If achievements were removed from the genre, popularity would drop. I have no doubt. People would still play them as a means to escape the real world, but without contemporary gaming achievements that's all it would be--a second life (not to be confused with Second Life).

MMO's owe some of their popularity these days to the fact that they are no longer just virtual worlds or super-deluxe chat rooms (were they ever really *that* featureless? I don't think so). HOWEVER, I do feel that the genre has become too enamored with achievements and has forgotten how to properly act as a virtual world at the same time. I'd like to see the genre find a nice sweet-spot/equilibrium between video game and virtual world. Some games like Eve and FE seem to be on the right track in my opinion.

Of course it's all subjective, but I think most can agree that the genre is undergoing a divergence lately. I'd venture as far as to say that it is splitting into three directions, but that's debatable. Games like Global Agenda (I don't know a ton about it, so my judgement might be innaccurate here), Crimecraft, and APB seem to be going the way of smaller-scale, faster-paced, and easily accessible romps. Meanwhile another sub-genre seems to be large-scale PvE games such as WoW, Champions Online, LOTRO, etc. It may be wishful thinking, but games like Earthrise, Eve, and Fallen Earth seem to be trying to get back in touch with creating the feeling of actually being in another world again. Of course these are just subjective examples and there are all kinds of hybrids/exceptions, but that's why I said the divergence into sub-genres seems to be in progress (as opposed to complete).