Theory for why we outgrow MMORPGs

[Larsadius Rex]

For a lot of us here, we spent most of our childhoods playing mmorpgs. Be it Warcarft, Everquest, or Runescape, we played a lot of it. However, as we grew older, they stopped being a huge interest for us. As this has recently happened to me over the last year as I went through my junior year in college, I started to put thought into theories of why a game genre that used to literally be *the* only genre I played, now doesn't interest me really at all.

Then it hit me:

When we're kids, we aren't really making a living yet. Yeah we're having fun, but a lot of us lack a sense of purpose or get bored just sitting around after school watching tv when it wasn't nice out enough to play. I feel like this is what drew a lot of us into these games as kids: we took the role of a grown adult, and assumed their jobs, their duties, their lives, and we pretty much were given an avenue to live life as an adult with a purpose. It gave us a life of an adult as we were kids.

That's why my theory is that as we grow older and actually become adults, we feel no need to assume the roles of a fictional character that requires so much attention or maintenance, because we now ARE those adults that require attention and maintenance xD We have jobs we have to do, we have bills we have to pay.. we don't quite have dragons to slay but we can do that in a different game genre that doesn't require nearly as much of a time investment.

I dunno, just some thoughts I notice there are a lot of people my age suddenly completely uninterested in a genre they would spend hours a day playing with no break. This seems like a pretty logical explanation to me.

[zito]

I think the real reason we outgrow MMOs is because we get bored, each new MMO usually has a small twist on the same old formula which quickens the boredom. Just like any game. It especially sucks for people who play WoW waiting for expansions with no content.

[Edge-]

Who is this "we"? >.>

[Vintersol]

For me: The reason why mmorpgs aren't as fun as they were is simply: They lost everything what "roleplay" means. Furthermore you get spoiled everywhere about everything and games are made to show clearly what you have to do. There is no adventure anymore, no accomplishments to small things. The basic formula went down to: login -> collect fat loot -> grow e-peen.

[Ornerybear]

your entire argument hinges on the assumption people started playing mmos or got into fantacy rpgs as kids and only recently became adults.

many people who play in the mmo genre grew up playing d&d and have only played mmos as adults.

[Hyde]

Who is this "we"? >.>

10 chars

because my first mmo was when I started working

[Queen of Hamsters]

I started playing WoW when I was already an adult, I've been playing WoW without a break for the past 7 years. I'm now 30 years old. Who are these "we" that you speak of? I sure as hell don't qualify into your theory...

[Deleted]

work, kids, gf/wife etc people sometimes just have less time to spend on games but that doesnt mean they always out grow them its just that they dont have as much free time anymore.

one of my best friends literally waved his wife and kid goodbye for the weekend and he went into the kitchen got a coffee then played the division for about 15 hours straight lol. he usually only plays a few hours every other day but hes still a gamer at heart.

[Tekkommo]

I've not outgrown MMOs, there is just no good ones available which force me to play on a WoW private server.

[Cracked]

I don't think we outgrow MMOs, but there are simply no good MMOs on the market right now.

[Deleted]

We don't outgrow them, we just realize it's a skinner box and we do the same repetitive shit over and over again. Then we stop being stupid and play good games.

[Digory Kirke]

I totally agree with this theory! For me, there is also an additional element of over exposure. Over time, the world become less appealing and less meaningful to be a part of. I frequently tried to visit old parts of the world that used to make me feel like a meaningful part of the world (like riding my nightsaber through Teldrassil), but eventually I wasn't able to recapture that feeling, even when I tried.

Things become less appealing over time, but I think your theory is right on the money. I would also say that the system of patch cycles killed my enthusiasm, and the repetitiveness of max level gameplay was a kill-joy.

[Pull My Finger]

It certainly is one of the factors, in many cases. Nobody would ever want to admit, of course, but it's very very obvious that some people have basically grown up in WoW and made their biggest experiences that have to do with responsibility, as well as finding a place in a society, in the game. It's also very obvious that a lot of players mentally are still quite far from having a mature personality, sometimes very inappropriately for their actual age.

[lawow74]

I think the truth is there is no one reason, just a myriad of common and less-common ones. This is one of them.

[Seifa]

For me it's more the fact that the theme park formula pushed for the mainstream market made me bored to death. My best memories with this genre are in RO, FF11 and TBC because i always had something to strive for: be it a level, a piece of gear or even currency while meeting other players around, some of them i'm still in touch after more than 10 years. After quitting FF14 for good, a game i like for its aesthetic and main storyline, didn't give me something to work for in the world, everything is handled me on a silver platter, done solo or with dungeon finders, and the only challange was raiding, which is a commitment. Same reasons i quit Cataclysm.

Second reason i outgrew MMOs, not for the reasons you have listed, is that Steam spoiled me; the gaming market is bigger than ever and with sales i rarely run out of things to play, even the nichest genre i like, so committing to a single, long term game, like a MMO became something i'm not willing to do anymore otherwise i risk to miss out on other titles or keep them in backlog limbo forever.
And this is from someone that can still play games 24/7, 365 days a year (if leap year, i take that day off).

[Larsadius Rex]

Who is this "we"? >.>

Through use of reading comprehension one can conclude that the post is referencing those that find themselves in the same boat.

This goes to anyone who has this reaction to my post: if this clearly doesn't apply to you, then don't bother asking why it applies to you.

[Deleted]

The reason I dont play anymore is because of the time commitment required and having to schedule your time to play the game. I can play games for 30m-1h randomly some days but i cant commit to 3h+ blocks of time anymore. When you get older you have other commitments and it causes more stress than anything to have to schedules time for a game.

[Jibjub]

The problem is that there are very few true MMORPGs ... because the "RP" has been removed more and more from most available games over the course of a decade.

There are so few choices in modern MMORPGs right now, it's almost sad! WoW is the biggest offender.

Remove consequences, remove choice. Nobody wins.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

When someone says there is no roleplaying in an MMORPG. Could someone elaborate on what they mean because it's all vague and just generalizations.

[Deleted]

10 chars

because my first mmo was when I started working

"Wow was the first mmo" :P
But well, it was for me, and I started playing when not being a young kid anymore
And I can see lots of reasons why people aren't playing mmos, or just play it every now and then.
Also, even youngsters today start play mmos, perhaps not as many as 5-10 years ago, but some perhaps get dragged into mmos by parents that belong to the birth of mmos-generation :P