I always thought the problem of MMORPGs was that they *don't* end. A book ends. A film ends. Even a single player RPG has a "game over" screen. Only a MMORPG doesn't reward you with a slap on the back, a "well done", and a screen saying "game over, do you want to play again?". Instead it creates an illusionary path forward, puts you into a treadmill in front of a painting of a path leading up a mountain, and hopes you'll tread that mill until the development team has found the time to add some real new content.
The Burning Crusade expansion, which simply adds another 10 level of main game to WoW is exactly what is needed. But Blizzard would need to add such an expansion at least once a year, and not just the first after two years.
Re: The defenitive solution to the endgame: "gated content"
I always thought the problem of MMORPGs was that they *don't* end. A book ends. A film ends. Even a single player RPG has a "game over" screen. Only a MMORPG doesn't reward you with a slap on the back, a "well done", and a screen saying "game over, do you want to play again?". Instead it creates an illusionary path forward, puts you into a treadmill in front of a painting of a path leading up a mountain, and hopes you'll tread that mill until the development team has found the time to add some real new content.
The Burning Crusade expansion, which simply adds another 10 level of main game to WoW is exactly what is needed. But Blizzard would need to add such an expansion at least once a year, and not just the first after two years.