Why MMOs?

What is it about MMOs that keep bringing me back. I have asked myself this question repeatedly as I have lost/found/lost my interest in console gaming. I almost exclusively play games that have an interaction element, interacting with other people. Why?

I used to be a strictly console player (due to the increased cost of maintaining a gaming pc) but I have found myself drifting back into the realm of personal computers. I think it is mainly because the multiplayer offered on xBox Live is usually limited to 8 players, 16 at the most. There are a few instances of games that allow more but they have not really taken hold. Or if they have they are not in the types of games that I usually play.

In MMOs there is obviously the potential to have a lot more players than 16. There are usually hundreds, if not thousands of players online at any given time. This is balanced with realms, zones or queues. So it is not like all 100 of us are standing around together because if we were the lag would be terrible. But it is nice to know that there are plenty of people interacting with the world and you can interact with them if you wish. It is funny, because even though the players are there, I usually solo (play the game as if it were a console RPG). But I like having the option to join up with someone and do a quest or run a dungeon.

Another reason I have drifted is because I do most of my gaming after 9:00 pm once the kids are in bed and I can finally get comfortable on the couch. It tends to be anti-social for me to hide in the basement and play xBox by myself, but I can get more traction with the family if I play on my laptop while watching TV with the wife.

I guess that I just dream big, and I imagine the possibility of taking down Deathwing in an EPIC 25-man raid. That sort of thing is just not an option on my xBox. Honestly it is not much of an option on my Mac either since I don't even raid, but there is always hope.