No simple standard MMO has ever been a great success. Oh they can live just fine, but they mostly just coast on the contrived.
Every MMO that has claimed to be original, to add something new and drastic to the genre, has depended on a gimmick or ultimately small addition to gameplay that does nothing to improve or change the old structure that's set in place. Its never really expanded and it's stagnating. We have seen MMO's do WoW's thing 10 times better but a lack of content to compare and the lack of actual nuance keep people away.
Who is going to be interested in a game that adds nothing new? Pretty visuals and story only last so long as evidenced by every other MMO to come out in the past 5 years. In the end, we're all just doing the same KILL X OF Y questlines and rushing to endgame instances and no one has been brave enough to challenge that no matter the claims of originality.
To actually believe that the basic structure of MMORPGs is something that's already peaked, that you can't or shouldn't change from it is extremely shallow minded and keeps every new release from impressing crowds. No other genre is so hell bound to stick to a formula in the fear that it will fall apart. Even shooters have their occasional Portals and Metroid Primes. Games that aren't afraid to add concepts from other genres to restructure the core into something worth experiencing. Something that actually stands out and still retains popularity.
Bottom line: We've done this before and it has never worked out better than just "okay". If success is determined by playing it safe and resting in the expected, adding only to most shallow aspects of its design, then it's hardly something I would consider worth attaining.
Aside 1: I still fully intend to play and enjoy this game. I just think it's dangerous to not consider what we've learned form release after release of underwhelming MMOs ever sense LOTRO failed to make any lasting impression.
Aside 2: Is your shift key broken?