NCsoft reconsiders console MMOs
by Rubi Bayer 
Dec 1st 2009 at 7:00PM
Filed under: Business models, News items, Consoles
The concept of console MMOs is not a new one, particularly to NCsoft. They've gone down this road before, and now it looks like they're giving it another shot. NCsoft PR team leader Jin-Won Yun spoke to Gamasutra at G*, and talked a bit about their plans. "After we finished Aion, we started thinking about what it would take to make an MMO come to consoles. We're testing that possibility. We're not in the development process yet, but we're in the thinking and planning stages."Yun also stated that they are considering a multi-platform MMO, following in the steadily successful footsteps of Final Fantasy XI, but that it's only one path they are considering -- they're keeping their options open at this point. NCsoft doesn't have a strong console userbase in Korea, which can make it hard to study and analyze user patterns there during development, but also has the potential to be a wide open market for them.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
max said on 7:14PM 12-01-2009
What console mmos have they done?
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CindyL said on 9:44PM 12-01-2009
None but before they started losing money left and right and closing MMOs they were talking porting to the Ps3 or making new MMOs for the console.
I'm looking forwards to the MMOs SOE has in store and FF14, it would be cool to know another MMO company wants to go that way. But this won't happen with NCsoft for a few years yet I'd wager.
Cameron said on 7:25PM 12-01-2009
Consoles are definitely an untapped platform for MMOs. I've said it before and I'll say it again - we need more MMOs with direct input, realtime combat. The console is a place where such things would be expected and welcomed.
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pogger said on 9:21PM 12-01-2009
As long as they don't port GW2 to a console I'm fine. I can't stand consoles or the console versions of games. Totally my opinion though -- I know kids and fraternities love them.
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Wjowski said on 1:09AM 12-02-2009
It'll be extremely difficult to work out. Consoles have an average life expectancy of 3-4 years. MMOs can last decades.
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Kaio said on 1:56AM 12-02-2009
Playstation had a life span of about 8 years and so did PS2. PS3's life expectancy is said to be over ten years, so I think consoles and MMORPGs would do well together, despite PC elitist nay-saying, I still have my fingers crossed to hear word of a Blade and Soul console port.
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Utakata said on 4:00AM 12-02-2009
Uhh. Consoles should be going the way of the dinosaur, IMO.
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Speedmonkay said on 8:17AM 12-02-2009
IMO the PS2 held FFXI back from achieving its full potential and kind of ruined it for PC players. Make it either just for the console or just PC but not both.
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Kaio said on 8:28AM 12-02-2009
PS2 is the reason FFXI never really got a graphical update but I don't see how it ruined the game for PC players.
Flolah said on 9:21AM 12-02-2009
@Kaio: I think that's a combination of the weird-to-some control scheme that could not be - last I played - fully configured, and the port-like status of the game engine. Things were shiny at the time, sure, but even with moderate hardware at the time, it was pretty hard to get really good performance out of the game in lots of areas. It just could have looked a lot better if they had two entirely separate games, in terms of the engine and viewer, rather than making everything as 1:1 as they could possibly get.
Speedmonkay said on 9:25AM 12-02-2009
The graphics is one big thing. The other is the controls and the interface and all.
Hell, how long did it take them to give PC users a windowed mode ? For the longest time SE said that FFXI should be the only thing running on your machine if you complained of antivirus warnings or anything else popping up and knocking you out of the game.
The game could have been vastly improved in all aspects if the PS2 wouldnt have been holding back the PC because they wanted to keep things exactly the same for both.
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CindyL said on 10:24AM 12-02-2009
So it's not so much that the game was mutli platform that held it back but that SE is to stubborn to upgrade the PC version while keeping the console version where it's at...
I blame SE not the consoles. I'm sure not every company will be this short sighted, and I do still love SE but they can be rigid in some areas.
Speedmonkay said on 11:03AM 12-02-2009
Totally agree with you there.
If NCSoft does decide to go console, they need to learn from SE and not make their same mistakes. Go into it knowing that the console will eventually have a limit, while the PC can be upgraded and future options for it are limitless.
NCSoft can do some short sighted stuff but this is defintitely one area where you cant do that.
DanPez said on 11:42AM 12-03-2009
Actually, in my opinion, FFXI is still one of the best looking MMO's out today. All of the supposedly "graphically superior" games like WoW, WAR, LOTR, etc. all have quite cartoony graphics. FFXI has a more realistic look (although the cutscenes are still PS2 all the way.)
But on topic, all these companies that keep TALKING about console MMO's can bite me. I don't like to play games on PC, so I've been hoping for a new console MMO forever. Watched LOTR, Age of Conan, and Champions Online get console versions promised and then all go by the wayside, with nary a peep about the consoles once the PC version is out.
Guess I'll be waiting for FFXIV on PS3, since SE is the only company to keep its promises so far...
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Kaio said on 7:34PM 12-02-2009
PC elitist really can't blame anything on consoles this gen. FFXIV will have separate graphics for PS3 and PC this time. If you don't like that its not the same old point and click MMORPG then it's not the game for you, go back to WoW.
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