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MMORPG King of the Hill

Posted by Zonk on from the knock-the-other-guy-down-first dept.

eToyChest has a look at some current MMOG market leaders, and specifically takes a look at what they're 'good' at. If you've been thinking about playing an online game, this might be a useful tool to help pick the one game you'll enjoy most. From the article: "MMORPGs have evolved rapidly in terms of technology and gameplay, and with the continually growing number of gamers being pulled into these games, more and more titles have been shoveled onto retail shelves in order to keep up with the demand. Despite the fact that there isn't any one clear front-runner in the genre currently, the diversity and variety in MMORPGs today (both in the games available now and in the months to come) give many more options to most any gamer. However, here we will discuss those games that serve as the premier offerings for gamers today, as well as those set to be released in the near future, and we'll identify why these games are the Kings of the Hill."

4 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Everquest, but no Eve... by Donniedarkness · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Everquest II wins two of the catagories, but I NEVER hear about this game anymore (I hear about City of Villians/Heroes and WoW all the time), but Eve Online won NOTHING? It didn't even get mentioned...

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    1. Re:Everquest, but no Eve... by HolyCrapSCOsux · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Abysmally low player population

      Though I agree that this is rather subjective, I would say that There is a difference between raw player population and apparent population.

      In many MMORPGS, there may be 20-30-100,000 players online at any given time, but many of these players cannot "meet" in the game because they are on a different "shard" or something. Dont know all the fancy-talk, But East Coast folks and West Coast Folks and UK folks generall play on the closest server or the one with the best ping, or whatnot. In Eve, on the other hand, there are 100,000+ subscribers with, during peak hours, 22,000+ all online on the same server interacting and adding to the economy. Cooperating, etc. From ALL over the world.

      There is also the fact that some people kinda tire of the sword-armor-dragon RPGs and are really looking for something different.

      Statement of bias: I have only played 2 MMORPGs. Ultima Online, and Eve. My brother loves WoW, but after watching him play it for awhile, I can't imagine why. My Ultima Membership lasted about 2 Months (bored to tears). My Eve Membership is at 4 Months, and I see no end in sight.

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    2. Re:Everquest, but no Eve... by random256 · · Score: 1, Interesting

      See. This is exactly the type of post I'm refering to. The above is complete corporate spin. All about the numbers, not about the gameplay, or the facts, nor valid comparisons with other games. Face facts. Eve as a game, while it might appeal to some people, suffers from extremely low player counts compared to the actual market leaders. I've known more people that have quit playing Eve stating that it's a boring economics simulator than actually play it. But I'm not here to slander Eve or stand for or against any game. I'm just tired of seeing a crap ton of corporate spin on public boards. I remember first seeing about this here, although I'm sure it's posted elsewhere: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/02/01

  2. Wish the article was more in-depth by jchenx · · Score: 4, Interesting

    With all the MMORPGs that are out, we definately do need a nice article that sums up the pro's and con's to all the games out there. This article is a nice start, but it's much too short, and misses several games (EVE Online and Guild Wars, to name a few).

    It'd also be nice to have an MMO history article of sorts. Quite often I see people (mainly WoW players) complaining why feature X isn't in the game. For example, a few hardcore PvP gamers wonder why we don't have a real PvP world where you can kill someone and loot their actual belongings. I'd love to point them to an article that shows that Ultima Online tried this years ago and it didn't turn out well for the casual player ("Corp Por" anyone?). Or that anybody who complains about long flight times between Auberdine and Theramore (currently clocking at 11 mins) needs to go back to the original Everquest and try doing some travelling in that game.

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