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Microsoft to create a 300,000 player multiplayer game photo

Microsoft wants an experienced developer for what will probably end up as either the biggest flop in videogame multiplayer history or the best thing ever -- an Xbox 360 game that will allow 300,000 players simultaneously. Seriously.

The plans for this mysterious title were extracted from a job posting by Microsoft (spotted by Develop) which reads, “We are building an extremely high performance system to extend console games to the server in new was; creating a completely new set of web services to support dynamic programming information of games and scheduling data.”

The engineer will be responsible for “building a backend capable of hosting a 300,000 player game in real-time with real money on the line (anti-cheating, etc).”

Call us crazy, but this sounds like a future Xbox LIVE Primetime title. Think a massive, real-time digital poker tournament similar to the World Series of Poker. Or, as Kotaku notes, it could be a cross-platform Halo project. Either way, this thing is going to be big. Eat your heart out, MAG.

[image via Shasta Film Fest]


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32 comments | showing # 1 to 32

MrSadistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:02
MrSadistic
It's called an MMOG.
Furyfire's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:02
Furyfire
Holy Crap.

Screw those 64 player maps on ps3... we got 300k! XD
Monodi's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:02
Monodi
I foresee some nuclearly epic lag.
JLanphear's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:09
JLanphear
This is more than likely some sort of Xbox Primetime game. I wonder what it could be. . . the poker thing seems pretty likely. But dedicating that kind of power to an online poker game seems. . . moronic.
Black Nexus's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:11
Black Nexus
300,000 is a massive number of simultaneous players in real-time. Most MMOs use multiple servers to distribute their higher quantity of players. The only single-server game, EVE Online, has 300,000 players total - but only ever had over 50,000 playing in real-time at once.

so with this in mind I'd like to say, that ain't happening.
PhazonYoshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:19
PhazonYoshi
Detox, there is no explosive material inside an xbox 360, and if there were, it would not cause an error message from a completely different product to display.

In any case, the processing brute force behind this would be serverside, not clientside, the 360 itself would run normally (unless they attempted some sort of distributed computation, which I can't see working myself. Any case, I can't imagine this is going to be an FPS, or an RPG. I think Xbox Snooker! or Xbox cards! is more likely.
Patriot SE's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:20
Patriot SE
Destructoid is racist. That picture portrays African American males in a poor light. I demand the removal. K Thanx Bai!
SidewaysMatty's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:27
SidewaysMatty
"with real money one the line" does sound a lot like its just a gambling service like online poker or something.

But it also would not surprise me if its some sort of action game and Microsoft will then start the "you suck Sony" marketing/fanboy propoganda because of what they're doing with MAG.
rel123's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:27
rel123
Yeah there is no way this is going to be as cool as it could be... Right?
Dennen's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:41
Dennen
This sounds like all the two companies are doing is nothing but a bunch of shallow dickwaving. "You're making a game with a lot of players?! Well we'll make a game with a lot of player too then! EVEN MORE! BECAUSE MY GAME CAN SUPPORT MORE PLAYERS THAN YOURS!" Nyaa nyaaa nyaaaa.

Fucking ridiculous, I say. A shame to both Sony and Microsoft for making pointless games that focus more on the amount of people that can connect before gameplay. At this point we can almost guarantee that not only this "game" but also MAG will both be a couple failures due to a game being developed for all the wrong reasons.

A pox on both of them. I hope they both fail so the companies can learn to put cash toward development in the future, instead of exclusives and bragging rights through hype.
everybodyruns's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 20:49
everybodyruns
This would be in no way unachievable. It would just have to be applied to some kind of asynchronous game like cards or some kind of business/ economy simulation. Really, anything which doesn't require user input multiple times per second. I'm pretty sure 300,000 people won't be walking around at the same time.
Zeno's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:02
Zeno
Someone explain to me how what they have described is different from a MMOG.
Chronic Logic's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:13
Chronic Logic
So it's just a really big server? Okay, what kind of game would need to be that big on Xbox Live. Is this going to be for 1 vs 100? Anyways, sure 300000 sounds like a lot, but I'm sure it's possible, I mean look at Eve Online has 50000 simultenous players. So multiply that by six...yea, that's still a long way to go. Good luck to them, cause they'll need it.

MMOG does not need to house a lot of players. It's a misnomer. MMOG are persistent servers.
MellowBunny's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:14
MellowBunny
And I'll be putting my mic on mute all the way.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:37
Wedge
110% guarantee they are not talking about a "game" in the sense most of you would be thinking...
Volomon's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:40
Volomon
Sounds like a poker game...don't get your hopes up. Fits with MS greed.

Most likely this is what it is as the average MMO using the highest end servers can still only hold a few thousand. Unless they are using the word simultaneous extremely loosely for media blitz.
Korolev's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:41
Korolev
They're not saying what kind of game it is. Probably something LIKE an MMO - although what kind of MMO it would be, is anyone's guess. A shooter MMO? that's been done before. A WOW style MMO? Possible, I guess, and that would be interesting for the MMO crowd. A "home" like product? I don't think many would want that.

Assuming that this project gets of the ground, there's too little information to decide if it's good or bad or make any judgement at all. At least Microsoft is being a ambitious, which is always a good thing. Although if they think they can challenge the iron grip that Blizzard have on the MMO scene, they are sadly mistaken.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:45
Wedge
And that header image is freaking me out.
Electro Lemon's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:47
Electro Lemon
Destructoid: The Game.
NihonTiger90's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:52
NihonTiger90
IT's just a dream, probably. Nothing more.
adultswim810's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 21:58
adultswim810
this sounds hilarious
brainderailment's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 22:30
brainderailment
Pissing contest. Also, why 300,000? Why not 250k or 400k?
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 22:31
Qraze
let me file this under "misled hype" and pipe dreams".
Takeshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 22:41
Takeshi
Desmond Tutu approves?


Yeah dude, it's like this and that and those combined. Then suddenly you've got 300,000 players!
Jon B's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/30/2009 23:02
Jon B
Don't ruin my dreams of a Ghost in the Shell future, goddamnit Microsoft!
Havoc Fang's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/31/2009 01:58
Havoc Fang
"Hey, Sony? You know all the times YOU made a game just to combat something we made first? Yeah? Well...Revenge."
Guttlesswonder's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/31/2009 02:48
Guttlesswonder
This is not going to be any kind of shooter, or a game involving much physics. I think the massive poker tournament or some kind of MMO. Intill I hear something concrete besides a projected number of players for something I am going to file this under "Who gives a crap."
The Amazing Shenazin's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/31/2009 04:38
The Amazing Shenazin
is going to be a Snow Crash Metaverse game?
mistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/31/2009 11:36
mistic
what a nightmare!!!!

16 xboxplayers in any COD/HALO lobby are already maddening enough... imagine that but then 18750 times worse!

MADNESS I tell you!
dirtyd89's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/31/2009 12:06
dirtyd89
Yeah right.
I'll believe when I see it.
It's probably just some MMO in that case PS3 already has MMOs like that so no big deal.
fetusmilk's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/31/2009 12:56
fetusmilk
soo what happens if more than 300,000 people want to play? then what microsoft? then what?
smurfee mcgee's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/31/2009 13:58
smurfee mcgee
It's for CoD 7. some serious war.
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