MMOs

So I just had to go here now in this subject matter. From my last post you can tell I am a die hard gamer and am particularly fond of Japanese games. Hack n' slash, action/adventure, and RPGs and are definitely my favorite categories in games. I use to like the First Person shooter games but not really anymore these days. Modern Warfare kinda blew it outta proportion for me as did some other FPS titles. But that my friends is a whole 'nother topic for another time. Today's topic is MMOs. I haven't really played MMOs all that much to be honest. I've played a few minutes of the Old Republic and that's been about it. The only other games I've played which came to close to MMOs which aren't even MMOs, but rather in style, were Diablo II and Final Fantasy XII. I'll admit Diablo II was pretty fun. Anyhow here's what I've noticed about MMOs...they consume people's lives. For some, it may even steal their soul. Yes you've probably heard this before. But think about it for a second. How low have we gotten as gamers and as people to allow PC games to steal the life of a young gamer for about a year or two? And for some even more than that...And it's crazy to me to think that...these people pay monthly for most of these MMO games that they buy as well as purchasing the in-game exclusive accessories/weapons that they will eventually find in the game! Now, I know that there are a few MMOs which are offered for free, no monthly pay which is good. I also know that there are some games which pioneered the concept of giving out the game out for free and making the revenue through selling the exclusive weapons and accessories for a price. Not so bad either. But when you have a game like World of Warcraft or WoW as many like to call it, the biggest seller and financially successful of all the current MMOs, at 10.3 million current players to date, which has its users pay monthly while selling the exclusives for a price, and expansion packs for a price on top of that, how far is too far? With this huge money-grabber machine Blizzard has created, this isn't just a game anymore. This is a phenomena. But the question is, is it a good one? It has impacted pop culture, our media, and virtually 10-11 million people's social interaction and social lives, whether they are still playing the game, or use to play. Over the last 7 years, WoW has virtually changed people's very lifestyle so that everyone who is playing the game becomes friends with people they find while on their adventures and on their guilds. These online friends somehow to them become their real friends. Now I'm all for being friendly online and if you happen to meet people in real life through a website after talking to them for awhile, that's cool too, just take your precautions I'd say whether it's a dating website, forum, or the like. But most of these people that play this game don't even get to meet in real life (with the exception of some perverts that met but that's another story), yet they somehow become friends on a genuine level simply through their experiences of playing together online. Now from what I've researched, joining a guild is kind of like applying for a job. You have to fill out an application and then be accepted. Please. This is just too much for a game. And yet once you finally get into that guild you're now "in the club." And most of these guilds have such a high standard playing that you're basically signing away your social life. WoW becomes your social life. The most powerful thing about WoW really is you can take just about any identity within the game and get away with it. You can choose to play like an asshole, a pervert, a troll, etc. Admittedly WoW has formed a lot of successful friendships as well as relationships and communities. Most of these people are socially reclusive and many of them don't know how to talk to females. In fact, a lot of the time spent playing WoW is actually on farming so you can get gold, so you can get to the good stuff. Kind of ironic like how in the real world, you have to work to get the good things, just as how it's reflected in WoW. Essentially WoW is....a waste of time. It could be a very entertaining waste of time however. Or it could be a miserable, frustrating waste of time as for many gamers who have played, usually end up quitting simply because the online interaction became too ridiculous and some tension amongst players is always bound to happen eventually. Whatever the experience, WoW is essentially a massive virtual world/online community. A voluntary-step-through-the-Matrix. Everyone's experiences will differ. Some will be fun for awhile, and others won't be. Whatever the case, I don't consider WoW or several MMOs games anymore. These are alternate worlds responsible for taking people's precious time and creating thousands, if not millions of irresponsible people who decided real life just wasn't worth it anymore so living an alternative lifestyle in a game where your identity is only seen through your character and actions in the game is more worthwhile. That's just my opinion. I'd really just rather play my games who have story lines to them with a beginning and end. No one's taking my soul away.