MMO Games

A massively multiplayer online game, or MMO, is a game in which thousands of players can play at the same time. The majority of these games are played on a computer because they are social games and it is easier to communicate using a keyboard. One of the first MMOs to hit the computer gaming scene was Never Winter Nights. The game was developed by Strategic Simulations Inc, and supported by AOL. It ran from 1991 till it shut down in 1997. This game helped further MMO games as a genre. It lead to the creation of more successful MMO games. EverQuest came out in 1999 and was developed by Sony Online Entertainment. This game increased the popularity of MMO games. It was not made into an e-sport but set up the model that many MMOs still use today. 

 

Although there are many types of MMOs, there is one particular genre that has become immensely successful in comparison to the others, and is considered the true version of MMOs: combat simulations(McManus 2008). World of Warcraft was developed by Blizzard Entertainment in 2004. This game defined the MMO genre and took them from a niche place in the market to one of the most profitable games to make. World of Warcraft has over 10 million players and made up around 62% of the MMO market. With a game this popular it is not surprising that it has been made an e-sport as well. The Arena system in WoW is a player versus player death-match. Tournaments can be held digitally or in person at Blizzards fan convention they hold annually. At the global invitational championships of the 2010 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament, the winning team will take home the impressive sum of $75,000. The second-place team will win $30,000, and the third-place team will be awarded $15,000.

Another MMO that worked itself into an e-sport for a short time was GuildWars. GuildWars was developed by ArenaNet in 2005. ArenaNet put a lot of focus on making GuildWars a viable e-sport. They held various tournaments and even payed for players to be flown to Germany for the finals. They offered over $100,000 in prize money.

References

1. McManus. (2008). PERFORMANCE WITH A PURPOSE: MEN AND ONLINE GAMES - Commodification of MMORPGs. Retrieved from http://patrickryanmcmanus.com/web1.pdf

2.World of Warcraft. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/pvp/tournament/index.xml

3.GuildWars. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.guildwars.com/competitive/gwfc/productpage.php