Oldschool Runescape Is Still More Popular Than Runescape 3

Do you remember playing that browser MMO as a kid where you pretty much always started off by killing cows, selling the hide and buying bronze armor thinking you were a total badass? Well if you dont then you probably had more friends than me when I was younger(weeps in corner).  All jokes aside, Im talking about Runescape.

Runescape is an MMORPG developed and published by Jagex, originally released in 2001. But If youre reading this article, you probably already knew that. Although Runescape was released in 2001, its now known as Old school Runescape, due to the latest iteration of the game being Runescape 3 which was released in 2013. Runescape 3 has more content, and drastically better graphics then Old school Runescape does. Even though Jagex intended for Runescape 3 to be an improvement from Old school Runescape, it failed to win over hardcore fans of the game. To this day, Old school Runescape continues to maintain a higher player base than Runescape 3.

So why is a considerably older game more popular than what was supposed to be its replacement? Well for starters, even though change can be a good thing, it isnt always. Old school Runescape has the higher player base because sometimes simplicity beats innovation. One of the reasons I played Runescape so much as a kid was because of its simplicity. As a kid in elementary school, I could grasp a general understanding of the game. Even though I wasnt necessarily good at it, I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless.

When you play an MMORPG for years of your life you tend to develop a bond with that game. The reason World of Warcraft has never been able to be beaten in regards to player-base, is because its an old game. WoW along with Everquest were the first widely Popular MMORPGs, and because of that, people have spent years of their life in them. Just like WoW players, Old school Runescape players wont easily leave the game behind because of how invested they are in it. Coming back to it after years of not playing brings a sense of nostalgia and comfort.

MMORPGs are kind of like relationships. You spend years of your life with your first MMO and love it unconditionally. After years and years, it may get boring, and a new one can feel exciting at first. After spending enough time with the new one, you realize everything thats missing in the relationship, and you regret leaving your first MMO. You realize that your first MMO loved you, just as much as you loved it. Regretting what you have done, you try to make up with your first MMO, only to find out it was waiting for you the whole time as if nothing happened.

Ok well, its not entirely like an actual relationship but I felt the need to make somewhat of a witty analogy. I was kind of close, wasnt I?