Is there any real metric being used to determine which game is #1? No; just some arbitrary number dreamed up by the reviewers. What do the reviewers know? Like most movie critics, they might not have a clue of what makes a great game besides the number of explosions and cleavage shots. Everquest is #3 on the list, and it was a great game for its time, but I doubt it is rated as high *today*.
Subscription numbers is the metric I would trust. Unforunately, mmogchart.com is out of date and relies on data from the game vendors, so of course their numbers would be pumped up. Somewhere, I read that Second Life claimed 2 million players, but in reality that was 2 million avatars, not actual *active* subscriptions. I believe this is the same with Warcraft... they claim to have 7+ million accounts, but how many are actually active? The number keeps going up, while lots of people I knew through the game are quitting. I quit, is my account still counted? Hmm..
