The only game I've ever seen that had a whinier fan base than Shadowrun was Vampire. (no offense to anyone here who has played or currently played it, but yeah... weirdness.)
Shadowrunners have the distinction of crying foul at every major gaming concept. Fasa allowed people to write in and send results of thier runs, and people still complained every time they did anything. All the way back from first to second edition (which was nothing but improvements), to the video games (which even I remember there being criticism about- although people seem to revere those games now).. and they're driven thier gaming company out of business.
On top of that, most of the people who complain that Shadowrun needs to be an MMO are comparing it to WoW. with huge guilds, crafting, and no instances. They said it would be better, because you could interrupt runs from other people. So you would have WoW style interruptions, and would have to sit in S-K buildings waiting for the scientist to respawn so you could take him in.
Oh, and crafting, so you could grind experience making bullets and guns, and crafting tires and hoses out of raw parts... ooh, crafting, the bane of all RPGs and the bread and butter of MMOs. I don't look forward to the thought that there are going to be a hundred runners on the street at any given time- it just seems like Shadowrun works better as an RPG, with no major elements, perhaps working in small groups. Maybe one or two "Main Lobbies" and the rest instanced so I don't have to watch Joe Schmoe grind away experience (karma?) making phat tires for his ride so he can get his craft skill up high enough to make phat tires for airplanes. *shudder*
Sorry, I had to get that out.
-kv
