Do the next generation consoles offer a new opportunity for the MMO genre? Read on for our thoughts.

I realize most of you reading this are likely members of the elite PC master race or just don’t want to get your MMO experience on the consoles, but the fact of the matter is that MMO development is an extremely expensive endeavor. Our best chances to see this genre truly grow and reach its potential lie in whether or not these games can attract enough of a player base to justify the costs. Having MMOs launch on PC as well as consoles gives developers and publishers potential for additional revenue and would likely broaden the scope of MMO projects that can be greenlit as a result.

Read Michael Bitton's A 'Next Gen' Opportunity.

I don't mind MMOs being on console. What I do mind, however, is my game being dumbed down to the point where I'm limited to basic features and controls. Moreover, the community of the console crowd is absolutely horrid. If you think all the "bro, lolz, <racial comment>, cool story, QQ" lingo is bad via PC, you have no idea what it's like via console.

Since "community" is supposed to be one of the biggest aspects of a MASSIVE MULTIPLAYER RPG, the console isn't ideal.

As for developmental costs, I have no idea why these big companies like Activision, Blizzard, EA spend millions upon millions to make their games. Compare Path of Exile to Diablo 3. Which one costed more to make? Which one has more respect?

I can't wait for the first AAA console focused (instead of PC port) MMO of the new console generation.

Console = online community - and yes there are just as many ass-hat PC gamers as their are "xbox kids."

Between the two major consoles there are something like 100-150 million gamers just waiting to be exposed to the MMORPG genre.

I can't wait.

Originally posted by Dauzqul
Also, the console community will rage if the developers allowed mouse and keyboard. It would be too much of an "advantage", the reason why they refuse to allow mouse and keyboard for Call of Duty, Halo, etc.

They don't allow mouse/keyboard for shooters?  I can't imagine how awkward that must be.

Originally posted by Dauzqul

I don't mind MMOs being on console. What I do mind, however, is my game being dumbed down to the point where I'm limited to basic features and controls. Moreover, the community of the console crowd is absolutely horrid. If you think all the "bro, lolz, <racial comment>, cool story, QQ" lingo is bad via PC, you have no idea what it's like via console.

Since "community" is supposed to be one of the biggest aspects of a MASSIVE MULTIPLAYER RPG, the console isn't ideal.

 

As for developmental costs, I have no idea why these big companies like Activision, Blizzard, EA spend millions upon millions to make their games. Compare Path of Exile to Diablo 3. Which one costed more to make? Which one has more respect?

  This^^

 Having new MMO's dumbed down graphically and in depth so they can be played on yesterdays PS2 and xbox's IS NOT advancing the genre in a postive manner

Originally posted by bliss14

Originally posted by Dauzqul
Also, the console community will rage if the developers allowed mouse and keyboard. It would be too much of an "advantage", the reason why they refuse to allow mouse and keyboard for Call of Duty, Halo, etc.

They don't allow mouse/keyboard for shooters?  I can't imagine how awkward that must be.

You have never used a controller before I take it?  Anyways, welcome to video gaming.

I hope there are no PS4 exclusive MMORPGs created - considering how close Sony is to bankruptcy, if they fold then the MMO won't have any ability to have players login.  I also hope MMORPGs don't require the use of a Kinect, or the Sony Kinect they just unveiled.

Originally posted by BadSpock

I can't wait for the first AAA console focused (instead of PC port) MMO of the new console generation.

This is all well and good if it's exclusive for console.  Porting the other way around is always bad for PC since consoles hardly ever match up to specs of PCs.  The only real example I have is FFXI since it's the only multi-platform MMO that I know of.  It's still going strong and yet it's finally discontinuting PS2 support for their newest expansion because of the memory limitations that PCs don't suffer from.

If a game is being developed for console and PC, the framework needs to be designed based on the PC specs and scaled down for the console, IMO.  I'm sure SE plans to release ARR on PS4 if it doesn't end up being a colossal failure a second time.  Right now the PS4 specs are pretty similar to a high end gaming machine, but at the rate technology is changing, two years from now even the PS4 will be no match for a PC.  The developer/producer, Yoshida, wants to keep improving the graphical technology of the PC game as new technologies are made available, something not easily done when developing for both platforms when console is your base.  The PC version is not launching with DX11 because of the tight schedule they're on and they absolutely have to make good on their promise of delivering the game to the PS3 crowd.  

Originally posted by kadepsyson

Originally posted by bliss14

Originally posted by Dauzqul
Also, the console community will rage if the developers allowed mouse and keyboard. It would be too much of an "advantage", the reason why they refuse to allow mouse and keyboard for Call of Duty, Halo, etc.

They don't allow mouse/keyboard for shooters?  I can't imagine how awkward that must be.

You have never used a controller before I take it?  Anyways, welcome to video gaming.

 

I hope there are no PS4 exclusive MMORPGs created - considering how close Sony is to bankruptcy, if they fold then the MMO won't have any ability to have players login.  I also hope MMORPGs don't require the use of a Kinect, or the Sony Kinect they just unveiled.

 

Thanks for the welcome :)  I know they used to always use controllers, I just thought by now they would have evolved.   I wouldn't mind playing games on a console if they allowed m/k.

I would never play a MMO on a console, and I would never play a MMO that is cross platform....it always ends in disaster.  Take a look at the epic failure FFXIV was in terms of it's technical meltdowns.

What I really hate is when they make a game for PCs, but design it on a console.  Take a look at Skyrim.  It takes about 10 seconds of play before any PC user can tell that game was designed on a console.  You still cannot map your numpad, this is the only game since 1996 that you cannot actually re-map keys.  You have to use third party software like AutoHotkey for this. 

I play computer games with mouse and keyboard.  I play MMOs with mouse and keyboard.  The mouse allows for pinpoint precision and the keyboard lets me map things however I want AND I can communicate with other players by typing.

You cannot do that on consoles, and since community and communication are so vital to MMOs....why even bother with consoles.  They are totally inferior in every way.

You can upgrade PCs anytime you want.  With a console, you are basically stuck with the stuff inside. 

Die consoles, DIE!  Do you hear me, just die already.  If I want to play rinky dink Mario or something like that then I will use a console....but for real games or modded games or MMOs, I will take a PC every time.

Originally posted by kadepsyson

Originally posted by bliss14

Originally posted by Dauzqul
Also, the console community will rage if the developers allowed mouse and keyboard. It would be too much of an "advantage", the reason why they refuse to allow mouse and keyboard for Call of Duty, Halo, etc.

They don't allow mouse/keyboard for shooters?  I can't imagine how awkward that must be.

You have never used a controller before I take it?  Anyways, welcome to video gaming.

Someone used to a controller finds it more comfortable to use. If you're used to a mouse and keyboard, though, a controller is often a rather awkward device. DUST 514 on PS3 allows both. So far there hasn't been any raging so it seems like things are playing out well there.

The problem is and will continue to be the UI,  I tried dcuo, and well thee are others newer games tha are headed our way.  They all had bad ui ports to the pc.  I t just really killed the game for me, and others if you read the forums. 

What about the Wii U?

I think its unique controller could be used to display the UI, and the toolbars, taking away all the clutter from the screen.

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/37027/wii-u-could-be-first-console-to-run-a-mmorpg-without-compromise-funcom/

Also there was a rumour about a MMO coming to Wii U from LA at E3 last year, but I never saw anything come from that though.

Wii U could be the new home for massively multiplayer role-playing games. That's the word from Funcom developer Joel Bylos who told Official Nintendo Magazine that he's excited about the possibilities of the touchscreen controller.

As a lead content designer at Funcom - a studio specialising in MMO games such as Anarchy Online, Age Of Conan and the forthcoming Secret World - Bylos knows a thing or two about MMORPGs.

"Wii U could be the first real console on which running an MMORPG without compromise is plausible," said Bylos. "The controller is perfect for lining up those rows of hotbars that are essential in most MMOs. A customisable touchscreen interface combined with the 3D spatial movement of a console controller could be a winner."

The next generation consoles from both Sony and Microsoft will be nearly using PC hardware on both the CPU and GPU side, so porting between either of those and PC should be easier than it's ever been.  The Wii U has really gimpy hardware, though--the nearest comparison is an Xbox 360.

-----

The column didn't even touch what might be the biggest barrier:  the fee that a console owner takes to get access to their console.  If you make a game for PC, then you get to keep all of the revenue.  If you make a game for a console, then Sony or Microsoft or whoever takes about 30% of your revenue.  For single-player games, the anti-piracy controls in the console can more than make up for this.  But for MMORPGs that intrinsically need a connection to your servers in order to run, the console's anti-piracy controls are useless or even a nuisance.

If you price your game the same for the PC and console versions and half of the people who would have played the PC version decide to buy the console version instead, you just lost 15% of your revenue.  If you charge 43% more for the console version to compensate, will you really get enough customers on the console version to justify the cost of porting your game there?

And what if you want to someday go to any variety of a "free to play" model?  Console vendors have taken a dim view of this in the past, and could easily veto it.  The reasons why a console vendor would veto a free to play model are sound:  if you lose money on selling consoles and make it up by taking a cut of game sales, then you'd better get a lot of game sales.  If you buy a PlayStation or Xbox and never buy any games for it, then Sony or Microsoft just lost money on you.

The problem with "free to play" is that the games attract a lot of people who will never pay anything.  And what about the "whales" who pay a ton of money, which is what "free to play" games make much of their money off of?  They'll probably mostly play the PC version, meaning that the console vendor doesn't get a cut of their revenue, either.  Allowing "free to play" MMORPGs would likely lead to selling more consoles without getting a commensurate increase in game sales.  That's why Microsoft and Sony have blocked it in the past, and will likely block it in the future.

And if you want to allow an account to be used across platforms, it gets worse.  If an account gets used on both the PlayStation and Xbox versions, do Sony and Microsoft each get 30% of your revenue, leaving the game developer with only 40%?  Is revenue commensurate with how much time a player spends using that particular platform?  Sony and Microsoft are likely to take a different view of what is fair than game developers, and if they can't agree to it, they can block all future updates.

How would you like to play a console MMORPG for a year, and then suddenly Sony or Microsoft suddenly decides to block all future updates for that game?  Think that sounds rather far fetched?  It's already happened:  look up the iOS version of SkyDrive.  Apple took the view that if a SkyDrive account had ever been accessed from iOS, then Apple should get 30% of the revenue from that account forever.  Microsoft said no, we're not going to give Apple a cut of the revenue from accounts that no longer use iOS.  Regardless of which side you think is more reasonable, the outcome ended up being that Apple blocked SkyDrive from getting any more updates, ever.

Originally posted by koboldfodder

Die consoles, DIE!  Do you hear me, just die already.  If I want to play rinky dink Mario or something like that then I will use a console....but for real games or modded games or MMOs, I will take a PC every time.

After reading this 17 times I started to get the impression that maybe you aren't so big on consoles.  I'm not sure where I got that impression from, but it is hard to shake.

Originally posted by superniceguy

What about the Wii U?

I think its unique controller could be used to display the UI, and the toolbars, taking away all the clutter from the screen.

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/37027/wii-u-could-be-first-console-to-run-a-mmorpg-without-compromise-funcom/

Also there was a rumour about a MMO coming to Wii U from LA at E3 last year, but I never saw anything come from that though.

If it hasn't already, Dragon Quest X was supposed to be on the Wii U, but it's currently a Japanese exclusive title.

Originally posted by Raventree

Originally posted by koboldfodder

Die consoles, DIE!  Do you hear me, just die already.  If I want to play rinky dink Mario or something like that then I will use a console....but for real games or modded games or MMOs, I will take a PC every time.

After reading this 17 times I started to get the impression that maybe you aren't so big on consoles.  I'm not sure where I got that impression from, but it is hard to shake.

Raventree you're reading too much into that post.  All I got from it is he likes to play Mario on occasion.  Am I missing something?