“We didn’t include grouping. One of the goals was to really make this a cooperative game and we felt that letting folks join and help battles really fostered this. With the teleport to friend function we see a lot of folks make friends in the game and then teleport and quest together. Of course, you have called out the downside which is sometimes another person can jump in and leave a member out.”

What an MMO needs to be able to do is hold you long enough that you can meet up with these people, but it also needs to give you the tools to stay hooked up. Before I quit WoW there were times I’d be logged out for weeks at a time, and when I finally logged in I’d have Guildies practically YELLING my name, welcoming me back. That’s what keeps you coming back, keeps you logging in night after night, week after week.

Wizard 101 is a fun game and I’m really enjoying it, when I log in, but as Saylah mentioned on her Blog the two of us had a devil of a time hooking up in game. As in-game friends we can send each other private tells and we can see when the other is online (just like WoW) but we were not able to add each other as friends in-game without virtually standing in front of each other. We had to be able to click each other’s avatar in order to become in-game friends, and it was weeks before that happened.

There’s no Guilds in W101 so even though I’ve made several adult friends in the game and we can chat with each other when we’re on, there’s no Guild Banter going on in the background a la WoW.

That’s what W101 really needs, and it’s what other MMOs need if they want to not just attract players, but keep them coming back for more, and more, and more.

I am looking not only for the next generation of MMOs, I am waiting for a totally new mutation, a leap ahead in evolution.

Till then, I will play single player games.

I guess you are right, more specialized MMOs with alternate payment options could be the future.

The problem of all these AAA MMOs based on subscriptions and time intensive gameplay: People can only play one. So a huge playerbase is already bound to their AAA MMO of choice. In the western world this is WoW, but EVE has also a very addict playerbase.

I guess we will see many smaller MMOs, the stone old game NAVY FIELD is still going very strong and they seem to make good money with their “not so optional” premium-items-but-free-to-play-strategy.

One thing about the subscription model: it encourages a more stable player base than F2P or other models. In paying $15 p/m players feel they need to get their $$$ worth. Average time spent in an MMO can be measured in months. If they are good, years.

To state the obvious, MMOs by definition are about community: without people they are barren theme parks. I have low level alts in both WoW and WAR, and the early staging areas are noticibly barren. Small packs of overpowered twinks roam the PvE content, pwning mobs and grinding towards level cap (“My guild needs a healer/tank”). Grouping for instances/PQs/dungeons is impossible. So much IP lying unused.

Which is why I’m not too sure F2P or RMT MMOs are that viable: yes they will get large numbers of players churning through them, but for short periods of time. Weather it is a F2P, RMT or subscription game without a community they wil not survive.

Obviously game play, stability, class balance and an engaging world make all the difference.

In short F2P/RMT MMOs will be the domain of PuGs. Lots of toons, but not much in the way of social networks and weak communities (“Hello JohnSmith123 meet JohnSmith890, JohnSmithe123, and JohnSmith3456).

We now talk about WoW/MMO tourists hitting games like AoC and WAR and deserting them not long after.. well F2P/RMT MMOs will be even worse as players lack the incentive to stay (no box/subscription investment to keep them in longer, no communities to keep them engaged).

Publishers/developers may get an income stream from them in RMT, but really mostly they will be an unsatisfactry and empty experience for gamers. “Oh look, another F2P WoW clone…. (yawn)”.