I'm really not into MMORPGs (read: does not play well with others), but a friend of mine posed a question to me, and I honestly did not have an answer for them. The question:
"Why are there not more MMORPGs on consoles?"
Hmm. I cannot see any logical reason why they are not out on consoles.
Let's break it down: two out of the three major consoles (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) have hard drives, the ability to type text via keyboard/keyboard attachment, voice chat, and internet access. Xbox Live and PlayStation Network have infrastructures (in various degrees of quality) to make these games work. People are already paying monthly fees for things like Xbox Live, so another monthly fee isn't really that big of a deal for a console gamer. Heck, we already patch and provide updates for games, so I do not know why a game like World of Warcraft is not on the Xbox 360.
And don't tell me a company like Blizzard doesn't have the resources to produce a console version of their game. They make a hojillion dollars a month off World of Warcraft subscription fees, so they can definitely afford the production costs and hire enough people to make it happen. If anything it will increase their already large revenue stream.
Well, that's Blizzard though.
Other companies (e.g., NCSoft, ArenaNet) may not have the bandwidth to produce console ports of MMORPGs, but with a decline in PC game sales (or so I have heard), it makes sense for companies to seek out other lines of revenue. I mean, Square Enix did it with Final Fantasy XI (it's got to be making some money for them as they come out with an expansion pack every couple of months).
So, I pose the question to the masses: Why are there not more MMORPGs on consoles?
This is deff a good question. There is FF11 which is really the only MMO. You do have Phantasy Star, but beyond that it really is bare. I think MMO is the newest main stream gene honestly, and its just taking a lot more time to get more games working on consoles. I know Warhammer was working on Xbox 360, they haven't announced it will be on consoles, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did announce it. MMOs take a lot of time to make (good ones anyway) so at this moment it really is a untapped market.
Also Blizzard have said on more than one occcasion they just don't like the idea of MMORPGs on consoles and WoW will never appear on them for the forseeable future.
Casual gamers are the majority of people playing MMORPGs these days, and not all casual gamers have the time or money getting a 360 or PS3. But PCs are the one "system" that's in nearly everyone's home. It's something they're familiar with and isn't going to have to be pitched, forgotten, and replaced (relearning the new system in the process) once the system's time is up.
Maybe its the control scheme, I dunno. I guess some genres of gaming just have traditional platforms and theres no particular demand to expand upon that.
@king3vbo
I've not heard anything about that, might keep my eye out for it in the future.
**The reason(I think): Most people that play console games don't play them to play MMOs, the MMORPG has always been a PC culture thing, and it will probably stay there for a while. I take that back, how many wow subscribers are there? A lot of the mmo market has spilled into the console player market (See: Halofags), making a new niche for mmos on consoles. I'll probably never play one, but who knows.
I don't see MMORPG's working the same on consoles. Mainly because console gaming moves quickly. Companies would put a lot of time and effort into a game that probably wouldn't last too long... they do anyway... But mmorpgs are supposed to be your life, haha. On a console there's too many other games to consume your time... many of which are amazing and deserve it more than an mmorpg. Plus, you can always play a console game and an mmorpg (on your computer) at the same time and just idle/chat on the mmorpg while you game on your system. I do it all the time when I play Graalonline.
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(# 0) on 04/08/2008 15:20
(# 1) on 04/08/2008 15:20
(# 2) on 04/08/2008 15:23
Also Blizzard have said on more than one occcasion they just don't like the idea of MMORPGs on consoles and WoW will never appear on them for the forseeable future.
(# 3) on 04/08/2008 15:29
(# 4) on 04/08/2008 16:09
(# 5) on 04/08/2008 16:17
(# 6) on 04/08/2008 17:21
@king3vbo
I've not heard anything about that, might keep my eye out for it in the future.
(# 7) on 04/08/2008 20:58
(# 8) on 04/08/2008 21:00
(# 9) on 04/09/2008 09:56