[Troxx]

Originally Posted by paulgiamatti [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Substantial, substantive support from a playerbase.

I don't really think EverQuest was successful in its heyday just because it was one of the first MMOs; I think it was successful in its heyday because people were willing to invest insane amounts of time into it. I think people were sort of caught off-guard by this thing, and just kinda dove head-first into this huge fantasy world and willfully forgot about their real lives.

Most people quickly found out that doing so is simply not a sustainable way to entertain oneself. Online gaming addiction saw a meteoric rise into public awareness immediately after these kind of games hit the shelves, and World of Warcraft was largely developed in response to this problem, which is why it's so intent upon not only rewarding the casual gamer but being entirely designed around their needs.

And honestly, I don't really see anything wrong with that. Games that require investing inordinate amounts of time into them now have a more reasonable place in the gaming world among niche audiences and hardcore gamers. As long as a game requires people to invest as much time as EQ does just to see its end game, I really don't think we'll ever see another one quite like it - at least not at the caliber that EverQuest was during its peak years. Or, at least not until society no longer demands that most of us actually have something of a real life or hold down a job or support ourselves in some way.

It would take a completely different gaming landscape for something like EverQuest to actually be profitable in 2015. In short, developers don't care because developers have to eat.

Can't be said better than that.

/thread