In 1999, a company known as Verant launched a game called EverQuest, and online gaming was changed forever. EverQuest was not the first MMORPG, nor does it have the largest subscriber base, but it blazed so many trails and established so many paradigms that it is viewed by many as the seminal MMORPG. Most every MMO player has, at one time or another, played EverQuest.

Verant, now known as Sony Online Entertainment or SOE, had (and still has) a bona fide hit with EverQuest. Five years after the first players entered the world of Norrath, the original EQ is going strong. Several expansions have been added and a number of players have multiple accounts so that they may play more than one character. Fan Faires are held so that players can congregate and swap tales of their electronic adventures. Many an hour of sleep has been lost by those trying to get that last bit of experience to make the next level. The game is so addictive that it has been dubbed "EverCrack."