It is amazing how fast MMORPGs dry up isn’t it? It seems like any game in the genre is doomed to quickly fade into obscurity unless they’re EVE or WoW. I feel like MMO’s suffer from a different problem than FPS though. FPS seem to constantly move from game to game whereas MMO players remain so rooted in their main game that new ones aren’t able to attract them for long.

I think the solution for both is similar though. If a game were to be released with its own identity, not trying to compete with CoD or WoW, I think it would do very well. If it were to be different enough, and had competent community support, players would be more willing to make room for it along with the industry titans. What do you think?

As for the constantly cycling community, this is a nasty problem that plagues several genres. Anytime a standalone sequel or console/hardware upgrade occurs, multiplayer games are going to suffer worse than other titles. Just think about the numerous MMORPGs that are completely defunct in spite of a once thriving community.