My thoughts on internet gaming...
its going two directions
1. the WOW Everquest route, (more corporate and more attractive)
2. The hedge gamer route.
both are nice, but hedge gaming will get a boost in about six months at least in the apple community. Once apple goes mainstream with their new build of iChat I predict a dozen or so PC versions will be close behind.
So whats so special about the new iChat multiple video teleconferencing. You can set up conferences of up to six people (just the right size for a gaming group) get all the nuances of being there in person, and be in the comfort of your own home.
So whats so great about six guys being interrupted by their spouses for not taking out the trash, and not being able to pass the Nachos to the guy on your left... well more Nachos for one thing, but also it allows people to play with people they like even when those people have packed up and moved to Frisco, New Orleans and Anchorage.
If I know iChat I know that it will work pretty seemlessly with AOL Instant messenger (Im not sure about Trillian, but its a good bet that it will be compatible.)
Now your biggest problem is getting everyone webcams...
As for Everquest, WOW Star Wars galaxies and what have you the games are getting more and more immersive. I expect that soon voice chat will become the norm instead of typing, perhaps with a voice modulator so that Danny the guy playing the female elf Paladin doesnt scare away all the other folks in the game with his deep bass voice. What I'd truly like to see is local servers with say a dozen or two dozen players where only a set clan or tribe played. Who knows, maybe thats coming too. All I know is that Online roleplaying is looking nicer and nicer. Just wait till the first LOTR clone of WOW comes out, or Lawyer the Roleplaying game. Come to think about it maybe these games are a little too immersive.
I will note that forum based games are going to go the way of the dodo for the most part, mainly because of the speed of posting.
