The Crowdfunded MMO is the new Dawn

LynxJSA

We're repeating history, and that's sad. 

"The bar was so low and gamers so excited that all you needed to become the CEO of a world-class MMORPG development firm was a website, a copy of 3DStudio and a FAQ that explained in delicious detail how your game was going to be the next big thing and just blow some “unnamed game” ... away by fixing all its problems and adding a laundry list of every feature anyone had wanted EVER." - Tipa, West Karana

That was written in 2009 
about MMO gamers in 2001. 
It is now 2016.

If MMO gamers are consistent in anything, it is in a hope so blindly fanatical that it defies over a decade of history and their own experiences in the genre. But it gets worse, because people do not know or remember history. 

Online games like WarZ and Divergence Online ... once backed to the wall and realizing they cannot possibly deliver what is promised within the time or spec constraints provided - well, they're faced with a problem and usually come to the same solution. While not crowdfunded, Fasaria World is another example of this scenario.  Here's a line from that same Tipa blog that may sound familiar:

"By early 2001, development on Dawn had already shifted to development what was once promised to be Dawn’s sequel, Dusk. Dusk, now renamed Dusk: Dawn Tactics, was to be a RTS game (all the rage at the time) built on the 3D renderings Jeff had already down for Dawn."

Crowdfunding MMOs isn't a scam. However, history has consistently proven that the majority are by people with good intentions, grand visions, and little understanding of what is required to pull it off. There is no logical or historical reason to back any crowdfunded MMO. In fact, the more amazing the MMO sounds, the more likely it is to fail to deliver on what it promised. 

A walk down memory lane for the veterans, and some humorous history for the newer gamers:

Red Dragon Software's Rune Conquest - http://gbob.onlinegamers.org/dragon.html

Glitchless' DAWN - http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/09/15/daily-blogroll-looks-back-2001-followup/

CrazKanuk

Totally agree. I think that the biggest problem with crowdfunded games are MMOs. On top of that, MMOs that are being created by people who have no idea what they're doing. That being said, the whole crowdfunded game idea got a bad wrap initially because turnaround was so long. However, this is becoming better as time goes on. We're not seeing games that are turning around in 1 or 2 years opposed to 4 or 5. Personally I think this means that people are doing more work up-front to prove out their game. Ultimately this reduces the risk to backers, which is a good thing. 

MMOs are a different beast. We're talking about games which are highly complex to create and the systems are generally wildly different from one to another, meaning you're always going to be doing some sort of custom work. We are seeing SOME advancement in engines with things like Atavism, but the choices are still extremely limited.

You're also right that the grander the vision, the more likely it is to fail. However, what's great is that we have the Internet. We can do our research on people behind the project and make our own judgement. That's not to say that people without experience will never do anything, but it's about mitigating risk. I think it also forces people to bring something to the table more than just an idea, which is fantastic for crowdfunding. 

Anyway, I don't think that crowdfunded MMOs are a bad thing, but I do think that they are of higher risk. We now have SotA out there, Albion Online is out there, PFO might get revived, CU is approaching, Shards online is around the corner, SC is in alpha. So I don't think it's fair to rule out the crowdfunded MMO just yet. If there was no progress forward I would agree, but there is progress forward and it could very well be similar progression to games in general, but just on a longer timeline. I do think it's at a tipping point, though. With the games in development and planned release timelines, the next couple years should be very telling.