Ok, so this week's Altre's Gamer View isn't so much directly related to MMORPGs. It's more related to marketing and hype, and a Matrix game too. But this subject has a lot to do with MMORPGs as we know them today:

It's an unfortunate situation that, despite out best efforts, we are
swayed by advertisements. Realize that what you just saw on tv was
specifically designed by a group of people who sat around a table asking
themselves, "How can we play off the customer's stupidity and selfish
desires in order to compel them to buy our product?" There are, broadly
speaking, three big tactics out there for getting this accomplished.