Where are all the MMORPG Themeparks?

A reader named Rogbarz emailed us toward the end of last year, lamenting the fact that we have a lot of upcoming indie games seemingly aping one facet of early Ultima Online or Shadowbane, but not a lot of games on the way emulating the genre’s themeparks. “Write about the need for a new MMO that brings back classic raiding, dungeons, the way older MMOs like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and Final Fantasy used to and still do,” he commanded. “I think people do want a new MMO like this, but nothing is coming out.”

I suspect that the modern distinterest in new themeparks specifically has a lot to do with how much time and money they require to produce (and maintain), which isn’t something that’s happening in this current economic climate, but it’s probably a very good thing for the existing themeparks. What say you? Where are all the MMO themeparks? Which upcoming one (or older one) have you got your eye on?

TH