There's an article on Massively today, a subject that has been re-hashed and re-hashed. The topic deals with MMORPG's and how they're gradually moving away from forcing players to group and giving them more and more opportunities to solo. The article asks the question – "While this has opened the genre up to lots of new players who normally wouldn't likely have played MMOGs, some might say it's also taken something away."
I'm going to stick my neck out and say – MMO players: suck it up.
There are a dozen or more reasons why giving players the ability to solo will now be the norm from here on out, and no longer an exception to the rule. I'm not going to waste anyone's time listing them all, but here's the few I care to mention.
- The audience has broadened. The article mentions that the ability to solo has 'opened up' the genre to a broader audience. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the audience is now forcing game companies to create soloable content – not the other way around.
- The "original" audience is aging. The people who were hardcore gamers of the first MMO's (Ultima Online, Meridian 59, Anarchy Online, Dark Age of Camelot, EQLive) are now in their 30's and 40's. They have careers, families, and obligations. Gaming is second to them and needs to take up less of their time.
- We're no longer antiquated. Congratulations startups and MMOs in development – you get to share the spot with a shitload more games. It's not just UO or EQ anymore, there are a variety of options. You no longer have to be forced to group.
- People are playing multiple MMOs. And no, Richy Rich, it's not because they're making more money. It's because free-to-play is here to stay. Why would I want to play one game that requires effort and work to find a group before I can sit down and enjoy the game…when I can play another where I can login and instantly have fun (and without necessarily paying). We like instant feedback, our brains are trained to love it. And we like free shit.
- We've designed for it. Everything from leveling treadmills, to end game raiding, to expansion cycles and trivializing old content. If you're going to require people to group at the low level, you're going to have a lot of bored level 20's with no one to group with. You *have* to let them speed through it, or you're not going to have any new users and your population will dwindle away over time. Hence why EQ1 put in mercenaries to solve this problem.
Sure, groups are fun. Sure, they have their place. But if games don't allow you to play the game in a meaningful fashion and enjoy all/most of the content by yourself – you're saying "Hey there industry, I don't care about most of you, and don't want your money or time." Those of you still clinging on to the old days, you'll grow up too! Some day, you'll have a job and a significant other, and children pulling at your leg while you're "LFG Naxxramas, may have to AFK to put baby to bed". 
