[Threshold]

In Mike Rozak's he wrote:

I think it is a little early for the clog dancing comparisons, since a lot of text mud operators here frequently score a lot of new players from graphical MMOs. Mike, I don't know what your actual playing history is as far as MUDs, but they offer a very different gaming experience from graphical MMOs. I actually think it is getting to the point where they are no longer direct competitors.

I will use Threshold RPG as an example. 2004 was probably our peak year in terms of total usage. We had a small but noticeable decline in both 2005 and 2006. But in 2007 we experienced growth that made up for most of 2006's decline, and so far 2008 is continuing in that direction. If it continues, either 2008 or 2009 will be a *NEW* peak. Considering the fact that Threshold is a 12 year old game, I think the possibility of hitting a new peak after experiencing a decline is pretty amazing. Obviously, I was highly motivated to figure out the reasons behind this resurgence, and I have narrowed it down primarily to these:
It is easy to understand how #1 and #2 worked. That is just standard game management stuff. Meet the needs and desires of your customers and you benefit. Hire good people and you benefit. The harder one to decipher is #3. Why in the last year and a half have more and more graphical players been trying MUDs for the first time? I have a few theories.
Now, I am not about to say that this is the Golden Age of MUDs and they are going to rise up and have more total players than WoW and its ilk combined. But what I do see is that MUDs are actually starting to reap a little benefit from the overall growth of online gaming, and the failure (and/or unwillingness) of graphical games to meet ALL of gamers' needs. This presents an opportunity for MUDs that I think should be, and can be, taken advantage of.