to buy all the expansions; so just buy the basic software and see if you like it. If not go elsewhere. To all those people who warn you about addiction, Dr. Drew has proven it is just a reality show away from kicking the habit.

Hmmm, I'd prefer to convince you to NOT play WoW for the sake of your life (I am a first hand victim), but if I must:

A) Generally balanced PvE - Even as much as people min/max, every class setup is generally viable.
B) Art style - Unique and generally appealing.
C) Memorable enemies - I still hate murlocs.
D) Lore - If you so care to dive into the lore you can easily get lost in it for ages.
E) Easy mode - With the new changes it is unbelievably easy to get any character to max level, and then decently geared.

I loved wow, twas like the uberist.... then i quit. Im a WoWoholic and iv been wow sober for 6 months! score, dang that wowohol is addictive. Good game, but tbh, the longer it live the worse it gets. Its too addictive anyways, just dont start :P

WoW is a great and addictive game, ignore the people who don't like it simply because they are too cool for the room. So many asshats want their independent cred.
Also, free games are nice, especially Atlantica,DDO and the upcoming Allods but remember ultimately you still get what you pay for. No free game offers as much content and options as WoW does.
Folks can badmouth WoW all they want but clearly millions of people are still enjoying it.

It's great fun.

Besides that I enjoy keeping in touch with family (we're kind of scattered), and friends. Plus I really enjoy the artwork in WoW, and I think the dungeons are great fun.

edit: I haven't found the game addictive, like many others posting here. I think what helps, is just to keep it in perspective. It's a game. That's it. When you start talking about it being a addictive I think you give the game too much power over you, because...it's just a game.

Pick it up, it's got a trial, give a whirl. If you don't like it, just don't pay for it, and you won't be able to log in...pretty simple solution.

If you plan on playing a MMO, i suggest playing the same one as your RL friends
and make sure they will make take time to help you out. (not just boosting, but level a alt with you)

I don't think I need to convince you of anything.
If you want to play it, try the 10 day trial.

Try. Buy. Die.

WoW took 4 years of possible face-to-face social interaction from me, and now looking back... yeah I would do it again, defenatly had som great laughs out of the guild chat alone.

DDO is a good place to start if you're familiar with Dungeons and Dragons, but if you aren't, I honestly don't recommend it.

this_username_sucks:
"I'm Mr. T. and I'm a Night Elf MOHAWK!"

The best reason to do anything. Sponsorship by the awesome Mr. T.

Yes I think this is the only reason I'd play. But then again, I dont have money ;/

I will start with 2 words : Bull Shit!!
I will tell you that : World of warcraft is the Best MMo game ever .
I have play all mmo games since 2005.No one matches WoW.From graphics,to sosial life, to chat,to make new friends and go in adventures and have Fun!!
I dont care about the money i have to pay to play and as you already know :Nothing good is Free!!
I am curently trying 4-5 MMO games a month!(I pay to play anything new comes out)
End of story.
WoW is the best MMO game I have ever play AND if YOU don't try you can NOT have a opinion about this.Dont listen bullshit, and if you realy wanna try dont hesitate.Its is worth the time .

Sinserely
Greek_Raven

If you can't afford it, then Guild Wars is the way forward!

Cilliandrew:
I started playing WoW for the social aspect. Some old high school and college buddies were playing it, and it served as a nice way to keep in touch with them.

Be careful, however... The nickname "WoWcrack" is accurate.

Not really.. It's called "Westfall" and those damn boars.. WoW takes grind to a whole new level. It's the first time in my life I got bored so I went and did homework instead of the other way around. Was kinda creepy..

EliteFreq:
If you can't afford it, then Guild Wars is the way forward!

Yea, I really don't like that one. All the servers are USA or EU and I'm in Aus.. Granted, WoW has no Aussie servers, but at least they lag less.

Also I went necro with illusion, pve sucks when they can regen faster than your DoTs can take them down.

I'm biased. =P

If you want to start playing MMORPGs, then World of Warcraft is the perfect game to get started with. Blizzard has crafted their game into the highest quality product on the market. Its highly polished, smooth, and most importantly, fun from level 1 to level 80.

There is no other MMO that can rival World of Warcraft, regardless of all the l33t speaking haters on the internet. Their beefs began with some form of class imbalance, or perceived slight on the part of Blizzard as they continually improve their game. As a result, they now claim the game is garbage. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've played almost every MMO since Ultima Online, and trust me, there is no better value for your money than WOW.

To use bandwagon advertisement: There is a reason 20 MILLION people play WOW, and all the other games average around 100,000 to 200,000.

If you want a MMO that is easy to pick up, constantly fun, and constantly changes for the better (What Blizzard did with Wrath of the Lich King upped the ante for the entire genre, and no one outside Bioware has any hope of meeting it) then WOW is the one to try first. Every other game on the market survives by grasping for the scraps from WOW's table, and when its YOUR 15 bucks a month, I would recommend paying for the winner.