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A Look At the Growth of MMOs In 2008
Zonk writes with news of a collaboration between Massively and GamerDNA to analyze the state of MMO player bases for 2008. Sifting through the data brought out several interesting trends. For example, Age of Conan took a substantial hit when Warhammer arrived on the scene, but none of the other major MMOs were significantly affected. Also, it seems Lord of the Rings: Online got a big shot in the arm from its Mines of Moria expansion — even moreso than World of Warcraft from Wrath of the Lich King, relatively speaking. The article also asserts the following about the recently-canceled Tabula Rasa: "... until the cancellation announcement in November, numbers were trending in the right direction, however slightly. Players were growing more interested in the sci fi MMO shooter, and logins were on the rise. If its development had not been so long, so expensive, and so vastly overhyped and mismarketed, this title could have been left alone to find its legs and found some small measure of success in a long tail environment akin to the Sony Station Pass."
Do you have a hobby that costs less than $20 a month?
I take it you're not including the $150/week you'll be paying your shrink in about 5 years when you realize that the obsessive/addictive disorder that's led you to become a complete recluse from the "real" world has forced you to seek help because you can't finish school/hold a job/maintain a healthy family life.
Sure, this may not be you, but it probably sounds like someone you know. Are they fun to play and use? Yup. Are they the best of hobbies that have great value in the end? Er, not really. More of a brain-disengaging time-killer if you ask me.
This is why I kind of prefer small FPS games instead. Need a quick break? Get in, FRAG, get out. Done.
sad this is that this comment really isn't a troll
because me playing Doom/Quake/Quake2/Quake3/UT/Counter-strike 4-14hours/day from 11-21 years old hasn't already done something?
Some people are addicted to social activities and have to be at every party/bar and spend 20-30 years trying to be 'cool' in other people's eye and have gained the ability to be as mentally sharp as a marble.
or you have the gamer who spends untold amount of time playing video games online with other people and have acquired strong reasoning and reactions from playing games with strategy and reflexive sharpening.
reverse sterotyping?
anyway, there was an article about how kids who play large amount of online games for non-addictive reasons actually had BETTER socializing skills, BETTER reasoning skills, and MORE creative problem solving skills than the average non-gamer who 'socialized' in real life.
but do you get 1337 hacking skills with all of that?