The appeal of live service games

Over the course of my life I always find myself returning to life service games — web-based MMOs in the past and gacha games in recent years. Yet when I look back on these games without the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, there isn't a single one I'd consider good. More often than not they are riddled with pay-to-win elements, predatory tactics or simply just lazy game design. So what gives?

I think I may be romanticizing the idea of a game that stays with you for a big portion of your life, one that grows and changes with you. A game where progress isn't measured in hours but months and even years. I do realize this is naive thinking. We as humans naturally seek out novelty and no amount of changes to a singular game will maintain our interest forever. Game companies are aware of this and will do their best to chain you to their product, capitalizing on the sunk cost fallacy and making you play not because you're having fun, but because you feel like you have to.

But despite all that I still wish for a game I could play for years on end and look back on with pride and a sense of accomplishement instead of indifference or resentment.