Comparison of massively multiplayer online role-playing games
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into List of MMORPGs. (Discuss) Proposed since June 2007. |
This article contains an almost full table comparison of current MMORPGs.
General information
| Creator | Genre | Client sale method | Client purchase price | Monthly fee Lowest possible - largest possible |
Real money for game advantages? | Release date(s) | Platform | Still updated regularly? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anarchy Online | Funcom | Science fiction | Retail sale[1] or Download | Free | Non-free Free w/limited access / US$ $14.95/month full access | No official scheme | June 27, 2001 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Asheron's Call | Turbine | Fantasy | Download | Non-free US$ $19.95 | Non-free US$ $12.95 per month. | No official scheme | October 31, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| City of Heroes and City of Villains | Cryptic Studios | Superhero comic book genre | Download | Non-free US$19.99 (for download) | Non-free US$11.95 (10 months) - $14.99 | No official scheme | 2004 | Microsoft Windows[2] | Yes |
| Conquer Online | TQ Digital | Fantasy | Retail sale or Download | Free | Free | ? | November 14, 2005 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| DarkSpace | PaleStar | Science fiction | Download | Free | Non-free Free w/limited access / US$ $9.99/month full access. | ? | 2001 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Dark Age of Camelot | Mythic Entertainment | Fantasy | Retail sale or Download | Free | Non-free US$ $14.95 per month. | No official scheme | October 10, 2001 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Dofus | ANKAMA GAMES | Fantasy | Download | Free | Non-free Free w/limited access / US$ $6,9 per month full access. | ? | September, 2004 | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux | Yes |
| Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach | Turbine | Fantasy | Retail sale or Download | Non-free US$29.95 (for download) | Non-free US$ $14.95 per month. | No official scheme | 2006 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Entropia Universe | MindArk | Science fiction | Download | Free | Free | Yes, full RMT, buy and sell | January 30, 2003 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| EVE Online | CCP Games | Space simulation | FTP Download | Free | Non-free US$10.95/€10.95 (on 12 months base)
- $14.95/€14.95 |
No official scheme |   May 6, 2003 May 23, 2003
|
Microsoft Windows[2] | Yes |
| EverQuest | Sony Online Entertainment | Fantasy | Retail sale | ? | Non-free US$14.99 per month | No official scheme | March 16, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| EverQuest 2 | Sony Online Entertainment | Fantasy | Retail sale | Non-freeUS$19.99 | Non-freeUS$14.95 Small discounts for 3/6/12 month advance |
No official scheme | November 8, 2004 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Final Fantasy XI | Square Enix | Fantasy | Retail sale | Non-freeUS$19.99 | Non-freeUS$12.95 - $27.95 | No official scheme | May 16, 2002 | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 | Yes |
| Flyff | Aeonsoft | Fantasy | Download | Free | Free | Yes, buy bonus items | August, 2004 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Guild Wars | ArenaNet | Fantasy | Retail sale or Download | Non-free US$49.99 (for retail sale) | Free | Yes, buy faster skill unlocks | April 28, 2005 | Microsoft Windows[2] | Yes |
| Hattrick | Hattrick Ltd./Extralives AB | Sports simulation | Browser-based | Free | Free[3] | No official scheme | August 30, 1997[4] | Operating system-independent (Web-based) | Yes |
| Knight Online | MGame Corporation and Noah System | Fantasy | Download | Free | Free | No official scheme | 2004 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Lineage II | NCsoft | Fantasy | Retail sale or Download | Free | Non-freeUS$14.99 (2 months) | No official scheme |  October 1, 2003 April 28, 2004
|
Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Lord of the Rings Online: Shadow of Angmar | Turbine | Fantasy | Retail sale | Non-freeUS$49.95 | Non-freeUS$10 pre-release deal(1 month) $200 pre-release deal (lifetime) $15 release (1 month) | No official scheme | April 24, 2007 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| MapleStory | Wizet | Fantasy | Download | Free | Free | Yes, buy bonus items | May 2002 November 2003 December 2004 July 4, 2005 August 29, 2005(Global) May 11, 2005 (SEA) June 23, 2005 July 27, 2006 (Closed Beta) , April 12, 2007 (Open Beta)
|
Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Minions Of Mirth | Prairie Games | Fantasy | Download | Free - $29.95[5] | Free | No official scheme | December 2005 | Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X | Yes |
| Perfect World | Beijing Perfect World | Fantasy | Retail sale or Download | Free | Free | Yes, Item mall |  July 2005 December 2006 February 2007 March 2007 May 2007  May 2007 *CBT June 2007 *CBT TBA 2007
|
Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Rappelz | nFlavor | Fantasy | Download | Free | Free | Yes, item shop | November 3, 2006 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| RuneScape | JAGeX | Fantasy | Browser-based | Free | Free | Yes, Membership for added content. | January 3, 2001 | Operating system-independent (Web-based Java applet) | Yes |
| Second Life | Linden Lab | No theme enforced | Download | Free | Non-free Free - Unlimited[6] | Yes, full RMT, buy and sell | 2003 | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux | Yes |
| Silkroad Online | Joymax | Template:Fantasy, Martial Arts | Download | Free | Free | Yes, Item mall | February 21, 2006 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Star Wars Galaxies | Sony Online Entertainment | Science fiction, Star Wars | Retail sale | Non-freeUS$14.99 | Non-free US$14.99 (Single Month) - $12 (Year) | No official scheme | June 26, 2003 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| Tibia | CipSoft | Fantasy | Download | Free | Free[7] | No official scheme | 1997 | Microsoft Windows, Linux | Yes |
| Toontown Online | The Walt Disney Company | Classic Cartoons | Retail sale or Download | Free | Non-free£4.16 - £6.99 | No official scheme | 2003 | Microsoft Windows | Yes |
| World of Warcraft | Blizzard Entertainment | Fantasy | Retail sale or download | Non-freeUS$19.99. Free download | Non-freeUS$12.99 (6 month) - $14.99 (single month) | No official scheme | From November 12, 2004 to August 1, 2006 in different countries, see article for more details. | Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X | Yes |
| World War II Online | Cornered Rat Software | Historical | Retail sale or download | ? retail price.
Free download |
Non-freeUS$1000 (lifetime) - $8.33 (5 year builder) - $10.83 (1 year) - $12.50 (6 month) - $14.99 (1 month) | "Builder's Program" | New releases: 2005-2006
Original version: June 2001 |
Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X | Yes |
Statistic table
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2007) |
| No. of players | No. of players per shard | No. of servers / shards / worlds | Common peak of players | Contains Instances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anarchy Online | 12 000 [8] | ? | 3 | ? | ? |
| Asheron's Call | ? | ? | 9 | ? | Yes |
| City of Heroes and City of Villains | 160 000 [8] | ? | 15 (?) | ? | Yes (Missions) |
| Conquer Online | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| DarkSpace | ? | ? | One (?) | ? | ? |
| Dark Age of Camelot | 125 000 [8] | ? | 6(?) | 5,000 USA, 6,000 Europe | Yes |
| DOFUS | 2 000 000 | ? | 15 | 5,000 per server | Yes |
| EVE Online | 150 000 [9] | All | One (+ Test-Server) | 29,500 Live shard, 100 Test shard | Yes(Deadspace Complexes) |
| EverQuest | 200 000 [8] | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| EverQuest 2 | 175 000 [8] | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Final Fantasy XI | 500 000 [8] | ? | 32 servers[10] | generally 1500-2000 per server | Expansion Only |
| Guild Wars | 3 000 000 [11] | All | One | ? | Entire World |
| Hattrick | 934 000 as of 2007-3-5[12] | ? | ? | ? | No |
| Knight Online | ? | 1-2 millon | 12x3(subservers) | 30.000 per subserver 30kx36 total | ? |
| Lineage II | 1 300 000 [8] | ? | 10 | ? | No |
| Maplestory | 3 000 000 [citation needed] | ? | 89 (All Versions) ; 7 (Global Version) | ? | No |
| Perfect World | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes |
| RuneScape | 5 000 000 [13] | 2000 | 144 as of 2007-6-6 | 250,000 as of 2007-6-6 | No |
| Second Life | 1 200 000 [14] | All | 1 | 32 000 | No |
| Star Wars Galaxies | 170 000 [8] | ? | 12 | ? | ? |
| Tibia | 67 397 [8] | ? | 72 as of 2006-9-28[15] | Close to 50,000 as of 2006-9-28 [15] | ? |
| Ultima online | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| World of Warcraft | 9 000 000 [16] | Avg. 36,000 as of 2007-2-18 | 222 as of 2007-2-18 | ? | Yes |
Engine table
| Game engine type | Source code available? | Fully customizable user interface | Windowable[17] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anarchy Online | 3D | No | Yes | Yes |
| Asheron's Call | 3D | No | ? | Yes |
| City of Heroes and City of Villains | 3D | No | Partial | Yes |
| Conquer Online | 3D | No | Partial | Yes |
| DarkSpace | 3D | No | Yes | ? |
| Dark Age of Camelot | 3D | No | Yes | Yes |
| DOFUS | 2D | No | Yes | Yes |
| Entropia Universe | 3D | No | Customizable desktop area with action/item shortcuts | Yes |
| EVE Online | 3D | No | Adjustable/Movable Windows & Colors, No Custom Additions | Yes |
| EverQuest | 3D | No | ? | ? |
| EverQuest 2 | 3D | No | Yes | Yes |
| Final Fantasy XI | 3D | No | No | No[18] |
| Guild Wars | 3D | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hattrick | 2D | No | Partial, with browser extensions | Yes |
| Knight Online | 3D | No | Partial | Yes |
| Lineage II | 3D | No | ? | Yes |
| Lord of the Rings Online | 3D | No | Partial | Yes |
| Maplestory | 2D | No | Yes | No |
| Perfect World | 3D | No | Yes | Yes |
| RuneScape | 3D | No | Partial | Yes |
| Silkroad Online | 3D | No | No | Yes |
| Tibia | 2D | No | Partial | Yes |
| Second Life | 3D | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Star Wars Galaxies | 3D | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ultima Online | 2D,3D | Some | Yes | Yes |
| World of Warcraft | 3D | No | Yes | Yes |
Minimal system requirements
The minimal system requirements are, unless otherwise noted, the minimum requirements given by the game publisher.
| Platform | CPU | RAM | Video card | HDD space | Software | Connection | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asheron's Call | Windows 98/ME/2000/XP | 733 MHz | 256 MB | 32 MB graphics card | 3 GB | DirectX 9.0c | 56k |
| DOFUS | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux | Pentium® III 700 MHz (ou équivalent Mac) | 128 Mo | 32 MB graphics card | 100 MB | Lecteur Flash™ 7.0 | 56k |
| EVE Online | Windows 2000 SP2/XP | Intel Pentium III 800 MHz or AMD Athlon 800 MHz | 512 MB | 32 MB graphics card | 6 GB | DirectX 9.0c | 56k |
| Final Fantasy XI | PS2[19] | 7 GB | 56k | ||||
| Windows 2000 or XP[20] or Vista | Intel Pentium III 800 MHz | 128MB | 32MB Graphics Card | 6 GB | ? | ||
| Xbox 360[21] | ? | Xbox Live | ? | ||||
| Guild Wars | Windows 98/ME/2000/XP | Intel Pentium III 1GHz | 512 MB | 64 MB graphics card | 3 GB | DirectX 9.0c | 56k |
| Perfect World | Microsoft Windows 98/SE/2000/NT/XP/Vista | Intel Pentium III 800MHz | 256 MB | 64 MB graphics card | 3 GB | DirectX 9.0c | 56k |
| RuneScape[22] | Java | 300 MHz | 64 MB | Unknown | Java | 56k | |
| Second Life | Windows 2000/XP, or Mac OS X 10.3.9, or Linux | 800 MHz (PC) or 1 GHz (Mac) | 256mb (PC) or 512mb (Mac) | 75 mb + Adjustable cache size | OpenGL 2.0 | Cable/DSL; wired local connection | |
| Silkroad Online | Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista | Intel Pentium III 800 MHz | 256 MB | 3D speed over GeForce2 | 3 GB | DirectX 9.0b | 56k |
| Star Wars Galaxies | Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista | Intel Pentium III 1 GHz | 512 MB | 32 MB 3D Graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) Capability | 2.14 GB | DirectX 9.0b | 56k |
| Ultima Online | ? | Intel Pentium 200 MHz | 32 MB | 4 MB graphics card | 383 MB | 28k | |
| World of Warcraft[23] | Mac OS X 10.3.9 | 933 MHz G4 or G5 or Intel Macintosh | 512 MB | 32 MB 3D graphics card | 6 GB | 56k | |
| Windows 2000 or XP | Intel Pentium III 800 MHz or AMD Athlon 800 MHz | 512 MB | 32 Mb 3D graphics card | 5+ GB | DirectX 9.0c | 56k |
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See also
Notes and reference
- ^ Though it is unlikely to find a retail edition today.
- ^ a b c Can be played under *nix systems using Cedega.
- ^ There is a "supporter" pack available with additional statistic pages and features (but all without in-game advantages). This is a yearly fee, approx $33, and the supporter status is lost when the funds runs out.
- ^ Most users cite Season 11, which began October 15, 2000, as the beginning of Hattrick as it is today.
- ^ A "premium account" is available costing between $6.50 and $9.99 a month. Beyond this, the monthly fee escalates with the amount of land a player owns, and there is no limit on this. Some in-world land dealers pay monthly subscriptions of US$19500 or more. Some players also offer services similar to those offered by the premium account at different prices.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Woodcock, Bruce Sterling. "MMOGCHART.COM". Retrieved 2007-01-05.
- ^ Virtual Economy Research Network: Interview with Hilmar Pétursson and Magnús Bergsson
- ^ "FINAL FANTASY XI ONLINE Server Status". Retrieved 2007-01-09.
- ^ "Guild Wars hits 3 million mark". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "RuneScape reaches one million members!". 05-04-2007. Retrieved 05-04-2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ Number of registered characters [2]. Since a character can at present be created without giving any verified real life information, it is impossible to know how many actual players this may correspond to. As of 3. June 1,761,927 have logged in the last 60 days, which is approximately 4 times less than the total number of players. And since one person can play multiple characters, the number of regular players could be around 1.2 million
- ^ a b http://www.tibia.com/statistics/?subtopic=serverload&period=week
- ^ "World of Warcraft® Surpasses 9 Million Subscribers Worldwide" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Allows the game to be played in a window while running in a desktop environment.
- ^ On losing focus (e.g., if user executes Alt-Tab), the game crashes.
- ^ "The Adventure Expands to PlayStation 2". Square-Enix. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ "Final Fantasy XI for Windows". Square-Enix. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ "Final Fantasy XI Startup Guide for Xbox 360". Square-Enix. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ "Detail Select". Jagex. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ "What are the game's system requirements?". Blizzard. Retrieved 2007-02-02.