MMORPG Games In 2021: Have They Lost Their Midas Touch?
The role played by video games as a new and exciting sub-culture has been influential, to say the least. From the days when we first played Mario, Sonic, and Contra to the magical worlds of RuneScape, we have seen games develop incredibly.
This development has been both in terms of the number of players playing the game along with the development in the storylines, graphics, tech advancements, etc.
However, in recent years, the charm of MMORPG games is slowly on the decline. Is this a real thing, or have I, as a writer simply lost touch with the games, which continue to charm and enthrall millions over the world.
MMORPG Games: What are they and why you should pay attention to them?
Massively Multi Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) have changed the way we perceived how video games were played. Games like RuneScape, which focussed on getting OSRS gold, taking part in challenges, accomplishing tasks, and winning feats in teams have been part of everyone’s growing up years.
These games were stationed in different magical and mystical domains. Sometimes in a far-away galaxy, or in prehistoric times when emperors and dragons used to rule the surface of the planet. What I am trying to state is the fact that the magical element provided some kind of an escape from the monotony and boredom of everyday life.
Over time, MMORPG games have become their own sub-culture. They are run by billion-dollar game development companies, use cutting-edge scientific tech and continue to fascinate in the age of forums and social media.
What Plagues MMORPG Games in 2021: The Major Problems
In this section, we list down some factors that I think are responsible for the dwindling interest in MMORPG games. This is not my individual list but has been heavily drawn from forums and chatrooms of several of the top games discussing the lackluster performance.
No Great Storyline-
It seems that game development companies have stopped thinking as far as the central storyline goes. The same old storyline is being dragged on for the longest time. There is no freshness to the script and the same game seems to be repeated in different settings and characters.
It looks like too much market research on what people will like is taking the lead rather than the imagination of the game developers and their corporations. This is creating pre-developed games where imagination and creativity are being restricted big time.
Too much Marketing and Collaborations-
Unnecessary attention is being paid to graphics and engaging in extra marketing activities just to boost publicity. Every single big game coming out in recent years has some of the other special collaborations with a cell phone company or a sneakers brand.
It seems that the popularity and buzz around the game are being driven by other considerations than the game itself. One major social media campaign, a couple of Influencer Marketing campaigns is all it takes for a game to become popular.
Poor Testing and Sales-Driven strategies-
If you have been following the news, Cyberpunk, which was one of the most anticipated games in 2020 released with what was probably the worst glitches ever seen in a game of that level. The developers realized that they skimmed on the testing.
This forced the Cyberpunk team to refund entire amounts to people that had a problem. Game development is being driven by what investors think rather than the developers themselves. This is a major problem, which we will discuss in the later points.
The Monopolistic Ecosystem of Big Tech-
MMORPG games are big money. How big- we are talking in the rage of hundreds of billions of dollars! Every time you try and do something with freedom, you need to buy this from here and buy that from somewhere else.
The only single exception to this is RuneScape where you can still buy old school rs gold easily and without any fuss whatsoever. The simpler the gaming experience, the better and more engaging it is for the players at the end of the day. This helps in a game’s popularity.
The Entry of Investor Money into the Gaming World-
There is no doubt that the world of video games is big money as we have already discussed. However, the bigger issue is the entry of investment firms and Wall Street corporates that are all about maximizing profits and do not care about the gaming experience per se.
They have invested millions if not millions in gaming companies and now control the final say on development, timelines, testing, and other important issues. This is the problem that happened with Cyberpunk and continues to affect other great franchises as well.
The Final Word
There is a reason why forums chatrooms and threads on Reddit are aplomb with the same kind of chatter around the depleted levels of interest in MMORPG games. Are you someone who feels the same way, or are you one of those who still feel that the interest, curiosity, and greatness of the world of MMORPG continue unabated?