All future Sony MMOs to be on consoles

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 6th October 2008
Comments (15) Stumble
All future Sony MMOs to be on consoles

Sony has confirmed that all future MMOs it is involved with will have a console-based counterpart.

Sony Online Entertainment has confirmed that all of the MMOs it will be involved with in the future, which isn't a small list, will be available to play on consoles.

SOE boss John Smedley confirmed in an MTV that this will include some classic PC MMO titles too, such as Everquest, which spectacularly failed to make any impression on the market with the previous PS2 attempt EverQuest Online Adventures.

"It's pretty safe to say that EverQuest has not seen its last game," Smedley said, confirming that the franchise will continue to be a Sony money-maker.

Sony Online Entertainment is currently working on a number of console-based MMOs, including the kid-focused Free Realms which should be the first one out the door. Smedley said it would be available to buy on consoles about six months after the PC version is released.

Future games however, namely DC Universe and The Agency, will be released in time with their PC launches and should offer an identical experience.

Most interesting of all though is that Smedley refused to comment on pricing plans for the game, hinting only that the subscription-based model might not be a good fit for consoles and that free-to-play was probably more likely. With PSN already set-up on Sony consoles, it's very likely that the games could be funded by micro-transactions.

"We don't know yet. We're going to find out with Free Realms, and adapt as we see things go," he said.

Are console MMOs a good thing or a bad thing? Would you let your children play a kid-focused MMO or not? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Quote liratheal 6th October 2008, 11:06
Now all they have to do is make/publish an MMO that's worth playing for more than a few hours!
Quote p3n 6th October 2008, 11:09
MMOs are usually accompanied by a large slice of multitasking - IM, Web etc How are you going to go check x website or choose a new radio stream whilst waiting for your party?

Sony obviously havent thought about anything other than money as per usual...
Quote CardJoe 6th October 2008, 11:12
I'm sure you can learn to do that through the XMB, and the PS3 is more than up to the technical strain.
Quote proxess 6th October 2008, 11:13
Quote:
Originally Posted by p3n
Sony obviously havent thought about anything other than money as per usual...

Are they meant to? They're a money making machine. It's their job. Thats all they will ever do.
Quote Mentai 6th October 2008, 11:31
Video games are timesinks enough for children without MMO's getting involved. Buying games which can addict you for several hours is one thing, but to actively buy ones that can addict for several months, I personally don't think that's responsible parenting. Kids can play MMO's when they're earning enough to pay the sub fee imo, that's probably the right level of maturity.
Quote Veles 6th October 2008, 13:30
I don't think it will work quite so well on the PS3 control wise for some MMOs, but then again you can use a kb and mouse with a PS3 can't you?

Quite looking forward to how the agency turns out.

Oh, and give that cool dude smiley his joint back :p
Quote themax 6th October 2008, 13:32
Quote:
Originally Posted by p3n
MMOs are usually accompanied by a large slice of multitasking - IM, Web etc How are you going to go check x website or choose a new radio stream whilst waiting for your party?

Sony obviously havent thought about anything other than money as per usual...

I assume that by playing an MMO via console you'de be free to perform such tasks.....on a laptop or computer? I dunno, maybe I have a different train of thought. When it comes to things like that, I'm not interested in being able to pull up a browser while actively playing any console game when I've a laptop or computer nearby for that, or even my cell phone/mp3 player if I really need to do it.
Quote M4RTIN 6th October 2008, 13:49
the only one of theirs i've tried is star wars galaxies, it sucked, i know hate all mmo's.. so i think i'll pass..

as a side note, how many people use final fantasy 11 on the 360 or used to use phantasy star online for the dreamcast, i dont think console mmo's are as big a market as sony thinks they are
Quote TreeDude 6th October 2008, 15:01
If done correctly, MMOs are fine on a console.

I think the 360 would be a solid choice for an MMO because of the awesome keyboard addon it has for the controller. Of coarse Sony will stay with the PS3.
Quote themax 6th October 2008, 16:36
Quote:
Originally Posted by M4RTIN
the only one of theirs i've tried is star wars galaxies, it sucked, i know hate all mmo's.. so i think i'll pass..

as a side note, how many people use final fantasy 11 on the 360 or used to use phantasy star online for the dreamcast, i dont think console mmo's are as big a market as sony thinks they are

It is an untapped area, and wether the games are good or not, it's nice to see it explored. The 360 was on course for what could have been a huge gain in that area with True Fantasy Online, but the project was canned. I know alot of friends that played FF XI on PS2/XBox 360 over PC. For them it was a little more relaxed playing that way, instead of sitting at a computer desk they had the entire room to lounge in while they played just different prefrence though (I played FFXI on PC). Phantasy Star (and in some instances Monster Hunter)was, and I think is probably still the best model any console based MMO should follow. The game plays like a single player RPG in the control and camera departments but maintains the community and multiplayer aspects pretty good, not to mention the game still has a good following since it's Dreamcast days. DC Universe Online is looking good too. I'm not too keen on The Agency though. I think it can be done, as long as they remember first and formost that it is a console game when they factor in controls, camera, ect.
Quote Scirocco 6th October 2008, 20:14
Guess I won't be playing any future Sony MMOs then. I don't want to invest in a console too.
Quote Gunblade 6th October 2008, 22:27
Quote:
Originally Posted by themax
It is an untapped area, and wether the games are good or not, it's nice to see it explored. The 360 was on course for what could have been a huge gain in that area with True Fantasy Online, but the project was canned. I know alot of friends that played FF XI on PS2/XBox 360 over PC. For them it was a little more relaxed playing that way, instead of sitting at a computer desk they had the entire room to lounge in while they played just different prefrence though (I played FFXI on PC). Phantasy Star (and in some instances Monster Hunter)was, and I think is probably still the best model any console based MMO should follow. The game plays like a single player RPG in the control and camera departments but maintains the community and multiplayer aspects pretty good, not to mention the game still has a good following since it's Dreamcast days. DC Universe Online is looking good too. I'm not too keen on The Agency though. I think it can be done, as long as they remember first and formost that it is a console game when they factor in controls, camera, ect.

True Fantasy Online was developed for the Xbox, not the 360.
Quote dr-strangelove 6th October 2008, 22:44
I think Sony have a huge advantage over Microsoft in this area. To play an MMO on the 360 you would need to pay for the game AND the Xbox live subscription AND the subsciption to the MMO itself. Not to mention getting ur Xbox fixed when it gets a red-ring-of-death after playing the MMO for 20 hours straight...
Quote Amon 7th October 2008, 00:10
Quote:
Originally Posted by liratheal
Now all they have to do is make/publish an MMO that's worth playing for more than a few hours!
I don't think your opinion stands true in East Asia. You know, where they outpopulate us.
Quote willowthewhite 7th October 2008, 10:26
I think the only way that an MMO will be a main stream success on the consoles is if they don't charge a subscription, I have only played one MMO and that is Guild Wars, the reason being that there is no subscription, so I don't feel that I have to put in hours of gameplay every night to get my moneys worth.
Log in

You are not logged in, please login with your forum account below. If you don't already have an account please register to start contributing.







Mobile Phones

LG Arena ReviewHTC Magic Review

Compare over 250 mobile phones &
52,000 deals!



Broadband

Mobile Broadband

Compare over 100 broadband & mobile broadband deals online!

Dragonage