"In all honesty, WOW was the first. No previous MMO was that polished or huge."
Yes WoW brought the MMO market to a new scale, but the effect of not leaving the games was the same for the games before it.
I played EQ1 from the beginning for about 4 years with the 'normal' huge time investment in the beginning. With the time I invested into my main character it is still hard for me to cancel my account. It was the game with which all began for me. All the excitement of the first MMO experiences are tied to that game. I left the game since I did not have the time that you needed to get into the endgame. Now I am wandering through the different MMO and non-MMO games always comparing it to this emotionally tied experiences.
For most people this game was WoW. It was the first game they played and so they made some experiences there, that they will most likely not make again. My prediction is that the number of players will decrease not because of a game that is released, but because of the effect that players will leave the game after about 2 to 3 years to find something new. But I would also predict that the numbers on the servers will decrease much more than the number of canceled accounts. I know a lot of people from my first EQ years that still have their accounts, but do not play more than once or twice every few month.
I do not think that consoles realy cut the piracy losses. I was shocked when I noticed that nearly everyone I know who uses consoles have their console modded and have a maximum of 3 original games, while always having played the most recent releases (X360, Wii, DS).
I think it is too accepted to use pirated software. The coutermeasures implemented by the industry at the moment only discurrages other customers to buy the software. Mass Effect and Spore where high on my Game list and nor droped down a lot after the anouncement of the copyprotection they have.
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vendolis's Comments
"In all honesty, WOW was the first. No previous MMO was that polished or huge."
Yes WoW brought the MMO market to a new scale, but the effect of not leaving the games was the same for the games before it.
I played EQ1 from the beginning for about 4 years with the 'normal' huge time investment in the beginning. With the time I invested into my main character it is still hard for me to cancel my account. It was the game with which all began for me. All the excitement of the first MMO experiences are tied to that game. I left the game since I did not have the time that you needed to get into the endgame. Now I am wandering through the different MMO and non-MMO games always comparing it to this emotionally tied experiences.
For most people this game was WoW. It was the first game they played and so they made some experiences there, that they will most likely not make again. My prediction is that the number of players will decrease not because of a game that is released, but because of the effect that players will leave the game after about 2 to 3 years to find something new. But I would also predict that the numbers on the servers will decrease much more than the number of canceled accounts. I know a lot of people from my first EQ years that still have their accounts, but do not play more than once or twice every few month.
I do not think that consoles realy cut the piracy losses. I was shocked when I noticed that nearly everyone I know who uses consoles have their console modded and have a maximum of 3 original games, while always having played the most recent releases (X360, Wii, DS).
I think it is too accepted to use pirated software. The coutermeasures implemented by the industry at the moment only discurrages other customers to buy the software. Mass Effect and Spore where high on my Game list and nor droped down a lot after the anouncement of the copyprotection they have.
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