I agree with the op. The glitz and glam of the MMORPG genre has pretty much reached it's peak. Back when the first graphical MMO's hit the scene it was so exciting and fresh. They not only provided entertainment, but engrossed us in social interaction that was pretty limited during that time period.
Now we have twitter and facebook and the MMO's keep advancing in terms of graphics, but not much has changed in terms of overall gameplay. I also believe that the attention span of most gamers has dwindled and they are always looking for the next best thing to come out. Unfortunately, there are so many coming out, that we are always seeking that next big thing.
I have fun playing SWTOR, but there is nothing revolutionary about it other than the full voice acting and an actual storyline for each class. In the end it's just like most of the other MMO's. PVE, PVP, RAID, click icons, kill things.
I think this is why so many MMO's have become F2P.