Atari doesn't get it!?

Ok, ok, I'm supposed to be reviewing games, not complaining about game companies, right? Whatever!

I just read this article the escapist:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92296-Is-a-Neverwinter-Nights-MMOG-in-the-Works

... That says Atari is working on a Neverwinter Nights MMORPG. The article states that one of the things that made NWNs so popular is that people were able to create their own worlds that were like mini-MMOs and thus "it only makes sense to make Neverwinter Nights into an MMORPG" [<-Not a perfect quote.]

I'm about to make a slight change in topic, but in a minute you'll see how it relates:

I grew extremely upset when I learned that Bioware is about to release Dragon Age as a Single Player Only game! I was chomping at the bit looking forward to creating my own PW in Dragon Age, and then had all my hopes and dreams shattered when I learned that despite having what will be probably a really awesome toolset the game will only be single player!

How does this relate? I'm upset because I wont get to create my own little MMORPG where I get to be god and everyone else is a bunch of little peons begging me for gold, magic items, and other treasures! See, what Atari and Bioware are missing is that some of us old-school roleplayers are DMs and that we have hungry god complexes that no amount of playing The Sims or Black & White is going to fill! We're not looking to toss around unfeeling little artificial intelligent people or make puppet people wet their virtual pants when we don't build toilets into their houses. We want to have power and dominion over real people through our virtual worlds! We want to know someone is really cowering when we threaten to drop a fireball upon them from the heavens above! Also, the only way we can get these kicks are through games like Neverwinter Nights!

The other thing Atari seems to be missing out on is that the "Mini-MMORPGS" are all as unique as the imaginations of the people who created them. Sure the main game may be Neverwinter Nights, but I've played on servers set in Harry Potter-like worlds, and I've seen PWs set in the Firefly Universe (See: Sci-Fi)!

There are several major reasons why the people who play on Neverwinter Nights PWs prefer Neverwinter Nights PWs, and all of these reasons are why a NWN MMORPG will likely flop on it's face!

Reasons:
1. Neverwinter Nights is FREE to play online!
a. Not everyone is willing to shell out $14.99 a month (or Whatever MMORPGs are charging these days) to play a game online. There are many people who've I heard say the phrase, "I will only pay for a game once!" (Meaning they don't like paying monthly for a game, right!?)
b. Not everyone can afford $14.99 a month! Especially in the current economical climate!

2. There's something for everyone!
a. Some people like games that punish them; They prefer it that when their character dies, they're dead! Gone for good! That's it, roll up another one baby!
b. Some people like games where when they die, they bounce right back up and are able to just keep on going like nothing ever happened!
c. And there are lots of people who like all the shades in between! (Can an MMORPG offer all the shades? - I think not.)

d. Some people love full PvP, some people hate PvP, and some people like the in-between! Can an MMORPG serve all of them?

e. Some people like Hack 'n Slash (generally available in every MMO), but others like to just roleplay... And the hard thing is: Those whole like "Hardcore Roleplaying" don't like to be surrounded by people who don't know what the word "Roleplay" means! (That's one of the biggies I believe for NWNs!)

3. Neverwinter Nights provided great (community made) single player adventures... And plenty of them!

The short of it is: Neverwinter Nights managed to provide nearly everything everyone ever wanted to nearly everyone who wanted it!

There's an old saying, "You can't please everyone all the time." And while Neverwinter Nights certainly wasn't able to please everyone even part of the time, it's probably the only game that's ever come close to doing so.