Why do people play online games?

a. Firstly, the appeal of anonymity. After all you can create a personality for yourself and can be what ever you want to be. This is a very powerful reason for people to hang out at these social sites.

b. Internet is a wonderful medium that enables you to be part of a society where all are equal. Absolutely no discrimination of any variety.

c. The games are becoming increasingly easy to setup. Most of the times you just don't need a native installation on your PC. A web browser is all you need to play a multiplayer game. This has taken away the operating system related hurdles that one would otherwise have encountered. These games are mostly free and on top of that you don't have to install anything to enable you to play these games. You just heard of game, perhaps from a friend or through an email or a newsletter. You just go to the gaming website and you are ready to play. No setup related hassles at all. This definitely is a very big contributor to the success and popularity of online games.

d. Online games are popular because they give people who are bored playing with their computer a chance to interact with real opponents. As a player you can chat with other players, you can join hands a few players and scheme against the others, just the way you do in real world, but with the advantage of anonymity.

I am sure there are more reasons.. Internet is changing the way we live. It is changing the way we play for sure.