here’s a breakdown of the provided text, focusing on the reasons why MMORPGs are losing popularity, especially with younger generations:
The Core of MMORPGs and Their business Model:
Growth is Key: MMORPGs are built around a cycle of hunting, acquiring items, strengthening equipment, and leveling up. This growth fuels engagement with higher-level content and player-vs-player (PVP) activities. Business Model (BM): Game companies heavily rely on various business models within this growth process to generate sales. NCsoft, known for “Lineage,” is highlighted as a company adept at developing these BMs.
Why MMORPGs are Losing Ground:
Generational Divide:
Millennials (30-40s): This generation grew up with MMORPGs like “Aion” and “Wow.” They are accustomed to the genre and enjoy the long-term reward of character growth.
Gen Z (10-20s): This generation finds MMORPGs to be a “heritage of the past.” They are more familiar with genres like FPS (e.g., Valorant) and MOBA (e.g., League of Legends), which are characterized by short, decisive gameplay.
Unfamiliarity with investment: Gen Z is not accustomed to the significant time and potential financial investment required for MMORPG progression.
Perceived Unfairness (Pay-to-Win): Gen Z, who value equity, struggle to accept that character growth can be heavily influenced by spending money. This creates a perception of unfairness.
Mismatch with Modern Content Consumption: The long-term, time-intensive nature of MMORPGs clashes with the current trend of “short-form content” like TikTok and Shorts.
Boring Repetitive Gameplay: Even with the introduction of “automatic hunting” to ease the grind, Gen Z finds the repetitive nature of hunting itself to be boring.
Decline of Traditional RPGs: Traditional RPGs, which often featured large-scale battles, are fading. Rather, genres like collectible RPGs (emphasizing character charm, like “Wonsin“) and games that remove competitive elements (like “Mabinogi Mobile” removing PVP) are gaining traction.
Competition for Time: Experts believe that in an era dominated by short-form content, games requiring significant time investment are naturally being pushed aside. Gen Z is notably sensitive to this.
The Future of MMORPGs:
Survival Challenges: It’s unlikely MMORPGs will regain their past widespread popularity in their current form.
Enduring Appeal: However, there will always be players who enjoy the thrill of large-scale battles and character progression.
Company Investment: Game companies are hesitant to abandon MMORPGs due to their significant monetization potential (large charging elements).
The Need for Change: High monetization strategies will struggle to retain users long-term.
The Hope for Innovation: The future of MMORPGs may lie in novel games that strike a balance between fair monetization and the enjoyment of character growth. This could be the key to extending the genre’s lifespan.
In essence, the article argues that MMORPGs are facing a crisis of relevance due to a generational shift in gaming preferences, a disconnect with modern content consumption habits, and a perceived unfairness in their monetization models. While the genre has a dedicated fanbase and significant revenue potential for companies, it needs to adapt to survive in the evolving gaming landscape.
