It's a crap of a lot harder to get a loot lust going on without the armor and weapons of the fantasy setting. 

WWII ---> FPS/Strategy 
Roman Republic ---> Strategy 
MMO ---> fantasy universe

 I've wondered about this a lot myself.  Why are fantasy environments so popular for MMOs?

In a typical fantasy world most of it is natural or preindustrial.  Most objects aren't  complex or interactive.  For example a small thatched hut or log cabin, with lots of inanimate objects in it, crude wooden chairs and tables, bowls, pottery.  These things just sit there in real life and don't really have much complexity or interaction and that's easy to replicate in the game.  When I enter that little cottage if it's done well it can feel believable or at least I can allow my mind to pretend i'm in that world.  When the need for something complex does arrive they don't have to work very hard to make it work you just know it's 'magic' and your brain accepts that.

When i play in a modern or futuristic setting with things like machinery, televisions, computers, vehicles and all of the things we are familiar with and are complex and we expect complex interactions with them.  When I play Star Trek online everything feels like it's made of cardboard to look like advanced computers and technology but I can't really interact with it as you might see in a sci-fi tv show or movie and that's frustrating.  Grand Theft Auto IV comes close to succeeding in this area for me though it's pretty amazing how much modern interactivity they give in that game.

So yeah the basic answer is that it's a lot easier for the developers to just make up whatever and explain it with MAGIC!  It's much harder to simulate realitic modern environments in a believable and fun way.

But while i'm rambling here one of the things that really bugs me about MMORPGs after the original everquest is how they start you out insanely powerful (compared to a average mortal human being).  At launch in everquest one you basically start out as a normal man with a stick or a dagger some rags for a shirt and and had to go and make your way killing snakes and rats and bees for honey.  The whole adventure was then discovering spells and going from this normal human fighting rats into a powerful wizard with spells like ice comet!  As you progress and gain riches you might one day be able to buy a horse.

These days you start out with all kinds of armor (at least visually) and magic and often it's easy to get a mount, probably a *flying one*, very early in the game.  You basically start out as a super-powered human relative to a typical mortal man.

Anyway I know a lot of you are to young to remember (god i sound like the old grampa complaining about having to walk to school 10 miles in the snow uphill both ways) but to me nothing has ever come close to the experiences my friends and I had playing the original everquest in the first few years.  that game was BRUTAL up until the later years when it started getting soft and that's what made it also extremely fun and rewarding.

@_Nuno_

In this last aspect I hope that KOTOR:OR does a lit bit more for the player than WOW did.  

 What is KOTOR:OR?  Knights of the Old Republic: Old Republic?  Was that an early name for Star Wars: The Old Republic?

No not really. Because I haven't played much.

I like the idea...maybe late 1600s to 1700s..colonial carribean..kinda like Pirates! but an mmo? 
I'd also love a survival horror mmo..like a resident evil or land of the dead (that crappy Ramero movie) scenario..either would be cool. We've got Sci-fi on the horizon with Star Wars and current with Star Trek (haven't played).  I'd like a Shadowrun mmo..that'd rule.

" @Phantom_Gardener said:

" No i aint getting sick of fantasy mmorpg's, in fact i havent seen an really good mmorpg since WoW. Everquest 2 and Lord of the Rings Online are decent,  but besides from that there aint much to choose from. And no i dont think a history based mmo would be a very good idea "

I'm sorry, but Guild Wars pwned WoW in pretty much every way. "

" Stabbing people with enchanted swords while casting fireballs and dancing in the middle of a battle doesn't get old. "

" No i aint getting sick of fantasy mmorpg's, in fact i havent seen an really good mmorpg since WoW. Everquest 2 and Lord of the Rings Online are decent,  but besides from that there aint much to choose from. And no i dont think a history based mmo would be a very good idea "

" I think that MMO's with real life limitations would be pretty lame, actually. "

No i aint getting sick of fantasy mmorpg's, in fact i havent seen an really good mmorpg since WoW. Everquest 2 and Lord of the Rings Online are decent,  but besides from that there aint much to choose from. And no i dont think a history based mmo would be a very good idea

I'm sick of the Fantasy setting in general. It's part of the reason why Dragon Age didn't do anything for me.

Because most people would be serfs farming the land, which sounds incredibly boring.

I'm still waiting for a sweet western themed MMO.

Fantasy works easiest because the typical layout works best, Warrior to tank, Rogue to damage, Mage to support, Cleric to heal 
 
in any other fantasy, how would you explain a meat tank when bullets are involved?

I see where you're coming from; but unfortunately, as many others have said, it would not make for a great MMO. Combat would be repetitive due to lack of magic. If it's more realistic then theres no mana/health potions. People would have to take time out and rest. 
At least someone is trying to figure something else out, and try something new. It just seems like there wouldn't be enough to create a game, let alone attract enough customers. For now we'll just have to keep playing fantasy MMOs, until someone figures out a way around it.

I offered up a decent reason why it wouldnt work and you offered up a supermultifacetted impossiblity in response.    Whos acting like the kid?  
 
PS. It would probly feel weird if anyone short of a 50 year old was calling me a KID in a serious manner. You are too cool for the internet. Good luck on your awesome game. I'd check it out.
 

 Let me remind you that the best literature is mainly realistic. Does that mean you can't escape with it? No! because what you want to escape from is your life not reality. Reality can be pretty fun. Hell, it would be a lot of fun to play the life of some powerful person - Hitler? Anyone? What I mean is you don't have to play as some creature killing other creatures in order to have fun. 
Also the problem in MMOs is that the story completely ignores your existence. If I don't feel like a part of the universe what's the point of creating one? Then if it is consistent or not it would not matter much to me.

" Blizzard is posting 5 billion a year in profit, I dont think wow or mmo's are going anywhere. "

Blizzard is posting 5 billion a year in profit, I dont think wow or mmo's are going anywhere.

I found that WoW was fun because:
 
There were professions: you could craft stuff and it was interesting always looking for new things to create
Classes were dynamic and intricate: any class could be played multiple ways but could always contribute to a different situation
Content was frequently updated
There was just simply a lot to do
 
I see no reason, other than lack of creativity, that another setting outside a WoW/LOTR/D&D universe couldn't be used. There just needs to be someone willing to offer it. I think a historical MMO could be especially interesting if they wove in some fictional/mythological stuff. As in, if it was set in the Roman Era or the days of the Greek golden age, you could have priests to different gods be different classes, each with different abilities. Battles would be over places in the real world, but with that magical twist to them. If you wanted a more historically accurate game, you could even allow some elements of city building, and remove the magic. The possibilities are quite staggering... its just that no one has attempted any of them, or if they have, they haven't done a quality job.
 
By now, people who love video games should know that there is enough creativity in the medium to suggest nothing is impossible. We'll just have to wait and see.

they are cool, sometimes. i use to play wow for 3 years straight. i took a break for a while then tried to play wow but couldn't. wow is always updating so there has to be something new that a person can get into. there is going to be an update that will change aezeroth. everything is going to change in there. look around for it, u can now use flying mounts, barrens are going to be volcano type of place.

" I believe there was a pirate MMORPG before "

I believe there was a pirate MMORPG before

" Stabbing people with enchanted swords while casting fireballs and dancing in the middle of a battle doesn't get old. "

Also, everyone seems to tie MMO's to RPG's. 
 
I'd like to see an MMORTS ( Shattered Galaxy ) or an MMOFPS.

I like fantasy worlds, but I do think the MMO market has too many games that take place in the typical world of "fantasy."  WOW, LOTR Online, Guild Wars, Age of Conan, and so on.  When I found out about City of Heroes, it was like going from black & white to color, almost literally.  Everything is so brown in those "fantasy" MMOs but in the superhero MMOs everything is so bright and colorful and it's just so much less depressing.  I don't know about "historically accurate" MMOs though.  I guess it could work.  Maybe alternate history. 

Honestly Id be extremely impressed if someone could pull off making a good MMO that didnt exist in a Fantasy/SciFi world. The problem with not fitting into one of those categories is that you run out of viable and/or logical options for quests and battles. If youre just making things up you can make stuff up forever, but if youre restricted to real life scenarios you eventually have to either move into fantasy or end the game.

Again I remind you kid, I am talking about the setting, not the gameplay, which does not have to be ALL historicly accurate.   
 
And by the way, the main reason why there aren't more Historicly based MMO's I believe, is because the first big MMO was Everquest, which wasn't historicly accurate and after that it was WOW. This led Big companies to try and copy these games to get a piece of the pie, and the only ones who actually take a shot at producing historicly based MMO's are small budget developers. Besides, the fact that there isn't a good one out there doesn't mean it can't be done. "

                                                                             RICH GALLUP SAYS FANTASY MMO'S ARE THE SHIT.

The thing is, many companies have tried to expand the MMO genre - games like City of Heroes were popular and well populated till WoW hit and swept up everyone.  Other attempts like the pirate MMOs and Tabula Rasa have tried to bring something different, but have fallen by the wayside.  The most successful MMOs have always had a fantasy setting.  Is this because they have a fantasy setting? Perhaps, some things like the typical tank and healer roles are hard to pull off in a non-fantasy style without seeming contrived.  Bioware may have a chance at pulling some MMO buffs away from WoW but I think its different enough that those players will probably keep their WoW accounts active and try SW:TOR, but ultimately either their WoW friends or some gameplay facet they dun like will draw them away again.
 
I could be wrong, but that's happened to many other MMOs.  Fantasy fits the genre and it sells.

I am just sick of the same, tired class structure. I don't think it's the setting unless it's really poorly done. it's like FPS's, when they put something innovative in it, it's still fun and those are always in the same type of setting as well.

I think you make several good points.  But if we are what we eat, I may be you tomorrow.

LOL poor Rich. He will have a job at giantbomb after that game 38 Studios's making comes tumbling down.

For Rich Gallup's sake, I'll say no, we're not getting sick of fantasy mmo's

I completely agree with the OP's point. The typical 'fantasy' setting is getting _really_ old. It's one giant cliche that's been stretched far beyond what it should have been. We need some originality in game settings/writing. Enough with the orcs, wizards, trolls, and elves already.

" Ive said this many times before But, a warhammer 40,000 MMO would be badass "