I've been away from P99 for awhile, but the general idea when I was playing was: This server stops at Velious.
This server doesn't move at the pace of the SoE progression servers, and if the Velious benchmark is still true, then P99 is sort of like a console game in that when the end is reached, you can fiddle around for a bit and then move on to something else, or restart the game. I don't know if minds are being changed about this, and don't claim to know what is in the works nor do I expect shit to go the way I want it to.
With the above information in mind, one could say the there is inevitably an 'end' to P99. While even MMO's currently running will at some point eventually come to an end, one can not definitely say when that will happen, they will just spin into mediocrity until people stop playing. I'd venture a guess and say there are people who work pretty hard to make this project happen, I doubt money is being made from it, but it seems to of been successful.
In live, a casual player could just fiddle around, do his or her thing and wait. New expansions would come, guilds and poop sockers moved on, gear got better, levels increased and everyone else who wasn't 'top tier' could get a crack at raids / content that was being farmed exclusively.
The problem I see is, all casual players aren't the same. Someone might be content with logging in and farming Guk forever. But casual players with the ambitions of seeing every aspect in the game might be marginalized. I'm not saying it's unfair. I'm simply saying that while the Hardcore element might not be the majority, it would seem that if one wanted to experience a certain element of the game they would have to be willing to commit, or just not waste their time. I'd also go out on a limb and say developers have moved to exclusively instanced content in games for many of the same reasons.
*EDIT*
I'd like to also apologize, looking at the title of my post again, and how social cues aren't available via internet discussion, didn't mean for this to take on an ominous tone, it was pessimism on my part.
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