I feel it has already bottomed out,the only reason we still see so many is because there appears to be a lot of dumbass investors willing to throw money into games. A part from easy money,99% of these games are so low budget there is nothing to lose but time spent. We are often jaded by seeing the very few games doing well and most of those games are only doing well because they have $$$ Esport tied into them otherwise we would see a lot of dead games.
I can also throw in the fact that some of our popular games of long past are still being played while in the last decade most games come n go in a few months or less.So it is a common trend of bandwagon jumping,popular now gone tomorrow.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
The age of the MMO has come and gone. The moment WoW was released marked the end. So many low quality pieces of shit followed the trend that it killed the genre and forced it to stagnate for years. Now we're left with Kickstarter MMOs and the hopes and dreams of developers from yester-year that think they have the next solution for future MMOs. That solution? Make games more similar to how they were 10-20 years ago. Crazy. The entire genre is moving backwards with only a few notable exceptions and those are so niche that they'll never find the mass market they need to remain truly successful.
The age of the MMO has come and gone. The moment WoW was released marked the end. So many low quality pieces of shit followed the trend that it killed the genre and forced it to stagnate for years.
If anything, it'll balloon in popularity the moment the next big thing comes, which hasn't in a long, long time. Opinions differ, sure, but just look at how people jump on to defend subpar cash grab korean mmos..
A crash would probably be a good thing because more people who actually like mmorpg games would be playing (and making) them instead of all the action battle royale crap we have now.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
It's only a crash if you believe that MMORPGs should be the top type of game, bigger than LOL, Fortnite, etc.
Meanwhile, WOW, FFXIV, ESO, GW2, BDO, etc. are raking in the bucks and have very healthy populations.
Yes a new Western MMO in development doesn't get announced every few months like they used to be a decade or so ago. But considering the market saturation for a type of game meant to be played for 5 years or more, is that actually surprising?
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i actually see zenimax cornering the NA/EU market if they get their act together. The asian markets don't really need or identify with Na/EU. Not worth their effort and people here don't take to them anyhow.
Wouldn't a lack of new and innovative AAA MMOs be evidence that a crash happened already? I think it has come and will soon be gone. I haven't been excited about an MMO since ESO launched, until now. With Pantheon and Star Citizen on the horizon, the MMO genre could be making a comeback. Until then, it's status quo, boring eastern imports that hit like a raindrop and disappear and a few kickstarter games vying for attention but no real substance just yet. Good thing we have expansions to tide us over through the years and a few single player gems to skip over to.
It ain't dead. And who knows where the next big one comes from. Just takes one. The main thing has happened is new MMORPGs were made and their makers underestimated the entrenchment. and thus failed to provide the level of amazing required to pull those players away from their positions. So a lot of new MMORPGs failed to meet player expectations. Players mostly stayed in their positions, and many fragmented over the years, choosing to play many different kinds of games. I imagine some of them are playing modded Fallout 4 or something else to pass the time. (Like me, sometimes I eyeball X4 Foundations are Albion Prelude. With MODS it'll never end.)
For me, I never have enogh time to try everything. So here I am playing Everquest, on Agnarr. An old MMORPG. Because it's easy. I know how to play it. I know what to expect. No unwanted surprrises. It's fun. It provides what I want. Therer'e so many other things I could do. There're TONS of single player games. I have a lot in my steam account, I just don't get around to playing them. I could be playing Legends of Aria or Life is FEudal. But alas, I'm playing a 20 year old MMO. I wonder how many other players are doing this. I do it because it's convenient for me. No hassle.
Anything that doesn't grow, dies. MMORPGs, no matter how much we like them, simply haven't done anything new since the beginning. This has already caused a decrease in interest in MMORPGs in the general public. The population's reaction went from "What's that?" to "Cool" to "Done that". There isn't anything substantially different about current MMORPGs to stimulate intellectual curiosity.
These factors cause the games in this genre to struggle to retain existing customers, much less pull in new customers. When was the last time that you came across a completely new MMORPG gamer in game; someone who'd never played an MMORPG before the current game, and is reasonably self-supporting? The market is made up mostly of locusts that move from game to game, a transient society.
That group of people don't appear to be growing. So, companies have moved to other more lucrative markets. Fishing at the same spot may be fun and relaxing, but it doesn't always feed the fisherman.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Anything that doesn't grow, dies. MMORPGs, no matter.....
Calm down. I don't see a comet rushing on collision course with Earth, do you? ARe you always so gloomy. Players are sticking with what they know. And there're new games being made. Indeed therere're new MMORPGs being made. Maybe it's not as much as it was years ago, or doesn't have the same character, but geez, enjoy the tea and sit down. This is business as usual as I see it. I'm getting what I want, what with Pantheon:ROF and Saga of Lucimia and Dual Universe and many other MMO/MMORPG on the horizon. I got lots of choices right now too. I'm playing an old MMORPG. I paid to subscribe. I couold see myself quite enjoying this for a little while longer. This may not be true for you. Maybe it's darker fro you. Sorry it's that way. Sometimes yo uhave to weather it. I had some episodes like that earlier in my life. I remember being very unhappy with MMORPG's. Ended in 2012. That's when I played Wurm Online.
For me a MMO doesn't have to bring anything to make me to join and have a blast. I just want a new MMO like the old school Lineage (which focuses on open world pve/pvp), but without P2W. That's not too much to ask.
I don't know if it's going to crash, but as far as new games I don't think we'll see another successful level questing grind that's typical of today's games. That's been done to death and it's slowly drying out.
For the next great game to come out, it's going to have to be different as well as polished and offer something exciting to attract players. Those players will probably not be most of you, sadly, since you want the level questing grind that's failing.
My thinking is that the only thing that will work is a game that's very strong as: -worldly interactive, -socially interactive, -and immersive.
It's going to have to be a deep game with all of the above. It's going top have to look good and be polished, too. There's other things it will need, naturally, but this is the core as I see it.
What this question asks is ... will people ever tire of playing fun games with other people?
Likely not.
However, if the games stop being fun, or the internet changes substantially, or people mutate into bug-eyed insects hellbent only on destruction, maybe this will change things.
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Comments
A part from easy money,99% of these games are so low budget there is nothing to lose but time spent.
We are often jaded by seeing the very few games doing well and most of those games are only doing well because they have $$$ Esport tied into them otherwise we would see a lot of dead games.
I can also throw in the fact that some of our popular games of long past are still being played while in the last decade most games come n go in a few months or less.So it is a common trend of bandwagon jumping,popular now gone tomorrow.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
If anything, it'll balloon in popularity the moment the next big thing comes, which hasn't in a long, long time. Opinions differ, sure, but just look at how people jump on to defend subpar cash grab korean mmos..
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
Dont' see a crash there.
Meanwhile, WOW, FFXIV, ESO, GW2, BDO, etc. are raking in the bucks and have very healthy populations.
Yes a new Western MMO in development doesn't get announced every few months like they used to be a decade or so ago. But considering the market saturation for a type of game meant to be played for 5 years or more, is that actually surprising?
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
For the next great game to come out, it's going to have to be different as well as polished and offer something exciting to attract players.
Those players will probably not be most of you, sadly, since you want the level questing grind that's failing.
My thinking is that the only thing that will work is a game that's very strong as:
-worldly interactive,
-socially interactive,
-and immersive.
It's going to have to be a deep game with all of the above.
It's going top have to look good and be polished, too.
There's other things it will need, naturally, but this is the core as I see it.
Once upon a time....