Well, a lot of MMORPGs that are released now only have a life expectancy of a couple of years by their developers. Gaming has moved to a more instant gratification type model, so most younger players aren't interested in the type of long grind RO offers.
So tldr; yes it is.
That's what I feel too. People's expectations have changed. Of course, any MMORPG will require some sort of grinding. Some developers do a better job incorporating that into the game, in a way distracting players from the fact that they are spending time grinding - through means of storyline, questing, incremental achievements, etc. However, I personally feel RO fails heavily in this area. I realize this was the gaming model for many Asian MMORPG's back in the days, but RO can't/won't adapt with the times. RO developers don't try too hard to counteract the boredom that comes with mindless grinding (except for maybe BGM). You basically have to take the same leveling path twice (once as a normal, then again as a transcendent), and your job level counter resets like five times (not including the Novice job levels). Other than experience, there is no attraction for leveling - there's no story progression, quests aren't really tied in well with leveling (minus Eden quests). It's just mindless grinding, and if you don't a party, guild, or friends, it's just mind-numbing. Not to condone, but it's really not hard to see why so many bot (I do realize there are other reasons).
Personally I think RO specifically is only going downhill because of mismanagement and greed on WP and Gravity's part.
If the servers were handled well, we'd have a lot more players.
Sadly, yes. I'm just not sure if there's a way to salvage what we have...
Its not. Mayb your lifestyle/preference has changed.
Yes, I did indicate that my lifestyle has changed...
I think games are adapting to that more than well.
Almost every game has a Cash Shop nowadays to allow for people with less time to just buy their way to victory.
Thats already making it a lot easier for people to keep up.
Some games are adapting better than others, it seems. From a business standpoint, there's almost no way a game won't have a cash shop. However, some games manage this feature better, trying to keep it balanced. Unfortunately, RO's system usually seems to tip the balance.
Not many decent MMORPGs have been created recently, so yes, it's a dying breed.
Actually, I don't think having many MMORPG's spring up is a good thing. As another member pointed out above, having a lot of lower-quality games on the scene just spreads the population thin. MMORPG's are, by nature, games that require people to invest time into. For many of us, that means we can only focus on one or two of these games at a given time. Also, having just a small number of good games means keeping the community together, keeping that MMO part relevant. There are/was(?) a handful of decent/good/great (personal opinion) MMORPG's out there.