[Digo]

Obviously, it requires a vast staff of developers to create an MMO, but that is not the point.

The point is, revolutionary ideas and systems can arise anywhere. The greater question, which seems to escape some people here, is whether or not those systems will be fun or even work. Horizons -- proclaimed as the most innovative MMO ever -- didn't fail because it lacked funding or publishing power. It failed because it wasn't fun and the systems were complete shit. edit: Even if Blizzard were to take this approach you're describing and go after something truly innovative, would it be? Would it even be fun? Does having more money increase the likelihood it will be fun?

The Sims online was pretty innovative in concept but it failed miserably. Why? It wasn't fun. Ever heard of Animal Crossing? Same basic concept as Sims, but vastly more successful because the mechanics were actually fun.

What exactly do you think will happen to MMOs that can be considered revolutionary without creating an entirely new genre? USB headsets and body electrodes that physically shock you when you get hit in combat? FPS, real-time military campaigns in a persistent world? That's been done with Planetside.

It's not that Blizzard can't produce innovation (though they seldom do, they just refine them, so I don't understand why anyone's complaining anyway) it's that the fantasy RPG genre of MMOs has reached a plateau. You're not going to revolutionize this genre, you can only create a new one.

If Blizzard were to make a Starcraft MMO it'd just be a reincarnation of Planetside only polished. Wolfenstein was, as far as I know, the first FPS, and so it was revolutionary. Has there been anything since in the FPS genre since that can truly be called revolutionary? Maybe Counterstrike or Tribes in terms of making FPS's multiplayer, but other than that, I can't think of anything. Originality and revolutions happen once in a blue moon, almost to the point of being a lie. It's all about presentation.