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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."

2 of 37 comments (clear)

  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.

  2. 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.