Why aren't MMOs bigger on consoles?

[Anomaly1964]

Since everyone would have the SAME RIG, programming would seemingly be easier, why aren't there more MMOs for consoles?

 

[M0RPH]

I would have said lack of keyboards, as that has traditionally been how people communicate in MMOs. But lately a lot of folks are using voice chat in those games, and voice can be done just as well with consoles. So I'm not sure why.

 

[Aikouka]

Hook a gamepad up to your PC and attempt to play a MMORPG using it. It might be possible for things like MMOFPS games, but I don't think any of those have ever caught on.

 

[pontifex]

it would be impossible to communicate with a controller. yeah, you can use voice chat but not everyone has a mic.

 

[American Gunner]

If people can't afford a mic, they probably don't have the money for a MMO.

 

[IGemini]

I imagine voice chat management for a console MMO is a logistical nightmare. In PC MMOs you can type something at any given point and usually it will get read. Try having more than one person talk at once on a console version.

Give Dust 514 a try when it gets released next year, see if it's what you imagine.

 

[R4in]

If people can't afford a mic, they probably don't have the money for a MMO.

I agree with this.

In PC MMOs you can type something at any given point and usually it will get read. Try having more than one person talk at once on a console version.

Raiding in WoW with voice chat is no problem at all, especially if you just mute the people that provide no useful communication.

 

[brblx]

I agree with this.



Raiding in WoW with voice chat is no problem at all, especially if you just mute the people that provide no useful communication.

i don't like having to mute 98% of the people that play a game.

 

[R4in]

i don't like having to mute 98% of the people that play a game.

True

 

[cloud7a]

I think that if there did a game setup where the chat system was based off of a team chat setup or a group setup like guild chat that would be the best way to work it. For the part with typing there are already the optional keyboards that go with the controllers. And any sort of sub that you would need to pay, they could do it through the markets and ever for expansions they wouldbe able to do season passes like gears 3 or forza 4.

 

[Anubis]

there are not enough buttons.

 

[cloud7a]

the controller can have different settings or some company can just make a controller for this area of games.

 

[Rage187]

the controller can have different settings or some company can just make a controller for this area of games.

They make chat pads for the 360.

 

[zerocool84]

They make chat pads for the 360.

But people rarely buy them.

 

[Rage187]

But people rarely buy them.

They should package the mmo with the chat pad. I gladly play a mmorpg on a console.

 

[cloud7a]

It would so much easier. I don't need to install all that crap on my pc. I would just insert the game in to my console and then what ever dlc that I would have for there monthly expansion that I would have bought on the season pass would be there.

 

[brblx]

i forgot about the chat pad, i could see that working. especially if you could map extra buttons to it for gameplay or type on it without pausing.

 

[digitard]

The other thing to consider is patching.

It's a much bigger, and annoying, deal to push out updates, fixes, etc, on consoles.

On the PC they can drop new content into the launcher on a whim. New content, fixes, balance things, etc.

On the console they'd have to submit it for QA approval, then push out, all of which costs THEM money to have the console maker QA it for their DLC/etc service.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

It's called a mouse...

 

[J-Money]

there are not enough buttons.

This.

No gamepad has enough buttons and you don't have the speed/control of a mouse.

An MMO player on console would be at a huge disadvantage in a normal MMO because of this. The exception being the two Final Fantasy MMOs that were designed around a game pad, but also both are known for their difficult / bad UIs.

There is already enough whining in MMOs, having MMO devs having to balance around a keyboard/mouse AND gamepad and make it even would be a nightmare that would lead to so much more whining.

 

[Anteaus]

I'm not saying this is a big reason, but from my point of view it's about platform continuity. People playing on PCs have the confort of knowing that as long as an MMO is making money, the game will likely be supported through multiple windows versions. From the developers POV MMOs take alot of time and money to develop, far more than the average game, and thus it doesn't make sense to spend half the life cycle of a console developing a game just to have a limited profit window because once the next console comes out, people will leave and then it becomes a gamble whether to build a new client for the new console, which could cost as much as a whole new game. Sure, corners can be cut, but look what happened to Final Fantasy Online. In addition, the average console gamer is younger than the average PC gamer, which I think reflects overall access to credit cards for monthly fees. I do believe that the console player base can support more MMOs, but I think they consider it risky because as soon as the next Final Fantasy, COD or <insert game here> comes out everyone will move to the next thing and the MMO will be left to die. I think controls also play a part, but I think that's easily worked around. If you follow the dollars, you can usually find your answers.

The reason is economic in nature. .02

 

[Khyron320]

Its all about the money on pc blizzard gets 100% of your fee. On console im sure there would be a large cut to sony/ms. Why do this when you can get what? 17 million wow subscribers.

You buy a console sony/ms own you, all there is to it.

 

[American Gunner]

Meh, I've played WoW before. I don't think we are missing out on much on consoles.

 

[PingSpike]

I'm not saying this is a big reason, but from my point of view it's about platform continuity. People playing on PCs have the confort of knowing that as long as an MMO is making money, the game will likely be supported through multiple windows versions. From the developers POV MMOs take alot of time and money to develop, far more than the average game, and thus it doesn't make sense to spend half the life cycle of a console developing a game just to have a limited profit window because once the next console comes out, people will leave and then it becomes a gamble whether to build a new client for the new console, which could cost as much as a whole new game. Sure, corners can be cut, but look what happened to Final Fantasy Online. In addition, the average console gamer is younger than the average PC gamer, which I think reflects overall access to credit cards for monthly fees. I do believe that the console player base can support more MMOs, but I think they consider it risky because as soon as the next Final Fantasy, COD or <insert game here> comes out everyone will move to the next thing and the MMO will be left to die. I think controls also play a part, but I think that's easily worked around. If you follow the dollars, you can usually find your answers.

The reason is economic in nature. .02

I actually didn't think of this, but its huge when you think about it. When you sell a typical non-MMO game you actually don't give much of a shit whether they play it for 2 hours, 2 months or at all. In fact, its better they play it less because hopefully they'll buy another one of your games. Obviously, DLC is a little different but that doesn't seem like more than an afterthought. With a MMO you want them to keep playing the game (and therefore paying monthly fees) well...forever. If you could get them to play a 20 year old game with no updates you'd do it. The risk of hitching yourself to a platform that dies and kills that cash cow with it is a real one, especially since MMOs are so expensive to develop. How long as WoW been raking in the dough? Will it still be around during the next iteration of console?

I think that and the lack of control and increased cost when delivering content and running servers that some one else mentioned are the main factors.

There are interface issues with communication and complexity of game play possible when using a controller but I'd say those could be partially solved (which seems to be good enough for the console audience) with some creative solutions.

The landscape has changed a lot over the years though.

 

[dpodblood]

There are many reasons why MMOs don't work well on consoles. I think the biggest though is because of controls. Nothing beats the amount of keys on the keyboard or the accuracy of the mouse. Another thing is the HUD. MMOs tend to have all kinds of elements on the screen. Skill bars, mini maps, quest logs, inventory, journal, party health, etc, etc, etc. On a console it would be very difficult to keep all these elements on screen at once while still having enough screen area to play. This is simply because you sit close enough to your PC monitor that the text size can be very small and still remain readable.