Warcraft WoW'd gamers in '07

Multiplayer games broke out in 2007, with much thanks to World of Warcraft (WoW).

While many forecasted that subscriptions for Blizzard's fantasy world would taper off, it instead rose from 8 million at the beginning of the year to 9.3 million by the end of the summer.

WoW's inhabitants also play the longest of MMO gamers. The average WoW gamer logged 17 hours of play per week — 12 hours more than its nearest competitor, The Sims, according to Nielsen.

Though no other MMOG has been able to capture such an enormous audience, next year will usher in a host of competitors for World of Warcraft.

Age of Conan will attempt to draw mature players with lifelike gore and large-scale battles, while Warhammer Online brings in fans of the original tabletop role playing game, reports BBC News.