Q. Are there too many good MMOs to choose from?

A. No idea.

I was thinking the other day about MMOs and why I'm having difficulty finding one to dedicate my playtime to at the moment. Now I read the reviews on here from players slagging of this game, that game, every game and so on. But what I've begun to think is that maybe it's not that these games are total sh*t, it's just that they're all equally good but that none really stand out as being much better than the others. In essence, players have too much choice now.

I'm fairly easily pleased when it comes to games, I think. I mean I don't mind taking a risk and spending £50 on a game if I like the look of it, even if it gets mixed reviews or whatever. I've spent way more than that on dates in that past and not been impressed with what I saw there either so I figure, 50 bucks on a game is fine. I've tried lots of games and enjoyed some but still found loads of duff ones.

Yet despite this, I'm currently torn between about 6 games (5 of which are MMOs), which I can't decide between. These include commonly derided games (e.g. AoC, WAR), some that have made a comeback (DDO, Diablo III... errr, I mean Torchlight) and some still in beta (Earth Eternal, Global Agenda). There's yet more games on the horizon that I haven't even tried yet and I'm already thinking may be a great way to while away the hours (Black Prophecy, Mortal Online).

Back in the heyday of WoW, that was pretty much the only choice for me. EQ1 and 2 didn't have everything I wanted, there were loads of other nerdy games out that I'd never heard of and didn't care to try and the only real alternatives were weird Asian grinders and GuildWars, which I didn't think much of. Sometime later EVE came to my attention but due to the fact I have a tiny brain and a child-like mentality, I didn't enjoy that one either (/sarcasm off). Now WoW's a bit long in the tooth, I get the feeling that for many people "The king is dead, long live... ummm, lots of kings!" Well it certainly feels like that to me, and lots of kings are a bit confusing!

So maybe the 'problem' with MMOs at the moment isn't that they're crap and devs have reached an all time low, etc, etc, it's just that there are too many good ones but no stand-out game amongst them.

Aryas

I believe I know exactly what you're going through.  Back "in the day", there were only 1 handful of MMO games out there.  For me, it was pretty easy to decide what to play.  I did EQ1, then DAoC for a while, then went back (pretty much).

Now I definitely feel that there are far too many choices.  I also believe that the amount of choices we have had increased our expectations beyond what may be reasonable (or not).

When EverQuest was released, for example, it had *very* little content (compared to what it is today), but that was okay.  What was the alternative (not many).  Now though, if a game is released with the same amount of content or gameplay, it's basically crucified.

I'm not even saying its wrong.  But it's the way it is. 

Part of my point is, there are so many choices available today..  We don't have to put up with this or that because there's no or very few alternatives.  Game companies need to step things up in my opinion.. As to how, I don't know, but that's why I don't make games.

Anyway, I'm in the same boat.  Still subscribed to Aion, but losing that "loving feeling".  Hoping to get it back but who knows.

Acidon

That, and the novelty has worn off.

Back when the first MMOs showed up, it was a fresh and almost magical experience for many who took to their gameworlds. The idea of meeting new people online, getting to know them and form circles of friendship with them, forming "teams" and chasing common goals... And discovering this mysterious graphical world... It was practically a new form of interactive medium being born, right then and there. Not only did it introduce you to a new form of socializing, but also made you feel like you were standing at the doorstep of something truly special.

So we overlooked the many many faults of those first games: UO, EQ, AC... And then AO, SWG... With a crap load of bugs and other shortcomings, these MMO games were to video games what computers were to dishwashers: The former was so broken compared to the latter that you had to wonder how on earth people dared to put them out as commercial products in the first place. But they broke new ground, gave you many many choices and were fun and exciting, so they held out.

Now the genre as a whole has become mundane. Post-WOW, everybody knows what an MMO is and how it works and what horizons it's supposedly opened up in terms of gameplay. It doesn't woo you with its freshness like the first ones did.

Having played online games for more than 15 years, my very personal opinion is that the games themselves have evolved, for the better. The thing is, they've become much too commonplace and seemingly inconsequential, and thus have lost their magic. Maybe back then players mistook that magic for "it all meaning something", somehow. And now, here comes the age of disillusionment :)

Originally posted by Nikopol

That, and the novelty has worn off.

Back when the first MMOs showed up, it was a fresh and almost magical experience for many who took to their gameworlds. The idea of meeting new people online, getting to know them and form circles of friendship with them, forming "teams" and chasing common goals... And discovering this mysterious graphical world... It was practically a new form of interactive medium being born, right then and there. Not only did it introduce you to a new form of socializing, but also made you feel like you were standing at the doorstep of something truly special.

So we overlooked the many many faults of those first games: UO, EQ, AC... And then AO, SWG... With a crap load of bugs and other shortcomings, these MMO games were to video games what computers were to dishwashers: The former was so broken compared to the latter that you had to wonder how on earth people dared to put them out as commercial products in the first place. But they broke new ground, gave you many many choices and were fun and exciting, so they held out.

Now the genre as a whole has become mundane. Post-WOW, everybody knows what an MMO is and how it works and what horizons it's supposedly opened up in terms of gameplay. It doesn't woo you with its freshness like the first ones did.

Having played online games for more than 15 years, my very personal opinion is that the games themselves have evolved, for the better. The thing is, they've become much too commonplace and seemingly inconsequential, and thus have lost their magic. Maybe back then players mistook that magic for "it all meaning something", somehow. And now, here comes the age of disillusionment :)

 

While I agree with you, IMO another contributing factor is that they have become so dumbed down, they mimic console games more than PC MMORPG's. I know that even I have been thinking that I can get the same kicks from games like Torchlight that cost me $20 flat as I can out of the same old cookie cutter rat race MMO for a possibly initial fee of $50, THEN $15 a month on top of that. For something I can beat in a month, and then spend the rest of my time competing for "look at me" prizes?!? No thanks.

Until someone out there finally makes an MMORPG that plays like an animated fantasy book and let's you get lost in the world, it's just the same mundane crap regurgitated over and over with a different skin. Outside of the box people....

I disagree that the MMOs have become dumbed down. Yes, some games do play more "console-like" when compared to the pioneers, but that can only be a compliment, because it has more to do with the vast improvement in how the toons move and respond to commands than anything else. It's evolution - they handle much better than they used to.

If you mean sophistication, well, most of the games were never that sophisticated in the first place. Even UO, which was famous for its perceived freedom and variety of paths was pretty straightforward and what many ended up doing was indeed narrower than you see in today's MMOs.  The most sophisticated MMO ever would probably be EVE Online, and it's certainly not first gen and is still going strong.

To me, the genre is still on its baby steps. I'm hopeful.

Originally posted by Aryas

Q. Are there too many good MMOs to choose from?

A. No idea.

 

I was thinking the other day about MMOs and why I'm having difficulty finding one to dedicate my playtime to at the moment. Now I read the reviews on here from players slagging of this game, that game, every game and so on. But what I've begun to think is that maybe it's not that these games are total sh*t, it's just that they're all equally good but that none really stand out as being much better than the others. In essence, players have too much choice now.

 

I'm fairly easily pleased when it comes to games, I think. I mean I don't mind taking a risk and spending £50 on a game if I like the look of it, even if it gets mixed reviews or whatever. I've spent way more than that on dates in that past and not been impressed with what I saw there either so I figure, 50 bucks on a game is fine. I've tried lots of games and enjoyed some but still found loads of duff ones.

 

Yet despite this, I'm currently torn between about 6 games (5 of which are MMOs), which I can't decide between. These include commonly derided games (e.g. AoC, WAR), some that have made a comeback (DDO, Diablo III... errr, I mean Torchlight) and some still in beta (Earth Eternal, Global Agenda). There's yet more games on the horizon that I haven't even tried yet and I'm already thinking may be a great way to while away the hours (Black Prophecy, Mortal Online).

 

Back in the heyday of WoW, that was pretty much the only choice for me. EQ1 and 2 didn't have everything I wanted, there were loads of other nerdy games out that I'd never heard of and didn't care to try and the only real alternatives were weird Asian grinders and GuildWars, which I didn't think much of. Sometime later EVE came to my attention but due to the fact I have a tiny brain and a child-like mentality, I didn't enjoy that one either (/sarcasm off). Now WoW's a bit long in the tooth, I get the feeling that for many people "The king is dead, long live... ummm, lots of kings!" Well it certainly feels like that to me, and lots of kings are a bit confusing!

 

So maybe the 'problem' with MMOs at the moment isn't that they're crap and devs have reached an all time low, etc, etc, it's just that there are too many good ones but no stand-out game amongst them.

 

Aryas

THIS IS ALLCAUSED BY BLIZZARD AND WOW!!! GET THEM!!!!

WoW has raised the acceptance lvl of what a MMORPG needs to be successful. And many new games cant reach that lvl of qualty, so they fail. Thats whats wrong with the genre now. Some reason, current MMORPGs cant seem to release polished games unlike other video game genres.

The OP makes a valid point, and one that I made to a friend only the other day. I'm currently enjoying DDO Unlimited, AoC and Fallen Earth while having temporarily closed accounts that I'd be happy to go back to on EQ2, WoW, and WAR as well as a couple of lifetime accounts on LoTRO. It's tough deciding which one to log in to, and the temptation is always to watch TV instead! I used to be like that in the old days when several offline titles came out at the same time, it made it difficult to get settled into any of them compared with if they'd come out a month or two apart.

I don't think the amount of the content is a problem in new MMOs, rather it's the speed with which many players expect to get through today's games and unfortunately they've all been dumbed down to cater for that. Why anyone should want to hit level cap in an MMO within the free 30 days is utterly beyond me, and to expect developers to release an expansion within the first three months because of that is simply cretinous.

The number of MMOs out there today is only one problem in deciding what to play, however. The other equally important problem is that they all deliver the same goods, and unfortunately we are still waiting for the game that will genuinely bring something new to the table. That game will do very well indeed. It may turn out to be SW:TOR but given the past history of over-hyped MMO Holy Grails it may well not be. We'll see.

I'm all for competition, but we don't need any more imitation.