The Daily Grind: Should MMOs have something for everyone?

Triple-A MMOs in the days of yore always seemed to have one goal: to be everything to everyone, to provide a little something for every imaginable player and rope in as many people from as many gaming styles as possible. Even if a game wasn't explicitly a sandbox, it still tossed in crafting, dungeoning, exploration, PvP, or zones that blatantly pandered to players of different nationalities.

Nowadays we have a lot more choices, and modern games seem more willing to embrace niche design. Star Wars: The Old Republic is story, story, story. The Secret World focuses heavily on puzzle gameplay. Outside of AAA titles, the shift is even more brazen: Glitch eschews combat in favor of economy, while Darkfall features open PvP as the centerpiece of its world. It's not that these games have nothing else; it's only that they do one particular thing really well and aren't necessarily trying to hide it. They wouldn't turn down players with opposing playstyles, but they're not exactly working overtime to lure them in, either.

So what do you think? Should MMOs keep aspiring to provide something for everyone, or should they just try to do one thing well?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!