John Smedley is big supporter of MMO’s as first, you can make tons of cash (and I think you need to do that to keep your job) seeing how he was the Co-Founder of Verant Interactive and now the President of Sony Online Entertainment who has its hands firmly in the MMO world with Matrix Online, EveryQuest Online, EQ2, Star Wars Galaxy to name a few. Seeing how EQ Online was a hit for the PS2 when online gaming on consoles was just beginning to start should be a clear sign for Sony that there might be something to it.
I think MMOs are going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term — there’s going to be some great ones on the PS3. You’re not going to find “The Agency” on the [Xbox] 360.
We first start off with the basics, till the PS2 Slim came out, an Ethernet port was not yet standard on the PS2 and that means probably more then 70% of owners had to purchase the online adaptor kit to play and yet EQ Online was released long before the slim. In retrospect, the PS3 is not only equipped with Ethernet, but you also have built in Wi-Fi and of course you have the PSN and Home.
Having both of those puts Sony at a very unique position because the fact that PSN is free unlike other services. Now that does not mean the there wont be a monthly charge for the MMO, but that means with a free network store, the developers can easily have access to their user base with expansions and add ons. Currently with other consoles, you have to pay either a early fee to have access to network, or with PC users, there is still not a nice easy way to shop for content and most people just rely on going to a gaming store to buy their next expansion. With the PSN, Sony can give the developers the upper hand and allow them to reach every single user and that creates a fantastic business model for the developers (because remember, if there is no incentive involved, they wont bother) but this also helps the users to by giving them access to anything and everything related to that game.
With all that said, Sony really has another secret weapon if used properly and that’s Home. The big draw to MMO’s is a community. It’s that you get to know the people you play with, you go on adventures with each other and you have a community to turn to when you need help or if you just want to have fun. Having all the news slowly trickle from Home, we can see that it’s exactly what Sony is attempting to create with Home. A community. From lounges to trophies, to game rooms and apartments to meet, discuss and launch games, Home seems to be a perfect way to target the MMO community and give them something more unique then just a forum to base off their Pre-Raid strategy. From that point, the possibilities are endless with the capability of Remote Play with the PSP, giving users the ability to stay in touch while not being on their PS3.
This then brings us to the final draw of the PS3. The first draw to the MMO community should be the fact that their Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse or USB Keyboard and mouse work and this should also make it easy for the developers. Their not limited to random gimmicky 3rd Party accessories or trying to cram 50 Macro’s by holding X,O, L3,Shake Sixaxis,X, L1,R2. They can just configure for a Keyboard (although offering a controller setup is nice) but with a Keyboard and Mouse, this can be one less barrier for the more hard core fans. Another draw that Sony can help push is the fact that gaming on a PC can and is getting expensive. When your rig dies or can no longer handle it, a $400 Dell isn’t going to get you up and running and neither is a built $500 rig. A decent card alone will cost you $200 from Newegg, let alone Processor and MOBO. With having an MMO on the PS3, a developer can create a consistent game for everybody because the specs are the same. They don’t have to focus their resources of making sure a game runs on 30 different cards and supports every driver and doesn’t have issues with Vista but runs still fine on XP Pro etc. Also, when it comes to gaming, many PC users are stuck with a 15″ or 17″ monitor on avg. Having a game on the PS3 gives you the flexibility to run to any monitor (HDMI to DVI) or run that game on a nicely sized 40″ Bravia and really get immersed with your 5.1 setup. A PC rig does not offer the flexibility.
So in conclusion, do I think that MMO’s are going to become a huge market on the PS3 like a FPS, no but then again, there is a huge untapped market that the PS3 can accommodate to. With the success that WOW has established, it took MMO’s out to the spot light and now we from the young to the elderly enjoying them. What the PS3 can establish is that you don’t need to be a wiz to get that up and running. One box can hook you up to your audio, your monitor, to the community and to the game. Simplicity.
[Via Seattle Times]
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