Originally posted by Zorndorf

The list shows ... something.:

You have Blizzard's WOW and then you have a BIG Hole: something like:

1. Blizzard's WOW

 

 

 

 

... EVE (out of competition apparently). But still multiple relaunches AFTER WOW. (the last one 3 months ago as a box sale in shops).

 

 

2. The rest or ....the battle for ....  the peanuts. And please present day Aion players do know the western launching  400 K Aion numbers will dissapear as snow for the sun when the subscription period will set in. The initial players will leave faster than you can type the word "subscription" (as always).

 

God, I hope you're right!

I'm praying it's all of the @$$hats that are currently plaguing this game, like a nasty virus that comes and goes.

 

This was a well-written article by all accounts, and the author clearly indicated this is their opinion. My sole complaint is they did not clarify the criteria of what "Top" means. Was the definition to mean "best", "most popular", "most fun", "highest population", "highest revenue grossing", etc etc. However, I found the diversity of games covered refreshing (from AAA to web-based to Free-to-Play games).

Those of you spending time arguing in the forum thread are doing exactly what the author wanted: generating discussion and additional forum posts (looks great for justifying ad-space costs based on volume of web traffic and posts) in a clearly subjective topic.

Originally posted by mrw0lf

 

 

i think the interwebs would have exploded from troll if he included wither WAR or AoC in the list. A fair few cities would have been taken out from combusted nerdrage aswell, it just wouldn't have been worth it.

LMAO!

Very good list, and well researched Dana.

LOTRO deserves that #1 spot. It is an excellent game. I was sorry not to see EVE Online on the list, but then I remembered the point of the list "post-WoW" :)

/agree

Originally posted by bombmaster2

 I am sorry but there is a much better list here of the Top 10 MMORPGs and it includes gameplay videos of each of the 10 top mmorpgs as well.

I'm sorry but any list that doesn't include LOTRO is pure fail.  Some people might not like LOTRO but you can not deny it is one of the best MMO's on the market.  It has the highest average review score since WoW released.  It has won many awards from various gaming outlets.  It is the highest praised game in the gaming media since WoW.  You might like another MMO and that's fine but LOTRO is widely regarded as successful and a good game for a reason. 

Personally I dislike WoW.  I tried it and didn't like the cartoony graphics.  But I understand that millions of people like the gameplay.  It has 2.5 million subs in the United States for a reason.  It is also heralded by the media for a reason.  I might not like the game but that doesn't make it a bad game.  It just means it's not the game for me.  Same thing applies for LOTRO or any game.  There will be people that enjoy it despite what other's say.  We all have our own opinions but you can't argue with review scores and media opinion.  You might not like LOTRO but that doesn't mean it's a bad game. 

Originally posted by philipzam

I am very surprised to see that Final Fantasy XI Online was not mentioned.
It may not be the best mmorpg of all time, but it has been around a log time and set quite a few standards.

Whats you comment on this?

If you read what the list is about again maybe you could awnser your own question.

Wow, just wow. Two games that have been out less than a month, inclusion of vanguard, exclusion of war and aoc, and half a dozen cartoons. I guess the only real surprise here is that darkfall wasnt number one on this list as well.

In the future you might want to separate ftp from ptp and maybe even games for those under 12 years old and those over 12 years old.

Btw how much time did you spend playing each game? I mean since this list is strictly your opinion you must have some first hand knowledge right? How much time did you spend playing every other mmo that didnt make the list that was released since wow ?

considering lotro has 5% of people that have bought the game and stayed playing for any amount of time and as far as i am aware those numbers are still dropping, i disagree with this statement 'MMO fans wouldn’t have stuck with it this long had it not done a few things right.'

and therefore disagree with it's place as number 1 especially since war and aoc aren't even included in the list(war has what twice the subs and from what i hear aoc is starting to catch up with the likes of lotro and eq2), for some reason this site does seem to be overyly biased towards lotro and maybe even any named game with the previews of swtor and even sto in mind

really should have title the article my favourite 10 mmo's since wow

Originally posted by Karahandras

considering lotro has 5% of people that have bought the game and stayed playing for any amount of time and as far as i am aware those numbers are still dropping, i disagree with this statement 'MMO fans wouldn’t have stuck with it this long had it not done a few things right.'

and therefore disagree with it's place as number 1 especially since war and aoc aren't even included in the list(war has what twice the subs and from what i hear aoc is starting to catch up with the likes of lotro and eq2), for some reason this site does seem to be overyly biased towards lotro and maybe even any named game with the previews of swtor and even sto in mind

really should have title the article my favourite 10 mmo's since wow

I look forward to your newsletter that inside details how you know the subscription numbers turbine has, and the sources of the numbers by turbine staff.

Excellent list Dana!

Very well rounded and done with an open mind! Agree with LoTRO and GW especially:) Penguin and Wizards surprised the heck outta me but then I thought to myself," What the heck, just cus it's a kiddie MMO doesn't make it NOT a valid MMO. They are real MMO's and have just as much entertainment value as the adult MMO's do".

I'm also gonna send links to those two kiddie MMO's to my sister who has a 10 year old son, so thanks for the heads up.

You chose 10 excellent "Mainstream" games and I commend you for it! My first thought when I clicked on the link was the list was going to be a "Kiss the PvPers Butt" kinda list and was really surprised! Not that your a butt-kisser per se! That's just what I expected the list to be like on this very vocal site:)

Originally posted by Papadam

Originally posted by Perfection66

Originally posted by Swoogie

First off, LotRO deserves that #1 spot

With that aside, I pretty much agree with tho whole list but I do think EQ2 should be up there. I know i launced about 2 weeks before WoW but it wasnt ready. SoE learned a lot and worked hard on their game to make it where it is today (kinda like Vanguard imo). I think EQ2 could have been a notible exception given it is right there with WoWs launch
 

 

LOTRO doesnt have 3.5 million subs in Asia like Aion does. Hell Aion even has surpassed the game in West since release, so why isnt Aion considered number 1? All the numbers suggest it should be.

 

Aion doesnt have 3.5 million subs in Asia either... Nobody knows what that number is based on.

LotrO is actually launching in China and have had 3 million beta testers. Maybe we should use that number aswell?

Good list but I miss DDO up there. If horrible games like Vanguard and Potbs is up there I see no reason not to include DDO, RoM or WAR.

Vanguard is far from Horrible. learn to keep up with the times.

Upgrading my LOTRO sub to lifetime today. THey are adding in DX11 support early next year!

Originally posted by Beltenebros

Are YOU kidding????? Where the f... is Age of Conan? And seriously i didn't even hear half of the games on this list!! If you made the list just to wake up the discussion you made it! 

This post is just par for the course for what you can expect in AoC. It is one of the main reasons why I left that game and maybe one of the underlying reasons why it is left off of lists like these and doesn't get more respect. That game, unfortunately, has to have the worst community of players I've ever experienced in an MMO.

A decent game, even though it had/has it's share of problems (some of which may have been good for the MMO industry as a whole). I enjoyed the game, but absolutely hated the community.
 

Originally posted by Frostbite05

Originally posted by solareus

Woah woah woah, first 1up's review of Aion and now this article with LotrO at #1 ... can't beleive people are finally getting things right  ! Good read , though Aion doesn't belong there. 

 

look at the games that have launched since WoW and tell me how theres really anything better than Aion or LOTRO.

DDO is way better then Aion. 

Originally posted by toria

i must be the only one who doesnt like wow.

Nope, most WoW haters play LotrO :D . Seriously the anti WoW player base there is pretty big :D

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

 
Club penguin is one of the most successful MMO's of all time. Again, the responses here just show how jaded, and simply uninformed the experts  Forum users here on the MMORPG forums are. The game may not be fore you, however that means jack shit to its success or popularity.
 
Learn to distinguish the two.

 
 

Oh I see. So a Disney cartoon would be comparable to movies like the Godfather or Fight Club or even Lord of the Rings?

Learn to distinguish between media for children and for grown ups.

If an adult regularly plays Club Penguin I would say he has some issues...

Dana, interesting list you have there and I like how you looked at several genres, not just fantasy or AAA titles and such.

Well done!

Originally posted by Yamota

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

 
Club penguin is one of the most successful MMO's of all time. Again, the responses here just show how jaded, and simply uninformed the experts  Forum users here on the MMORPG forums are. The game may not be fore you, however that means jack shit to its success or popularity.
 
Learn to distinguish the two.

 
 

 

Oh I see. So a Disney cartoon would be comparable to movies like the Godfather or Fight Club or even Lord of the Rings?

Learn to distinguish between media for children and for grown ups.

If an adult regularly plays Club Penguin I would say he has some issues...

This has zero to do with anything.

But, to answer your question. Yes.

I am not sure how you think Disney movies have not impacted, or are incomparable to other great films. Considering they have made some of the most beloved films of all time, and not all of them were for children.

It is also funny you think that most MMO's are for "grownups".

Clearly the OP was just stating "his" opinion, this list is not based on any fact or figures because though I do agree with most he must be drinking the fanboi juice on a few of these..Aion being the major one. How do you base success on three weeks worth of play? You need to post a retraction son.

Both WaR and AoC easely beats Aion imo. We are talking rpg games vs a grind game. War have more depth, you actually feel you build a character and improving by choises with gear and settings and AoC should have been on the list, for no other reason ( and imo there is) then for its combat system. Its the only game where every pull are semi intense and actually feels like a fight. Its what new game needs, inovative combat with player participation, not 2-3 buttons rotations which dosnt vary from mob to mob or from player to player. Hack n slash belongs to last milinium; Diablo does it better then some of the games made today,  decades later.

I appreciate Dana's perspectives. I think it was a list based more on the impact that each game has on the industry, rather than the opinions of the players.

Fallen Earth is on there, which I agree with.

Vanguard, however being a game I was able to fully enjoy, I'm not sure it has had a very large impact on the industry. There were a lot of great things in Vanguard, but I think a lot of developers avoid the concepts in Vanguard like the plague. Not because the concepts were terrible, but because they were implemented poorly.

My only beef with the List is LOTRO at number 1.... What has LOTRO done to the industry besides provide another very boring and stale gaming experience?

<hides behind cover>

Dana,

I appreciate the list and think it was well done and well thought out, but I do have to ask why WoW's counterpart that came out in the same year was not mentioned? And by that counterpart I am, of course, referring to City of Heroes.

After the same 5 years WoW has been around, I would argue that COH was not only a groundbreaking game (first true Superhero MMO) but that it set a standard in that genre that has still not been met. COH has been a great success in its own right and I feel really should have been added to your good list.

I am glad to see you did have Aion.. if any game can challenge Cuild Wars and WoW it is this game.. beautiful world, awesome story, unique pvpve core... it will continue to do well in my opinion.

just my .02 influence.

Originally posted by Dana

 

DDO was a strange one. Turbine themselves gave up on the "original" game so it would be a bit much to include that. The new game is pretty new and while I realize so are FE and Aion, perhaps it is a personal blind spot, but I have less of a read on how the new DDO is doing.

Ya. It's one of those MMO's where you start playing it and have fun but then you realise that there's not enough content so then you either gotta pay money to get it or read the forums on how to get most of it the hard way (in free 2 play) but takes a long time to get. Either way, it's worth a try. Even for just a month or two. If you're one of those guys like me who are getting burnt out on MMO's, DDO is something to hold you over for a little while. While I know this has nothing to do with the topic, the only MMO's I ever got addicted to (in order) was Ultima Online, Planetside, City of Heroes, Guild Wars and Eve Online. For some reason, I just couldn't get into WoW. I think it's because of the graphics? Plus when I tried to get into it, the community was really bad. No help whatsoever and the only thing people seemed to want to do was brag about themselves. It was quite weird... And I played the beta for Aion and had a ton of fun. I can easily see myself playing it in the future. But not right now because of financial problems. I need to concentrate on making money in real life plus going back to school. I did noticed a couple other Korean MMO's that looked interesting but I'm not sure if they will be released in the US. One is Continent of the 9th and the other is Blade and Soul. If they are ever released in the US, I may just forget about Aion lol...

Originally posted by Masoniclight

Dana,

I appreciate the list and think it was well done and well thought out, but I do have to ask why WoW's counterpart that came out in the same year was not mentioned? And by that counterpart I am, of course, referring to City of Heroes.

After the same 5 years WoW has been around, I would argue that COH was not only a groundbreaking game (first true Superhero MMO) but that it set a standard in that genre that has still not been met. COH has been a great success in its own right and I feel really should have been added to your good list.

I am glad to see you did have Aion.. if any game can challenge Cuild Wars and WoW it is this game.. beautiful world, awesome story, unique pvpve core... it will continue to do well in my opinion.

just my .02 influence.

City of Heroes came out before WoW, so it was as simple as that. I stuck to the launch date cut off pretty strictly. CoH came out in April, EQII about 2-3 weeks before WoW. That's why both were not included.

Originally posted by Zhqrxt

Both WaR and AoC easely beats Aion imo. We are talking rpg games vs a grind game. War have more depth, you actually feel you build a character and improving by choises with gear and settings and AoC should have been on the list, for no other reason ( and imo there is) then for its combat system. Its the only game where every pull are semi intense and actually feels like a fight. Its what new game needs, inovative combat with player participation, not 2-3 buttons rotations which dosnt vary from mob to mob or from player to player. Hack n slash belongs to last milinium; Diablo does it better then some of the games made today,  decades later.

You're not making any sense. You talk about grinding being a bad thing but yet you enjoy Diablo. If you ask me, grinding is only bad when it's not enjoyable and Aion is an enjoyable grinding MMO. Plus, I doubt you seen all the content in Aion.  It seems to be mainly about PVP. I had a lot of fun in the beta. A LOT more fun than I ever had in WoW! And if you really wanted to, you can RP in Aion...

Thanks for tossing Fallen Earth a bone Dana. As long as the devs at Icarus keep the same level head they've been exhibiting so far and stick to their original plan, this game will build slow and steady and be a winner.