Tale of two gaming worlds
Only a few years ago, online games still lurked on the fringe of American culture.
One category catered to young males interested in wreaking havoc -- at others' expense. And then there were the complex, virtual communities that more closely mirror the real world in their social interactions.
Today, those never-ending online "massively multiplayer" games like "EverQuest" have matured into mainstream, vibrant attractions, drawing hundreds of thousands of paying customers -- male and female.
But their growth appears almost stagnant compared to the popularity spike for multiplayer online shoot'em-ups and other mostly war-themed fare geared toward users of console systems, led by Sony Corp.'s Playstation2 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox.
Already this year, two "persistent" fantasy world online computer games have been scrapped, one before it even made it to store shelves.
Broadband Internet access, meanwhile, has helped bring connectivity to consoles that wasn't even an option two years ago. Now, 750,000 players use Xbox Live, each paying $50 a year to be able to play against people elsewhere and download updates.
