If they could figure out a way to do this while keeping the action intact and not having it devolve into absolute chaos, I'd be interested.

GTA is about one criminal/crazy character that make his way up in the city's criminal chierarchy... it won't be the same with
10000's of those kind of guy's :P unleas the city or cities wil be RREEEEAAAALLLLYYYY BIG !

Do you know how hard it would be to get around the city with 1000s of people shooting rocket launchers at everything? Or tanks being spawned everywhere.

Nice idea for the GTA universe, but very bad for my wallet.

Sorry, games are expensive enough without paying up more money. For maps and other DLC its one thing, but for MMOs with no end in sight, I can't do it.

Why do they think MMOs are the answers to their prayers? Just make good solid games and stop being so greedy.

The only MMO model I like and would buy is Guild Wars, (Ragnorok Online or Pirates of the Burning Sea too), because it has no monthly fee. Until many MMOs are that good or have something that interests me, I'll wait.

APB is already going this route, and it looks hella good.

Righto Tom, but lets not forget that APB is being made by original GTA creator(s). If rockstar makes a GTA mmo it will compete against the ex, wow has nothing to do with it. I wish people would stop trying to compare every mmo idea with wow.

Dammit, I've avoided MMOs successfully since the genre started. This one sounds like it could be a threat to my free time unless it turns out to be an epic fail like the Matrix MMO.

Uh, as long as it's an optional choice i can make as an adult and not forced on me why would it make me "sick"?

And I think rockstar would put a lot of effort into doing it right.

Again, it'd still just be a game. Don't get all emo about it.

Wouldnt a gta mmo just turn into a call of duty mmo? Everyone is just going to end up shooting each other the whole time anyway. whats the point?

It would be nothing but chaos. Nothing but chaos.

Honestly, I don;t think a GTA MMO would be all that fun or even interesting. Granted, multiplayer would be nice in limited aspects like deathmatches or mini missions or co-op but there are really two reasons people play GTA. One is to fuck around with the city trying to blow stuff up and seeing how long you can survive. The other is the really good story. An MMO would probably have to sacrifice both those aspects.

I'd rather play something like APB where there's a cops vs robbers aspect at all times. In theory they could do the same to GTA, but it would be kind of redundant I think.

You guys are not giving developers enough credit. All you are doing is thinking of an existing franchise, like Call of Duty or GTA and increasing the map size and adding more people. If that is all game developers did then, yeah, it would be pretty fail, but that is far from the truth. In capable hands, they could add a lot of new game mechanics that prevent people "shooting rocket launchers at everything and spawning tanks everywhere." What Sphinx 13 described is a single player setting populated by many people, but that is not what an MMORPG is. WoW is more than just a big Diablo II.

Let me whet you appetite. Think of a map of the Unites States with all the major cities included. This will spread the population out a bit to prevent overcrowding of one city. The map could be divided into three broad regions like "South, North, Eastcoast, Westcoast" sort of like how MMORPGs are divided into continents to lessen server load. You can freely travel everywhere you wish to go. You start off as a lowly scrub with a little shack on the outskirts of the city of your choice. As you move up the ranks by completing quests and fighting members of the rival gangs (NPCs and real players) you can afford better accommodation like an apartment on 5th Ave. NYC, you can use more high end weapons and level up your skills similar to the San Andreas stats system.

The possibilities are definitely there. I rather have them try it that not. If it is great, we can all gain from it, if it sucks, well, then just punish them with your wallet.

I’m going to make a concerted effort to avoid any and all subscription-based games, because if they’re good, they will bankrupt me.

No thanks. I've seen what state Second Life has degenerated into, I'm fine without it.

I agree with what dvddesign said,MMOs can be dumb

@ Logo: This wasn't really an "announcement", this was a response to a question EGM asked Sam Houser about the idea of a GTA MMO. Something that many gamers have been talking about for years.

@Mxyzptlk Whoops, when I first wrote it I had announcements in quotes but then rewrote that sentence and left them out.

I'll stick with APB until a GTA MMO is announced.

The MMO genre is (or has been trying) to evolve. First there were mudds, then Ultima, then EverQuest came along and made the genre recognized. It was almost completely fantasy based in the beginnings, and that's probably what turned away a lot of gamers who probably snubbed it because it would look like they were a geek running around a world full of scantily clad elves and having maybe even interacting with a *gasp* roleplayer. Fantasy doesn't appeal to everybody, but WoW has done it in a way that appeals to over 10 million people.

The genre has come a long way. There have been only a few commercial successes, and a lot of failure along the way. But if you look at the gaming industry itself, it's not much of a different story. The large majority of games don't become smash hits, but their failures teach other game developers a bit about what to do and what not to do.

I could see a GTA MMO. In fact, I've thought about how to make GTA an MMO simply because of my fascination with how MMOs have shaped the face of gaming. Really all an MMO is is really just a game with built in chat rooms. Are you saying that GTA is incapable of incorporating chat rooms into their game?

I don't think so. Especially since MMOs and GTA share a sandbox style play where you just go where you want to go and do what you want to do. The limitations are up to the developers, and they can do a good job or they can do a bad job, but nevertheless the potential is there. Monthly subscriptions are kind of a necessary evil in that if you really want the game to be able to change and evolve after it's released, you still need to pay people to do the monumental amount of work that is maintaining an MMO.

If Rockstar were to pursue an MMO, what I'd really hope they never forget is that it needs to be fun. Don't try and make the game too real or overcomplicated, because you'll only lay the foundations of your own demise. But if you can balance great game play and do it on a scale so thousands of others can enjoy the game while enjoying the social structure that MMOs provide, you can have a winner. Doesn't have to be a WoW Slayer, but it does have to be fun.

I think there are a few franchises that would benefit from an MMO environment. Pokemon, to name one, as well as a zombie-based one, though that would have to push the boundaries of what players are used to. GTA? Nah, no thanks.

just imagine all that traffic though. lol
www.consolepatrol.com

I really don't see how GTA would work if it was an MMO type game. I'd be happy with a separate statistics list for online play: I kiiled that guy x times, stole a car off x etc etc.
Anybody know how many player the onle part supports?

A GTA MMO will have the worst community of any internet game ever.

APB.

Check that game out. It's from the guys who did the original GTA or something. Did I mention it's a MMORPG?