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Big World - Xbox's Secret MMORPG Weapon?

Posted by simoniker on from the bigger-than-small-world dept.

Thanks to the TNL forum regulars for pointing to an Internet.com interview with Micro Forté CEO, John De Margheriti. This Australian company has an original, as yet unannounced Microsoft-published MMORPG for Xbox Live in development, and the CEO (overconfidently?) says "Our technology could very well be the killer app for the Xbox. I think the Xbox killer app is online games in general, and I hope that the BigWorld Technology will play a strong part in that." Interestingly, BigWorld Technology is being pitched as middleware for multiple MMORPG titles on PC and console, but no further deals have been announced apart from the Microsoft game. So.. revolutionary or 'just another MMO engine'? Update: 06/25 14:46 GMT by S : Here's a preview and some screenshots of Citizen Zero, Microforte's dormant PC MMO title that the Xbox game may be somewhat based on.

7 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. Too bad by Joshuah · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Too bad for all those people with mods out there who cant play xbox live. id kinda be interested in a game like this, but im not about to go unmodding my system just to play it. maybe if xbox were $100 id consider getting another one just to play all the online games....

  2. Main problem by sixb0nes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The main problem with MMO console games is that they are usually detached from other platforms, losing the player-base on other systems.

    Take Shadowbane & WWIIOL as examples. They both have Windows/MAC clients to connect to the same backend. If there was "just" a MAC client, the population would surely be lower purely based on the number of x86 boxen out there.

    Despite, many of my friends who own Live! will surely be happy with this announcement.

  3. CEO opinion = worthless by truffle · · Score: 3, Insightful


    I don't think I've ever met a CEO who wasn't snarky and overconfident.

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    1. Re:CEO opinion = worthless by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 3, Insightful
      How many CEOs have you been friends with? I mean, sure - it's easy to get some karma by taking hated group X and making a derogatory comment about them but I think your statement that the opinion of a CEO is worthless is a bit overstated. The CEO's job is to guide the company and help make profit - to that effect, their public statements must always be confident. You don't inspire your workers and you don't attract customers by second-guessing your product. What you mean to say is that the PR released by a company is quite biased and is no real indication of the quality of the product.

      But consider this, if the CEO wasn't saying how great this new technology is, do you think it would have any shot at all? Wouldn't that alert you that either the technology is seriously flawed or that the company is in such a state of disarray that they will never deliver a product?

      In short, a CEO is normally a well-educated person whose opinion is far from worthless but whose public talks on the company's work are going to be quite slanted.

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  4. Irony. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "This Australian company has an original, as yet unannounced Microsoft-published MMORPG for Xbox Live in development"

    Ironically, Xbox Live isn't available in Australia yet.

  5. I'm impressed! by Dot.Com.CEO · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A CEO talks about a non-existant game, making exorbitant claims with absolutely nothing to back them up, no beta, hell, no alpha even, not even preliminary designs and we are told that this is the big hit that will make XBox users ecstatic. When they actually have something that people can play, please let us know, until then this is not news, it is CEO drivel.

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  6. Track Record by Kirijini · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Micro Forte has developed or is developing the following games:
    America's Cup
    Bombs Away
    Demon Stalkers
    Fire King
    Nordice
    Enemy Infestation
    Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
    HotWheels: Bash Arena
    Citizen Zero

    Other than Fallout Tactics (the bastard child of the Fallout series) I've never heard of a single one of these. Which leads me to believe that they arn't exactly a AAA developer. I would not expect Microsoft to entrust its MMO technology to a small, almost unheard of developer.

    Sounds to me more like Micro Forte is desparately trying to hype its product. Look at their track record, though, and it becomes obvious that the chances of them creating a "killer app" is pretty damn low.