So the other day I was having a discussion with a guy I've known for years about what kind of people lead the really top end MMROPG guilds, and by this I mean somewhere within the top 5 of your entire game, i.e. something you and I will probably never do. The guy said he was independently wealthy and said that he is sure all the similar guilds are led by someone who is independently wealthy. At first I assumed this was just Internet Tough Guy (TM) talk.
But after thinking about it, it kind of makes a lot of sense. I know these guys for 5 or more years, which is long enough to get out of college or having your welfare benefits expire. I know these guys pretty much play the game all the time and their raiding attendence would suggest a lifestyle that is never burdened with work. Quite a few of them offer to pay for server transfer, and while $25 or whatever your MMORPG charges for them isn't a lot of money, you really have to ask how much money/dedication you got to have to just drop $25 on a total random stranger.
Now it's possible you could be someone who is just permanently out of work making do with life, but such people tend to not do well in leadership positions, not to mention you'd think if you're unemployed for 5 years at some point you got to at least leave for a while to find money somewhere.
On the other hand a lot of the players that participate in such a guild does fit the profile of your average Internet loser. I've seen multiple guys who replied that they're actually physically crippled in life, and while you can't really believe anything on the Internet, it seems pretty odd people would want to lie about these things. Again if you look at the playing profile of said players, it fits with one where the person does not need (or cannot) to work.
I've read a study that says the MMORPG stereotype (i.e. some guy in his parent's basement) is actually pretty accurate when they run a demographics on the top raiding guilds. For a while there seems to be this movement about how hardcore MMORPG guys are normal folks too, but that doesn't seem to be actually true. If you go to any fan gathering that isn't Blizzcon, you will end up with a profile of people that really does fit the MMORPG stereotype, just like most people you see at AnimeExpo does fit the profile of the stereotypical Anime fan.
Now, Blizzcon is probably an exception because if you got millions of fans, you got to have some normal people attending the a convention. That said even WoW, at least in the earlier raiding days, definitely has top guilds that fit this profile. Since WoW has moved to a less time consuming raiding model, it might not be fit the generic MMORPG as well. Then again, I heard top guilds have shadow characters so they can raid the same content multiple times to deal with limited attempt encounters.
I guess this is why Euros tend to be a MMORPG powerhouse, because Europeans have to work less than Americans and are more able to fit the demands to be a truly hardcore. I'm pretty sure the most hardcore guys I've seen are all Europeans, though Canadians are pretty decent too. I was told by one guy that Canada gets pretty good social benefits if you work in the government, since one of the former hardcore guys I played with was always on some kind of sick/disability leave and he was from Canada. I certainly can't imagine any job in USA where you can be on sick leave for half of the year and still keep your job.
But after thinking about it, it kind of makes a lot of sense. I know these guys for 5 or more years, which is long enough to get out of college or having your welfare benefits expire. I know these guys pretty much play the game all the time and their raiding attendence would suggest a lifestyle that is never burdened with work. Quite a few of them offer to pay for server transfer, and while $25 or whatever your MMORPG charges for them isn't a lot of money, you really have to ask how much money/dedication you got to have to just drop $25 on a total random stranger.
Now it's possible you could be someone who is just permanently out of work making do with life, but such people tend to not do well in leadership positions, not to mention you'd think if you're unemployed for 5 years at some point you got to at least leave for a while to find money somewhere.
On the other hand a lot of the players that participate in such a guild does fit the profile of your average Internet loser. I've seen multiple guys who replied that they're actually physically crippled in life, and while you can't really believe anything on the Internet, it seems pretty odd people would want to lie about these things. Again if you look at the playing profile of said players, it fits with one where the person does not need (or cannot) to work.
I've read a study that says the MMORPG stereotype (i.e. some guy in his parent's basement) is actually pretty accurate when they run a demographics on the top raiding guilds. For a while there seems to be this movement about how hardcore MMORPG guys are normal folks too, but that doesn't seem to be actually true. If you go to any fan gathering that isn't Blizzcon, you will end up with a profile of people that really does fit the MMORPG stereotype, just like most people you see at AnimeExpo does fit the profile of the stereotypical Anime fan.
Now, Blizzcon is probably an exception because if you got millions of fans, you got to have some normal people attending the a convention. That said even WoW, at least in the earlier raiding days, definitely has top guilds that fit this profile. Since WoW has moved to a less time consuming raiding model, it might not be fit the generic MMORPG as well. Then again, I heard top guilds have shadow characters so they can raid the same content multiple times to deal with limited attempt encounters.
I guess this is why Euros tend to be a MMORPG powerhouse, because Europeans have to work less than Americans and are more able to fit the demands to be a truly hardcore. I'm pretty sure the most hardcore guys I've seen are all Europeans, though Canadians are pretty decent too. I was told by one guy that Canada gets pretty good social benefits if you work in the government, since one of the former hardcore guys I played with was always on some kind of sick/disability leave and he was from Canada. I certainly can't imagine any job in USA where you can be on sick leave for half of the year and still keep your job.
