Top 10 Most Popular MMORPGs of 2008
December 28, 2008 at 1:00 am by srfto
Here is a list of the top 1 0 MMORPGs (mass multiplayer online role playing games) reigning supreme at the end of 2008, at least in terms of subscription base. WoW is still #1 in the charts for a while now. Doesn’t seem like anything is closing in to bring them down. WAR had a huge jump on their release date but their growth dipped after the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, or even a little before that. Age of Conan had a huge boast of 1 million subscribers within their 3 months but all that has completely died leaving them out of the top 10 list. Without further ado, your top 10 MMORPGs for 2008:
1. World of Warcraft:
With 4 years under its belt and 11 million subscribers to this game. It is one of the best MMORPGs out there today. Arguably, the best recognized MMORPGs even to non gamers. I know I know, there are many players out there who have their reasons to dislike this game. But you must admit Blizzard reigned supreme over every other MMORPGS out there. Surely 11 million people can’t be wrong, but then again Mr. T plays this game too.
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2. Guild Wars: Guild Wars having a large community with 4.5 million players world wide is one of the top MMORPG to play. With a strong PvP system, guild battles gives players the thrive to come back for more. I love the whole Hero System which turns the game into a strategy-based game too.
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3. Lord of the Rings Online: With a story already famous itself, the game takes players straight into the world told by Tolkein. It has all the elements of a MMORPG, but players actually love the questing in this game. Every two months or so players are treated to a free update for new quests (aka books) for them to take on. If you actually love the LoTRO story with a decent MMORPG element to it then this game is perfect for you.
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4. Warhammer Online: The newest game to come out this year is Warhammer and it was one of the most hyped and talked about MMORPG. Warhammer is similar to WoW which is not a bad thing, but with better graphics and way better PvP (player vs player) or what they called RvR (realm vs realm) system. The main draw to this game is the whole world is a battleground for players. Each factions trying to take over each others stronghold and if succeeded players of the winning factions are rewarded. It might not kill WoW now, but it might just hurt WoW’s community over time.
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5. Everquest 2: Sony did a great job making this so called sequel to the Everquest line. They introduced a “Lock Encounter” system so there would be no kill stealing in the game. Also, having 8 expansions and 1 more coming out this year this game always keep up with the latest contents in the game. Players should be aware, you’ll need to be very dedicated in the game to actually progress far.
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6. Lineage 2: A very popular game in Korea where it was made and so far been popular in the states as well. It’s already been 4 years since its release and still has a decent growing population. Besides the nice visual graphics of the game and a great storyline, the siege warfare is really a nice touch to the game which puts PvP to the next level. Compare Prices
7. Runescape: Now here we have a hidden gem. If players can overlook the graphics (usually players can’t) they can see how great and detailed this MMORPG is. The questing is non linear so as a player can choose where to quest and what to do to progress through the game. The PvP system in this game is really great because players who won the battle can reep the rewards from the players they’ve defeated. For a free game which doesn’t take much memory or graphics, this is a great MMORPG to play.
8. Final Fantasy XI: FFXI has a amazing story line and a vast world to explore. It lacks PvP, but makes it up with the questing and storyline. Only the dedicated players will truly experience the quality of this game. If you are a fan of the Final Fantasy series and enjoy casual PvEing then this is the game to play.
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9. Maplestory: A free game to play and addictive as well. Players who can overlook the cute graphics in this game will find that it is a great time killer. A very simple concept where you kill mushrooms, pigs, and other cute creatures to level. The cute creatures draws the attention of many players to keep on playing and seeing their characters upgrade. A 2-dimensional side-scrolling adventure done right and its free.
10. EvE Online: I have yet to try out this game myself, but I’ve been hearing and reading great reviews on it and hopefully I’ll have a chance to try it out. The whole game is set in the future and one cool aspect of this game is that you can control your very own spaceship to conquer other mines on other planets.
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Honorable Mention. Second Life: Well I can’t really call this a MMORPG, but it is like a SIMs type of game. It boasts a 14.5 million subscriber base and also free to play. This game supports the use of real life money to purchase in-game items and assets. It’s a whole new economy of currency exchange. Your USD for the games Linden Dollars. If you are a gamer that enjoys playing Sims, then you should give this one a try. There you have it my top ten MMORPG for 2008. Thanks for checking my list. As usual, any comments are welcomed.
wrong on eve, you don't conquer planets, you mine mine mine, take a delivery or kill mission and pick a skill to learn at a fixed rate that ticks by on or off line. so, really you do very little to advance your character.
Uhh… you REALLY missed the point of EVE. It's an open universe where you can trade in it's player driven economy, PVP in huge fleets (think 300+ PER SIDE), mine in asteroid fields, not planets and complete missions just to name a few common occupations. If anything, you really should try it out sometime, the 15-day free trial is pretty sweet.
What kind of description is that for Eve Online? You don't conquer other mines on other planets. You must be confusing it with some other game.
Hmm…City of Heroes didn't make the list?
I demand a recount!!
(No, Seriously!)
This was a not a well-written article. Though you started out on a vaguely humorous note, you made shallow and boring comments about the bulk of the games. At times they were totally inaccurate (the Eve Online (conquer other mines on other planets?). Nor did you provide subscription numbers or any real justification for why these are the most popular. It honestly seems more like you picked the first 10 you could think of (whether or not you were at all familiar with them) and threw something on the page. Somehow this ended up on Digg.com which is how I got here, but unless editorial content improves dramatically, I won't be back and hope that digg readers won't trick anyone else into expecting much from this site.
Second Life is not "like a SIMs type of game". It's not a game at all. It is a virtual world where your avatar deals entirely with other peoples' avatars and you almost have to put real-world money into it to get anywhere — I know people who spend hundreds (yes hundreds) of dollars a month renting virtual property and buying virtual items for their avatars in what, to me, seems like a very elaborate chat room.
Wow, what a horribly written article. Middle-school grammar, boring content, and facts are wrong.
Take some writing lessons, please.
FFXI doesn't lack PvP, it is however only a consensual activity. No ganking. They even have an all-server PvP tournament where they invite the best teams from each server to compete internationally.
star wars galaxies is still one of the best mmo's out there. been playing since launch, and still in there. nothing else has the depth and crafting.
What about habbo hotel and gaia online???
Sorry for being such a grammar nazi, however it isn't spelled "ado." It's "adieu."
And even then, that means farewell.
No, it’s ‘ado’, he got it right…research before you try to “correct” somebody. ‘Adieu’ is French for farewell.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ado
oh wow this list is very inaccurate. you also did not take the time to explain by what criteria you are grading with, such as the most subscribers or your personal favorite. and try to at least mention key features of the game
wt bout requiem bloodymare
tell that to shakespeare
Ado
FFXI is casual PVE?
You're a moron.
Hahaha, true story. FF11 is possibly the most hardcore, non-casual mmorpg there is, if you wanna play for years, get it, if you want casual, dont play this.
Yeah, I had a good laugh at that comment too. Casual is not a word that should be used in the same sentence as FFXI.
Oh and the crybaby has comment moderation enabled now, too. Wah Wah Wah!
oh wow this list is very inaccurate. you also did not take the time to explain by what criteria you are grading with, such as the most subscribers or your personal favorite. and try to at least mention key features of the game.
i have to try guild wars…
wt bout requiem bloodymare.
Oh and the crybaby has comment moderation enabled now, too. Wah Wah Wah!!
I still think that RuneScape should have been a bit higher on the list. They have updated their graphics too, BTW. It has a lot better graphics. Trust me. For example, the detail on the flames is much better (they are partly translucent) and the paths aren't just solid gray, they are extremely detailed. You were right on the fact that the object of the game was AWESOME, though.
WOOT GO RUNESCAPE GO RUNESCAPE!!!! WOOT!!
Runescape Rules
Seriously about my first runescape comment.
decent article but how could you not list Everquest 1… you do realize that this game is the grand-daddy of them all right. I mean without the vision of EQ1, warcraft and all of the rest may not even exist..
I wont just say it should be on the list without listing a few reasons as to why..
First, everquest 1 has dozens of race/class combinations leaving nearly a nearly endless array of characters you can set out into the game world as including a tutorial zone for new players..
Secondly, this gameworld is immense in size, with all of the 15 expansions to travel, even hard-core gamers will be hard pressed to visit all of the zones
This game has extremly advanced game mechanics, with the new mercanaries you can now have a distinct advantage in any part of the game in solo play, or small groups and even some static raid areas
Everquest 1 has raid content probably more robust then any other game on the entire market, there are hundreds of extremly well tuned raid content for the hardy adventurers that can take literally years on end to progress thru and conquer.
I could go on and on, but lastly, this game really has it all, tradeskills, a dedicated pvp server and even a card game built right into it called legends of norrath, which when you defeat scenarios you can gain in-game loot cards to make your character even better!
I 100% agree with veteranwizard, Everquest was one of the founding MMORPGs. It's like listing top 10 non-PC games and not listing Final Fantasy VII… It literally set the bar and is the reason our games are the way they are.
@Soliduss
sorry, but MUDs, Meridian 59 and Ultima Online are far more qualified to be the "founders" of MMOs. Meridian also beat Everquest to the 3D graphics mark (though not true 3D, but rather 2.5D like Doom).
hay dumb ass wow only has 11million players if you were smart you would know that maplestory has 87million players
First off, WoW is meant for kids, so if your a kid or a grown adult who still likes cartoons, this is the game for you.(Im expecting alot of comebacks to this one, Bring it on you WoW panzies)
Guild Wars, Played it for two years, Just because there is X Million players playing it doesn't mean crap, The game only goes to level 20, yes sure it's skill and PvP based the only real reason why there's so many players is the fact that you only got buy the game once, no re-regging. I.E: Cheap-O's
LOTRO, Haven't even considered this, for the sole fact that it's a cheesy idea the movie and books were good, let's not butcher the name.
Warhammer, Also have not played it, seen numerous video's and screenshots and it looks the same as most the MMo's out there.
EQ 2, By far the best MMo I have played in a many of years,I've been playing for 3-4 years now, Completely in love with the whole aspect of it, Sony has filtered out the noobs who just power level to 80 by adding an AA system which is a completely new exp bar that depends on how many Quests you do areas you explore and Named NPC's you kill. Not to mention Dozens of classes and a good 10+ races, the possibilities are endless for the unique factor.
Thousands of drop only armor, weapons and items as well as thousands of craftable armor, weapons and items.
Each Zone is absolutely massive, zones are everywhere making the game draw you in to the huge world.
Boats, Airships, Gryphons, Clouds, Carpets and Horses are used in many areas to make traveling from 1 side of the massive map to the other, easy.
I'm sure i've missed something. But in my 20 years of RPGing this game has taken the cake, and nothing else has compared to it, not even WoW.
I'm with everyone else on this one, this list is just a horrible list, and I have no idea what you were thinking writing it.
First of all, it's not even clear what this list is supposed to be. Is it supposed to be a list of number of subscribers? Because that's what you seem to try to make it out to be, when it certainly has nothing to do with number of subscribers whatsoever.
Second of all, do you know ANYTHING about any of the 10 games at all? And I mean it. FFXI = casual? EVE = "conquer other mines on other planets"?
I'm sorry, but this whole list is just a bunch of lies and false advertising. The saddest part is that it's probably getting a lot of views and misleading so many people.
I cant stop scraping my teeth on this board of marble and blood
What no Asheron's Call? The game has been running for 10 years as of this year. With the skill credit and xp system every single character in the game is unique. With PVP optional in all servers but one server dedicated to it as well. The game has 10 years worth of quests and more added every month. I've tried other mmorpg's and I really like FFXI but it all leads back to Asheron's Call being my all time favorite.
LAWL @ the general discussion taking place in the comments section. All I know is good luck getting someone to trade in their finely tuned, polished(mmo) verion of WoW(recent patch and any other future patch which tends to significantly improve the already great gameplay and gives subscribers exactly what they want) for a beater with a gigantic load of relentlessly stiff and boring content and broken gameplay. aka any other past or recent MMO out there which are mostly imo broken, completely unbalanced and unplayable unless you decide to stick it out until you are completely detatched. And for those hardcore raiders/pve'ers that think it's fun to spend an upload amount of 5 years to complete and see end game content, I solute you… But you have a horrible life and you probably sucked @ every other game you've ever played before.
– "WoW panzies", "bad cartoony graphics" = undeniably some of the most ignorance filled comments ever. play the game a little while(like any mmo) and let it wash over before you outcast it for w/e your reasons
. I recruited someone who hated the mere thought of playing the game, who even played it solo for a little bit but has now since picked it up gone to end game content and is completely content and more happy with it than other games they played such as: conan,everquest1 and 2, warhammer, and aion.
– "Mr. T plays wow lol so it must suck" rly? you believe that? Mr T doesn't play wow… obviously. What this is here is an example of someone of blizzard thinking it would be cool/funny (on an epic and humoristically cheesy lvl) to randomely get Mr. T to endorse their product probably just for kix. In which case "imo" proving which MMO reigns most supreme as to say to the much weaker pathetic attempts as contendors to WoW. "hey guys!! you made an LOLMMORPGLOL? LAWL @ your attempt and /flex to your gf ftw"
Lastyly, I'm not just saying this because I happen to enjoy WoW much like the general mmo population. Other games ive tried are just absolutely horrible attempts at coming up with a game slightly different/flashyer than WoW. I live in a house where I've watched every single person in the hold try and play up to just about every single MMO ever created. Along with the whole lot being ex hardcore everquest 1 players. Which imo if you still play.. part 1 part 2 or any other mmo like it, I have to suggest you fix your glasses, get a hearing aid and do something about your carpel tunel, you boring, mmo elitest nerds. But kudos for remaining loyal fans to one of the earliest engineers of the genera.
go ahead and lol @ the person who excitedly plays and enjoys WoW, laughing out only for the misguided assumption that you are some how "above" playing the "most popular" mmo out there.. I'll lol at you ftl tho and hope that some day you will find your way to the light. XD
i think Wow is the better for the all things, it remember the rules when we
were playing Rpg on the note.Anyone can see just for play.
for example:
A warrior can't use a mage's cloth.Why will?
and othes games are ridiculous.Runescape:you can use a bow and a two-hand meee weapon.Ridiculous.
WoooooooooooooooW forever.
Hi… thanks for this nice mmorgp resources… can you write the same for this year?