If you minus 3D rendered when considering open world, we have had them forever in the form of Muds. I remember as a small kid logging onto GEnie and paying by the hour to play a fantasy mud back in the early days of the internet. I didn't know it wouldn't just drop you when you went over your minutes and needless to say my parents received a very large phone bill of a few hundred dollars(since GEnie was ridiculously overpriced then.....paying for a host connection by the hour should be an indication). Anyways! Great post and it does seem we are flooded with Open World. Just as long as it is good then it doesn't matter to me.