I'm remembering it very differently. When Morrowind was released in 2002 people were clamoring for Bethesda to jump on the MMO train that was starting to begin around that point.
It's only recently that all you lot have become jaded and cynical about MMOs because of World of Warcraft (and the half a dozen overhyped WoWkillers) that resulted in so many people are against the genre.