For a long time, console games and MMORPGs seemed to be two completely different forms of entertainment media. Only on rare occasion would a franchise cross in the opposite territories. In Square Enix's case of Final Fantasy 11, the only official Final Fantasy MMORPG, it was released both on the PC and on two consoles, Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 a bit later on. This move was obviously successful, the game continues its service on all consoles, and still releases expansions, one being scheduled for release in Spring '09 for all consoles. Based on this success, why aren't more developers taking the same move by porting their MMORPGs to consoles?

There are many benefits to porting and creating MMORPGs for consoles. First off, most computer gamers will have a console, but not many console gamers have high-end computers. It is always better to tend to the biggest audience you can. By porting from the PC, they most likely will gain enough subscribers to make up for the cost. It also can't be too hard to port a PC game to a console or to develop it for both, since it has been and still is constantly being done. One of my favorite companies, Bethesda, had at first developed Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, a very popular western rpg, for the computer. It was then later ported over to other consoles, a very successful move on Bethesda's part. They then kept up their trend by releasing the highly anticipated Fallout 3 for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. Also, everyone who has an Xbox 360 has the same Xbox 360! There is no buying a new graphics card, no need to get more memory. This greatly simplifies things for developers, who have to struggle with the idea of the DREADED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (Which I had covered in an earlier article). The game is developed with that console's specifications in mind, and no one can be let down by DREADED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

There is only one drawback to porting to something, well, without a keyboard. Not everyone has a USB keyboard, and people who would rather play with a controller may have difficulties with quickslots using keys 0-9, such as World of Warcraft's. However, a $15 keyboard is a lot cheaper than the graphics card or memory you'll need in order to play it on the computer.

The only MMORPG I know of that is being developed for the PC and Xbox 360 is Champions Online, a game by Cryptic Studios who also developed the popular City of Heroes/Villains. There were a few other Xbox 360/PC MMORPGs planned such as Big World: Citizen Zero, Shining Lore, and True Fantasy (Original Xbox), but were all either cancelled or had their Xbox counterparts cancelled. Was there a reason unknown to the public for cancelling these games? I personally feel, however, that Champions Online will be successful, and you can trust that I'll be picking up a copy!

Thirteen1 Username: AJtheBaka