Why didn't EverQuest remain as popular as other old MMO's?

[Eagish]

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

I think it is more generational.

Not as many people had PC's at home in 1999 as people did in 2004. Especially PC's with a decent internet connection. Anyone with a PC and internet at home in 1999 had already grown up in a world where PC games were esoteric, and there wasn't a large scale internet that had information about everything. So Everquest wasn't out of place compared to other games. That generation of gamers was used to figuring things out themselves.

I'd wager that more kids (and even adults) got their first home PC's that could play games with internet closer to 2004. So it was much more likely for a new PC gamer to start with WoW, rather than Everquest. This is especially true due to the success of Warcraft 3. A lot more gamers were primed for the next Warcraft game. Blizzard was probably the best PC game company during that era with Starcraft, Diablo 2, and Warcraft 3. Every internet cafe had those games.

In line with this, I started playing EQ in 1999 with a buddy at work, because our work stations had the graphics cards and the business had the internet connection. So we'd finish work, order a pizza, and play EQ for hours.