I must say that as a long-time player of Everquest, I disagree with most of what you say in your article. You provide a list of problems as though they are absolute facts, rather than matters of perspective or opinion. I will try to be brief, and hit only what I consider to be the high points.
1) You claim that Sony is in this to milk you for all you're worth. I don't think you provide any evidence that this is the case any moreso than it is for any other business. The purpose of a business is to maximize profits. I think it is silly to condemn Sony for wanting to make money, and I don't think there is any evidence that they try to do this at the expense of the enjoyment of their players. The traditional complaint is that if Sony cared about their players more than money, then they wouldn't have nerfed class X, or they would change issue Y because players request it. I think the flaw there is that people assume players know what is best for the game. While some players may make reasonable requests, the majority of suggestions I hear would only please people temporarily. Players tend to suggest things that are overpowering, even if this is only subtly. If the game becomes too easy, people will not play it. Just like in a game that has cheat codes you can use -- they're fun at first, but they get old fast. I think Sony recognizes this, and they are very reluctant to make changes that make the game too easy. I'd rather them err on the side of caution.
2) You claim that the game ceases to be fun. In my experience, it only ceases to be fun to a certain type of player. That sort of player is the one who derives enjoyment only by gaining items or levels or whatnot. They never really enjoyed Everquest, they just enjoyed achieving goals they set for themselves in the game. Eventually they come to a point where achieving those goals becomes very difficult, or the goals take very long to achieve. The players become disgruntled and complain that the game is no fun. However, some players (myself included, but I'm not alone) enjoy the game for the game's sake. I like being in the world, I like hunting mobs, I like exploring, et cetera. Levels and items are nice, but they don't control my enjoyment of the game. And I don't feel entitled to every item in the game, as some people seem to. Because one person can get it, some think, then I deserve it. I think people who don't find the game are setting themselves up for failure, and I don't think there is anything Sony can do to change this. If they made leveling easier, or acquiring items easier, or whatever, then these players would quickly progress through that and then they'd have nowhere to go. They'd be bored instead of frustrated. I've got multiple post-50 characters, I've been playing for over 3 years, and I still find the game fun. I'm not alone in this.
3) You claim that the game is a competition between players. This *can* be the case, but it doesn't have to be. Yes, camps and mobs can be hoarded by groups of players. However, in my experience, there are always plenty of empty zones you can go hunt in. As long as you don't have your heart set on a given mob or item or camp, then you don't need to get caught up in that nonsense. Only the people who hunt exclusively in the crowded zones or who are fixated on getting the absolute best gear have to worry about these things. Now, you may object that it's not as easy as just up and hunting in an empty zone, unless you are a soloer. I disagree. It's not very difficult to go to a crowded zone, find a group of LFGs, and convince them to go hunt in a less crowded zone. Usually people are eager to do it. And you know what? They often remark that it's the most fun they've had in the game in a long time. Unless they're the sort of people who only want to be in groups that get the uber drops or the most efficient experience possible. And as I said, those people are setting themselves up to be unhappy anyway.
I guess to conclude my feeling is this -- the game is what you make of it. I don't think there's a single class who hasn't complained about being nerfed, one time or another. "Sony hates " or "Great! I guess I may as well delete my , since they're useless now". It's funny, though, how new players after that point don't notice any problems with their class. It's only people who've grown used to it being a certain way. People who are willing to adapt and enjoy the game don't stress over that sort of thing. In my time in Everquest, I've both agreed and disagreed with the rationales Sony has set out for doing certain things. However, I've never felt their actions were malicious, they've always seemed to be done with good intentions. And they've never made a class unplayable or unuseful, despite the complaints to the contrary. I still enjoy playing both the high-end, mid-range, and low-end game.
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I must say that as a long-time player of Everquest, I disagree with most of what you say in your article. You provide a list of problems as though they are absolute facts, rather than matters of perspective or opinion. I will try to be brief, and hit only what I consider to be the high points.
1) You claim that Sony is in this to milk you for all you're worth. I don't think you provide any evidence that this is the case any moreso than it is for any other business. The purpose of a business is to maximize profits. I think it is silly to condemn Sony for wanting to make money, and I don't think there is any evidence that they try to do this at the expense of the enjoyment of their players. The traditional complaint is that if Sony cared about their players more than money, then they wouldn't have nerfed class X, or they would change issue Y because players request it. I think the flaw there is that people assume players know what is best for the game. While some players may make reasonable requests, the majority of suggestions I hear would only please people temporarily. Players tend to suggest things that are overpowering, even if this is only subtly. If the game becomes too easy, people will not play it. Just like in a game that has cheat codes you can use -- they're fun at first, but they get old fast. I think Sony recognizes this, and they are very reluctant to make changes that make the game too easy. I'd rather them err on the side of caution.
2) You claim that the game ceases to be fun. In my experience, it only ceases to be fun to a certain type of player. That sort of player is the one who derives enjoyment only by gaining items or levels or whatnot. They never really enjoyed Everquest, they just enjoyed achieving goals they set for themselves in the game. Eventually they come to a point where achieving those goals becomes very difficult, or the goals take very long to achieve. The players become disgruntled and complain that the game is no fun. However, some players (myself included, but I'm not alone) enjoy the game for the game's sake. I like being in the world, I like hunting mobs, I like exploring, et cetera. Levels and items are nice, but they don't control my enjoyment of the game. And I don't feel entitled to every item in the game, as some people seem to. Because one person can get it, some think, then I deserve it. I think people who don't find the game are setting themselves up for failure, and I don't think there is anything Sony can do to change this. If they made leveling easier, or acquiring items easier, or whatever, then these players would quickly progress through that and then they'd have nowhere to go. They'd be bored instead of frustrated. I've got multiple post-50 characters, I've been playing for over 3 years, and I still find the game fun. I'm not alone in this.
3) You claim that the game is a competition between players. This *can* be the case, but it doesn't have to be. Yes, camps and mobs can be hoarded by groups of players. However, in my experience, there are always plenty of empty zones you can go hunt in. As long as you don't have your heart set on a given mob or item or camp, then you don't need to get caught up in that nonsense. Only the people who hunt exclusively in the crowded zones or who are fixated on getting the absolute best gear have to worry about these things. Now, you may object that it's not as easy as just up and hunting in an empty zone, unless you are a soloer. I disagree. It's not very difficult to go to a crowded zone, find a group of LFGs, and convince them to go hunt in a less crowded zone. Usually people are eager to do it. And you know what? They often remark that it's the most fun they've had in the game in a long time. Unless they're the sort of people who only want to be in groups that get the uber drops or the most efficient experience possible. And as I said, those people are setting themselves up to be unhappy anyway.
I guess to conclude my feeling is this -- the game is what you make of it. I don't think there's a single class who hasn't complained about being nerfed, one time or another. "Sony hates " or "Great! I guess I may as well delete my , since they're useless now". It's funny, though, how new players after that point don't notice any problems with their class. It's only people who've grown used to it being a certain way. People who are willing to adapt and enjoy the game don't stress over that sort of thing. In my time in Everquest, I've both agreed and disagreed with the rationales Sony has set out for doing certain things. However, I've never felt their actions were malicious, they've always seemed to be done with good intentions. And they've never made a class unplayable or unuseful, despite the complaints to the contrary. I still enjoy playing both the high-end, mid-range, and low-end game.