¡°All the tools and resources are in place, and if given the opportunity we could have an official WoW server up in 24 hours¡± said an iGame insider.

Most European WoW realms sit with populations between 5000 and 20000 players.wow gold With 7000 currently active local WoW subscribers in South Africa, not to mention triple that number of players using private servers, it seems feasible that SA has the population to make a single realm viable.

According to our source at iGame however, it is not that simple, and Blizzard has stated that they require at least 40,000 South African WoW subscribers in order to seriously consider allowing iGame to host a dedicated WoW server locally.

An alternative to a dedicated WoW server is the idea of a ¡°peering real server¡±.

¡°A peering real server allows players to connect at local speeds and use local bandwidth and although it is not a full realm, i.e. no support systems etc. it does simplify connection with the benefits of being hosted locally.¡± iGame insider.

A peering server would not require the population that Blizzard demands for a dedicated server.wow gold While it does not have direct access to Blizzard¡¯s tech support, it is based on legitimate WoW server architecture and software, and has not been hacked or modified, which makes it a far more stable option than the current local servers.

Furthermore, the peering sever does connect to Blizzard¡¯s official servers, and is compatible with Blizzard¡¯s patches and updates. If looked after by the technical department at iGame properly then a peering server could potentially provide us with the best possible WoW gameplay experience in SA.

A peering server would allow players to migrate between local and international servers, retaining their characters and gear, much like how players currently move between European servers.wow gold Furthermore, iGame would provide a local mirror for WoW content updates and patches that would be directly linked to Blizzard¡¯s international servers.

The ball is in Blizzard¡¯s court at the moment. While iGame¡¯s local WoW initiative has been met with apprehension from the publisher, it has also enjoyed a degree of interest.

MyGaming has submitted a set of questions to Megarom, who has sent them to Blizzard to answer. Further details will be published when they become available.