| None of those matter if a game never gets off the ground. The only games I can think of which didn't succeed because of a complete lack of end-game are Earth and Beyond, Auto Assault and AC2.
People quit AoC because Tortage was interesting, polished and had voice acting and every other zone was a complete shithole. People quit WAR because level 20-40 were so boring it wasn't worth playing anymore. Even kekes who would grind endlessly for months for competition aren't going to waste their time if the general populace quits after a week.
Regardless of whether AoC or WAR would have held up in the long run, they died on release. Every single MMO lives or dies in its first month. It sets the stage for the entire life of the project. Arguing the validity of their game design philosophy is pointless. If its fun, it will generate enough subs to cause serious interest. At that point if there's enough to do in the end-game, people will stay and in the case of some rare MMOs you might even gain market share. | 