EVE has done it. TSW looks like it might be able to do it. Speaking of which, that’s another game I’d love to play more, but that I wandered away from… though that’s probably because I never actively looked for people to guild with, and if I don’t do that in an MMO, I just lose interest in them after some time… often the proverbial three months.

In the end it boils down the pure economics: the game which can attract the most customers does the best. Indeed that results in “plain vanilla”, games being “dumbed down” and the “unwashed masses” dominating the market. So, it’s a good thing if manage to keep some niche products up and running. (I personally just love TSW and make sure to also spend some money on it occasionally. ) And still i am aware, while i try to do my share, unless there’s enough other players doing so, i for sure can’t keep the game alive.

And rest assured: I’m not tearing my hair over the whole thing, wearing sackcloth and ashes and all that. If the game had been better developed and managed (we all heard the horror stories), it wouldn’t have tanked as badly, I’m sure.

It’s just that I feel sad for the game, but at the same time a bit hypocritical, because I never really did my share to keep the game going. Then again, I did come back to it several times…

You can stop blaming yourself. No game survives or goes down due to the presence or absence of one single player.