The video froze up for me about 2/3 of the way through. But I was disheartened by the sound of what looked like those guys having given in to the idea that the only way to make MMORPGs is to make an EQ clone (like WoW). It seems the entire establishment of the gaming industry has tossed in the towel on the idea of making a true, worldly, Sandboxy game like UO started out being.
I hope I'm wrong. I think not. I expect a great Sandbox to someday be made, but it'll come from someone who comes up through other ranks, like Facebook games or a success story like (can't think of the name now, that "box" game where you can shape the world that's a big hit right now).
One problem is that most of those past devs have moved on to bigger projects and nobody wants to fund a sandbox game at that level. If given a choice between the numbers of UO or EVE Online, or WoW, the big companies are going to pursue WoW every time.
Had UO been able to grown in the face of WoW rather than lose subscriptions, I think things would have been different. Then again, EVE Online continues to grow, and it came out before WoW. Sandbox games can grow over the long run, but the problem is even a success like EVE still only has less than 350,000 subscribers. That's great for smaller companies, but the major companies are aiming for much higher. The EA CEO sees 1 million Star Wars players as a bare minimum to shoot for and he's far from being alone. Warhammer should have made them a lot more gunshy, but if anything it's made them want to stick to the formula even more.
I think it's very telling that not only do sandbox games lack the kinds of numbers needed to garner attention for new development, but player housing has also fallen by the wayside for the most part. Outside of UO, EQ, and Darkfall, in major MMOs where player housing is available, it's an afterthought and/or not meant to be long-term. In most MMOs, player housing is a rental type of situation where players are prevented from "owning" a home.
Back in the early days of MMOs, I remember reading plenty of articles where all of the analysts and writers felt that UO's housing would be the thing of the future and that any successful MMO would have to have solid player housing. Instead, the biggest MMO does not have it and has no intention of adding it. I think this might change with Titan though. If Blizzard wants Titan to be viable in 20 years, I don't see how they can do it without having something that creates a really long-term connection with the players.
