Every big franchise turns MMO...

[Krusader]

MMOs have always been like that in the sense you don't own anything. You pay to have access to the game world in which you build your character and do various things. The good MMOs offer a world interesting and fun enough to make you want to do that, the bad just seem silly.

As to why everything is a cash-cow? FIFA online and NFS:World are both EA products. While EA is not the 'teh devil' as they used to be, they are still far closer to Activision than many want to admit. Just the presence of their name makes me a little skeptical, and if ME2 wasn't so good I would have had serious concerns about that franchise.

Mass Effect would have been MMOified already hadn't it been for Bioware also making the Star Wars MMO. Why create competition for yourself?
And I do think the MMO market will slow down a bit, as latest titles haven't been the blockbuster success they thought they would be (Age of Conan & Warhammer, Aion to an extent). I myself fear how Facebook might ruin PC gaming, as publishers might look at it and think us "real PC gamers" will automatically play anything on Facebook too, thinking that every person playing a PC game has the same tastes.

[Meneldil]

I myself fear how Facebook might ruin PC gaming, as publishers might look at it and think us "real PC gamers" will automatically play anything on Facebook too, thinking that every person playing a PC game has the same tastes.

Starcraft 2 is shipped with a facebook utility. Yep.

[Husar]

Companies want Cash Cows because they don't want to go bankrupt/increase their profit.
If people don't buy them, they will go away by themselves.
Think of all the money you can save by not buying all these MMOs, after a few months or so you'll have saved for a new graphics card.

[rajpoot]

Personally I agree with what Monk says. This is just a phase. How long can people be entertained by simple repetitive button mashing? It has to change, sooner or later. Agreed that lately some big titles have been console exclusive (and never having owned a console myself, it makes me feel resentful), but then again, there still are tonnes of great PC games out there....and some of them, are PC exclusive. To name two, Mount & Blade, and the Witcher.

Edit:
And I don't think Mass Effect can be made into an MMO. Reason being, that Mass Effect (and such games) rely on their story. Take away the story from Mass Effect, and what is left? A weird shooting game. They even said that an Elder Scrolls MMO was in development, but none came out. And then there was talk of a Fallout MMO, which too was scrapped. So, I won't worry too much about MMOs.

[Monk]

Personally I agree with what Monk says. This is just a phase. How long can people be entertained by simple repetitive button mashing? It has to change, sooner or later. Agreed that lately some big titles have been console exclusive (and never having owned a console myself, it makes me feel resentful), but then again, there still are tonnes of great PC games out there....and some of them, are PC exclusive. To name two, Mount & Blade, and the Witcher.

Edit:
And I don't think Mass Effect can be made into an MMO. Reason being, that Mass Effect (and such games) rely on their story. Take away the story from Mass Effect, and what is left? A weird shooting game. They even said that an Elder Scrolls MMO was in development, but none came out. And then there was talk of a Fallout MMO, which too was scrapped. So, I won't worry too much about MMOs.

I wouldn't be so sure.

[rajpoot]

Well.....I did not know that. But anyhow, as long as they still have Fallout New Vegas in development, there still is the point that MMOs certainly aren't the depressing future of PC gaming.

[Raz]

Ahh Bethesda,
How I love thee.

[Monk]

Well.....I did not know that. But anyhow, as long as they still have Fallout New Vegas in development, there still is the point that MMOs certainly aren't the depressing future of PC gaming.

Not many people realize it, I think. The project went underground as soon as the legal troubles were settled, we're not likely to year about it again for months if not years. I agree with your assessment however. MMOs are a genre, not the future.