Do you think the MMORPG genre could see mass success without saturation and monopolies hurting the market? Is "sunk cost" always going to make the genre uneven? How do you think a wide array of MMORPG's can be allowed to coexist?
And if there was a "new WoW" to jumpstart this, what kind of new feature or business model would it have? What "big new thing" do you think the next super successful MMO will have in general?
I don't understand your use of sunk cost. Put simply sunk cost is used in finance to determine if a current project is feasible only considering what you would have to spend going forward and not any of the money already spent. The money already spent is sunk, so considering this what are the new forecasts for only new money and resources and opportunity costs.
I honestly think there is an mmorpg renaissance right around the corner. But, it is the renaissance of function over form. This isn't a renaissance for people who watch people play video games over the internet, or decide if a game is worth checking out by how many people are watching other people play a game. The old model of big named, systems and content heavy mmorpgs I think are dead, or at least full blown Oriental, which is the same for people with any taste.
Why is this you ask? Because of how the two groups minds work. The ones who are interested in super graphics and big todo big names "oh my god everyone is watching people play it" do not fit the traditional mmorpgs. MMorpgs cost a ton and take a ton of money to make. Why go through all that when you can cut all the systems and content and make a "survival" game. Or "sandbox" game with crafting and "player driven economy" and not have to worry about that expensive content. Especially when everyone is going to shit on it anyways, like with every mmorpg since WoW. But you will have your console mmos with super lite tacked on rpg elements like Destiny and Division for your content needs, as conolse games made for fucking kids and idiots never get critised for writing or quests or whatever you retards complain about and viciously attack real crpgs for getting wrong.
Wildstar was the last. Everything since and going forward (if anything) will be Oriental like Black Ship or whatever that last big super kid emo one that came out was called.
All the new mmorpgs will not have the graphical fidelity to appeal to the majority of the people on this site. And since mmorpgs require content, that will also mean everyone hates it because it is [insert platitudes and hyperbole]. So, mmorpgs are coming out that look great to me like Crow something, whatever Shards is now called, Arcfall, the two new super hero games, etc. A shit ton look great and all focus on systems and mechanics and are character build heavy. And, for people with good taste there are still the greats still going strong like DDO and AO.
I am just hoping and praying the main mmorpg audience interested in these games won't do them like they do real crpgs that come out like they did to WL2, TToN, etc, during the crpg renaissance.