I've been waiting a long time for a sandbox MMO.
Quite honestly, in concept, Xsyon is the game that I would design if I was asked to build an MMO, some mechanical differences aside. This game has my support, but not my expectations.
I bought this game, knowing it might fail, because I feel confident in my decision to support a company that is building the type of game that I really do love. I am very much in the mind set that consumer power is important and I'd like to see a future trend of sandbox and player driven games.
I am having trouble playing right now because of terrible connectivity issues. I don't mind the low population, simply because it makes your interactions with other people more valuable, even though it obviously means financial woes for the publisher.
I would say also that the steep learning curve, while not a deterrent to me, would push away most gamers. Better in-game instructions about how to actually accomplish anything would probably be beneficial.
I would say in all that this game is plagued with a troublesome number of technical issues and that is the primary negative aspect of this game. This is a game for people who love sand box games and when these issues are fixed I see no reason why Xyson could not have a loyal and happy player base.