I was just pondering last summers rumors of Turbine working on a new mmo for one of the current game consoles.  Now combine that with the news of Turbine looking for a new microtransactions manager for their team and I have come up with this as what seems to me could be a VERY plausible scenario.

Turbine launches Asherons Call on the Nintendo Wii.  New servers.

Why the Wii?  Duh, this is a no brainer.  With such a HUGE Wii market already established with the number of units owned, this makes perfect sense.

Why "Asheron's Call"?  Another perfect fit to match the above answer.  Asherons Call graphics style would be a perfect fit for something the Wii could easily handle.

And Nintendo would have to LOVE this idea, as it would be the only real mmo for the Wii owners to buy right now.  Turbine would love it as well, as it could mean HUGE numbers for this mmo relaunch of an already existing engine, world and servers.

Win-Win situation for Nintendo, for Turbine, and especially for all the Wii console owners who are drooling for a mmo for their living room console.

The engine could be almost identical for the Wii version but the controls could be modified to make the Wii version of AC ultra cool and super fun.  Instead of the PC version clicking a button to attack, the Wii control could be used with a slashing motion of slice at a mob with your weapon.  Or maybe simply a downward thrusting action to launch a war spell, etc.  The nunchuck could be used for character movement and perhaps holding a button down while moving the nunchuck could rotate the camera position.

New servers.  I think they would need MANY new servers for all the new Wii players honestly and could see a launch of AC on the Wii as a huge success for Nintendo and for Turbine.  But perhaps maybe even let the Wii players also join the current PC servers that exist now.  After all, this could only help to populate the once busy ghost town servers of today.

Micro transactions could be sold to players in the Wii AC giving players options to buy items like cool armor dyes for real cash, perhaps even elemental damage capsules for weapons that could be applied to the weapons in the game to change a weapons elemental damage type.  Nothing should be sold that would really add big advantages over a player who didnt spend real cash however.

$15 a month fee for Turbine after the first 30 days included with the game.

I seriously think that this makes a lot of sense and would probably be an insanely huge success and be nothing but a win-win-win for Nintendo, Turbine, and the Wii players.

What do you think?

How would they install it in the wii? The memory it holds isnt enough.

Originally posted by farore

How would they install it in the wii? The memory it holds isnt enough.

Don't be silly.  AC on the PC is like 450 mb.  The Wii can use an SD memory card that holds 2 GB.  I think this could easily be accomplished.  Exactly why "Asherons Call" would make perfect sense on the Wii.

 I bet you are both a WII and AC fan. No doubt about that. So you are allowed to dream.

In no way that Turbine is going to relaunch an outdated game (face it ...it's a very old game by now) on the WII.

The WII console is stronger then you think. Not as strong as the XBOX360 and PS3, but still strong enough to handle a bit more then AC.

Just look at the recent released games for the WII. Several hot titles that released on XBOX360 and PS3 has now also been released on the WII.

They just have a lower resolution (because WII doesn't support HD), but for the rest they are exactly the same.

One of the reasons is because the new Unreal Engine 3.x is very powerful and scales very well for all the consoles.

Cheers

Not only this, but the more I actually think about this, the better it continues to sound...

Some of the things that RUINED the original AC wouldn't even be possible on a Wii version.  No buff bots possible.  No bots period!  WooT!  No 3rd party programs could be used.  This is sounding better and better all the time.

But I guess this is why I am sitting at home and not making the big bucks and all the millions of dollars of the Turbine designers would will probably spend 300 million to make some stupid new Harry Potter mmo bust for the PS3 instead of this idea which would cost them a small fraction instead, lolz.

Sorry, but I really can't see some huge number of players wanting to play a nine year old game but unwilling to do so unless it is ported to the Wii. 

Agree with the ideals being repeated here.

It would make far more sense to build a NEW, micro-transaction, Wii-built, MMO from scratch than to port one.  Ports suck, not because the games suck...but because the market they appeal to has already consumed it.  In the MMO world, consumption means death.  Nobody goes back once they have taken all they wanted from one and left.  Not normally, anyway, under those circumstances.

I will say that I'd like an MMO for the Wii...but since my wife and I play MMO's together that would mean ALOT of money invested to play together.  So...it would have to have a PC version as well...at least.  If we can't play together, we usually don't play em.

Originally posted by Quizzical

Sorry, but I really can't see some huge number of players wanting to play a nine year old game but unwilling to do so unless it is ported to the Wii. 

Fine, instead of calling it "Asherons Call: Reborn", lets just change the name of it to "AC 2000" as it would take us back to the same old classic and fun as hell game of AC as it was back in 2000 with players running around everywhere.  Now would you play it?  Same game, different name.  lolz.

If I did want to play that, I'd already be playing it on a computer right now, so there wouldn't be any additional revenue to be earned from me. 

Originally posted by ziembee

Why the Wii?  Duh, this is a no brainer.  With such a HUGE Wii market already established with the number of units owned, this makes perfect sense.

What you leave out however, is the fact that the main reason behind the Wii's success is that it attracts casual gamers and non-gamers. Hence games like Mario and Zelda on the Wii aren't even the biggest titles like they used to, its casual titles like Wii Sports, Wii Play and Wii Fit that sell multiple millions and are the driving force behind Wii's succes.

This is the reason why you still see most hardcore games, be they first person shooters or RPG's being developed for the PS3 and Xbox 360, even though more copies of Wii have been sold, those markets are simply more interested in hardcore games then the fickle and trendy Wii market.

MMO's are anything but casual games, and thus I have a hard time believing they would really be that succeful on the Wii unless they manage to encapsulate that easy to jump into, easy to play gameplay that even people who never have played a game before can enjoy them.

Releasing a classic hardcore MMORPG on the Wii is a bit like showing "Debby does Dallas" on a family channel. Right movie, but wrong channel.

Originally posted by ziembee

Some of the things that RUINED the original AC wouldn't even be possible on a Wii version.  No buff bots possible.  No bots period!  WooT!  No 3rd party programs could be used.  This is sounding better and better all the time.

lol, keep dreaming.  If this happened (which it won't) and the devs thought like this (which they won't), bots would be even WORSE on the Wii version.  Protocals can be reverse engineered, just because the device on the other end of the connection says it's a Wii doesn't mean it's a Wii.

I also don't think AC or any MMO for that matter would do well on a Wii - the device it pitched at people who don't normally play videogames and aren't going to be into a game that requires months of daily play to get anywhere, and though lots of more traditional gamers *do* have a Wii because Nintendo makes damn good games and always has, they also have 360s and PCs which can do MMOs much better than a Wii ever could.

More likely they'd port one of their latest titles like erm... LOTRO.. to 360.

  No way this happens , Most Wii players wouldnt be able to wrap there brains around AC...

Not going to happen. Ever.

1: Just because a console has a huge install base doesn't mean that games are actually selling well on it. In fact, non casual 3rd party games on the Wii tend to sell badly. Add that to the fact that the Wii isn't being used all that much for online gaming, Asherons call looking terrible even by Wii standards and Asherons Call not being a well known IP and it's really a going nowhere idea.

2: Turbine is not going to invest any more attention or resources the Asherons Call franchise. Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons are their new baby. After the failure of AC2 and AC1's population shrinking, it's really a franchise thats worth nothing at all.

Originally posted by Scorchien

  No way this happens , Most Wii players wouldnt be able to wrap there brains around AC...

Haha, like other console players would? Don't be dumb.

And like AC is complex...

You don't get it do you.  The Wii is fine for the simple games, but it is useless for the more complex games.  It has no hard disk, hence you can't download updates for it.  Hence even thinking you might put a MMO on it is laughable.

Next time you daydream, think before you make yourself look ridiculous with a thoroughly implausible idea.

By the way, I've said this many times and I'll say it again. Console MMO's should not be ports. They should be exclusive titles created with the target console in mind.

Half Life and Doom aren't consoles best first person shooters ever, Goldeneye and Halo are, both games originally developed with their target consoles in mind.

In a similar way, I'm convinced that the first "must own" console MMO will be a game that has been created with the target console in mind.

As for the Nintendo Wii, I would think that the best type of MMO would be a social hub with many Wii Play style games included that you can play with other people. An ultra casual MMO of some kind that allows people to jump in, have some fun and games and leave without the pressures of min-maxing and achieving end-game that traditional MMO's have. That could be a succesful recipe for the Nintendo Wii.

Speaking of Wii MMO's there was a rumor sometime ago that an animal crossing MMO was being developed, but not sure how that is progressing.

Awesome idea! I doubt they would resurect the AC IP though. They can do better than that nowadays. But something resembling AC with a huge seamless world and relatively simple interface would be great.

Technically, the game's executable is the only thing that needs to be stored on the device. The data like textures and music could be on the game CD. The character data is all stored on the server so its a perfect match.

The only issue is that they will end up having to do Wii technical support trying to get people with no technical experience setup using WiFi. That alone will make it a niche game, but even a niche game on that platform could be HUGE.

What a bad idea, omg if this would happen and with itemshops lol turbine all time low, how far can they sink:P

AC on a Wii...

I have heard of dumber ideas. I would have to admit though the game would need to be re-animated, retooled a bit, but the potential good that could come out of it.

It would be an awesome way for turbine to use the lore they have already created. The content updates and patches are already done...

Release feature rich from day one and follow the AC content and plot patches... The timeline would be interesting...

Bandit dagger on the wii ... I might have to buy a Wii...