The term MMORPG is short for “massively multiplayer online
role-playing game”. It has now become a universally known and
immensely popular game genre. As statistics show, worldwide revenue
from MMORPGs exceeded half a billion dollars in 2005, and Western
revenue exceeded US$1 billion in 2006. In 2008, Western consumer
spending on subscription MMORPGs grew to $1.4 billion. World of
Warcraft, a popular MMORPG, had over 11.5 million subscribers as of
December, 2008.
Even so popular in the world, after several years some MMOs
still went away due to all kinds of reasons. Nowadays, players
become more and more focused on a game's design, strategy,
storyline, balance, visual effects, etc. There is a struggle for
older MMORPGs to survive over time, as their game should try its
best to meet its new customers' changing tastes and hobbies. But
once managed, this MMO can be titled as a classic game because the
strong ability to adapt to the current requirements exhibits its
superiority and creativity, and will of course win fans worldwide.
The following are 8 classic MMORPGs that have managed to survive,
and will surely last for a long time yet.
1. EverQuest
Since published on March 16, 1999, EverQuest has just issued its
SIXTEENTH expansion, Underfoot, recently.
Everyone has their own lists of what game could be the most
vital in the grand scheme of the game industry, but it's pretty
impossible to argue that EverQuest doesn't deserve a spot in this
list. Till now, it still holds a place near and dear to many
people's hearts. More to the point, the impact it had on MMOs as a
whole is undeniable.
EverQuest has inspired thousands of people in the genre,
including the original sources of the industry's current big
success story. Most players play MMOs for a few reasons, be it for
the gameplay, graphics, or a vibrant community. Sadly many
developers seem to forget about the community, in favor of the
almighty dollar. Too many MMOs today decide to let players solo
their way without ever grouping. The easiest way to create
community in these games is to force them to be a group to survive.
But EQ has done a good job. That's the key why EQ is still coming
out with expansions 10 years down the road.
2. Ultima Online
Released on September 25th, 1997 Ultima Online was almost the
first graphical MMO to hit the general public, it soon became the
most popular MMO at that time. Statistics show that UO had made a
very big deal to gain 100,000 active players. It is thousands of
players online, in a persistent game world that never sleeps.
The strong sense of community and ownership is one of the main
reasons why UO has stood the trial of time. In the world of UO,
players literally own a piece of land. Those are their houses,
their towns, their legacies. As a character, they make their own
choices, which in turn will impact those around them. How
significant these impacts depend on their wish.
Upon those years, Ultima Online is still being played by tens of
thousands of players today.
3. World of Warcraft
Come on! This is the company who made Starcraft, Diablo,
Warcraft and many other wonderful games! So, it should be no
surprise that World of Warcraft deserves its place on this list.
Someone even said that it is WoW that cemented Blizzard as one of
the best developers around today. I don't agree, however WoW could
be Blizzard's masterpiece and have a further impact on the MMO
world.
It is so big, that you will meet every kind of player, and they
all find something to do in the game whether they are alone or not.
There's an entire industry around trying to one-up WoW, but so far
none have succeed. WoW has about 11 million players and makes at
least $15/player/month.
4. EVE Online
Although the most popular MMOs nowadays are in the fantasy
genre, there has always existed some small room for sci-fi games.
For quite a long time, EVE Online has taken over this space with a
steadily growing marketing strategy that now has over 300,000
paying subscribers. It is a brutal gameworld, filled with a kill or
being killed mentality, and maneuvered by massive player-run
corporations. Jump on the bandwagon and you'll have a blast, but if
you try it on your own, you'll soon find it's not a game for the
individual. Perhaps the way to enjoy in EVE is unique enough that
no real alternatives exist, or perhaps the target markets of sci-fi
and fantasy MMOs have very little common language. Whatever the
reason, EVE has been blessed with a relative lack of competition
since its release in 2003 and is a really good MMO because all the
character building is TIME based, not GRIND based. You are still
leveling up while you are afk or even offline.
5. Second Life
Published in 2003, Second Life takes communication to a whole
new level. It is a highly imaginative, creative environment based
on visual world communication. Playing this game is like stepping
into a Dali or Magritte painting in 3D.
Different from traditional computer games, Second Life does not
have any rules or systems of traditional games, nor a designated
objective. As it does not have any destined quests to complete, it
is irrelevant to talk about winning or losing in relation to Second
Life. In the mean time, Second Life contains an extensively big
world that can be explored and interacted with, and it can be
played completely as a creative tool set if the users like to do
with it as they wish. These fairly new features make this game
classic and long-lasting.
In 2008, Second Life was honored at the 59th Annual Technology
& Engineering Emmy Awards for advancing the development of
online sites with user-generated content. In January 2010, 18
million accounts were registered, although there are no reliable
figures for actual long term consistent usage.
6. RuneScape
Runescape is a simple game that uses an online applet viewer.
Coded in Java programming, you don't even need to download its
client. As the best browser MMO these days, RuneScape has both a
free and a paid version (and pay 2 play is well worth it, let me
tell you) which have attracted millions of devoted fans over these
years. Although not as polished as WoW in graphics, Runescape rises
to the top of the browser based game arena and rolled over the MMO
market completely, even with the flaws that can be found. When
Runescape HD was officially coming to a monitor near players on
E308, this game had over 1 million subscribers and had been played
by over 6 million players worldwide.
7. Conquer Online
MMORPGs are not easy to play for many fresh bloods. Anyone
expecting something they're used to is in for a bit of a surprise,
even if they've played games of a similar nature in the past. But
the free-to-play and Chinese culture based Conquer Online was born
to be enjoyed by a full range of players. Conquer Online now has
issued a “classic” edition to make its PK system balanced in a
dramatically dynamic way. There won't be any guy who is stronger
than you, just because he paid more money! The complex system,
rising from the simple origins of tic-tac-toe, ensures that every
chosen skill you cast would have a completely different effect on
the PvP battlefield. So, look before you leap!
Conquer Online has become a very successful game with its new
features and updates. In this year, a completely new class, Monk,
will hit Conquer Online in its 7th year with his mighty Zen spells
of assistance. Let's keep an eye on who will push Chinese Kungfu to
a new level!
8. City of Heroes
Someone said that City of Heroes blows
a super powered gust of fresh air into an increasingly stale
sword-and-sorcery MMO world since 2004. As an MMO based on the
superhero comic book genre, this game enables players to create
super-powered player characters to complete missions and fight bad
guys belonging to various factions and organizations in the
fictional city. The graphical upgrades promised to come with Going
Rogue are also encouraging. As of September 2008, City of Heroes
had around 124,939 subscribers in the US & Europe, according to
financial reports released by NCsoft in November 2008.
It's funny to look back because many of the things that made
these games so great are mechanics that many of today's MMO
designers seem to think are flaws. So, here are the good examples
for what it takes to make games classic.
