That's it, I'm quitting MMOs forever!

by Shawn Schuster Oct 16th 2008 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Real life, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion

MMO burnout is an interesting creature. Rarely do people who quit MMOs do it quietly; it's usually crowned by a forum or blog post addressing the fact that this person has now "found a life" and are going outside more. In the process of burning bridges, these posts usually make two distinctively recycled points: All MMO players are overweight, and they never leave the house.

Such is a recent post at MMOCrunch regarding a player who has quit MMOs forever. Burnout is certainly understandable, especially in today's oversaturated market, but it's the method of the quitting that's always interesting to us. What does this say about MMOs and their impact on us, as players? Do people quit scrapbooking by burning their fancy paper and glue-on letters?

In a recent interview with Jon Radoff of gamerDNA, we talked about the fact that a sizable chunk of Age of Conan players who quit the game didn't actually go back to World of Warcraft or any other online game; they actually just quit MMOs altogether. Is this becoming a trend?

Take a look at this MMOCrunch article and read this person's story. It's an interesting take on why they quit, even with the hostility. Then let us know what you think in the comments below.

Tags: burnout, mmo-burnout, mmocrunch, quitting

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Origosis said on 3:19PM 10-16-2008

I Quit about a year and 1/2 ago and I still loved MMO's but whenever I logged in I was simply bored... not that there was not anything to do.. i just didn't want to do it.

I decided it was best to take a break from MMO's to re-build my hype. I decided NO MMO's for 6 months. i focused mainly on going to the beach and drinking for the first 3 months since summer had just started and for the last 3 months I was playing Rogue Galaxy (I had finally picked it up.)

6 months had gone by it was X-mas and I decided to stay out of MMO's for a little longer... I got back into EQ2 lightly around march/april but still had no interest.

Then AoC came out.. I WAS HOOKED. I played nearly non-stop for 2 months... then the bad media started to discourage me... i liked the game and found little fault, but all the bad press kinda moved me away from it. I tried WoW again, EQ2, EQ1, FF11... but nothing could please my MMO needs.

Then WARHAMMER came out... WOW! this for me has been the greatest PVP experience I have ever had! EQ2 still hold the crown for MY favorite PVE experience ever.

Well alot of my friends recently left, FF11, WoW, AoC, and WAR to go back to EQ2. so I am there for now. Loveing life all the new updates are amazing! and I am excited for the new expansion.

Celestial Lord said on 3:26PM 10-16-2008

I know that is certainly the case with my group of friends. The vast majority of my friends left City of Heroes for Age of Conan when that game released, and I followed them. Out of those that did, almost all quit playing Age of Conan within three months. A few left for Warhammer Online which doesn't interest me at all, but most no longer play any MMOG at all. Meanwhile, I'm stuck playing solo now.

david said on 3:28PM 10-16-2008

People left AOC because it sucked... The reason why they haven't gone back to another MMO is because there is nothing else out to play. I bet when this study, or whatever it is, was taken, WAR had not been released...

Failcom pushed away many MMO players because they completely lied about multiple aspects from their game... They haven't been back to an MMO b/c nothing else good is out...

Right? :O

fanguad said on 3:31PM 10-16-2008

I quit a few months ago (going back? not sure yet), and it was a pretty laid-back affair. I think what you're seeing is that loud people are loud and laid-back people are laid-back. What I mean is, it's hard to measure people who quit quietly, since they don't make a big production when they leave.

It would be like if you listen to the police scanner and determine that everyone is a crook. You only hear about crooks on the police scanner because the police don't make a fuss about law-abiding citizens.

(the latter example is a generalization, don't jump all over the details and miss the point of the example)

Frelghra said on 3:52PM 10-16-2008

My thought exactly. I'd wager the vast majority of people who quit MMOs do so quietly, but you don't notice them *because* they don't make a hate-filled forum post or go out in a blaze of drama; they just quietly quit and move on.

Vrain said on 3:55PM 10-16-2008

I think many MMO players are getting tired of the same old game from many different developers. I know I am. MMOs are still my favorite genre of PC games but the genre isn't changing much. WoW took previous ideas and improved on them, WAR did the same thing, but neither changed the genre enough to break the mold. AoC marketed itself as something different but it ended up as closer to WoW in most features than WAR did. I did enjoy all these games, as well as LOTRO and Guild Wars, but after a few years of the same formulas it is getting stale.

MMOs in general need something new. The genre needs a developer who takes a chance and abolishes the standard quest system and/or level system entirely in favor of something new. There are a number of MMOs on the horizon that have the chance to change the genre and I hope they have the guts/talent/money/time to pull it off.

tenfoldhate said on 3:56PM 10-16-2008

Great article, Shawn. I think you need to factor in that old saying that goes something like, "The converts are always the most zealous."

MMO burnout is normal and I think we've all reached it or are quickly reaching that point, especially if you're neglecting other aspects of your life (socializing, staying healthy, etc.). It's cliche, but it really is all about moderation.

What struck me about that article is the blogger seemed to be approaching quitting MMORPGs with the same fanatic zeal that he probably had as an MMORPG player. Shifting from one absolute extreme to the next probably isn't terribly healthy or the best way to handle situations either, IMHO.

Most MMORPG players can get pretty obsessive about their hobby (myself included). But a virtual life should never be someone's surrogate life, though it is fun to walk in your avatar's virtual shoes to blow off steam and escape during your leisure time. The thing is, it's VERY easy to veer down that road because the social elements of MMO interactions and guilds can serve as an easy surrogate for escape when things in your life may be less-than-perfect.

It sounds like it was a good thing for him to get out of gaming if there was that much negativity tied to it, but what could be more useful is gaining the personal tools to game healthily if its a hobby you enjoy, rather than declaring it the devil's work.

Okay enough from me--I have to turn off my phone, lock myself in the computer room, and play WAR for six hours.

= )

Meanwhile said on 4:19PM 10-16-2008

From MMOCrunch: "I mean, at the end of the day, what do you actually get out of investing oodles of time into an MMORPG?"

This question often pops up in "quitting" posts, but it makes no sense. IT'S A GAME. What do you get out of any game? It is NOT an investment. It is an *expenditure* of time, doing something you (supposedly) enjoy.

He goes on to bemoan the lack of individual recognition, the emptiness of false achievement, blah blah blah.

I think what happens with a lot of burnouts is that they finally realize MMOs are not the playground the burnout initially imagined them to be: they are not a substitute for tabletop RPGs, they are not a place where you can "make a name for yourself," they are not even a place where you can make the same kind of friends you can make in real life.

Yes, you can approximate some of those things, but there are other, better ways to satisfy each of those desires. Most of them take a little more personal effort, but there you go.

On the other hand, MMOs are a good place to blow off steam, to chat with casual acquaintances, to experience a little competitive gameplay, to explore a virtual world, to get a quick (if hollow) "achievement fix."

All of these are valid reasons why people still play, and all are reasons why games are learning to cater more to a casual audience.

I certainly disagree that people hate the so-called "level grind." Many people (like me) understand that the leveling-up phase IS the game, and that the so-called "endgame" is -- and always has been -- a bunch of pointless extra content tacked on to the rest of the game in an attempt to retain subscriptions. Why else would developers always feel the need to increase the level cap when they put out an expansion? If endgame content were so great, why not just make more content for the existing max level?

So yeah, if you think growing a character is such a painful exercise, then obviously MMOs are not a genre you are going to enjoy. It is the right decision to quit forever. And no, you're not going to enjoy that Star Wars game very much either if you think the fun begins at max level.

Ingrod said on 7:57PM 10-16-2008

Because many MMO developers have put more focus in "level grind" than in end game features this not mean that end game must be "pointless extra content" and leveling the only reason for play. Once upon a time that some MMOs don't have mandatory levels or end game, games how SWG, UO, EVE were -and are- world games where gamers changed the landscape of the game-world in some degree, in these game grind a character is only a part of the game, also you can create a crafter bussines, build a city, decorate your game house, participate in PvP attacking other faction o enemy guild bases and instalations, etc.

Oriental MMOs and WoW succes changed that, MMOs lose their variety and all new MMO become level based EQ/WoW type MMOs, consequence: burnout, the only and one thing people do in current MMOs are kill for xp and loots, do repetitive quests for more xp and loot, do raids for more xp and loot, and do PvP for more xp and loot. You detect some repetitive patting in this formula, true?

Character progression is an important game piece, but "level grind to reach end game" is bad character progression, for that I said the level grind is not the game, and reach the end game is not the MMO objetive. Because all the game must have many replayable features, build things and not kill and destroy forever, create a character history througth game changing events, a never ending progression, but now all MMOs are repetitive and lineal.

The most of the people dont reach the burnout stage and leave MMOs for "get a life" reasons, they continue playing off-line game for many hours to day, the leave for simple and plain BOREDOM, doing the same repetitive and lineal tasks for hours is not precisely a gratificant playtime, is not escapisn is a boring and repetitive work, very similar to many real life works, when people lose contact with their in-game friendships and guild relations only remains that truth, and that is the reason for burnout and leaving.

For return we need MMO with less kill-kill-kill and more constructive features.

InfamousBrad said on 4:36PM 10-16-2008

*shrug* Look, this very same blog had a post a week or so ago based on a large statistical sample of EQ2 players that concluded just exactly the opposite: MMO players average skinnier, not fatter, than non-MMO players. And the time that they spend in MMOs isn't cutting into anything but their TV-watching time, which isn't exactly time spent outdoors with other people having a social life, either.

He's dead right about how hard it is to feel like you've achieved anything important as an individual in an MMO; if you're not one of the top-3 or top-5 guild officers on a server, nobody but a few of your friends even knows that you exist. In almost every MMO out there, you look just like everybody else of your character class and level, too. But that's looking through the wrong end of the telescope, too. I was watching a friend play a single-player console game last night, for the first time in a long time, and yeah, it felt really epic, like he was achieving something. But you know what? Tens of thousands of people were running around doing the exact same thing, wearing the exact same armor, at the same time. The only reason his nose isn't being rubbed in that is that /he can't see them./ So you can either be a unique and special snowflake in your own mind, or you can see other people and meet them. There really isn't much of an alternative that doesn't involve a ton of work on your part, at best.

Rob said on 6:18PM 10-16-2008

As the writer of the piece, can I just point out that the reason for making a public post was because I was a high-profile columnist on the site, and had started getting emails asking why I was no longer contributing. I felt I owed it to the people who had supported me, and commented on my posts in the past, and actively asked me what was going on, to say something. It's not quite the same as someone posting on a games forum that they quit the game when, chances are, 99% of people reading wouldn't know who they are. On MMOCrunch, meanwhile, it's the opposite. 99% of people reading regularly *do* know who I am -- and it's for those people that I wrote the post.

Matt Mihaly said on 6:52PM 10-16-2008

Your basic assumption - that people who quit MMOs rarely do so quietly - is simply not true.

Most people who quit an MMO do it quietly, and it's the people who do it quietly that are the most likely to stay away, because they're no longer interested enough to make a big stink about it.

Those who do make a big stink about it still care enough to do so, but they're a small minority of those who quit.

Matt Mihaly said on 6:53PM 10-16-2008

InfamousBrad wrote:
"Look, this very same blog had a post a week or so ago based on a large statistical sample of EQ2 players that concluded just exactly the opposite: MMO players average skinnier, not fatter, than non-MMO players."

With all due respect to that study's authors, that was a silly conclusion. They simply asked EQ2 players for their level of fitness and compared that against the results of another study that actually brought people in and measured their fitness rather than simply depending on them to tell the truth.

Further, EQ2 players are not, by definition, representative of MMO players in general. They've self-selected for whatever properties EQ2 has that appeals specifically to them.

--matt

Malixu said on 7:03PM 10-16-2008

I think there are indeed plenty of people who just drift quietly out of MMOs. They log in a little less, then a lot less, and then they can't remember when they last logged in and they cancel their subscription.

I think the dramatic leavers are the people who became fairly obsessed with the game, and at one point or another realised that they weren't getting what they wanted from it. That the "investment" in time gained them nothing except higher numbers, which would mean nothing once the next MMO came out.

Rob said on 12:09AM 10-17-2008

*Waving my hands a little more frantically than my last comment* Erm, guys, I'm NOTHING LIKE the kinds of kids you get on forums who announce they are quitting a game and make a massive show 'n' dance number about it even though most people don't know who they are. I made the post at MMOCrunch to talk to the people who are our regular readers -- someone of whom were actively asking why I wasn't writing anymore. Please, for the love of god, don't lump my post -- which largely centred around the issue of how pathetic MMO game design is in general, moreso than my own issues -- in with the kind of attention-seeking crap that goes on elsewhere. Chalk and cheese, friends.