Game Reviews Index
Lately, we have been hearing quite a lot regarding the state of MMO’s in the industry and the impact they would have on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, as both Microsoft’s Shane Kim and SOE President John Smedley have been speaking about respective projects this week.
Recently, SOE President John Smedley spoke about the importance that MMO’s have on the future of the Playstation 3, touting that you will not find the MMO, The Agency, on any other console. He also said that the game will become a strong selling point for the Playstation 3. Speaking to the Seattle Times he said, “I think MMO’s are going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term — there’s going to be some great ones on the PS3. You’re not going to find The Agency on the Xbox 360.” He continued on to say, “I would say MMO’s are getting more mainstream. If I were characterizing it, I would say think of the video gaming industry five years ago. “
“That’s kind of where I think we’re at... Five years ago, do you think Grand Theft Auto IV would have done $500 million in opening-week sales? To me, video games are just reaching the real mass-market now. That is going to translate to the MMO side of the business.”
It seems that Sony is very committed to bringing MMO’s to the Playstation 3 and is in a good position to really place the Playstation 3 as the MMO’s choice of console.
Now with Microsoft, it’s been a real love/hate relationship when it comes to MMO’s. With so many titles cancelled when in development, you can’t help but wonder why? Why cancel these games when you have a service as capable as Live to forefront these types of games. At X06 Microsoft announced that in conjunction with Cryptic, they will be bringing Marvel Universe Online to the Xbox 360. Now, this title sparked a lot of interest, as it would have been the first MMO to let you play as characters from the Marvel Universe; however, since its revealing back at X06, nothing has been heard or seen from it for a long time, sparking rumors that the development had hit a road block. Fears were true, as Microsoft confirmed that Marvel Universe Online was indeed cancelled. Speaking to Joystiq, Shane Kim gave his reason on why the game was canceled:
"We don’t have a heritage in MMO’s. It’s a hits-driven business ... it’s all about quality, all about hits” when asked if that means the end of MGS first party MMO’s Kim responded “I would never say we’re done”
Now let’s not forget that there are already two MMO’s on Xbox 360: Final Fantasy VI and Phantasy Star Universe. So it’s not like the 360 and Live can’t handle it, it must just be Microsoft pulling out at the last minute. Let’s have a look at some of Microsoft’s cancelled MMO’s. Games such as Asheron’s Call 2, Mythica, True Fantasy Online and Vanguard were all canceled by the Redmond giant. True Fantasy Online had the potential to be massive; it could have even broken the barrier that seems to stop the Xbox brand from doing well over in Japan. It also didn’t help relationships with Japanese developers, Level-5 to be exact, as one of the reasons it was canceled was the poor relationship that existed between the two companies.
Now this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any MMO’s in development for the Xbox 360. Age of Conan, developed by Funcom, will be released roughly a year after the PC release this month. Let’s not forget the other MMO that is in development at the moment. Realtime Worlds, creators of Crackdown on the Xbox 360, have a very interesting MMO in the name of APB. This is slated for both PC and Xbox 360, and it has lots of potential to gather new players with its GTA look of cops vs. robbers action. it stirred up some real interest at this year’s GDC with its graphical powers, gameplay mechanics and vast customization. If it stays console exclusive on the Xbox 360, then Microsoft may have found its The Agency rival.
So the big question is do consoles need MMO’s? Do MMO’s need consoles? The answer to both the questions is yes. In order to reach mass market potential, consoles need to cater for all gamers and casual gamers alike, and there are millions of untapped MMO’s players out there in the world ready to grace a console if the MMO on it was actually good.
Recently, SOE President John Smedley spoke about the importance that MMO’s have on the future of the Playstation 3, touting that you will not find the MMO, The Agency, on any other console. He also said that the game will become a strong selling point for the Playstation 3. Speaking to the Seattle Times he said, “I think MMO’s are going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term — there’s going to be some great ones on the PS3. You’re not going to find The Agency on the Xbox 360.” He continued on to say, “I would say MMO’s are getting more mainstream. If I were characterizing it, I would say think of the video gaming industry five years ago. “
“That’s kind of where I think we’re at... Five years ago, do you think Grand Theft Auto IV would have done $500 million in opening-week sales? To me, video games are just reaching the real mass-market now. That is going to translate to the MMO side of the business.”
It seems that Sony is very committed to bringing MMO’s to the Playstation 3 and is in a good position to really place the Playstation 3 as the MMO’s choice of console.
Now with Microsoft, it’s been a real love/hate relationship when it comes to MMO’s. With so many titles cancelled when in development, you can’t help but wonder why? Why cancel these games when you have a service as capable as Live to forefront these types of games. At X06 Microsoft announced that in conjunction with Cryptic, they will be bringing Marvel Universe Online to the Xbox 360. Now, this title sparked a lot of interest, as it would have been the first MMO to let you play as characters from the Marvel Universe; however, since its revealing back at X06, nothing has been heard or seen from it for a long time, sparking rumors that the development had hit a road block. Fears were true, as Microsoft confirmed that Marvel Universe Online was indeed cancelled. Speaking to Joystiq, Shane Kim gave his reason on why the game was canceled:
"We don’t have a heritage in MMO’s. It’s a hits-driven business ... it’s all about quality, all about hits” when asked if that means the end of MGS first party MMO’s Kim responded “I would never say we’re done”
Now let’s not forget that there are already two MMO’s on Xbox 360: Final Fantasy VI and Phantasy Star Universe. So it’s not like the 360 and Live can’t handle it, it must just be Microsoft pulling out at the last minute. Let’s have a look at some of Microsoft’s cancelled MMO’s. Games such as Asheron’s Call 2, Mythica, True Fantasy Online and Vanguard were all canceled by the Redmond giant. True Fantasy Online had the potential to be massive; it could have even broken the barrier that seems to stop the Xbox brand from doing well over in Japan. It also didn’t help relationships with Japanese developers, Level-5 to be exact, as one of the reasons it was canceled was the poor relationship that existed between the two companies.
Now this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any MMO’s in development for the Xbox 360. Age of Conan, developed by Funcom, will be released roughly a year after the PC release this month. Let’s not forget the other MMO that is in development at the moment. Realtime Worlds, creators of Crackdown on the Xbox 360, have a very interesting MMO in the name of APB. This is slated for both PC and Xbox 360, and it has lots of potential to gather new players with its GTA look of cops vs. robbers action. it stirred up some real interest at this year’s GDC with its graphical powers, gameplay mechanics and vast customization. If it stays console exclusive on the Xbox 360, then Microsoft may have found its The Agency rival.
So the big question is do consoles need MMO’s? Do MMO’s need consoles? The answer to both the questions is yes. In order to reach mass market potential, consoles need to cater for all gamers and casual gamers alike, and there are millions of untapped MMO’s players out there in the world ready to grace a console if the MMO on it was actually good.
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