I've been playing MMO's since UO released(still my all time favorite MMO, next would be FFXI)..And honestly, for the past few years of MMO releases...they've just been...shitty imo. I'm not really burnt out from playing them, I just haven't found one that is new and refreshing that is on the calibur of the older MMO's.

Countless failed MMO launches - Warhammer is now a former shell of itself..AoC Failed at launch, to many bugs, sieges just recently got to the point where they halfway function I heard.

I'm not sure if its the dumbing down that has caused the problem or the overeagerness to get a game otu the door, get the initial $$'s and screw the actual player base.

World of Warcraft was fun, I had a lot of great times pvping - however my friends have moved on..thus I moved on.

EvE Online - Tried it, just couldn't get into it - I saw the potential but it's a  lot of Hurry up and wait.

Various other mmo's Ive beta tested and played in the past couple years..none have really wow'd me, and most of them have failed.

There hasn't really been anything to catch my eye in quite a while - and there doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon other than FF14..SWTOR being next year.

I'm currently playing AION - but it's population is steadily declining, and when you aren't pvping - there pretty much isn't anything to do - it's rather boring.

Anyone else kind of feel the same way? The newer games just don't seem to have the complexity the older ones did, there just seems to be something lacking, .Anarchy Online's implant system being an example(AO certainly had its problems, but I did enjoy it quite a bit).

Eve reminds me of my job.

OP, you might be suffering from burn out.  The good news is that you can cure your MMO burn out by doing something different for  a while, the longer the better.

The other case might be that you've out grown the genre.  If this is true, find another hobby.

I'm in the exact same boat, I started out with Anarchy Online and went to WoW..I had alot of fun and good times in WoW..but all my friends and I have moved on and we can't seem to find a new game. I try to play EQ2, since its so customixable and vast....but its old and everyone is max level there. I tried AION, LOTRO, Warhammer, Champions Online, STO....none of them were any good to me. I'm waiting for the next Final Fantasy, but I am not holding my breath. I don't think anything will ever live up to WoW. It had a vast fan base at release cause of Blizz's success with Starcraft, Diablo 2, and Warcraft 3 and those people were new to MMOs.

Everyone I know is in stasis waiting for the next big thing. I have a hunch there will be a revolutionary game coming out sometime in the next few years and I suspect it won't be from where we are expecting. The mainstream devs simply don't have the balls (otherwise known as investers) to try anything new.

Originally posted by Aganazer

The mainstream devs simply don't have the balls (otherwise known as investers) to try anything new.

I wouldn't say that. Actually, for the most part I agree, but there are some "mainstream" devs that try. Those who have more open hands with the game development (and aren't dealing with EA).

Originally posted by uquipu

Eve reminds me of my job.

Funnily enough, it reminds me of my job too. For quite a lot of the time I can basically browse the web or watch youtube vids while fulfilling my Minimum Looking Busy Requirements™. Then for about 1-2 hours a day, it suddenly and unpredictably gets incredibly intense, and I'm required to make on-the-spot high stakes decisions (which I cant just go back and get a do-over on) and solve problems with very quick, co-ordinated teamwork with competent people in lots of different roles. Sometimes I get a few days or a week with no crisis. Sometimes it's all intensity all day for days on end.

Come to think of it, maybe the job that I do is what predisposes me to like EVE. Predictable pre-scripted problems would bore me to death. It's good that there are lots of different games so everyone can find one to suit himself.

Why are you not still playing Final Fantasy XI? I dont understand why people complain about there being nonthing out there when they game you loved is still going strong.

There are many that agree with you. The MMORPG genre has taken a bad turn, and there's hasn't been a great MMO launch since like, 2003-4. All the half assed clones coming out lately are just shells of games from 1999 that had far more features. 

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

The recent games are good...sorta, its just that some people hype it to much or they are just eye candy (the games silly). Aion, its PvP is wonderful but they could work on the PvE. Games like that are most likely the reason everyones on Farm Ville! lol...Well, I agree fully on what your saying tho...guess i'll continue waiting on GW2 or something.

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

Eh, not really. I'd be more than satisfied with a carbon copy of Dark Age of Camelot, with updated graphics.

Yes, all MMOs are more or less the same today, and that's only a problem because they're all copying games that are very simple and not innovative at all. It's like inventing the wheel and then mass producing ... whatever came before the wheel. 

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

QFT.  Remember that first MMO experience?  Whether it was walking into a city or enterin a dungeon for the first time.

You'll never recapture that first blush again. *sigh*

Ok then im waiting for my DaOC / UO graphicaly updated copy :) and i would be happy panda!

Originally posted by uquipu

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

 

QFT.  Remember that first MMO experience?  Whether it was walking into a city or enterin a dungeon for the first time.

You'll never recapture that first blush again. *sigh*

Mm, true. But I'd be more satisfied if I could walk into a dungeon and actually see other people in it. Or a city that existed as a social hub for real trade, and real roaming NPCs to get quests from. Not stationary NPCs with ! over their heads, and global auction houses, and instanced dungeons. 

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

This is what I've come to discover.  There really isn't any lasting sense of excitement or discovery for me once I try a new MMO because each and every one of them has so many similar systems that it's like playing the same game just with different skins.

I think it also has something to do with the fact that 2-6 years ago there were not so many MMOs.  When a new one was coming out it was a pretty big deal.  I remember how excited I was anticipating the release of SWG, cause at that time there were only a handful of massive online games around to choose from.  Nowadays, the genre is just totally watered down.  On top of that, the triple-A titles of the last couple years haven't been able to live up to the enormous amount of hype they were given, and now we are left with a very boring and stagnant genre of lackluster games.

Originally posted by royalewit

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

This is what I've come to discover.  There really isn't any lasting sense of excitement or discovery for me once I try a new MMO because each and every one of them has so many similar systems that it's like playing the same game just with different skins.

I think it also has something to do with the fact that 2-6 years ago there were not so many MMOs.  When a new one was coming out it was a pretty big deal.  I remember how excited I was anticipating the release of SWG, cause at that time there were only a handful of massive online games around to choose from.  Nowadays, the genre is just totally watered down.  On top of that, the triple-A titles of the last couple years haven't been able to live up to the enormous amount of hype they were given, and now we are left with a very boring and stagnant genre of lackluster games.

Don't forget, when SWG came out, there weren't any other games like it, at all. 

MMOs back then all innovated and did something new.

Sure there are TONS more MMOs around now, but they're all exactly the same, so they cancel eachother out. New MMos coming out just feel like.. more of the same, cause they are. 

Originally posted by Xianthos

Ok then im waiting for my DaOC / UO graphicaly updated copy :) and i would be happy panda!

I do have awesome memories of DAoC and the early years of MMOs.  But part of the fun was that everyone was new to the genre so people were learning how to play them at the same time.  That's the kind of thing that just can't be reproduced in a new release because everyone has "been there, done that" before even with the brand new shiney MMOs.

Originally posted by uquipu

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

 

QFT.  Remember that first MMO experience?  Whether it was walking into a city or enterin a dungeon for the first time.

You'll never recapture that first blush again. *sigh*

I see this 'reasoning' a lot. I don't subscribe.

Playing FFXI was really good. It was nice, there was a community, the pace was very regulated (nice term for 'slow'), plenty to do and see. You eventually got to the 'end of the world' but the 'world didn't end' so to speak.

EQ I dabbled in very briefly, but didn't stay long enough to be wow'ed. The friends all jumped into the new big title that was..

WoW had the 'wow' factor. But in its release, it got right many of the things that defined the MMORPG experience. The world was vast, there was lots to do, and like FFXI the game ran smooth.

AoC was ok... I personally couldn't get into the constant load screens. The world suffered to me- felt choppy.

WAR was awesome! But the clunky feel of the engine just got overbearing in high density situations, which is common with the RvR.

AION is sheer crap. EVE I've never tried (sci-fi other than SW not my thing). DDO the controls were 'off'.

It's not about getting one's cherry popped and then the fun is all downhill from there. It's about the developpers getting it right, and making the experience fruitful. This goes from the technical side of server-client interactions, to the lore and background of 'why' everyone's actions are done, to the unique feel of each class or role or whatever the case may be for the game.

I would know if I'm burnt out. I'm not. I am waiting for the next dev team to 'get it right'. It has absolutely nothing to do with being jaded. It has everything to do with developpers taking the time and budget to 'do it right', 'get it right' so that the game 'feels right'. Immersion is like respect: gotta be earned. Devs just aren't earning it.

Sidebar: it doesn't help, mind you, that where there were a handful of titles, mostly all AAA, pre-2005, nowadays every mom and pops dev launches an absolutely fail MMORPG with little to no populace. We'd all be better off with less titles, but more quality and diversity inside of that quality. Spreading the gaming population does little to help the 'alive' feel of a world... you know, the whole 'MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER' part of the MMORPG title?

Originally posted by Electro057

I'm in the exact same boat, I started out with Anarchy Online and went to WoW..I had alot of fun and good times in WoW..but all my friends and I have moved on and we can't seem to find a new game. I try to play EQ2, since its so customixable and vast....but its old and everyone is max level there. I tried AION, LOTRO, Warhammer, Champions Online, STO....none of them were any good to me. I'm waiting for the next Final Fantasy, but I am not holding my breath. I don't think anything will ever live up to WoW. It had a vast fan base at release cause of Blizz's success with Starcraft, Diablo 2, and Warcraft 3 and those people were new to MMOs.

I think Electro is on to something of course about WoW success.  It makes me believe that we are about to see a similar success with SW TOR.  I just hope the game will be amazing as it has potential to be but I fear its just going to be another throw away.

Originally posted by Garvon3

Originally posted by royalewit

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

This is what I've come to discover.  There really isn't any lasting sense of excitement or discovery for me once I try a new MMO because each and every one of them has so many similar systems that it's like playing the same game just with different skins.

I think it also has something to do with the fact that 2-6 years ago there were not so many MMOs.  When a new one was coming out it was a pretty big deal.  I remember how excited I was anticipating the release of SWG, cause at that time there were only a handful of massive online games around to choose from.  Nowadays, the genre is just totally watered down.  On top of that, the triple-A titles of the last couple years haven't been able to live up to the enormous amount of hype they were given, and now we are left with a very boring and stagnant genre of lackluster games.

Don't forget, when SWG came out, there weren't any other games like it, at all. 

MMOs back then all innovated and did something new.

Sure there are TONS more MMOs around now, but they're all exactly the same, so they cancel eachother out. New MMos coming out just feel like.. more of the same, cause they are. 

I agree.  MMOs are incredibly formulaic nowadays, with only a few relatively minor differences between each game's systems.  I wish someone could come up with some game systems that are unique and different and get away from the whole "x + y + z = profit" method of development that has been going on lately.

to clarify:  I know they have to make a profit, but I wish they would get creative again instead of just filling in the blanks of "predictable MMO design 101" and calling it a day.