MMORPG.com's Jon Wood counts down the top five lists written by MMORPG.com staff members over the last year.

On April 14th of this year, we kicked off a new column here at MMORPG.com, The List. To be honest, it started off as a bit of a lark, a one-off article that I thought might be fun to write, and hoped would be fun to read. I had no idea then that I would spend the rest of the year writing a list almost every week, and when I wasn't writing it, one of my colleagues was.

Fortunately, you guys seem to have enjoyed what we've written, so here at the end of a successful year for "The List," I thought it might be fun to make another list of my favorite lists, or at least the ones that I can look back on fondly. So, out of thirty, I've carefully whittled them down to five:

Read the Top Five Lists of 2009.

A list of lists?  Ugh.

I'll repeat here what many gamers repeat in MMORPGs: more content please.

;)

 If you're going to count Guild Wars as an MMO then you might as well count Diablo 3.

I think that the #1 list on this list of lists is very telling of the industry as it stands with respect to how the consumers view it. People like to pop off and state that the number of people who go to this forum and read and comment is minute compared to the overall pool of consumers. I counter that with the views expressed here are pretty much like the opinion polls taken in politics. They may be off by 1-3%, but overall they are a pulse on the MMO gamer. All of us here, except the socially challenged, go and talk to our other gaming buddies and guild members who don't come here. We talk to them, and sometimes our opinions are shaped by theirs. Then we come back here and voice those opinions.

Mediocre at best since WoW. Yeah, I'd agree with that.

Need a few more lists of lists, then you can have a list of listed lists!

:)

You guys love pushing that Wizard 101 game.

Originally posted by Xondar123

You guys love pushing that Wizard 101 game.

Dana Massey

Harry Potter

I'm just saying...they could be brothers...Dana likes the old magic and thus Wizards 101 is getting the airtime.

i disagree with your lists on page two for the most part. few major things:

1. eve online not being on the list of best mmo's since wow. kinda funny considering it's the second best on the market right now, in terms of content, replayability, mmo-ness, graphics, subs, pvp, and so on. also the only game on the market  offering any persistency. not to mention the fact that it was a revolutionary game amidst all the fantasy garbage

2. swtor: this isnt really an mmo as much as it is a multiplayer PVE RPG. so far, no discussion of persistency, pvp or anything mmo-related. you fanboy. same argument goes for LOTRO; it's a PVE online RPG and therefore doesnt really belong in an MMO-section.

3. interesting how Global Agenda didnt make your list for 2012, considering it's the only unique MMO coming out and has an extremely solid foundation of core gameplay mechanics in place (as of beta),  the only foundation on the market that will offer actual persistency and balanced pvp. the beta itself is more complete than most MMO's that are out right now. and the core mechanics give the game virtually unlimited potential, kinda like EVE, but also give the game more appeal for casuals.

and lolcraft is #1. while Cata may sport a fancy number of subs, it will be the same formula in a different package and many current WoW players will not be playing. it cant be the #1 mmo if it's not unique in some way, if it doesnt offer something refreshing. popularity is a weak measure of quality, as proven by warcrack. APB looks to be a wicked game, but again, no hints of persistency and lots of hints of repetitive and simplistic missions. it looks like GTA Online but with less depth, literally, therefore lacking mmo-ness.

World of Darkness makes the list... despite there not being ANY public info on the game. you think it's gonna be ready in 2 years? lol. might as well nominate Planetside 2...heard they sent out a SURVEY. then you go on to names MMO's ive never heard of.

Originally posted by Khalathwyr

Originally posted by Xondar123

You guys love pushing that Wizard 101 game.

 

Dana Massey

 

Harry Potter

I'm just saying...they could be brothers...Dana likes the old magic and thus Wizards 101 is getting the airtime.

Looool... yeah, the resemblance is def there :D

And lists of lists... cmon...

Well what can u do when nothing interesting is in the mmorpg scene nowadays

Isn't a list of lists a sign of the end time?

 Club Penguin? Seriously? I think someone is paying you guys to put that shit up there~

Originally posted by sanders01

 Club Penguin? Seriously? I think someone is paying you guys to put that shit up there~

Is this the mmorpg.com's new years resolution? To become more of a joke with silly insight and opinions?

Am I the only one that felt a top list of lists was actually interesting to finish the year? You know, it's that time of the year that a lot of programs make a retrospective of what happened throughout the year.

2012 is coming (okay, so is 2010, 2011, 2013, etc) , no matter what game we basically "smoke" there is no denying that evolution will continue (or start, if you consider that the current most popular MMOs aren't new, but that's how the genre works I guess, it's not about the huge initial success but rather standing the test of time, with a player base that actually grows instead of dwindling), but even if you're an ultra-100%-blind-fanboy or hater of one or more games/companies, they will also be evolving (or dying).

The Five Proofs of MMORPG Evolution were:

#5 The number of games being released ~ atm it's just dev greed, very hard to find MMORPG that was made with the love for the game..it's pure greed leading devs.

#4 Moving beyond just RPG mechanics ~ Can they stop calling them MMO"RPG" then?

#3 Moving beyond Fantasy ~ That's fine just make it more clear when moving a MMO out. MMOSFI, MMOFPS, etc.

#2 Experimentation with alternate business plans

#1 Gameplay Innovation ~ So Western quest driven grinders MMO after MMO is innovation? please. *Rolls eye

MMORPG.com has not been very helpful for news lately, I'm only seeing the forums full of troll baiting and hate. no longer using this site for news. keep your trolls lawl.

Originally posted by Dedthom

Isn't a list of lists a sign of the end time?

It is indeed. Its like reciting the last of the nine billion names of God.....

WTF you put Guild Wars on there.

Its Not a MMO

This was a disappointment because it was repetitive from many older posts that I've seen before. But it was a good summary.

I defiently disagree with the last list, you can't classify it like that. What are you judging by? Graphics? Popularity? Cost? 

I think #1 and 2 may be correct, saying that I've never actually played those games, but COME ON! Club Penguin is an MMO, not an MMORPG, or even so, the gameplay is far off from the recent complexity of MapleStory.  

Originally posted by Dedthom

Isn't a list of lists a sign of the end time?

I think it is actually just a list of the lists of signs of the end time.

Regardless, back to the OP.

Personally, I enjoyed all the "Lists" throughout the year, and would be hard pressed to pick out a list of my favorite "Lists".

I still find it amusing that the List opinion pieces always seemed to garner such harsh criticism, like the contributor was trying to pass thier opinion off as fact. In this regard, this final List has lived up to my expectations once again.

I am looking forward to another year of List articles.

Thanks and have a Happy New Year!!

How the Hell is Guildwars not a MMIO are you people retards or what?

A massively multiplayer online game (also called MMOG) is a video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and feature at least one persistent world.

MMO Massively Multiplayer Online Game

Massively - Check

Multiplayer - Check

Online - Check

Game - Check

So tired of these WoW fanboi's that have never played Guildwars saying its not a MMO >.<

ROFL! Funny thread.

Harry Pothead vs Massey. Lists of lists and the end of time.

And was there a game on the list called Guinea Pig online or something along those lines?

GW is not a MMO. It is too. Lovely.