I find that it's a real good sign that more and more people are talking about this issue in the wake of the CoH closing. Frankly, it wasn't even seen as an issue before.
Indeed, the CoH closure exploded a few myths I had about MMORPGs:
1) The myth of persistance. I used to buy into the notion that these games were played in a persistant world. I typically thought that persistance was a world that didn't go away just because you did. And, for awhile, that definition stuck. But what I have come to realize is that these games--far from being persistant--were some of the least persistant games in the history of games. Some games in this genre don't even last a year, and when they are gone, there is no way to get them back.
2) The myth of profitability. I used to think that if the game made more than it cost, there would be no reason to take it down. What CoH taught me is that profitability alone will not protect you or your game if the owners have other plans. If they think you are "old hat" or you aren't part of a demographic they like, your fun will get canned for their peace of mind.
3) The myth of ownership. They have tried--very hard--to make the purchase of digital goods seem like the purchase of real goods. When you buy something, you felt like you owned something. But this ownership isn't real ownership. It is merely the illusion of ownership: an illusion that is revealed as such as soon as its in the publisher's interest to cancel you.
4) The myth of satisfaction. The hardest thing, for many here (myself included), is how empty we felt after the game closed. Far from feeling satisfied at time well spent, we tended to feel empty, like a part of us was taken away. Whatever we had just wasn't enough, and despite how exploitive the business model was, we continued to pour more time and money into something that would, by design, get taken away from us. This shows me that MMORPGs are addictive, and are purposefully made so in order for us to throw more money into the illusion. Veteran rewards, hero packs--even things like the day jobs--provide soft "carrots and sticks" to keep you in the illusion. But far from making your time more satisfying, such incentives only served to deepen the psychological need for the game. All the more reason why we were treated with such a lack of consideration at the end. We were treated like the junkies we were, as things to use and throw away without a second thought.
5) The myth that virtual worlds are a new paradigm in expression and community. Surely we thought so, and the idealists among us are going to keep on reiterating about all the virtues of this type of society we build in these places. But there is no society, there can be no society, when there isn't a parity between those who run the game and those who play the game. I'm sure a compulsive gambler calls his card playing buddies and bookie friends, too. But to the bookie taking the bet, to the casino owner who lends out the high roller suite, there is nothing special about the casino or the relationships made there. It's a wealth extraction machine, not a place for friends and community. When it ceases to be the kind of wealth extraction machine the owner wants it to be, he doesn't cry a tear when he tears it down. Why not? It was always "nothing personal," just business all along. They'll say it was our failing to think it was anything else, even though it was easy--far too easy--to actually believe differently.
You see, there is so much in our world that is miserable, drab, unrewarding, unsatisfying and lonely, that whoever can sell us an illusion of success, ownership, community, stability and fame will never lack for customers. CoH was certainly that and more. But we really don't get a sense of how easily exploitable we are until something like the CoH closure happens. We discover, at that point, how vulnerable we are.
The best among us might swear off MMOs for good, but if there's one thing we all have gained from this closure, it's the resolve to demand better. We won't be taking a producer's claims at face value. We won't be playing games that don't have protections in place. We won't be investing in games--financially or emotionally--as freely anymore. We won't be taken in by the hype as easily. And we'll build up our lives outside of the games, so when the companies do take away our fun, we won't be left empty.