If you’re anything like I am, when you’re not enjoying the every-day grind of life, you’re enjoying the every game-day grind of Internet Dragons. Yes, this is indubitably a post about the growing phenomenon that is Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Ever since mainstream MMO titles such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XI in the mid-2000s, everybody and their pet-fish has been trying to get a slice of the once hardcore-nerd-centric MMO-cake; some, even, with dreams to deliver the 1-2 knock-out combo to the current reigning Heavyweight Champion of the world, WoW.
This boom in the MMORPG market is most definitely the result of a new found awareness of the profit of maintaining a stable MMORPG, as most prestigious MMORPGs not only require you to buy a retail-copy of the game, but also to pay a monthly fee of roughly 15$USD(Approx. 20~$ CAD).
fact:MMORPG revenue in 2006 exceeded 1Billion USD$.
With that said, how do you know where to subscribe in order to obtain the best MMORPG experience? Well, for one thing, there is always an endless stream of Eastern Free-To-Play MMORPGs that you can simply download and play; although, as you may have guessed, you get what you paid for- as you’ll rarely see expansions or much content beyond the grind in Free-to-Play MMORPGs. You’ll also be horrified to find that the servers are flooded with socially-abused 12 year olds who contribute little to the community… So, generally, if you want a genuine MMORPG experience, you’re going to have to dish out some genuine hard-earned-cash.
A high-end free Korean-MMORPG, Rappelz
Once you get passed the idea of having to pay a monthly fee to pay for a video-game you’ve already bought, there is much fun to be had with the modern-string of MMORPGs. For many already RPG-fans, myself included, the allure of such an in-depth and dynamic game-world is almost irresistible. The marvel behind the MMORPG franchise is its systematic-rewards. Though you are never truly making any real life progress, your character is constantly progressing and being rewarded; RPG-types like this feeling.
Your time is rewarded by increased skills, increased amount of currency, increased faction and increased equipment. Top this with a deep learning-curve and the fact that once you reach the highest level, where most RPGs will end, a good MMORPG is just beginning- as at this point you still have hundreds of factions to grind, thousands of other players to kill, thousands of quests to complete, dungeons to raid and phatty-lootz to obtain.
Highly-anticipated upcoming MMORPG by the makers of Lineage 2, Aion: The Tower of Eternity
Now, a game with all this and a human community to play and bond with… Well, you can count me and an odd-billion others, in!
You can look forward to future “The Daily Grind” entries which will be in regards to promising up-coming MMORPGs and past-flops.
Until then,
-FrankyFaithless
The Gamers Den 