AGDC09 Breaking: Turbine confirms console MMO in the works
by Seraphina Brennan 
Sep 18th 2009 at 3:15PM
Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Consoles
During his talk at AGDC entitled "MMOs to Consoles -- Challenges, Opportunities, Emerging Trends," Turbine's Craig Alexander, the VP of project development for the company, has confirmed that they are working on a console MMO.The project has been in Turbine's production house for a year and a half now, and the staff is actively seeking to launch the title on Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. Turbine does also have plans to develop for Wii in the future, although they did not go any further into that topic. Over 20 million dollars has been spent on developing the platform for this title. The targeted release date for this project is early 2011.
Craig also said during the speech that he believes that consoles will eventually pass PCs in the MMO market, making this a lucrative endeavor. He also hinted briefly at a free to play subscription model, saying that MMOs should have "minimum friction to access."
Turbine has said in the past that they will completely confirm their console MMO plans in early 2010, but speculation is still in the air as to if this is a brand new IP,
We'll keep this post updated with new information as we receive it.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dblade said on 3:22PM 9-18-2009
No offense, but we've had so many proposed console MMOs fail to come to life that I am very skeptical of this announcement, even with the amount of money spent. I'll wait till 2010 when hopefully we get concrete details and a sign that they are seriously going to ship.
Reply
Nef said on 3:32PM 9-18-2009
Perhaps new IP... unless they resurrect Asheron's Call. (please!)
As far as consoles surpassing PCs in terms of MMOs... That I dunno. There's a lot I've come to love about having a keyboard and mouse (like typing or macros) or fan created UI's.
Reply
Dblade said on 4:02PM 9-18-2009
Thereare pluses and minuses to them. Third party and unofficial add-ons wont work of course, but that is a plus in my opinion because it keeps out a lot of things which can warp the gameplay, like parsers or cheats. Its also nice to be able to play on the couch in front of the big screen, and what you see is what you get with a console-you never have to reduce graphic settings to get the game to run on your rig, or have to upgrade just to make it playable.
The downside is that your game is a lot less scalable, and can't be transported. When the console's lifespan is over, you can only maintain the playerbase. It gets very hard to often find replacement consoles for new players, and most console games can't do a direct download of the entire current gen MMO. Try and go out to find a copy of Everquest online adventures or phantasy star universe and you will see what i mean.
Jason said on 4:27PM 9-18-2009
There is no reason they can't make a console MMO with keyboard/mouse support. PS3 supports kb/m and 360 could be made to as well if MS allowed it. You would need a wireless kb/m unless you have a kb/m with a VERY long cord to reach the console from a couch. I would love to play an MMO on my 52" HDTV. I have a better sound system for my TV than I do on my PC so that's another advantage for me.
Nef said on 5:44PM 9-18-2009
Yup, you can hook a keyboard/mouse up to consoles, but at the same time you can hook a computer up to a big TV and get surround sound. (do it myself, with wireless peripherals for better couch-lounging)
The small inclusion of macro's (like on the G15 and whatnot) and extra buttons on the mouse is the kicker for me -- would consoles allow/be able to support that software?
Either way does have its advantages and disadvantages, as stated.
MeowCat said on 7:01PM 9-18-2009
I hear you on this one, I am not sure the consol will overtake the PC in its present form.
Marco said on 11:17AM 9-19-2009
Jason ... if that's really really true, then why don't you? A gaming PC with a cheap dual core and a HD4650 will be more than a match for a console and pretty damn cheap and you can hook it up to your TV just fine. I personally just don't buy it, MMORPG gaming is better done at the desktop ... but if it's what you really want nothing is stopping you from doing it right now.
Mr Angry said on 3:44PM 9-18-2009
I was wondering where the resources previously employed on LOTRO had been reallocated to, explains the lack of updates and content!
Reply
Utakata said on 4:47PM 9-18-2009
Isn't this actually going a step backwards?
You know...I love to do everything on one machine. Not have a bunch of machines to run different apps. Because that starts to get expensive...and my abode only has so many wall sockets to plug things in. Not to mention...annoying to have to switch to different platforms to play different games. Why not have it all on one machine?
I could go on...I just don't see any advantages to going console. :(
Reply
Jason said on 7:30PM 9-18-2009
MMO's are the only games I play on PC. I would love it if I could play my favorite MMO on my 360. It would save me alot of money in upgrading my video card every year and my CPU every other year. Consoles have the appeal of being simple and basic. There are no video card drivers to update every month. You just put the disc in and play (or install it to the HDD and play that way).
Utakata said on 7:59PM 9-18-2009
Jason, you have raised an interesting point...one which I should of added. That is, consols make sense to those who already have them. Thus I see the appeal for those consol MMO's. And I should not outright dismiss them.
However, more peeps have PC's than consols...so the best solution would be to develop a MMO than runs on both. I understand that this is not always easy to do technically, but in the end is likely the best way to go. Since I don't have a consol. :)
As for upgrades...this is true, but is only a minor inconvenience. Since new models of both platforms are always coming out...in the end we both have to purchase a new machine to keep up with the Jone'es.
Jason said on 9:15PM 9-18-2009
You make good points. But I would say more people own consoles than gaming PC's. But what defines a gaming PC? Alot of people have a PC with a video card (not onboard video). Even low end PC's can run games like WoW. But consoles outsell hardcore PC's by a large margain. We won't even get into console games vs PC game sales cause it isn't even close.
I do agree it would be good to have MMO's on as many platforms as possible. Do it like Final Fantasy 11. But have the servers all merge instead of playing separate on PC, PS3, and 360.
Wisdomandlore said on 6:37PM 9-18-2009
Turbine raised about $50 million in capital over the last two years, seemingly all for this console MMO (it certainly isn't going to LOTRO; many of the old devs have vanished on the boards but still work at Turbine, and updates are coming out slower and slower). I'll believe their word that it isn't a port of LOTRO. While LOTRO has had a decent run, I doubt investors are going to fork out that kind of money for a console version. I also highly doubt it's Asheron's Call, as once again, I doubt investors would go for that. I also doubt, considering that economic climate, that investors would take a risk on a new, unproven IP.
I would bet a month's paycheck that it's a brand new LOTR MMO...completely different than LOTRO. Probably more like WoW, with fully playable evil and good factions. Turbine has sent out several surveys hinting at this. Sure, they send out lots of surveys, but considering WoW hasn't surfaced on consoles, this certainly seems like a money maker.
2. It's a Warner Bro's property. There were rumors that it was Harry Potter, but I've heard Turbine devs say flat out that it isn't. And with DC Universe already in development, that only leaves one big name property WB owns...LOTR...and Turbine owns the rights
Reply
Zediker said on 7:44PM 9-18-2009
The Cryptic devs also said they didnt purchase StarTrek Online from Pandemic when they folded, but they did. When devs say "no" they usualy mean "No, i cant confirm or deny that at this moment".
Lateris said on 6:57PM 9-18-2009
What it ever it is I hope turbine does well with it. And I prefer my PS3 over the xbox red ring of death 360 anyday. Mr Angry I totally agree with you.
Reply
Jason said on 7:31PM 9-18-2009
Xbox 360's haven't had the red ring of death problem for a while now. The Jasper revision made a big difference. I'll take my 360 over the PS3 anyday but it's all about personal preference. You can't go wrong with either of them depending on the games you like.
eddie said on 8:03PM 9-18-2009
At this point, I'd love to see a console MMO game that wasn't Final Fantasy come to pass. There have been so many disappointments recently on that front that it's now a matter of "I'll believe it when I see it."
However, if they're really working on a title, I wish Turbine the best. I think it's smart to keep console and PC separate, because that way you can play to the strengths of the platform and not try and hybrid things together.
For instance, were I building an XBox/PS3 title, I'd probably head towards a battletech/heavy gear giant fighting robot game. It would allow lots of player customization, loot drops, and a long, interesting growth curve through the game as your pilot built up and equipped his stable of vehicles. Yet it would allow for very natural dual-stick and thumb button/trigger controls during "action."
Reply
Bigfoot said on 4:13PM 9-19-2009
Haha, I see The Realm Online in their presentation. Good times...
Reply
MisterL said on 5:38AM 9-20-2009
still waiting for the first real console MMO...
Reply
ringthree said on 3:27PM 9-22-2009
You do know that FFXI has been on console for over 7 years and on multiple consoles for over 4 years, right?
It's been done, it's not anything special, and Square Enix is about to do it again with FFXIV.