We gather here today to celebrate the life of Warhammer Online, who has now returned to its home with…other MMOs in the MMO afterlife.
(Or something like that…)
I actually never played Warhammer Online, and I don’t think anyone else from the staff did either. That’s not exactly important. The thing is there were people that did. A lot of them, and when an MMO, any MMO, goes under, I can’t help but feel for them. Imagine if your character was just suddenly gone. Stop a moment and think about your character, the one you’ve quested with, run instances with, gone to parties with, met friends with, and spent days and days of your life with; imagine that character gone forever. I can’t imagine my world without Stephen Spiritcaller or Dandy Stephen Spinnaker – I’d miss those guys too much.
That’s happening to a lot of people, and soon. So take a moment and think of those poor folks today. And then say a quiet little word of thanks that KingsIsle (or whatever game company you support) is still alive and healthy.
I remember when many games went down. It’s never a fun time. While I had not played Toontown for quite a long while, it still hurt when it shut its doors. It is a harsh reality that many MMOs do not last and I am very thankful for the time I get to spend with the ones I play.
I’ll raise a bottle of Yum to all the companies that take the plunge to attempt to entertain us, even if they don’t make it. At least they took the risk.