is the next generation of MMO going to have proper smartphone support?

[ElFenix]

iphone and android are increasingly capable as game platforms. i wouldn't necessarily want a complete recreation of the game for the phone, nor would i want people on phones to be adventuring the same area as people on computers. but full chat integration and a combat system designed for phones on networks (something like the old snes final fantasy would work fine) would be fairly awesome.

<--- wants to level while on the bus

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

In 5 years people will be playing wow with VR goggles on their phones.

 

[Schadenfroh]

They should at least allow you to use the mailbox, bank and auction house from your phone.

 

[manimal]

They should at least allow you to use the mailbox, bank and auction house from your phone.

This would be great, soon enough handhelds will be powerful enough to run playon or something like it...

 

[Arglebargle]

Guild Wars 2 has said they are implementing phone aps for the game; auction houses, chat, following another character in ghost mode, etc. So it has been getting some attention.

 

[Judgement]

and then the companies will charge an extra $3-5 per added phone function on top of the base subscription

be prepared to pay ~$30 a month

 

[KaOTiK]

WoW already has an app where you can do auction house stuff and check your mail/bank, I think it has or will have guild chat as well. They charge $3 extra a month for it. Freaking ripoff imo.

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

After reading about the crafting system in SW:TOR I'm hoping that that game will have a smartphone app so you can send your companions off on missions without having to be logged in to the actual client. Would make keeping up with gathering and crafting a lot easier.

 

[Scotteq]

They should at least allow you to use the mailbox, bank and auction house from your phone.

You can use the Auction House from your phone in World of Warcraft.

 

[ViviTheMage]

WoW has an app already that does almost all the features this thread asked for ... pretty well, but at an EXTRA monthly cost.

IF anything, should be a one time fee app, and only works with a live sub.

 

[JoshGuru7]

I'm not so sure about the long-term aspects of this. The industry is slowly moving away from unlimited data plans and towards pay per GB plans. While those of us on this forum probably love unlimited data plans, they essentially mean that lower bandwidth users end up paying for the higher bandwidth users, both in costs and slower service. That's not very efficient because it means there are few incentives for users to manage their data usage when they receive the benefits but other people pay the costs.

So I guess the question is, would you still want to level your character on the bus if you were paying per GB for bandwidth?

 

[slag]

I'm not so sure about the long-term aspects of this. The industry is slowly moving away from unlimited data plans and towards pay per GB plans. While those of us on this forum probably love unlimited data plans, they essentially mean that lower bandwidth users end up paying for the higher bandwidth users, both in costs and slower service. That's not very efficient because it means there are few incentives for users to manage their data usage when they receive the benefits but other people pay the costs.

So I guess the question is, would you still want to level your character on the bus if you were paying per GB for bandwidth?

Yeah, plus, imagine the people who will get fired from their jobs, once things like this become available on their phones. Putting games and apps of this nature on your phone is a bad idea, especially with the already horrible battery life we have on the phones, plus the increased bandwidth issues as decribed above.

 

[ElFenix]

WoW has an app already that does almost all the features this thread asked for ... pretty well, but at an EXTRA monthly cost.

IF anything, should be a one time fee app, and only works with a live sub.

mail and AH is not what i want. i was full on dungeons available specifically for phone use.

the market for this will shortly be huge. android phones are soon to be introduced in africa and india at the price of $100 or less, no contract.

I'm not so sure about the long-term aspects of this. The industry is slowly moving away from unlimited data plans and towards pay per GB plans. While those of us on this forum probably love unlimited data plans, they essentially mean that lower bandwidth users end up paying for the higher bandwidth users, both in costs and slower service. That's not very efficient because it means there are few incentives for users to manage their data usage when they receive the benefits but other people pay the costs.

So I guess the question is, would you still want to level your character on the bus if you were paying per GB for bandwidth?

MMO games are shockingly light on bandwidth. i've got the performance meter up all the time and i'd guess i'm well under 50MB an hour down and less than a third of that up. in addition, if it were designed for use on mobile networks there could be even less bandwidth usage. patching would be the bigger issue but that could be done from a computer or a wifi connection. internet cafes all over the third world could provide that service. additionally true 4G service may enable providers to go back to unlimited usage policies (sprint is doing this with their pre-4G service, not sure what tmo is doing with their 3G++ service).

 

[paperfist]

I don't get it, every year I (or close to it) buy a bigger monitor then the one I had so I can play my games on a bigger stage. There's a throng of people that love to play games on smaller and smaller screens. Why?!?!?!??!

 

[ImpulsE69]

I don't get it, every year I (or close to it) buy a bigger monitor then the one I had so I can play my games on a bigger stage. There's a throng of people that love to play games on smaller and smaller screens. Why?!?!?!??!

It's more about portability. I think we ALL love to play on as big of a screen as we can, but reality is that unless you're a hermit, there are lots of times you don't have that ability: like long trips, plane flights, waiting rooms, visiting the in laws, breaks at school/work, bar mitzvahs, weddings, restaurants, prison, funerals, waiting in line at the DMV, on the crapper, the list goes on and on.

I could see a MMO tied to your normal game on a phone becoming a problem for alot of people. Most MMO's require quite a bit of devoted time. For one, you're paying a fee to use it, so (at least for me) you feel inclined to get as much use out of it as you can. Plus, since it is a ever changing environment that requires some sort of daily if not hourly interaction to keep up, you feel the need to be there. Having it at your fingertips everywhere, well...you see where I'm going. Not everyone is like this, but I would gamble that people playing the same MMO solid for 3+ years would have this problem.

 

[KaOTiK]

All I know is I wouldn't want to have someone in my group playing on their phone while in a dungeon. MMO's have way too much info and stuff to keep track of to be of fair use on a tiny ass screen.

 

[imaheadcase]

In 5 years you could play WoW on smartphone, but then again in 5 years i don't many will be playing WoW.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Gaming on phones? Bwahahahahahahahaha!

I think I'm going to start marketing a low power personal jammer which disables cell phones in a 10 foot radius. You know, self defense against the heads down, anti social, geektroids that infest our public spaces.

 

[paperfist]

It's more about portability. I think we ALL love to play on as big of a screen as we can, but reality is that unless you're a hermit, there are lots of times you don't have that ability: like long trips, plane flights, waiting rooms, visiting the in laws, breaks at school/work, bar mitzvahs, weddings, restaurants, prison, funerals, waiting in line at the DMV, on the crapper, the list goes on and on.

I could see a MMO tied to your normal game on a phone becoming a problem for alot of people. Most MMO's require quite a bit of devoted time. For one, you're paying a fee to use it, so (at least for me) you feel inclined to get as much use out of it as you can. Plus, since it is a ever changing environment that requires some sort of daily if not hourly interaction to keep up, you feel the need to be there. Having it at your fingertips everywhere, well...you see where I'm going. Not everyone is like this, but I would gamble that people playing the same MMO solid for 3+ years would have this problem.

I get your point about portability, I guess I don't run into those situations anymore. If I were a lot younger (not meaning it as an insult) I suppose I would embrace being able to game while sitting in the backseat of a car on a long trip.

With my work schedule though gaming on a small device seems foreign to me. It's like I'm back in the 80s again starting to game for the first time.

 

[Scotteq]

mail and AH is not what i want. i was full on dungeons available specifically for phone use.

Then it's not a PC game - It's a cellphone game. 😉

Alternatively, one would have to create/market/sell an x86 Windows phone powerful enough to run the game client.


For World of Warcraft specifically - This would be pretty tough from a UI perspective: I use no less than 40 different buttons on my Keyboard while fighting. (the entire left half of the KB, the entire Home, Arrow, and Numpad, plus the F keys...) - I don't see that happening on a cellular phone. :\ You'd have to use a PCMCIA modem and a laptop.

You might be able to get away with porting a console game, tho.

 

[ElFenix]

All I know is I wouldn't want to have someone in my group playing on their phone while in a dungeon. MMO's have way too much info and stuff to keep track of to be of fair use on a tiny ass screen.

like i said, separate (but parallel) areas.

Then it's not a PC game - It's a cellphone game. 😉

actually it's be an internet game. the game scales to match the device.

Alternatively, one would have to create/market/sell an x86 Windows phone powerful enough to run the game client.

nope, don't want that because it's not realistic.

For World of Warcraft specifically - This would be pretty tough from a UI perspective: I use no less than 40 different buttons on my Keyboard while fighting. (the entire left half of the KB, the entire Home, Arrow, and Numpad, plus the F keys...) - I don't see that happening on a cellular phone. :\ You'd have to use a PCMCIA modem and a laptop.

You might be able to get away with porting a console game, tho.

you only need those buttons because the combat system is pseudo real time. if the combat were overtly turn based (which it would need to be to deal with latency, switching towers, what not) then you could use a menu system.

i covered all this in the OP. think FF on the snes but with your wow (or whatever) characters and items.

 

[xCxStylex]

I don't know where you're from, but here you don't get ANYTHING but your clothes in prison. Not even your belt.

It's more about portability. I think we ALL love to play on as big of a screen as we can, but reality is that unless you're a hermit, there are lots of times you don't have that ability: like long trips, plane flights, waiting rooms, visiting the in laws, breaks at school/work, bar mitzvahs, weddings, restaurants, ********prison********, funerals, waiting in line at the DMV, on the crapper, the list goes on and on.

I could see a MMO tied to your normal game on a phone becoming a problem for alot of people. Most MMO's require quite a bit of devoted time. For one, you're paying a fee to use it, so (at least for me) you feel inclined to get as much use out of it as you can. Plus, since it is a ever changing environment that requires some sort of daily if not hourly interaction to keep up, you feel the need to be there. Having it at your fingertips everywhere, well...you see where I'm going. Not everyone is like this, but I would gamble that people playing the same MMO solid for 3+ years would have this problem.

 

[Scotteq]

i covered all this in the OP. think FF on the snes but with your wow (or whatever) characters and items.

Final Fantasy on a phone... Then (Your/Our) bosses would *really* have a reason to hate gamers!! :awe:




Angry Birds??

 

[simonizor]

I'm not so sure about the long-term aspects of this. The industry is slowly moving away from unlimited data plans and towards pay per GB plans. While those of us on this forum probably love unlimited data plans, they essentially mean that lower bandwidth users end up paying for the higher bandwidth users, both in costs and slower service. That's not very efficient because it means there are few incentives for users to manage their data usage when they receive the benefits but other people pay the costs.

So I guess the question is, would you still want to level your character on the bus if you were paying per GB for bandwidth?

Well, the solution to this problem is quite obvious. Don't use the carriers that don't have an unlimited data plan. Those carriers will eventually get the idea when they don't have any subscribers left.

 

[Sureshot324]

Then it's not a PC game - It's a cellphone game. 😉

Alternatively, one would have to create/market/sell an x86 Windows phone powerful enough to run the game client.


For World of Warcraft specifically - This would be pretty tough from a UI perspective: I use no less than 40 different buttons on my Keyboard while fighting. (the entire left half of the KB, the entire Home, Arrow, and Numpad, plus the F keys...) - I don't see that happening on a cellular phone. :\ You'd have to use a PCMCIA modem and a laptop.

You might be able to get away with porting a console game, tho.

You could have a scaled down hotbar with just 8 or so of your most important abilities, and have easy versions of the dungeons specifically for smart phone users. The point is when you have some time to kill you can do something to further your character. Even just solo questing or levelling a profession would be something.