The Daily Grind: The Dead Pool

Now it's widely known that MMORPG players are a cheerful, optimistic bunch [citation needed]. It also goes without saying that no Massively reader would ever be caught wishing the downfall of a particular MMO or company [citation needed]. After all, the more titles that survive and thrive, the more the genre as a whole grows. With games like EverQuest, Ultima Online and Asheron's Call pushing well over a decade of run-time at this point, MMOs have proven that -- given a chance and enough initial steam -- they can go the distance.

However, realism is a nasty mistress, and we can't ignore the fact that sooner or later MMOs will shut down. We've seen some flare up and burn out quickly (Tabula Rasa, Auto Assault), some struggle for years before capitulating (The Matrix Online, Asheron's Call 2), and some quietly put to pasture after all attempts at prolonging life failed (Shadowbane). The dark truth is that even the games we currently play have a finite lifespan, and one day will see their light extinguished.

Cheery, right? So today, let's engage in a bit of macabre speculation and wager on a MMO dead pool. Without using this as a platform to rail against a MMO you hate and were personally wronged by on one midsummer's eve, what MMO do you think will be the next to close its doors? Will it be one of the newer titles, or one published by a company that has the tendency to shutter struggling games, or an aging beauty? Enter into today's dead pool, and earn the right to say "I told you so!" when the sad day happens. Because that will totally make you look tactful, don't you know.