Living in Long Island, NY I find myself surrounded by Manhattanites, Hamptonites, and Jersey Shore wannabees. Most people's idea of a fun night at home consists of watching a 4 hour Yankee game or some trashy uninspiring show on MTV. I, on the other hand, would rather play a computer game for a few hours than sit on my couch and watch a bunch of high school/college dropouts make 100x more than I do just to throw a ball around or act like an idiot on television. And for quite some time, that game was World of Warcraft.
Blizzard Entertainment (now Activision/Blizzard) has undoubtedly done great things for the video game industry. The quality of their games is on a completely different level than anything else you play and World of Warcraft was no exception. The real problem with the game is that it stopped being a game to many people. It became their job, or even their life in some cases.
When I was in college I had time to waste on games like WoW. Today is an entirely different story. MMOs just don't work for me anymore. I can no longer be turning down social engagements because it's "raid night" or spend hours creating and learning strats for raids. I can no longer play a game where if something comes up IRL (In Real Life), I can't just easily walk away from the game. I need games that I can sit down, play with a few friends for a few hours and then get up and leave whenever I want or need to. No set "raid times" and no time slot commitments. I can toggle the fun on and off like the flick of a switch.
With that said, I am excited for new games like Diablo III and Battlefield 3 to release. These games will be more "pickup" style, while still requiring the teamwork, coordination, and social interaction that make playing games fun.
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