What are the mmos are still fighting at the edge ?

WoW is been out there for so long. Many of other MMORPG tried to beat it, but many of them fail. Only few of them stand until now and still fighting wish to beat WoW

First two games that i know are try very hard…
One is Age of Conan(http://www.ageofconan.com) - Age of Conan is a good range of classes that offer a variety of engaging play styles, particularly when you consider the game's take on melee combat. It's got a different, enjoyable gameplay style, offers a free-for-all PVP experience. Also it is getting better after several updates, specially the big one in last month, introducing new land area, a new dungeon, new quests and hours of more adventure. Also, as far as crashes are concered, the last few patches addressed most, if not all, of the causes. The game runs better and better.

Another one is Warhammer Online(http://www.warhammeronline.com) - WoW may be better in other ways but WAR is more social and has better PvP. The PvE and RvR elements are well done IMO, theres is a strong story behind the quests that draws from Warhammers mass of lore and history and really immerses you in the Warhammer univers, like an integral part of the game. Besides, the open party thing makes it easy for casual grouping/ungrouping before you can get that group quest done!

I m not sure how long they can still fight to beat the WoW, but i am really admire their courage to keep fighting in the mmo business
what are the games you know and you think could beat WoW in the future?

Lord of teh rings online is still doing just fine. They released an addon few months back.

Originally Posted by Weblegend
WoW is been out there for so long. Many of other MMORPG tried to beat it, but many of them fail. Only few of them stand until now and still fighting wish to beat WoW

Although all games 'wish' to beat WoW, I don't think any really expect that to happen. 10 million people play WoW, I'd bet most new MMOs just think of "if we could attract 1 of every 20 of them, we'll be ok". Everquest 1 was a huge success in its time, and I think it only had 200K subscribers. City of Heroes/Villains and Eve Online are doing ok, with their lower subscriber base.

An MMO to be successful nowadays just need to control development costs (or you can have the Tabula Rasa catastrophe). Once the game is out, even a "low" 100000 subscribers should be enough to keep you going, but if you have to recover a $20,000,000 investment, that's where the problem is. Obviously, MMOs based on licenses are more prone to failure, as they probably have to pay a big royalty fee to start and probably a yearly fee too, so a much higher subscription base is needed to stay afloat.

Though Star Wars: Galaxies is still out there, I think. At least until Knights of the Old Republic shoots it dead.

Anyway - yeah, who says you have to "beat" WoW? What you have to do is make a profit. If you spend 2 million a year on a game that's pulling down 20 million a year, that's a winner. Heck, Ultima Online is still plugging away. Asheron's Call was the smallest of the old Big 3 and it just did it's 100th update a few months ago.

Of course, if by 'beat' you mean 'make a better game than' - City of Heroes had it beat before WoW even came out, IMHO.

Wow isn't going anywhere. They have 10 million subscribers. Blizzard Entertainment has released some of the most popular gaming series ever. Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo contribute to their own gaming culture. Like Half-Life.

EverQuest 1 was amazing, truely innovative for what it did, in 2000. That is why it was huge popular. EQI decline was marked by a transition from Verant ownership to SOE ownership (Shadows of Luclin killed it in some ways, but was a good expansion). Its achaic now, yet true fans cling to it.

I don't think that many new MMOs coming out are going to change the style of play drastically. And I think games like Shadowbane and Horizons did come close. Good ideas. Terrible flops. And I think many of us are waiting for an mmo which will change grind/gear/pvp culture. Keep in mind though, most MMORPGS now are financed by huge corporations. The objective is to generate revenue, not art. This formula (grind, gear, pvp) will probably be around for awhile just because it maintains a successful financial track record.