MMOs are on their way to becoming a dying genre

ThomasN7

For many reasons mmos are simply a dying breed.

1. Developers catering to casuals have caused mmos to become too boring and too easy. People need to be challenged as well as having fun. Developers worrying about business models rather than actual quality of mmos have become a big issue. MMOs need to stay niche and get away from the mainstream to have any long term success. WoW is the only exception and I doubt we will see another like it anytime soon.

2. It is simple, single player games, MOBAs, single and multiplayer shooters and rpgs, even rts games sell better and are more popular than mmos. They are more appealing to gamers than mmos for multiple reasons. These games are not on easy mode, they are actually challenging and they are just so much more fun to play. Examples would be, DayZ, Starbound,Rust, League of Legends, Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Mass Effect series and The Witcher series.

3. The Minecraft Effect. It is fun, easy and the most implortant reason I think Mincraft is so popular is because people want something differet. They are sick of the WoW clones so they need to break away from a mmo genre that is literally filled with developers copying one another's ideas with a different skin.

4. Publishers ruining mmos. They are far more concerned with quarterly earnings report than the quality of their game they are publishing.

5. Hype from the media and fans have literally killed mmos. Every year we hear the same old song " A great year for mmos is coming ". Fans and the media hype this genre so much they blow the expectations ouf othe water. MMOs don't even have a chance to succeed even if is a good mmo thanks to so much hype cause by the media and fans.

 

My final thoughts about the genre is that the genre for all the wrong reasons have changed. It has always been about the almighty dollar and still is but it has gotten worse. No we have free to play games with a ton of microtransactions for a pay to win sysyem catering to casuals. I think when you make a mmo you make it for mmo players , you do not make it for people who could probably care less bout playing mmos.

bcbully

I think we are at the end of the WoW (quest to cap, dungeon, battle ground) clone era. Those games are releasing now. Waiting on the anti WoW clone sandbox era. Lots of these in development. A couple should do well.

Dauzqul

I personally think that the genre is slowly shifting back to the more "mature" crowd (1999-2006).

More "worldly" games are starting to emerge in response to all the WoW-clone hate, e.g., ArcheAge, EverQuest Next, Black Desert, The Repopulation, Pantheon, etc. Even Path of Exile decided to break from the "hold my hand" mold by releasing one of the most advanced character skill systems we've ever seen.

I think WildStar and Elder Scrolls Online will be some of the last major Theme Parks that we'll see for quite some time.

Hanthos

I think that we will only need to see a few successes out of the current crop of crowd funded games to achieve a return to the core of what made the genre what it was. Hopefuls like The Repopulation, Camelot Unchained, Pantheon, Star Citizen and Lord British's attempt to regain relevance can, if successful, reshape the market back towards game design first, profit second. This will either force investors to commit to less mass market garbage or abandon the market and take their money elsewhere. In either case gamers win. The genre isn't dead, it's just going through a reshaping.

Magiknight

I love posts like these because I flipping despise every MMO released in the past 10 years.

ThomasN7

Originally posted by bcbully
I think we are at the end of the WoW (quest to cap, dungeon, battle ground) clone era. Those games are releasing now. Waiting on the anti WoW clone sandbox era. Lots of these in development. A couple should do well.

I would love to think so but developers track record over the years show they still want to push hand holding and catering to casuals.

Flyte27

I think the problem is they are a success if your definition of success is making a large profit.  Micro transactions rake them in tuns of money.  They don't have to worry as much about providing support or a good game.  They just need to make something that will generate money.  Since most people who are playing games don't care to invest a lot of time into them it works out well.  Less people will complain.  They will just hop from game to game spending money on micro transactions or not.  I believe it's a big problem with games in general these days.  There doesn't seem to be much love going into the games.  It's just about what will sell.  When you get to that point it starts to become difficult to justify being passionate about your hobby anymore.  Everyone looks at games as a joke/side attraction and that's mostly what it has become.  Something to fill small chunks of time when you are not doing the many other things you could be doing in this day and age of entertainment and being always connected to work/school/friends via social media.  I realize people need money to have all the luxuries they want, but I've always felt the best stuff comes from small groups that are just starting to explore new territory.  Usually that small group is passionate about what they are doing and have the freedom to create what they want to.  That is not the case in a large corporation and in a large, well developed industry where there is likely many books written on how to make a profitable MMORPG.  At this point people are just repeating what others have done in the past and even worse they are looking at it only from the point of view of making money.  I don't think art can be made well in a mechanical way.  Most companies are very mechanical in making games now to ensure maximum profit $$$.

IGaveUp

Originally posted by ThomasN7

Originally posted by bcbully
I think we are at the end of the WoW (quest to cap, dungeon, battle ground) clone era. Those games are releasing now. Waiting on the anti WoW clone sandbox era. Lots of these in development. A couple should do well.

I would love to think so but developers track record over the years show they still want to push hand holding and catering to casuals.

Don't they sort of have to cater to casuals to make money.  I'd guess casuals out number hardcores at least three to one.

 

TheLizardbones

Originally posted by bcbully
I think we are at the end of the WoW (quest to cap, dungeon, battle ground) clone era. Those games are releasing now. Waiting on the anti WoW clone sandbox era. Lots of these in development. A couple should do well.

I wouldn't hold your breath.  We seem to be heading more towards the WoW as a sandbox era.  Maybe the "every game will have an online component , regardless of game play" era.  We might even be heading into the "MMORPG style game play with a much smaller number of players per server, and all of them mostly by invite" era.

 

fantasyfreak112

Originally posted by Dauzqul
I personally think that the genre is slowly shifting back to original MMO.

I wouldn't get your hopes up there. The majority still want everything handed to them and the only game to even approach WoW's popularity is GW2 which is even more of a themepark then WoW is.

Covet78

How are they dying if 50 million people all over the world are currently playing mmo's.

pappacube

ludicrous, so many MMOs around and  most everyone is scambling to add some sort of co-op MMO-ish features to their games.  MMOs are evolving sure, but they are not dying.

kakasaki

Summary of this thread:

 

 

But seriously, same prediction a few years ago about the death of PC gaming... a bit premature. Look, we get it: MMOs have changed and no longer cater to your style of gaming. I'm in the same boat. But to say that the genre is dying when so many games are currently going strong/profitable and new titles are coming out is, well.... a bit silly.

freakky

Understand this is rant of your opinion. I disagree with few things but understand the feeling. MMO are not dieing. Yes there have been many fail mmo since WoW chasing companies trying make buck. One of these days there will be another epic mmo.

 

1. Sadly casuals out number hardcore players. The casual are more likely spend money in cash shop also, so for f2p games they some what cater to them.

 

2. As gamer I like all games. My favorite is still good mmo that I can dive deep into and not shallow game like ones you listed are.

 

3. minecraft can be hardcore more so with mod and stuff. Yes it is different but it has lot of depth to it. Most games in my mind fail from being shallow. Meaning lots things from loot systems to build setup etc.

 

4. They are a bussiness so can't blame them to much. I feel in general companies had lot more heart back in the day.

 

5. Well people like to dream and hope. Just sad how much money they spend on hype train that could of fix lot problems with the game. I do feel game should speak for it self and shouldn't need much ads.

 

You can play lot f2p games just fine. Now if you want to be competitive thats bit of a different story.  Lot of them take lot of skill and time if you don't use cash. Hence cashing easy mode and not doing so is hardcore. Think lot get to focus on  having the best gear. Anyways good luck to you. As for me I'll be waiting on that epic mmo that I dream of. Till then I'll play the pos mmo that come out still till I get bored.

Iselin

Nonsense. The opposite is true: every game is becoming an MMO - that's the real trend.

Magiknight

Originally posted by Covet78
How are they dying if 50 million people all over the world are currently playing mmo's.

Most of those games people call MMOs aren't MMOs in my opinion.

Sawlstone

Originally posted by ThomasN7

For many reasons mmos are simply a dying breed.

1. Developers catering to casuals have caused mmos to become too boring and too easy. People need to be challenged as well as having fun. Developers worrying about business models rather than actual quality of mmos have become a big issue. MMOs need to stay niche and get away from the mainstream to have any long term success. WoW is the only exception and I doubt we will see another like it anytime soon.

2. It is simple, single player games, MOBAs, single and multiplayer shooters and rpgs, even rts games sell better and are more popular than mmos. They are more appealing to gamers than mmos for multiple reasons. These games are not on easy mode, they are actually challenging and they are just so much more fun to play. Examples would be, DayZ, Starbound,Rust, League of Legends, Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Mass Effect series and The Witcher series.

3. The Minecraft Effect. It is fun, easy and the most implortant reason I think Mincraft is so popular is because people want something differet. They are sick of the WoW clones so they need to break away from a mmo genre that is literally filled with developers copying one another's ideas with a different skin.

4. Publishers ruining mmos. They are far more concerned with quarterly earnings report than the quality of their game they are publishing.

5. Hype from the media and fans have literally killed mmos. Every year we hear the same old song " A great year for mmos is coming ". Fans and the media hype this genre so much they blow the expectations ouf othe water. MMOs don't even have a chance to succeed even if is a good mmo thanks to so much hype cause by the media and fans.

 

My final thoughts about the genre is that the genre for all the wrong reasons have changed. It has always been about the almighty dollar and still is but it has gotten worse. No we have free to play games with a ton of microtransactions for a pay to win sysyem catering to casuals. I think when you make a mmo you make it for mmo players , you do not make it for people who could probably care less bout playing mmos.

There are so many things wrong with your rant. The only thing that is or ever will be true about mmo's is that there will never be another World of Warcraft. MMO's are not dying. They are evolving. It is no longer a goal to dethrone wow or atleast it should not be, because no game will ever command 12 million subs ever again. The playing field is being leveled through indie backing. ITS A GREAT TIME FOR MMO's. Find one you like and back it. Hope that you have 10000 cool people playing the same one you are and game till you can game no more.

freakky

Originally posted by Magiknight

Originally posted by Covet78
How are they dying if 50 million people all over the world are currently playing mmo's.

Most of those games people call MMOs aren't MMOs in my opinion.

To be mmo is kinda simple just have massive amount of players that can interact with each other. Now labels like sandbox and rpg can get little tricky.

fantasyfreak112

There are so many things wrong with your rant. The only thing that is or ever will be true about mmo's is that there will never be another World of Warcraft. MMO's are not dying. They are evolving. It is no longer a goal to dethrone wow or atleast it should not be, because no game will ever command 12 million subs ever again. The playing field is being leveled through indie backing. ITS A GREAT TIME FOR MMO's. Find one you like and back it. Hope that you have 10000 cool people playing the same one you are and game till you can game no more.

MMORPG's are dying. There's a boon in non-immersive game lobbies though.

Lol @ backing a game you like, as if there is any guarantee whatsoever that you'll actually like it at launch. I hope you don't gamble in Vegas with those odds because supporting a kickstarter is just like throwing money on the roulette table. Everyone is going to feel really stupid if Star Citizen fails and interest in Camelot Unchained has already all but vanished.

Tibernicuspa

Your points are accurate but.. becoming? The MMO genre has been dead in the water nearly 9 years now.

 

Or is there anyone out there who is going to argue that there have been MMOs released in the last 8 years even remotely close to the quality, depth, or originality of pre 2004 MMORPGs?

There are fewer and fewer big budget MMOs, which is a good thing. But its happening because almost all MMOs have failed. That's a sure signs that the genre isn't doing well.

TheLizardbones

Originally posted by fantasyfreak112

There are so many things wrong with your rant. The only thing that is or ever will be true about mmo's is that there will never be another World of Warcraft. MMO's are not dying. They are evolving. It is no longer a goal to dethrone wow or atleast it should not be, because no game will ever command 12 million subs ever again. The playing field is being leveled through indie backing. ITS A GREAT TIME FOR MMO's. Find one you like and back it. Hope that you have 10000 cool people playing the same one you are and game till you can game no more.

MMORPG's are dying. There's a boon in non-immersive game lobbies though.

Lol @ backing a game you like, as if there is any guarantee whatsoever that you'll actually like it at launch. I hope you don't gamble in Vegas with those odds because supporting a kickstarter is just like throwing money on the roulette table. Everyone is going to feel really stupid if Star Citizen fails and interest in Camelot Unchained has already all but vanished.

If your argument requires that the definition of MMORPG be changed to support it, then it's probably not a very good argument.

fantasyfreak112

If your argument requires that the definition of MMORPG be changed to support it, then it's probably not a very good argument.

After seeing some of the crap out there like Scarlet Blade and Maple Story the definition of MMORPG has been horribly watered down over the years. They need to make up a new word for those games because they sure as hell aren't MMORPG's no matter how much you want them to be.

IGaveUp

I am having a great deal of difficulty understanding the communication in this thread.

 

As I see it, current use of the term MMO is a framework for online games, hosted by publisher, and encompassing many genres.

 

I cannot consider MMO as a genre itself.  There are MMOFPS, MMORTS, MMORPG, and MMO-something in the form of those cute casual games on Facebook, Android, iOS, etc.  People call all of these MMOs.

 

If MMO is a genre, it's not dying.  There are hundreds of millions playing all sorts of games.

 

Is MMORPG dying?  Even that is doubtful since they're getting blurred in with all the rest.  There are still lots of themeparks running with plenty of playerbase, especially since F2P allows people to play for free.

 

Magiknight

Originally posted by Sawlstone

Originally posted by ThomasN7

For many reasons mmos are simply a dying breed.

1. Developers catering to casuals have caused mmos to become too boring and too easy. People need to be challenged as well as having fun. Developers worrying about business models rather than actual quality of mmos have become a big issue. MMOs need to stay niche and get away from the mainstream to have any long term success. WoW is the only exception and I doubt we will see another like it anytime soon.

2. It is simple, single player games, MOBAs, single and multiplayer shooters and rpgs, even rts games sell better and are more popular than mmos. They are more appealing to gamers than mmos for multiple reasons. These games are not on easy mode, they are actually challenging and they are just so much more fun to play. Examples would be, DayZ, Starbound,Rust, League of Legends, Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Mass Effect series and The Witcher series.

3. The Minecraft Effect. It is fun, easy and the most implortant reason I think Mincraft is so popular is because people want something differet. They are sick of the WoW clones so they need to break away from a mmo genre that is literally filled with developers copying one another's ideas with a different skin.

4. Publishers ruining mmos. They are far more concerned with quarterly earnings report than the quality of their game they are publishing.

5. Hype from the media and fans have literally killed mmos. Every year we hear the same old song " A great year for mmos is coming ". Fans and the media hype this genre so much they blow the expectations ouf othe water. MMOs don't even have a chance to succeed even if is a good mmo thanks to so much hype cause by the media and fans.

 

My final thoughts about the genre is that the genre for all the wrong reasons have changed. It has always been about the almighty dollar and still is but it has gotten worse. No we have free to play games with a ton of microtransactions for a pay to win sysyem catering to casuals. I think when you make a mmo you make it for mmo players , you do not make it for people who could probably care less bout playing mmos.

There are so many things wrong with your rant. The only thing that is or ever will be true about mmo's is that there will never be another World of Warcraft. MMO's are not dying. They are evolving. It is no longer a goal to dethrone wow or atleast it should not be, because no game will ever command 12 million subs ever again. The playing field is being leveled through indie backing. ITS A GREAT TIME FOR MMO's. Find one you like and back it. Hope that you have 10000 cool people playing the same one you are and game till you can game no more.

"Evolve" isn't synonymous with "better." You might as well just say they are changing. But they're still only changing in relation to WoW. No one dares be different. What isn't changing and haven't MMOs always been changing? The point is that they are mediocre and hollow now. Hollow even for video games.

TheLizardbones

Originally posted by fantasyfreak112

If your argument requires that the definition of MMORPG be changed to support it, then it's probably not a very good argument.

After seeing some of the crap out there like Scarlet Blade and Maple Story the definition of MMORPG has been horribly watered down over the years. They need to make up a new word for those games because they sure as hell aren't MMORPG's no matter how much you want them to be.

Not liking games doesn't make them not what they are.  They are still MMORPGs.  Yes, even Scarlet Blade is an MMORPG.  It's just a very bad one.

 

**

 

MMORPGs might disappear as a distinct genre of games though.  If the genre splits into several different types of games, or gets merged into other games then MMORPG will become a blanket term, similar to what MMO is now.  A blanket term to cover games with a wide variation in play styles.

Volgore

I agree that the genre is dying, but doubt that the reason is on the gamer's site nor is it any payment model's fault The genre started to die when after an era of  "games made by gamers for gamers" one day the suits took over and tried to produce quarterly numbers instead of great games, releasing titles the players rejected.

Stop making clones which embrace 15yr old mechanics, titles that insult every player's intelligence or just reek of publisher greed.

Give us an adventure that's worth playing and you'll again have a success unheard of since WoW. The genre will continue to go down crap creek until someone stops to produce and starts to innovate instead.