Why Uru Live Matters

I think Uru's power, and the reason the gaming industry should stand up and take notice is twofold:

First, it got brought back to life on the power of the concept, and the enthusiasm of the fan base. This has never happened before, usualy once a game gets killed, especially if the boxed bversion is on the shelves already, it stays dead.

The only real analogy out there is the Browncoats and Firefly. Uru Live is the Serenity of the gaming world.

It took GameTap's willingness & vision of reaching out to smaller companies, rejected by the Big Name Publishers, to make it happen. David Reid of GameTap mentioned this in his PAX interview.

If GameTap does continue in this vein, it will (Gods Willing), bring back unique and innovative game designs. No more cookie cutter, barely different concepts and gameplay, because that's all the big publishers will pay for and produce. Smaller companies will be able to push boundaries, because there's a place for them.

Which brings me to the second item:

Uru pushes boundaries of what people expect a multiplayer online experience to be.

The first question Joe Gamer asks is "What is there besides PVP and collecting loot and leveling?"

Gamers have been conditioned to expect nothing else out of their MMO experience. Nothing. Check every single MMO out there right now, and they are ALL the same concept in different packaging. They are fun, enjoyed by the people who play them, visually stunning, but they all follow a basic framework.

Uru doesn't, and that confuses people. They can't wrap their brains around it. Is the world ready for an MMO where the story and interaction is the focus? It better be, because it's about to get it.

(feel free to link to this, or C&P it with my name)