Better than a thousand words

With the obvious exception of WoW, I suspect this statement applies equally to just about any MMO developer. How many companies would love to have the benefit of hindsight when developing their game?

I think where Sony went wrong was that they looked back to Everquest as a basis for their design. They should have been looking at every MMO, including Everquest, as a basis. But as is often the case with Sony, they were too self-introspective to see what was working, and what wasn't working, in the industry as a whole. They focused too much on keeping it Everquest-y, and not enough on making it truly next gen. (graphics not withstanding)

In Sony's defense, however, EQ2 isn't that broken. The game itself is very enjoyable and balanced. Or at least PvE is. I left the game before PvP was implemented.

Where Sony mostly gets it wrong is in how they treat their players. And it's never too late to benefit from that kind of hindsight.