The reason I am interested in longterm characters in videogames is that I started playing my AD&D tabletop roleplaying character in 1982, and this character is still alive and adventuring after 33 years. The group I play AD&D with are lifetime characters that the same group have spent our lives adventuring as. It produces fascinating scenarios, the group will make jokes about what their characters did decades ago, and we have memories constantly. There are storylines that have been returning for decades, and enemy arch-villains who have hunted the group relentlessly for 33 years!
It is very rewarding to become so attached to a group of characters in a fantasy world, and remain bonded to them for almost half a century. It is also an enjoyable challenge to write advanced adventure-modules for such high level ancient characters, how to keep the story alive and pay respects to the characters' long lives and cultural integrity.
This is why FFXI fascinated me so much in the beginning, because it has a similar element of longterm character development. But at the same time I realise that this is all bound into an arcade-battle computergame, and it is not like tabletop roleplaying characters, who are immensely detailed and realistic compared to videogame characters. In advanced groups of AD&D players, the character-player bond is sacred and immense, players feel the sorrow and joy that their characters experience, on a deep personal level. I could insult a player in my roleplaying group personally, and they would shrug, but if I insulted their fantasy character I'd be in serious trouble!
This is actually why I am very sympathetic to SE at this time, they have the same problem as I have in my Dungeon-Master role. If I told my players that I could not write any more adventure-modules for their characters, they would be devastated, it would make all our lives sorrowful if we couldn't adventure together again as we always have done. I see this as similar to this discussion thread, about players wanting to keep Vanadiel and their characters alive.
FFXI will always be my favourite computergame, and I will always play it for as long as it is available. I also understand the problems inherent in running any longterm-character roleplaying games, and how problematic this becomes when translated to the fickle and fleeting computergame market.