Something the article doesn't touch is on is that multiplayer online games are as much about the community as about the game itself. By that I mean that Steam keeps on trying to get me to buy CS-GO because I play Day of Defeat a lot (like most days for 30 mins to 1.5 hours). So I should be interested in what is essentially the same game but skinned differently. For some reason after trying CS-source (the direct equivalent of DoD) I have never gone back to CS. In DoD I play the same servers all the time and if they are full I have in the past paid membership to get on, but mostly I'll just play a completely different game, different genre, usually single player.

If my favorited servers are not available I'll not play either, because it's about who I'm playing against/with and the culture of the servers/people there.

My point being, you can clone a game, its genre and all other aspects, but you won't magically gain players from doing so. An analogy could be that people who are interested in cars don't just buy any car because they are "car guys" (gamers like games right!), they probably have a favorite even if they know it isn't the best car, leaks oil and has electrical problems. Something about Rovers or Fords or Buicks appeals to them. Same for games, you can't make a guess why people will like one thing over another very similar thing. But something original... or something with a twist...