Virtual Worlds #1: Two Million and Counting

Yahoo! Games Domain has put together an article entitled "Virtual Worlds #1: Two Million and Counting", in which they discuss the MMORPG market following the success of World of Warcraft. Check it out:
The perception of the major mainstream publishers seems to be that the only MMORPG you can sell to the hardcore market is a fantasy-themed one, and that's just plain wrong. If almost all the top-ranking MMOs right now are fantasy themed, it's because all the others have been flawed in one way or another. Either they're buggy like Anarchy Online, lacking long-term play incentives like Planetside, or just too low profile, like City of Heroes.

Of course, the counter-example to this argument is MMORPG specialist NCSoft. Leaving aside the Lineages, the only fantasy-themed MMO they're publishing is Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, and that's hardly traditionally styled. Here's a company that's not afraid to innovate, and it's got a good chance of striking gold with either Auto Assault or City of Villains.