Quote Originally Posted by gifthorse View Post
The reason for this is because when developers think of an idea - that's if they think of an idea at all - they are usually limited by the technology at their disposal when implementing it. The first MMOs ever released didn't have the tools that todays developers have, and yet Ultima Online (for example) implemented player-made housing, mount-taming, and many other novel features. They had nothing to look to for inspiration, and that helped them make a good game, based solely on their own imaginations. But their ideas were limited to the technology of the era, and so the idead that implementated were limited. Nowadays, developers have the ability to do better. But they will never be able to do better if they look only at the implementation of the idea and then imitate it rather than reimagine it.
Ok so that's the idealist soapbox. In reality there is no new technology here. 3d? Oooh. MMO concepts are a limited resource, they are NOT boundless unwritten worlds limited only by imagination. For the concept to fit the market and genre, it has to be addictive and time consuming. Basic human psychology limits what kinds of activities that entails. The best and easiest concepts get tapped quickly, and then after a maintenance phase the field starts to become stale if it's just not that great of an idea to begin with.

The goal is to not revolutionize and revolutionize forever, or die. The goal is to become such a good fundamental idea that people will always want the product. Like Coke. Coke needs no revolution. No innovation. The product has enough inherent value to stay forever as it is.

If MMOs don't, they'll just contract or be perpetually tried and burnt out on by new 14-22 year olds each generation. If you're tired of MMOs, you're probably done with MMOs. Don't be expecting them to change much. WoW, Rift, FFXI...that's about as good as it gets folks. This is the product. It's either good enough or it isn't. It's not a diamond in the rough any more.