All these layoffs are depressing. The game doesn't sound bad. I wouldn't want to see a fear of innovation and competition because the #1 forerunner is so far ahead that it's not financially worth pursuing that market. How do you encourage competition to get better games in the field, when one is kicking everyone else's ass so hard?

The problem is that WoW players have so much invested (time and money) into their characters, it's hard to justify starting something new. I think if you want to go toe-to-toe with WoW, there really isn't any point unless you're providing something substantially different.

While I'd suppose that the people who made Tabula Rasa/Age of Conan/etc./etc. would say their games were substantially different, they weren't providing a radically different *fundamental* experience. I think you can compete with other games that follow the MMO business model (buy then subscribe), but I think you have to provide something that fundamentally alters the collection/grinding/socialization aspects of the game into something different, and better.

...and if I knew what that was, and had the resources to pull it off, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

So Garriott left a short time before the entire team was laid off. How nice that the was warned and no one else was.