Another "they quit" thread

[Grizzlebeard]

In my opinion, we're seeing the twilight days of MMOs now so regardless of which direction the devs take this game it's going to go the way of the dodo anyway.

I've played MMOs pretty much since '99 when Everquest started out as being almost an underground movement not many people knew or discussed about. That was a world where people immersed and lost themselves in. Then we had FFXI, EQ2, etc until WoW came along. Love it or hate it WoW brought MMOs to the masses and the genre was forever changed. Sadly, that led to where we are now with this watered-down, tepid crap where everything has to be achievable by everybody with the minimum amount of effort/brainless repetition. Eventually even the lowest common denominators will move on long after the supposed hardcore crowd have migrated to the next big MMO which in turn will prove to never match the expectations of their "first" MMO experience.

Ramble over. The genre is on the wane and the best you can hope for is a pleasant distraction till the next new thing comes along but right now I'm not seeing anything on the horizon. The industry has no room anymore for a couple of guys with a love for gaming churning out the amazing experience that was early Everquest.

[Amberion]

The industry has no room anymore for a couple of guys with a love for gaming churning out the amazing experience that was early Everquest.

I think this has to do more with investors then developers. Investors only see numbers, and when they compare WoW to anything else, they think that must be the working formula. They just don't see that the chance of that happening again, is like being struck by lightning... and a meteor... at the same time.

[Derceto]

I think this has to do more with investors then developers. Investors only see numbers, and when they compare WoW to anything else, they think that must be the working formula. They just don't see that the chance of that happening again, is like being struck by lightning... and a meteor... at the same time.

I'm inclined to agree with your post here. This is entirely speculation but...... I think investors are the key behind the decline in mmo's due to WoW's success myself. Yoshida was, and still is, under pressure to deliver an economically viable game. This is his take on it, likely with suits breathing down his neck. I'm not a big fan of it myself, but.... it is what it is.

In any case, I would love to ask these investors for which other game has succeeded with WoW's formula, aside from WoW itself. The answer is rather "ovular". lol This is not FF. It's WoW with FF character models. A good part of the reason why the community is so torn. Loses it's appeal rather quick when playing mechanics you've already been playing for 12 or so years to date. Great for new to the genre players, bad for anyone who's been in mmo's for a few years.