Originally Posted by
Lovestar
MMOs are not "over" now, any more than they were over when EverQuest replaced Ultima Online, or WoW replaced EverQuest.
The WoW Formula is dying out, though — and rightfully so. It's painfully outdated.
MMOs are mutating, as devs continue to iterate and innovate old concepts, and an entire multi-generational vertical-and-horizontal social complex of gamers evolves and grows up in a gaming world almost entirely saturated with online interaction from the beginning.
If anything, persistent, social, interactable worlds are becoming the gold standard for a lot of genres or game designs. It's less that "MMOs are dead" and more that MMOs have melted and seeped into the fiber of every genre.
Maybe it's more that the need to label stuff "MMO!!!!" is dying off because, well, yeah... duh it's online and full of other people. Why wouldn't it be?
If you're referring specifically to the "grind-and-gear" model of MMORPGs, then, yes, those are on the outs because it's a — if you'll pardon my frankness — stupid waste of time, and earning stuff in the real world is more fun than grinding up a meter in a fake one you won't even be playing in 6 months. Especially if you're paying for the privilege of doing it.