In every market research study and sales report I've seen. from Wizards of the Coast years ago to this day, fantasy roleplaying dominates the roleplaying genre in every medium. Yes, there will always be mildly successful science fiction RPGs, and even lesser candidates such as westerns, cyberpunk, etc., but for the foreseeable future, fantasy RPGs will rule the day.
I'd like to offer some real analysis why fantasy MMOs dominate as they do, but I don't have data, just guesses (in short: D&D, Tolkein, and a sort of shared "fantasy" universe that is more approachable than unique worlds.)
We should also have to account for churn. The MMORPG genre approaches its first decade of mass appeal, and many of its early adopters have moved on, and many of the new gamers that arrive appear to have the same preferences as the older ones--that is, for fantasy RPGs. At the same time, they haven't been "bored to death" with "yet another fantasy MMORGP".
The analysis I've seen, like it or not, is that it's generally better, in terms of sales anyway, to be the 5th or 6th most popular fantasy RPG instead of the 2nd most popular science fiction game.
Slashdot Mirror
In every market research study and sales report I've seen. from Wizards of the Coast years ago to this day, fantasy roleplaying dominates the roleplaying genre in every medium. Yes, there will always be mildly successful science fiction RPGs, and even lesser candidates such as westerns, cyberpunk, etc., but for the foreseeable future, fantasy RPGs will rule the day. I'd like to offer some real analysis why fantasy MMOs dominate as they do, but I don't have data, just guesses (in short: D&D, Tolkein, and a sort of shared "fantasy" universe that is more approachable than unique worlds.) We should also have to account for churn. The MMORPG genre approaches its first decade of mass appeal, and many of its early adopters have moved on, and many of the new gamers that arrive appear to have the same preferences as the older ones--that is, for fantasy RPGs. At the same time, they haven't been "bored to death" with "yet another fantasy MMORGP". The analysis I've seen, like it or not, is that it's generally better, in terms of sales anyway, to be the 5th or 6th most popular fantasy RPG instead of the 2nd most popular science fiction game.