Is Rift's system suedo-classless, or totally without class lines like classic SWG? If the latter, then it has a chance.
Yeah, I have to agree that WoW is REALLY starting to get stale with its formula. It is polished, it is consistent, it is solid. None of these things are really in question but you have to admit, every new expansion pack, content patch, etc. is looking more and more like "same old same old".
Yes, Cata is considerably harder than Wotlk and a lot of the more hard core players are enjoying it more, but for people that are more casual, the openness of gameplay has taken a large step back in my mind, and to go along with Blizzard's seemingly increasing mantra of elitism, most of the people that are now really enjoying WoW are those that, in turn, are elitists. Like the guild of "must have Gladiator title to join" that I heard about. I'm sure they're wrecking in Rated Battlegrounds, but let's face it: exclusivity is only fun for those in "the fold".
Games like SWG made it fun for all because it was an entire @#%#ing galaxy to run around in, and you could do what you wanted, when you wanted, where you wanted. If Rift tries to take this approach then it has a chance. A chance. It better get the bugs worked out though, and the content better be there.
SW:ToR has a much, much, much less chance of being "the next big thing" in my opinion. I've seen its type before in AoC and other games. I predict it will be wildly popular for a couple months, six at most, and then it will retreat to the "small niche" group of MMO's along with most of the rest. My reason for saying this is that the classes are super-rigid, no risks/innovations whatsoever. Alongside this, there is an overwhelming amount of the content that is presented in singleplayer. This reflects upon the fact that Bioware can make a hell of an singleplayer RPG. It also reflects in my mind the fact that they have never done a multiplayer game before, and to me they are making some big mistakes before the thing ever gets off the launch pad.
Let's just keep in mind that fan base, lore, etc. ultimately will NOT save a game. I can point to many huge examples: SWG, Lotro, etc. These are mythos, etc. that are WILDLY popular but their player base is scanty at best. Poor systems, boring quests, "the grind", poor extent of content, particularly end-game content. These things will kill ANYTHING. Period.
Of course none of these are out yet so we'll see what we'll see. But that's my two cents.
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