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Will MMO Platform Segregation Continue?

Posted by simoniker on from the one-nation-under-a-groove dept.

Thanks to Stratics Central for hosting an opinion piece discussing whether MMORPG titles will stay segregated by platform, or whether (as in Final Fantasy XI's dual PC/PS2 release) the separate SKUs will "adopt salient features and begin to look alike." The piece points out that in-game controls matter: "In the world of MMOs, the PC is king for two of many reasons: Key binding, and the mouse-keyboard combo", and concludes that "The irony is, for most of the consoles to compete with the PC [in MMO titles] they must become more like the PC."

37 comments

  1. wrong #1 reason by Vaevictis666 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "In the world of MMOs, the PC is king for two of many reasons: Key binding, and the mouse-keyboard combo"

    The real reason PC beats Console for this kind of thing is the keyboard alone - you know, COMMUNICATION being key for MMOs. Without a keyboard for chat purposes, you end up just doing canned pre-translated phrases and emoticons.

    1. Re:wrong #1 reason by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I would think that anyone who was serious about playing a MMO on a console would already have invested in a keyboard, they're even available at EB so the gamers don't even have to go to another store.

      The PC is king because the PC is a much more mature platform for these types of games. The online capability of consoles is still in its infancy.

      --
      I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
    2. Re:wrong #1 reason by JFMulder · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, if you owned an Xbox and had a MMO, you'd probably chat in the communicator headset. In fact, Phantasy Star Online for the Xbox didn't need the keyboard like the Cube and Dreamcast version did because people could just speak in the headset. Beats the hell out of typing.

    3. Re:wrong #1 reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But I'm a scared 13 year old that wants to call people fags but can't do so convincingly with my little girl's voice! My daddy says that in a few years it will drop, until then I'll have to use the keyboard. I OWN YOU FAG!

    4. Re:wrong #1 reason by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      The real reason PC beats Console for this kind of thing is the keyboard alone

      When FFXI comes out, I'm getting it (on da HD) and the PS2 network adaptor, and I'll plug my keyboard (on wich I'm typing right now) straigth in the USB port next to the controller port on my PS2.

      Without a keyboard for chat purposes, you end up just doing canned pre-translated phrases and emoticons.

      lol! : )

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    5. Re:wrong #1 reason by wynterwynd · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The problem there is many people trying to talk at once (the whole massively part of MMORPGs). And if there's anything like the number of tells, guild chat, and immediate-area chatting that usually goes on in MMO games it would get very confusing and hard to differentiate between the conversations. All in all, a keyboard is a better solution; voice chat works great in some games (shooters, action games, RTS) but with as many people talking at once as there are in MMORPGs it would be like roleplaying in a packed club.

      --
      "Not all who wander are lost" -- JRR Tolkien
    6. Re:wrong #1 reason by JFMulder · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah, but don't you think that it would feel even more real? I mean, I always wondered if someone would finally implement distance as a factor for the volume of a player voice in a game. That would be really nice. And make pretty interresting srategies.

    7. Re:wrong #1 reason by swdunlop · · Score: 1

      Richard Bartle sums up the arguments against voice chat in MMORPGs, here. I find voice chat to be useful in team-based action games, like CTF and Allegiance, but not really appropriate for roleplaying games.

      PSO got away with it, in many ways, because PSO is an action game at heart.

      --
      Weapons of Mass Analysis
    8. Re:wrong #1 reason by Corporal+Tunnel · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, it would feel a lot more real to have some huge musclebound orc walk up to me and challenge me to a duel... in a little squeaky girly little kid voice.

  2. What about cell phones, browsers, etc? by bmyers · · Score: 3, Insightful
    My prediction is that to really gain mainstream acceptance MMOs will need ubiquituous access, including from cell phones, browsers, consoles, webTV, etc.

    Not always to actually *play* the game, but to give a touchpoint for seeing what's going on, chat, etc.

    --

    #man woman
    segmentation fault - core dumped.
    1. Re:What about cell phones, browsers, etc? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Believe it or not it's kind of been done, at least I think it has. About six months ago I had to buy a new phone and utilized some of the new features of whatever Verizon calls their "network" of stuff you can buy. I downloaded one game demo, not knowing what it was, but it turned out to be Everquest of some kind. I'm not sure if this was directly linked into the MMO world or if it was something else, but given that I've also downloaded demos of chat programs on my phone, I can imagine it wouldn't be too hard to actually implement. I suspect the hard part would be to make a phone user talk to a user in front of a pc without any appearance of lag or time.

      And there's always the why. Why would you want to play an MMORPG on a phone/webtv/etc. when you'd have barely any functional control? Voice chat would be easier of course, but as someone else has mentioned, it would be like trying to hold a conversation in a crowded room where everyone is simultaneously speaking. This would be difficult beyond belief especially since cell phones can have poor reception as is, imagine if it had to do a VoIP kind of thing on top of that. Maybe to just chat with players, see stats of players, get "news" about whatever the equivalent of a team might be, and relatively pointless things like that. Wouldn't all of that just be easier on a pc or laptop, or maybe a specialized device designed just for the task? This isn't going to be a big thing for phones (I don't think the EQ thing is still available through my carrier, though I haven't looked), maybe a gameboy sized device could do well, but a cell phone/pda/webtv/etc....not too likely, not with any significant functionality anyway.

      It'd be interesting to see what kinds of things come out though. There's definitly room for innovation and radical ideas. Hell, make it work well and not neccessarily about going on a mission to kill a dragon and I might even be slightly interested in it. Not to mention, the kind of people who have webtv like things aren't exactly the target audience for MMORPGs I'm afraid, I don't think grandma wants to hunt anorcs with an elf or whatever you do in the game. MMO's are fine for people with lots of time and who enjoy things like that, but they're not for the average person. And they don't have to be for the average person either, that would ruin the game for the diehard fans I'm sure. Just as I'm annoyed when someone asks me "is Linux 9 is out yet?" I can imagine what the total newbs who aren't into it at all would be like in something like EQ. Sure they eventually get better, but imagine what it would be like if something so widely available was provided.

  3. hardly an issue by IIRCAFAIKIANAL · · Score: 1

    control is minor. PS2 has usb ports. What's really the problem is you can't upgrade a console as easily (proc, gfx proc, ram, etc).

    A MMO game can last for years. Look at v1 everquest requirements compared to the later add-ons. The PC version would rapidly outperform the non-pc version.

    --
    Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.
    1. Re:hardly an issue by feyhunde · · Score: 0

      Yes a PC version may out perform, but a console will not have nearly as many stablity issues. X-box aside, consoles have usually had few bug issues compared to games. When was the last time a PS2 game had a patch that shut people out of the system? NWN did that when they created a faulty patch for the Mac version. Consoles have lock hardware as a stable plus. A gamer can buy PSO and play it for three or so years straight without much tuning of the dreamcast, (or gamecube, the x-box is of course a bit differant). The PC version will have to deal with a myrid of changes to your computer in that time that could kill your ability to play the game for months on end. No one wants that who is into a community.

      --
      I'd say more, but my guild is raiding.
    2. Re:hardly an issue by Dot.Com.CEO · · Score: 1
      Excuse me, but what the hell are you on about?

      1. "Xbox aside": I have never seen a show stopping bug on an xbox game. On the other hand, the latest Tomb raider game for the ps2 was full of very, very, serious bugs, resulting in hard resets.

      2."When was the last time a PS2 game had a patch that shut people out of the system?". When was the last time a PS2 game had a patch?

      3. "NWN did that when they created a faulty patch for the Mac version." The Mac version entered beta in June 2003, and was released less than three weeks ago. Having played the game on my Mac, I haven't had any faulty patches. So, care to give more info?

      Furthermore, I don't understand your obsession with stability. I haven't had a game crash on me for what seems like years. Last time something crashed was when I tried to replay Half Life without updating it using Direct X so, yes, I guess it might have been a problem. Modern PC games have problems and need patches but they hardly have that many stability issues - they are patched for features most of the time. And I really don't understand your comments on the Xbox, are you under the illusion that the Xbox is upgradable in the way a PC is? It is not. There is nothing upgradeable in that box except for the hard drive and even then you need a modchip and the tools to make it bootable. Hardly upgradable for an average end user.

      --
      Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
    3. Re:hardly an issue by feyhunde · · Score: 0

      The Mac version of NWN had a small issue where it upgraded everything except the internal version number. Heck, Machall covered it a few weeks ago. The NWN mac forumns were full of complants and had many people who could not play online anymore. The upgrade flaw seemed to require a clean install with no mods in the game in order to work at all. They game out with a new replacement patch about a week later due to the outcry.( And NWN hasbeen out since the first week of August.) I left the X box aside because it is more of a pc than a game console and has regular hidden updates performed for x live users. Such as the one that closed the bond hole. The other systems can't fix the bugs. That is such that if it is an online game, they have to make the homeversion work. You know if it does not, it becomes not a question of the game version, but the server. Bug should not exist in any game, but they do. The best way to minimize them is to have a good beta test on the hardware that will be used. Consoles have one model to worry about, and have less issues for good developers to worry about. That is why you see very few first party bugs on consoles. Nintendo has never had a game not work due to software, just hardware. I know I can go back in a year to my gamecube and play metroid and not worry about reinstalling it like I will after I delete NWN from my laptop. That is why I like consoles, with them it is little worry.

      --
      I'd say more, but my guild is raiding.
    4. Re:hardly an issue by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      try taking notes on that ps2 while playing, keeping tabs on where the best stuff is at, logging conversations, email addresses for clan members.. doing email on it to arrange meetings.. the sort of stuff that make you stick to a mmo.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    5. Re:hardly an issue by Dot.Com.CEO · · Score: 1

      I don't play NWN on my Mac online, therefore it is possible the problem did not affect me and therefore I didn't realise it existed. However, I maintain that you harbour a certain confusion regarding the XBox. The only thing that separates the XBox from the current generation of consoles is that it has a hard drive and, therefore, it is possible to update / patch a game and / or the network components. You can be certain that when the PS2 hard drive appears in the West, games using it will be patch-able. Indeed FF-XI has been. I don't understand what the pluging of a security hole has to do with the conversation but, be certain that it was something that could be used for pirating games a-la Dreamcast. As for Nintendo, not long ago I managed to get stuck in a wall in Metroid Prime. Let me assure you, it was a software problem.

      --
      Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
  4. Duh by BrookHarty · · Score: 1

    "The irony is, for most of the consoles to compete with the PC [in MMO titles] they must become more like the PC."

    Xbox is doing this with updates via the live network, and allowing people to use keyboards and mice. Dreamcast had a mouse/keyboard, so does the PS/2. I dont see any reason that you cant ship a mouse and keyboard with a console unit. Most have either a modem/network card or now even wifi.

    Really Quake 3 on the dreamcast looks awesome, but just cant compare with a mouse+keyboard controller. And for MMPOG, chat makes the game, which requires a keyboard. Same reason blackberry/ipaq/pocketpc have little keyboards on them, Instant messaging, email, etc needs a good character input. Look at those tmobile sidekicks, flip the screen and you have little keyboard, very easy to use.

  5. irony? by Corporal+Tunnel · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "The irony is, for most of the consoles to compete with the PC [in MMO titles] they must become more like the PC."

    How is that irony? The best way to compete with anything, in any market, is to do things more like the winners. When SUVs became big selling cars, what did other companies to do compete? They made their own SUVs! How ironic, eh?

    1. Re:irony? by spitzig · · Score: 1

      I think the irony is that the big thing about consoles is that they are NOT like PCs. Like being able to play on the couch is a major selling point. But, to merge they must depart from that.

  6. Thank you! by Alkaiser · · Score: 1

    the word "irony" gets thrown about so often it doesn't mean anything anymore. It totally detracts from the article! I mean it's not like the console came out said, "We want our OWN MMOs because they are so lame on the PC!"

    People shouldn't write if they don't know how to use common words. That's like letting someone be a doctor without knowing what Aspirin does.

    --
    Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
    1. Re:Thank you! by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      That's like letting someone be a doctor without knowing what Aspirin does.

      That would be pretty ironic if you had to go to the ER tonight and were treated by a doctor who doesn't know what aspirin does. Especially if Alanis Morissette drives the ambulance. :)

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
  7. You can get a keyboard and mouse for the PS2.... by evil-osm · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Logitech has come out with one earlier this year. You can get them for the DC and XBox as well (AFAIK re XBox). Its not enough to make me want to go over to a console, but its a start.

    --


    E.

    Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
  8. Xbox Live can... by Iscariot_ · · Score: 2, Informative

    I think Xbox live can support a nice MMO game due to the fact that it has excellent voice communication abilities. I've found that playing a game, then stoping whatever action you're in to type is a horrid thing. It is difficult to communicate and battle at the same time. Even on PC. Gestures don't make it any easier.

    I have yet to see any MMO game attempt voice communication, but I think it would be a really cool thing to try. Sure there are things to work out, like who exactly hears you talk? Or how "loud" is your voice. But those are good problems if you ask me. I'd love to see someone take a shot at it.

    Anyone know if something like this is planned for True Fantasly online?

    --

    Go here for teh [sic] funny.
    1. Re:Xbox Live can... by eieken · · Score: 1

      While I love the attempt at voice communcation on Xbox Live, I've played it, alot, and found that for the most part its too gimmicky to be of any use.

      Besides that, its an optional component, so whats the point, you can't tell your teammates in a game anything unless they have the thing plugged in as well. So you might find yourself sitting there talking to yourself. Even still, its not very optimized voice chat (see teamspeak)

      I'd prefer a keyboard chat interface for those who shy away from voice communcation.

      --
      Meet new people, and kill them.
    2. Re:Xbox Live can... by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      practical voice communication has been possible on the pc for years(even ms has a product for that, that it bought).

      how often is it used? not very.

      there's many reasons, including that i don't find it very nice to yell things in my apartment in the middle of the night(maybe for a really important match i would, though, but _not_ for casual playing). bad language skills are another, writing english is a lot easier than speaking it understandably.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    3. Re:Xbox Live can... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe you should play a little Madden 2004 with a USB headset; I love breaking free and telling my opponent how much he fucking sucks while I run towards the end zone. Or after I sack his faggoty ass quarterback, telling him that he can't stop the train because he's a worthless piece of shit.

    4. Re:Xbox Live can... by paulcammish · · Score: 1
      I have yet to see any MMO game attempt voice communication, but I think it would be a really cool thing to try.

      Planetside has this built in, and its rather good. Its only for the squad youre in, and everyone around cant hear you, but it works very well.

      Im in an Outfit (think Guild, but with guns) which has our own TeamSpeak server, and the ability to call for backup or repair, or call down some Death From Above(TM) is great.

  9. Platform Segregation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Damn right. I keep all my black consoles (PS2, Gamecube, Genesis, Saturn) in a seperate (but equal) room from my white consoles (NES, SNES, PSOne), and I dare the Supreme Court to tell me otherwise.

  10. Right, It's Voice by zeasier · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In order for consoles to compete with PC in mmogs voice communication is essential. My brother learned to play online role playing games while he was learning to read and write. Given a choice at that time he would have gone with a voice game if it was availible. Unfortunatly for him he was forced to become literate.

    The first developer to make a good voice communication game and market it to young children stands to make some money. The only problem is that future generations of kids will be exposed the jungle that is the internet at an earlier age. For example, if you ask someone online if Santa is real they'll tell you the truth.

    1. Re:Right, It's Voice by evil-osm · · Score: 1

      My brother learned to play online role playing games while he was learning to read and write.

      What books taught him to read 5hiT lik3 +H15?

      --


      E.

      Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
  11. Is the XBox really a console? by demo9orgon · · Score: 1

    Or is it a PC? Technically, I believe that it's the closest thing to a PC the gaming console market has seen, and I'm sure the Mod-Community running Linux on it with some success (until recently) has shown that it's more amicable to doing so than any other console out there.

    In keeping with the topic of the article, there's obviously gray areas where the PC and game consoles are overlapping, and it's been brought on by demand from consumers who don't want to buy another computer when their console will/can suffice. I'm probably like most parents with a computer and a console, who would rather let the kids play on the console, w/o touching the Internet or messing up my computer.

    Since Logitech came out with that wonderful keyboard controller (I saw it in OPM), thats been on the wishlist. It's a better keyboard than the one which comes with the Linux Dev Kit for the Playstation2. An integrated keyboard controller makes short work of text-based entry. I don't see a problem typing when it's necessary as long as I'm not dropping my controller to respond to something. With hard-drives and network adapters showing up, the battle lines are no longer with the hardware. The whole Sony vs. M$ Warbucks thing is going to go on and on and on, no end in sight. The horrible irony is that even as these two gorillas tear down every tree and throw it at each other the game development companies are going broke (no matter what exclusive licensing deal they make) trying to write ever better games on increasingly complex platforms for increasingly sophisticated gamers who don't want to see anything that looks like last-year's bestseller.

    I just wish someone would get together with Phillip Price and make a console game that fulfills the promise of "Alternate Reality", with a seamless treatment of "The City", "The Dungeon", "The Casino", "The Arena", "The Wilderness" and "The Palace". It doens't have to look any better than it did in 1987, just have it all there. I don't have to run into another stupid meatspace driven beastie to just play. I would value a complete story-arc and access to the locations and their opportunities over slick animations, detailed cutscenes, or expensive original scores--after all the game had incredible music thanks to the AMP (Atari Music Processor) work. Yes, I'm an old fool, but I'm an old _appreciative_ fool with a perfectly functional immagination.

    And with regards to the percieved intentions of M$ with their hardware, I think the real reasons they have for tightly controlling their kit comes in the form of the Computer Software Rental Act (and ammendments) which sketch out the rules for the rental of software. We can thank all those crafty Amiga owners in the mid-80's who rented $1000's of dollars of software, bought boxes of disks and had a really good time. Once the SPA started investigating things and bringing lawsuits what constituted a computer and the software to run it on were carefully outlined.

    There is a body of laws (meatgrinder of them actually) that M$ skirts with their console offering that is keeping them on their toes to prevent uncontrolled software deployments on their hardware. Below is an abstract involving the Computer Software Rental Act of 1990. I wasn't able to dig up the actual hardware parameters detailed by the act. I know the truth is out there.

    http://is.gseis.ucla.edu/impact/w95/RN/apr7news/ Me rc-news-spa.html

    --
    Every new form of media has it's own Requirimento
  12. One sided thinking by MMaestro · · Score: 1
    '"The irony is, for most of the consoles to compete with the PC [in MMO titles] they must become more like the PC."'

    Or MMO games could become more like console games. Just looking at the now faded Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast, if they had good voice communication like XBox Live and maybe added an extra button or two to the controller, you'd have an excellent MMO game right there. The fact that people played the game up until Sega was forced to pull the plug is evidence of that. (Voice communications would mostly eliminate the need for a keyboard and an extra button(s) coulda been used to access an "Online Buddies" menu)

  13. That's where... by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    voice changers come in.

  14. I Disagree by StaffordBeerIsMyHero · · Score: 1
    The irony is, for most of the consoles to compete with the PC [in MMO titles] they must become more like the PC

    This is such a non-sequiteur. If you want to play MMO games that use keyboard and mouse, you already can, on your PC. There is little point for the console makers to move into that space. Console MMOs are being designed differently, to suit the strengths of consoles (we are developing 3 in this office where I'm sitting right now). This comment may be true for a certain limited class of MMOs, but it certainly is not true for MMOs in general, because that's just giving a blinkered view of what MMOs are or can be - namely, that they can only be what's already been done on the PC.

  15. Terraforge by Milliardo · · Score: 1

    TerraForge is working on that

  16. Super Mario Bros 3 Superplay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.emptylogic.com/suprnova/torrents/299/sm b3.torrent Bittorrent file for an amazing video of Super Mario Bros 3. It's pretty sweet, I'm spreading the .torrent link everywhere that I can.