In today's Devil's Advocate column, MMORPG.com's Drew Wood dons his horns and picks up his sharpened pitchfork to take on the (seemingly) age-old argument that browser-based titles aren't worthy of inclusion in the MMO genre. See why Drew thinks that that assessment is all wet and then leap into the discussion to voice your opinion.

The Unity engine has elevated browser-based gaming to its “next generation” by allowing the Web Player Plugin to be used widely across all (or almost all) iterations of the web browser. Unity is able to provide quality 3D graphics, built in light mapping and other features and does these better than most other graphics engines. It appears that the only place to go in terms of technical quality for the browser-based gamer is up.

Read more of Drew Wood's The Devil's Advocate: Browser Games Ascending.

Until I get a browser game that gives me the experience that Rift, WoW, Lotro, SWTOR, GW2 provides, than I'm going to say No on this one.  Same with FTPs(although LOTRO is the obvious difference here).  

I just have yet to have a browser based game hold me for more than an hour.  Ever.  Grant it, they have come a long way.  But it's only the first mile in a 100 mile race.  Loooong way to go, yet.

I have no doubt that browser tech will eventually grant us AAA mmo experiences, but that time is not now.

mm wich mmo browser ?the site you supplied only mention one browser mmo!i am sorry but one browser game does isnt a trend setter lol!

where is your list name 3 at least op!

I would love to find a Browser Based MMO that was worth playing... what are they?

I feel like there should be anothe page to this article. A list of games with a paragraph or 2 explaining why we should check them out. I wonder if these Column writers get paid.

I was expecting for the above to be an introduction to a full treatment on Browser MMOs starting with the advances in some of the features of browser games such as better graphics AS WELL AS a comprehensive list of some of the more noteable ones that state a cumulative case:-

(1) Be they Unity, Java et al from the Tech side,

(2) to the more Popular ones from sub numbers

(3) through to any recommendations of ones with some fun Gameplay?

       eg I'm currently enjoying: Outer Empires at the moment (iOS/browser): http://outer-empires.com/

The graphics are very basic but design and concept is really good if you can get past the low graphics and also the slow pace of the game. : )

WIth Family Guy online coming out, as a Unity Browser Based game, being made and produced by a major company like Fox, with all their funding behind it, I guess it will be a good litmus test as to where the genre can now be taken with the new technology.  Granted graphics will probably not be anything major, unless of course they expand into space with the Star Wars Spoof, but who knows where they will take it.  One to watch I think.

If you're going to write an article with this format, quote someone in the industry with a cogent argument on the subject. I realise that may take a small bit of effort, but the result would likely be better than a response to a patently ridiculous straw-man argument. None of these 'arguments' you have refuted thus far look like anything anyone in the industry would ever say, and franky seem more like the last thing you've written each week.

Drew about the only thing I got out of your article was a good chuckle.  A good MMO has content, something very lacking in any browser game.  While they are fun initially, we quickly get bored with them because of that. 

Because of that browser based games will always be bottom feeders, at least for the near future.

With such game as Nadirim and Star Trek Infinite space, I think that browser games are very promising.

It worked with Runescape, still having over 150k people online at all times, so it's very possible that if companies can get the games content and graphic wise to a similar point as the AAA titles, than the browser based MMO will become the new thing.

Originally posted by elocke

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I just have yet to have a browser based game hold me for more than an hour.  Ever.  Grant it, they have come a long way.  But it's only the first mile in a 100 mile race.  Loooong way to go, yet.

This. I've looked for and tried so many browser mmo's, and maybe 3 of them at most are worth playing for more than a few minutes. It's not that they can't make a good browser mmo, but for some reason they just wont.

With cloud gaming coming, browser games are useless.

Originally posted by Lumster

With cloud gaming coming, browser games are useless.

That's an interesting addition to the discussion.

That said, it's not entirely true imo, because if a dev has a great concept/idea and can execute it sufficiently given a low tech requirement, imo it's qualitatively a good mmo, though the lack of appeal from less than shiny graphics may make it a low sub mmo.

That's why I'd be intrigued to find out if the author can shed some light on that angle and name a few gems of the browser mmos category?

While not totally against the idea... they've a long ways to go visually before I even think about it.  I like the idea of the game running off my rig not playing on the browser.  I don't see it happening any time soon.   I won't waste my time on "almost a real mmo experience".

1 very frustrating thing atm with unity broswer games even shockwave games imo is you walk 4 steps and then you load a zone walk 5 steps and then load ...load...load..... *f5....f5..f5!!!!

Well when they do ascend please wake me up, otherwise I'll probably pass. Browser games just kinda strike me as the thing you'd play in the school library when the teacher's not looking because you couldn't install any real games ;P

Originally posted by elocke

Until I get a browser game that gives me the experience that Rift, WoW, Lotro, SWTOR, GW2 provides, than I'm going to say No on this one.  Same with FTPs(although LOTRO is the obvious difference here).  

I just have yet to have a browser based game hold me for more than an hour.  Ever.  Grant it, they have come a long way.  But it's only the first mile in a 100 mile race.  Loooong way to go, yet.

 

And why do you think that experience that WoW, LotrO, etc. provides is THE experience all online gamers want? Because you are self centred (like most guys here). There are literally millions of people that are extremely satisfied with the experience FarmVille or RuneScape provides but are not happy with client games experience. The point is that times have changed and we (snobbish mmo geeks) are not the people devs pamper anymore, they care more about casual gamers experience and I believe casual gamers are very happy with the experience BBGs provide.

Why do you want a browser MMO to do what WoW/RIFT et al do?

Part of the problem with the MMO genre at the moment, something complained about a lot here, is that everyone is trying to copy WoW.

Browser based MMOs aren't trying to copy WoW, they doing their own thing. This is a good thing.

Browser based MMOs could rival AAA MMOs easily, the technology is there, but for now, they are quite happy to INNOVATE and try new things, which I'm happy to see.

Originally posted by Jimmac

Originally posted by elocke

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This. I've looked for and tried so many browser mmo's, and maybe 3 of them at most are worth playing for more than a few minutes. It's not that they can't make a good browser mmo, but for some reason they just wont.

 

Delete "browser" and you nailed my opinion on the mmo market.