After slogging through World of Warcraft for several years, the last thing I want in a game is something that requires me to basically live a double life. I'd like an MMO where I could pop in and out, instead of dedicating multi-hour blocks that become the equivalent of a part-time job by the end of the week. And that doesn't include researching content for efficient strategies, researching in-game equipment for optimized tactics, bickering with people on the Internet about various aspects of gameplay, or ultimately regretting all the time I didn't spend socializing, reading books, accumulating income, learning a real-world employment skill, exercising, eating decently, or traveling.

About ten years ago, $100 was the norm for a very solid video card. Not coincidentally, there was a lot more competition in the market. Then came the dot-com collapse. ATI and nVidia emerged from the rubble, and people have been accusing them of price collusion for years. It would be pretty easy to do so, now that 3DFX, Matrox, S3, Rendition and the rest are largely out of the way in this sector of the market, or gone completely.

There's also the current economy to consider. The high-end cards have typically only comprised a small percentage of the market, and it's simply not realistic right now to expect someone to cough up $400-500 for just a video card when they can get an entire laptop for that much. Or, you know, pay the rent and put food on the table.