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Gamers in that sweet spot where massively multiplayer online games and comic books intersect have long enjoyed playing City of Heroes, and are likely to well into the future... but clearly there's more room in the superhero game genre. Some MMO players are looking forward to a superhero-themed game with a different take on the genre than what's been done before. For them, the upcoming game Champions Online has some appeal. G4tv's X-Play recently took notice of this and interviewed Bill Roper, the Cryptic Studios Design Director, about what Champions Online has to offer gamers.

The video interview, "Hands On: Champions Online", is in two parts. First Roper speaks with Adam Sessler, introducing the game concept, its setting, and creating your own personal nemesis in Champions Online as you progress. Afterwards Morgan Webb delves a bit more into the core game mechanics of Champions Online, such as how loot will augment your avatar, and the incentives to play in groups with other people -- one of the key reasons gamers jump into MMOs in the first place. Roper goes on to address the possibilities of gameplay on both PC and consoles. In fact, the gameplay shown throughout the videos is done with an Xbox 360 controller. Roper also reiterates the Champions Online release date, which he says is still slated for Spring 2009. If you'd like to see what all the fuss about this new superhero MMO is about, we've got both videos embedded for you below the cut.

DC Universe Online Creative Director Chris Cao told MTV's Multiplayer blog that SOE hopes to support cross-platform play between PlayStation 3 and PC DCUO players, but isn't ready to commit to it just yet.

Cao said that cross-platform play is still high on the priority list, but no definite promise has been made because delivering game updates to PS3 users is a very different process than delivering them to PC users. SOE is still trying to figure out how to do simultaneous updates on both platforms.

We've heard about this problem before, of course. Funcom is facing something similar as it works to port Age of Conan to the Xbox 360. SOE is in a good position to deal with it though, since it is actually a part of the company that's responsible for the PlayStation Network authentication process. "I think if anybody is going to do it and make it simultaneously seamless for people it's going to be us," said Cao. "It's just that we haven't done it yet, so we don't like to promise what we haven't delivered yet."

In the first of a promised series of articles concerning MMOs on a console platform, Jim Pwnage of Xboxoz360gamer.com gives us a discussion on the importance of communications to a cross-platform MMO. He starts off by making a general introduction to MMOs, seemingly directed at console gamers. If this is the future of the genre, we might as well get used to it.

This first installment discusses how voice communication is essential to a console MMO. No one wants to be typing out their commands or guild chat on a console, and voice chat among 100+ people would be chaotic to say the least. So his solution is a way to join and leave smaller conversations more easily. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of massively multiplayer though? It's an interesting thought, and we look forward to the next part of this series.

In a recent article over at Gamasutra, Sony Online Entertainment's Executive Producer Matt Wilson explains some of the challenges they face with getting an MMO truly cross-platform. With the upcoming spy MMO The Agency being released on the PC and Playstation 3, they've run across some obstacles during development, but they're probably not the ones you'd expect.

Wilson explains that it's not so much a technological problem between the two platforms, it's more an issue of regular updates. On the open platform PC, developers can release immediate updates and patches to correct problems, balance game mechanics or introduce new content. On the closed platform console, they would need to go through a certification process first. This could cause quite a problem for a genre of gaming that lives and breathes by its regular, immediate updates.

Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine has just announced their official licensing of Havok Physics, Havok Animation and Havok Behavior 6 for their yet-unnamed MMO project. As you may remember, Turbine stated intent for creating their next MMO on PC and consoles, which would fall in line with this Havok engine which includes support for multiple platforms including the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.

The Havok 6.0 suite is a collection of development tools made specifically for programmers and artists to build "interactive character performances" that are said to respond to their physical environment in the game. With this advanced set of tools and the recent venture capital in hand, Turbine may indeed be on their way to making the first truly cross-platform MMO.

Star Trek gaming podcast Hailing Frequency interviewed Cryptic Studios Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert in the wake of the big Las Vegas unveiling of Star Trek Online. The two part interview is available in both audio and video, and it's one of the best sources of details beyond the unveiling video itself at this point.

There are a lot of reveals and hints in the interview. Some examples of interview topics: post-launch plans for user-generated content, an economy without a monetary currency, and details about starship combat. Emmert speculates that cross-platform play and non-region-specific servers are possible, but that no final determinations have been made. Listen to the interview for more!

Hailing Frequency also spoke with STO's new community manager, JR Sutich, who is better known to folks in the MMO community as Razor. He was a regular writer at WarCry before he started with Cryptic. That interview, also available in both audio and video, deals exclusively with the game's community and forums.

Age of Conan is not the first MMO to release on consoles as well as the PC. Phantasy Star Universe and Final Fantasy XI were among the vanguards there. Unfortunately, the existing precedents haven't made it look easy. There are a lot of issues to consider. Will Xbox Live (or the PlayStation Network, if the game ever lands on Sony's shores) download regulations prevent prompt bug patching? Will PC users be forced to use voice chat, or will 360 users be forced to buy keyboards? How does one design a user interface that will be equally effective with a console controller and a keyboard/mouse combo?

According to Funcom Project Manager Jorgen Theraldsen, these and other questions have been at the forefront of the development team's thoughts since the beginning. In an interview with MMORPG, he revealed that AoC's combat system has gone through nine iterations throughout Funcom's quest to make it appealing to console users. He admitted that the team still faces "a maze of challenges." At the same time, he assured PC users that the game will not be simplified or held back to make things easier for 360 players. A fine balance, that.

Choosing between the two platforms is probably easy, but many potential players only have one or the other. Funcom will have to keep them all happy if this is going to work. That won't be an easy task.

Darren over at The Common Sense Gamer has brought up an interesting reason for cross-platform MMOs to never happen. The reason is that patching and updating on PCs is an easier-going process than on a console, because consoles are closed platforms with certification processes for any new incoming software updates. This is a headache for developers to figure out and possibly for the players too, since many may have to wait for the console certification before a PC version patch can go up.