Everything is much simpler, actually.....
People play The Sims, but in reality, they are playing at life, and there you can realize things that are currently unavailable to you in life...... for example, I can have 10 children, drink an elixir of youth, and never grow old...... but everything is fine in real life too, so I have no reason to escape from it....... whereas by playing an ONLINE game, specifically FANTASY, you're unlikely to achieve such an effect..... although I agree that it's a game for girls and trying to convince the male sex that it's super is useless!