Guild Wars crafts top spot

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games - MMORPGS - used to be seen as a niche gaming home for bearded obsessives. Not any more. Following on from World of Warcraft's massive success - 3 months on and my addiction is still total - comes news that Guild Wars is number one across the UK, US and most of the European PC charts. Guild Wars is typical fantasy fare, but bucks the MMORPG trend by not charging a monthly fee and by focussing on pvp (player versus player) combat. Combine this with fact that it has cut out some of the grind - where players undertake repetitive tasks to gain levels - and you can see why the game has done so well. However, I'd argue that World of Warcaft, with its stunning virtual world, is still the superior game, and it's clear that WoW's accessibility has demystified the genre allowing competitors like Guild Wars to do well. But does the success of these, and other titles like Everquest 2, mean MMORPG's have finally hit the mainstream? I think it does.