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Community !... Is why it will last longer than expected.
delete5230
Member EpicPosts: 7,081
First you have World of Warcraft and all the frills that come with it. But lets put the game aside for the point I'm making.
Much more importantly you have people talking, planning, grouping, trading….. This is huge for longevity.
Each time you set out on the same path in Darkshore You could potentially run into different players that could change your plans for the adventure. This subtle change in routine may seem small but its powerful….. Much like real life, how would you feel if daily conversations were the same day in and day out. SINCE THEIR NOT, this brings diversity in how your day unravels. This is your motivation for getting up in the morning….. So why not in an mmorpg.
The need for others is what sets first and second generation mmorpgs apart from modern carrot on a stick games.
Sure a person can play 1-60 without any human contact. It's not a terribly hard game. That’s part of the awesomeness. It can be for everyone and every style of player or a slide bar of everything in between.
This also leads to replay ability…. Sick of the same old people at level 45 ? Start a "new class" and find a different adventure playing with new people. Yes, on the same server !
Short story:
I've been playing Vanilla World of Warcraft continually on and off since 2005.
Always by myself I venture to Alterac Mountains, and never came close to having the same experience twice, not even close. The PEOPLE THERE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE !
This in one in a
thousand examples I could give 
Comments
In short, it is not the players that have changed (though some have) it is the games, and Classic WoW proves it.
However, that being said, we all know that the honeymoon period must end before any real judgements can be made.
Remember, we're talking a gaming community that downed Rag in less than a week with less than a full raid, in poor gear, with NO fire resist.
Classic is going to be different than both retail and vanilla. I don't think the bulk of the players will play it for that long, but it will have it's niche.
It is true though, many playing are very familar with the game mechanics and the ride will likely go smoother with far less learning necessary.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
While it's true that it is still early days, it's just amazing to see how quickly players (in general) have reverted to being helpful and social in an MMO that encourages it... and while I'm still not sure how long Classic WoW will last (as good as it is, many have undertaken the journey before and its destination is known) it does prove that the style of the game has a significant effect of the behaviour of its players (though to some degree that will be self-selection).