As the year 2009 kicks off, MMORPGs are now perhaps the most popular computer gaming genre available. Possibly hundreds of MMORPGs are on the market, and probably a like number have come and gone since 1997. AOL really had it going on with Neverwinter Nights, and along with two other games, The Realm Online and Meridian 59, had deftly created a new realm for roleplayers to interact in and with. However, it was in September of 1997 when the new computer gaming genre now known as MMORPGs hit the world stage with a game called Ultima Online.

You can quickly travel anywhere you wish from the moment your character first goes live.Roleplay an alchemist, lumberjack, healer, and other non-combat professions without ever once having to know anything about swinging a sword or casting a spell.There is one that remains from that early era, one that still holds a wealth of roleplaying fun and potential among the plethora of vastly more popular MMORPGs, and one that will soon be getting a new expansion - Ultima Online.Prior to September of 1997, roleplayers spent their time in games like Dungeons and Dragons and Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs).