Computer games came along first. Then DSL came along, and broadband online access came along followed by computer games which anyone can just sit in front of their computer and play games all day long. This has led to the development of a few extremely successful MMO’s (Massively Multiple Online Playing Games).

One of the most successful of these games is “World of Warcraft,” or “WoW”, which currently is believed to have about seven million active online players. Like many games of it’s kind, World of Warcraft was constructed on a midieval fantasy platform, a combination of Camelot and Tolkien with a touch of original elements mixed in. The world is filled with magic spells, swords and shields, gold pieces and assorted items of value, and skills both worldly and other worldly that a character can acquire with practice and effort – and hours online.

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A player in the World of Warcraft game creates an Avatar which is a fictional character whose role you will use while playing the game. The game is a never-ending series of quests that leads to slaying monsters, acquiring wealth and property and higher levels of skill – and interacting with other players in order to accomplish many of these things. A player will typically create an identity which possesses a set of certain skills that will allow him to join a guild of similar artisans, virtual professionals or wizards.

There is a significant social interaction component to this game and other MMOs. Indeed, game designers build “virtual third places” to encourage interactions. Quality time playing World of Warcraft can be time well spent with others, whether you are raiding a dungeon in a group, chatting with guild mates while exploring the wilderness or just socializing with bystanders sin a cantina.

One would assume that World of Warcraft is another extension of high-school and twenty-something gamers having it out online. There is a lot of that going on but it is very clear this games popularity has extended far beyond the original demographic and so has the interest in other MMO’s.

The clearest indicator of the intensity in which WOW is played is the role that the game has taken on the real world. Players who have developed certain skills have created products in which they sell online. {This is not something the game developers want to encourage, and is generally forbidden, not just by World of Warcraft, but most MMOs.}

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The market for these products exists, though, and will continue to exist as long as their popularity continues. An author of a book about the MMO explosion has given several players interviews about the significant expenditures for game pieces like real estate, swords and magic spells. Some of the players interviewed was a carpenter, a bread truck driver and a variety of other men with families.

Some of these people interviewed were people that have given up their careers to sell World of Warcraft Merchandise full time. Most of these individuals sell their World of Warcraft merchandise online just like those who are quitting the game or those experiencing some financial problems sell entire characters. Rare in-game items such as powerful swords, and powerfully developed characters can bring several hundreds of dollars. While these types of activities help to drive up the popularity of World of Warcraft, they are considered to be against the terms of service.

World of Warcraft continues to demolish records for MMO’s and the combination of addictive game-play and social interaction has proven to be very tough to beat. WOW players invest much time and also a monthly fee to enjoy this experience on a regular basis. With the deeper penetration of internet connectivity and broadband internet, the popularity of these MMOs may well grow even larger.

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