EQ kept me entertained for years, and EQ2 has a lot going for it even today. I can't think of another MMO with the amount of interesting content and exploration that EQ and to a greater extent EQ2 have today. In EQ2 you have to turn off your XP gain and spend ages at each level range to see and do all there is.
It may not have ever had the numbers of WoW, but in my mind EQ2 is the far superior product for anyone who loves the most fundamental attribute of an MMORPG: Exploring a world with other people.
MMORPG developers today are too busy wringing their hands over what magic combination of gameplay elements to steal from other MMOs to make the latest greatest one. But it's not that easy. You have to have the fundamental elements like an engrossing, spacious, and memorable world.
I remember the first time I wandered around Greater Faydark in EverQuest. It seemed endless, even though it was microscopic compared to some of the worlds of today. There was a sense of wonder, what is out there? What trouble can I get in?
Now MMORPGs are just a big math game. And that extends outside of gameplay to the actual development as well. Polls, metrics, blah blah blah. There is no wonder left. The slippery slope of nerfs and convenience features has eaten away all the meat on the bone. Online worlds no longer represent the ages of wonder of our own world, they represent today's world: GPS, cell phones, computers, and mindless automatons masquerading as human beings.
The reality is that an online world without all the Retard-Friendly features will never happen again.
Do you have a single fact to back that up?