MMO Weekly: The Stages of MMO Death

29 Dec 2009 at 00:00:00 by Jeff Hollis

Hello there, my fellow MMO-addicted fanboys and fangirls, welcome to this week's edition of MMO Weekly.  In this week's issue, we're going to talk about a sad, bleak, and sorrowful subject: what it's like for an MMO to die.  Bring your tissues, there may be some weeping.

I suppose I should have covered this topic long ago.  I find that I often talk about old, gone, dead MMOs quite a bit, and yet I never clarify or specify what I mean.  I've also written about WoW's endgame, how it caters to raiders, how it's so very grind-heavy, and how it's just not any fun any more.  I've also long predicted that WoW is making itself vulnerable to the first good MMO to come along, and is effectively (and unnecessarily) killing itself.  (Mind you, these claims were completely and totally without any controversy whatsoever).  So I'm overdue.  What does it mean for an MMO to die?

First of all, MMOs do not “die” in a way that is really similar to anything else.  Rarely does an MMO simply drop off the map, lose all it's subscribers, and then the servers are turned off.  There is a process – often quite lengthy - to the death of an MMO, and a dead MMO sometimes doesn't appear to be quite dead.  In fact, a lot of them become zombified.  Read on, and all will be explained.

This process deserves some looking at, but bear in mind that not every MMO goes through every stage.  However, looking back at history, it can be seen that most dying MMOs pass through many of these stages. 

Since this article is probably going to be a two-parter, allow me to list the stages for you, so you can see where we are headed:

• Stage 1:  Overconfidence - “I'm the Popular Girl At School, and I'm So Very, Very Hot”
• Stage2:  Deaf and Dumb - “I'm the Captain of the Cheerleading Squad, I Totally Have it Together, and I Know What I'm Doing”
• Stage 3:  Boredom - “Guys Used to Spend 13 Hours a Day With Me, Now They Call Me Once a Week”
• Stage 4:  Panic - “Who Is That Hottie That Just Moved In Down the Street?”
• Stage 5:  Adjustment - “Look, I've Lost Weight.  Do You Still Love Me?”
• Stage 6:  Still Hanging On - “My Husband Actually Referred to Me As a 'Cougar'.  And He May Be Seeing Someone Else On the Side...”
• Stage 7:  Pathetic - “My Grandchildren Think My Low-Cut Top Is Embarrassing, But I Think I've Still Got It”.
• Stage 8:  The Zombie - “Brains.....brains....”

Stage 1:  Overconfidence - “I'm the Popular Girl At School, and I'm So Very, Very Hot”

The first stage is overconfidence.  Either a fresh startup genuinely thinks it's hot, sexy, and going to be the next great MMO with X-millions of subscribers, or an MMO has been the popular cheerleader at school for a long time, and thinks her popularity will never end.  In either case, the developers are confident that things are going to go their way.  This step is inextricably linked to step two.  [Notable Examples:  Every MMO that ever launched.]

Stage 2:  Deaf and Dumb - “I'm the Captain of the Cheerleading Squad, I Totally Have it Together, and I Know What I'm Doing”

1. The second stage is the 'deaf and dumb' stage.  Yes, deaf and dumb.  The MMO developers somehow have lost touch with what players need now, in the current environment.  There are two forms of this. 
2. Either the developers of a new game didn't listen to their beta testers, or were unable to interpret what the beta data was telling them.  They don't realize that their game isn't quite the hottie they were cracking it up to be, and the bloom fades off the rose very, very quickly.  [Notable Examples:  Tabula Rasa, Age of Conan, and a fistful of others]

In the case of an old MMO, the developers have either become so confident that their MMO will last forever (which is one strange idea), or that they are unquestionable experts.  For whatever reason, they stop listening to their players, and they stop innovating.  (Remember, they were the adorable cheerleader that every guy wanted to be with.  Unfortunately, high school is over, and 'little miss pep squad' has put on a few pounds.)  The game becomes “more of the same” no matter how many expansions they release.  Eventually, even the expansions don't thrill players any more.  [Extremely Notable Example: Everquest]

Stage 3:  Boredom - “Guys Used to Spend 13 Hours a Day With Me, Now They Call Me Once a Week”

The third step is boredom.  This symptom manifests itself among players, who used to log in every day excitedly, and couldn't wait to play their favorite MMO.  It was like crack.

Over time, the addiction fades, usually because of the developers are experiencing steps one and two.  Players still like the game, and they still log on every few days, but the old “I've got a six pack of Red Bulls and I can't wait to get home and play for 39 hours straight” thing is gone.  The game is familiar but, like that ex-cheerleader girlfriend, is kind of bland and fat and she's got a soccer-mom haircut and she's boring in the sack.  (Oh, did I just say that?  Naughty me.)  You still like her – she's not a bad person and there's nothing really wrong with her - but she's not exactly thrilling you, if you know what I mean.  [Notable Examples: Ultima Online, Everquest, and Asheron's Call]

Stage 4:  Panic - “Who Is That Hottie That Just Moved In Down the Street?”

The fourth stage is panic.  This happens when a genuine contender comes along, and this new MMO is one sexy new hot thing.  This new game does everything your old MMO does, but the graphics are better, the gameplay is fresh, and there are dozens of little new innovations that make the game easier and more fun.  Players find themselves looking back at the chubby ex-cheerleader that they live with now, and they wonder “What the heck happened to her?”  Developers of the old game squeeze themselves into their old cheerleader outfits, look in the mirror, and ask themselves “When did I put on 35 pounds?  And why don't they love me any more?  I mean, I was a cheerleader 11 years ago!”

[Noteable Examples:  Every MMO in Existence.  Remember when WoW first came out, and almost all of the first generation MMOs suddenly implemented mini-maps and compasses and quest-givers with question marks over their heads?  Their players had been asking for these things for *years*, and the devs never bothered to implement them.  That is, until WoW came along.  Funny, huh?]

Unfortunately, this is where I have to wrap things up this week.  Next week, I'll scratch out the last remaining stages, and talk a few specifics.  I hope you've enjoyed things so far.  As always, if you enjoyed this little online hors d'oeuvre, feel free to join us over at WanderingGoblin.com, where we gobble up this kind of nonsense each and every day.  For now, ciao!

Comment