Do you buy in to the MMO hype and hate cycle?

If you listened only to the more heated debates in Massively's comments and around the blogosphere, it'd be easy to get lost amid polarizing hyperbole and scathing vitriol about MMOs and the drama enveloping them. The way some people tell it, a game like Guild Wars 2 is either the second coming or a complete failure even before it's launched. World of Warcraft is tanking with "only" nine million subscriptions. Star Wars: The Old Republic's path to free-to-play is the last gasp of a dying game, never mind that it surpassed expectations for profitability long ago. It's a challenge indeed to find a nuanced middle ground and understand how real players (not just vocal commenters) perceive the games.

So does a game have to be the best or worst ever to be worthy of discussion? Can't a game just be decent or good enough? How do you avoid being swept away by the latest MMO storm surge of hype and hate?

TH