It has a bunch of stubborn players who refuse to move on...
After having a quick look at the competition, it's certainly possible to build a game which competes against them. I'm sure Planetarion could do the same if the time and effort was spent in the right areas, instead of constantly tweaking pointless game mechanics and concentrating on the things which really need changing.
Most of the games are failing with the new player experience. Games need to introduce themselves to the player in a similar way to an MMORPG - start off with a few spells/attacks and gradually expand the interface with functionality they're able to use. It's pointless showing them functionality which is impossible to use because they don't have the right research, building, etc.
No new players results in your game shrinking over time, as it's impossible to grow if people aren't going to stick around for more than 5 minutes.