Being a MetaPlace alpha tester and having seen the spiel that Areae spins to the public, I can safely say that you're only getting about 1/1000th of the picture from these presentations.

MetaPlace is a platform for people to use. They've been showing the same apartment demo for months, and it's NOT about the apartment itself, but rather that before MetaPlace, putting that demo together would require graphics programming and client-server expertise. The fact that all that needs be done to create this in MetaPlace is to drop in some graphics and employ some of the library scripts is the real point. While the aprtment demo is underwhelming, the idea of it, how it's modified and how it's used in a potentially larger project -- all without a massive team, a massive amount of money, and a massive amount of technology -- is what MetaPlace is about. Don't dismiss the platform because of one of the oldest demos they've been running for it doens't make your pants dance.

As with any community content, there will be really excellent projects, and really crappy projects, to be sure, but the dividing line between the two is in the eye of the beholder. I think a lot of MMO projects (and MetaPlace isn't just about "WoW-esque" MMOs) would LIKE to ditch the inevitable comparison to the 800 pound gorilla of WoW, but financial investments need to be recouped and shareholders need to be made happy. We get legion of WoW clones as a result.

With a dedicated team using MetaPlace, though, no money needs to be expended up front. Like mods for PC games, these folks can create something thanks to the framework that was built by others, at no cost to themselves. If it tanks, then at least they tried to make a go at it (which is more then a lot of arm-chair developers and critics can say). If it's good, then yes, there could be another Portal or Counter Strike waiting in the wings. In the end, though, creators can take risks that big name developers can't, and they can supply diverse titles (and there are a lot of diverse, non-WoW and non-anti-WoW titles being discussed in the MP community) to niche markets which have been waiting for someone with the balls to take chances that the big-league developers are afraid to take.

The take-home message is that MP is really something that you need to USE to get the real experience, either as a developer or as a user. When you employ Raph's phrase "works like the web" rather then just hear it for the umpteenth time, then you might think differently.