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No WoW for the 360
Next Generation reports that Blizzard COO Paul Sims has dispelled any ideas that their hit MMOG would appear on the Xbox 360. From the article: "WoW is built as a PC gaming experience. Porting PC games to console often compromises games, and we'd never allow the WoW gameplay experience to suffer ... Also, it's important to us that the entire player base is able to play together. Microsoft's Xbox Live architecture is very protected from all sorts of outside influence, so shared play between 360 and PC owners would be very tough. We wouldn't even consider WoW for 360 unless we could overcome that hurdle."
Considering the server problems they've been having - http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/01/ 1519225 - I don't think World of Queuecraft could handle the millions of Xbox 360 players.
Anyone who'd played WoW for more than 30 seconds would know that you NEED a keyboard.
TODO: Something witty here...
as told here, is there any doubt that porting WoW to the 360 would be a waste of time? When you have 6 million paying subscribers, you're already exceeded your goals by your wildest imaginations and it probably wouldn't be a sound financial investment given the technical hurdles and (relatively) small install-base for the 360.
And, yes, you can use a keyboard with the 360, so this is not one of them.
Anyone who has used mods/addons will tell you that playing WoW on a console would be stupid. There's no way the Blizzard nor Microsoft would set something up to let users download and install fan-created mods/addons either. It just wouldn't happen.
Plus, just because you CAN plug in a keyboard and/or mouse doesn't mean that they can expect it of everyone who wants to play. Thus, they'd again need to cripple the game's interface in order to make it playable with a controller.
Arguing about vi versus Emacs is like arguing whether it's better to make fire by rubbing sticks or banging rocks.
"We're already making bucketloads of cash from an installed user base of 6 million just being a PC title. We don't need no stinkin' Xbox!"
Old people fall. Young people spring. Rich people summer and winter.
Yes, FFXI has both a PC port and an XBox 360 port.
However, both of them are shitty ports of the original PS2 version. It was designed to run on a console from the start. It doesn't have the same problems that WoW has (like too many subscribers...) because it was originally intended for a console.
Plus the PC and XBox360 ports are some of the most half-assed ports you're ever likely to see. The UI is designed to be viewed at 640x480 and doesn't scale as you increase the resolution, making UI elements absolutely miniscule at a decent resolution for a PC, and the same problems occur when using HDTV with the XBox360. The PlayOnline interface won't scale above 640x480 at all (and should be totally pointless on the XBox 360 what with Live and all, but's required anyway), and causes a good extra minute or more before being able to actually play the game.
Blizzard would want to do a good port to the XBox360. FFXI isn't a good port (apparently it'll support HDTV resolutions - using the same models and textures the PS2 client uses, which already look like ass on a modern PC), and is actually a fairly good demo of why it isn't feasible for WoW to be ported to the 360.
Or... not.
We are now experiencing the diversion between Console gaming and PC gaming.
With the extra cost in developing PC games (testing on more hardware, troubleshooting after the sale, driver testing) along with the extra time to develop (creating textures to fit high and low end systems) PC gaming is becoming a niche market.
MMORPG's, such as WoW, ARE that niche. PC's will always excel at social games that require a keyboard and heavy interaction with others.
Consoles will continue to dominate nearly every other type of game on the market.
In the past it might have been reasonable to dismiss the idea of PC/Console interaction, but as SquareEnix has shown interoperability is not as hard as it sounds. The PS2 and XBOX 360 both have two standard USB ports on the front and support keyboards and mice, so the argument of user input is not as strong as it used to be. Granted, fonts need to be bigger so that text is legible on piss poor standard definition televisions, but WOW's existing interface is already well suited. Blizzard already uses a braindead "patcher", which would lend itself well to the XBOX Live Marketplace model for content updates; on an unrelated note, much of their customer base is equally braindead -- which is why I only played the game for a couple of months. Do not get me wrong, I could not care less about WOW... on any platform, but I do not think an XBOX 360 port would necessarily compromise the "WOW experience." The majority of Blizzard's customer base -- 12-year-old fanboys -- will be equally annoying no matter what platform they play on.
This makes a lot of sense really. I mean, how many successful PC to console ports have there been? It's mainly because by porting a PC game to a console, you aren't reaching a larger audience by doing so. Putting WOW on the 360 would be trying to reach the population that owns a 360 but doesn't own a computer. Even of both those guys of them bought it, that probably wouldn't be profitable enough to justify the cost of making it. Everyone who wants to play WOW is doing so, and I don't think there is a significant number of people out there saying "Man, I want to play WOW, but I want to play it on a console instead of my computer".
If they are not going to even get game ports from popular PC titles, then yet another black mark against the Xbox 360.
I don't think it would be too bad to port a PC MMORPG to a game console, the problem is that generally most PC games play better with a keyboard, few game consoles have ever come out with decent gamepad controls for PC ports. Even first person shooters generally work better with a keyboard and mouse rather then a game pad.
The problem then is, you have to expect that people will be interested in buying the extra keyboard for a game console, which in the past has proven to be non-successful. Few people have ever made money selling keyboards and mice accessories for a game console. Honestly, the Xbox360 should have shipped with a keyboard or at least does the Xbox360 even have a USB port? At least the PS2 had a USB port and could support standard USB PC keyboards.
In the end, trying to bastardized WoW to work with a gamepad ultimately sealed its fate for not being ported over to a game console.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
Consoles will never dominate first person shooters or real-time strategies. mouse/kb again far superior.
The real advantage consoles have over PC is not development costs (work smarter, not harder), but rather the locked up, committed userbase, and the marketing opportunities are only getting better with technology. Of course, racing, fighting, puzzle, and children's games are also going to find a niche in the console market.
Here's the potential market -- people who:
That's a pretty small market, considering there are only 1.75 million XBOX 360s sold, and the original XBOX sold 25 million units. Knock off the vast majority of that already slim market if the expectation is that they will pay for XBOX 360 Live and Blizzard's monthly fee (I'm sure they wouldn't do this, but how else would it work?). Complete waste of Blizzard's resources.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Seriously, when WoW players are keeping the PC revolution alive by buying new hardware to cut lag down, a port to console is inconceivable. Nor do I see silly amounts of money being thrown at Blizzard by console manufacturers for such a port. This is obviously a joke story.
insecurity asks the wrong question irritation gives the wrong answer
If Blizzard really wanted to keep folks hooked, they'd just build an IM client for subscribers. For those of us with jobs, it be a great way to stay unproductive at work. I'd wager it's the social aspects of guilds that keep folks subscribing over the years.
One major component of MMORPGs is patches, changes, (gasp) Nerfs, new content, etc.. Blizzard has already introduced significant new content by so doing. These are quite large downloads even by PC standards. So right off the bat, you'd be out of the loop if you had a 360 that didn't have a hard drive. And even then, you'd be running most the game from the HD, not the disc. Is this the standard MO on console RPGs? I can't see them distributing patches through stores. Hey, its the Pally Nerf expansion disc!
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
Because the gaming stores _purchase_ them in lots but haven't actually sold them to consumers yet.
and we'd never allow the WoW gameplay experience to suffer
Yeah, because we know Blizzard is doing everything possible to ensure people can log in without queues (or at all). And the game is completely lag free...oh wait... I saw this today: http://www.cafepress.com/lootlag so obviously I'm not the only one who's gameplay experience is suffering.
Microsoft is backing Sigil games, which is making the Vanguard mmo, as well as a marvel comics mmo for the 360. If they're planning on putting it on the 360, then there's no way they'd let the competition onto the console.
it's important to us that the entire player base is able to play together
Exept US, european and asian players --> cann't join the same realms legally
Exept an early player on a now full realm and a new player wo cannot join that realm
Heck, exept any two players that have started on different realms, they cannot play together unless one of them starts over since Blizzard does not even offer character transfers.
So, this does not seem so important to them so far. Why now?
As others have noted here already, Square Enix has managed to get Final Fantasy XI to work well across the PS2, PC, and 360, so the notion that they'd have to compromise a lot is just plain bogus. The work may not be easy, but it is possible. So it really comes down to money. Blizzard isn't going to make a whole lot more than the 6 million subscribers are already bringing in, by doing the 360 right now. But they've got to be worried that that 6 million is the peak.
Sooner or later, the WoW numbers are going to slide. It could be the arrival of the next big thing, or maybe a serious crack down on online games in China and Korea because of player addiction. Either way, when those numbers start to slide, WoW will likely make an appearance on the 360 and/or the PS3. With sales of both next gen consoles likely to enter the tens of millions within the next few years, Blizzard would be crazy to snub consoles in the face of declining subscriptions. And of course if either Sony or Microsoft writes a big enough check, or just outright buys Blizzard, then you can bet WoW will show up on a console. It's all about the Benjamins.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
I play WoW... I have a 60 priest and I'm currently working on my rogue (level 55)
.etc etc
If anyone can explain to me how to effectively play WoW (Espically the priest!) With a controller, you are teh WINNAR
Even with my easymode rogue... PvP is still Hotbutton for cheapshot, hotbutton for sinister strike x 2, hot button for kidney shot, hot button for gouge..
I would LoL @ all teh auto-attackers
Excuse me, I don't mean to impose, but I am the ocean
FFXI plays with PC and PS2 players, it allows content patchs, it allows keyboard and mouse input.
Bliz is making up reasons on why its not coming to 360. They should just say they dont want to port it. Not BS about it cant be done.
If they ported it to 360 they would get an easy million plus users with in 6 months and maybe alot more. With that comes their problem. They already are having growing pains and if they added 360 it would hurt alot more. They would need to get many more GM's because consol players seem to make more troubble than PC players.
Here is a very accurate simulation of what being a raid level priest is in WoW, tell me how you are going to keep up with that with a controller?
http://www.rougebob.com/priest/
http://voodoopc.blogspot.com/2006/02/blizzard-goin g-crazy-for-opteron.html
that's the link to the article, but here's the relevant quote:
"Blizzard is rumored to have purchased around 1500+ new HP servers all based on AMD Opteron 64 technology. This is most def the first time that Blizzard has purchased AMD based servers in bulk"
With all major publishers basically winding down Xbox 360 development in preparation for Nintendo Revolution and PS3, what's the point of investing in a port that'll be useless in a year?
Hotkeys are for lazy people.
I have only played WoW once and that was for like 10mins, but one thing I learned is... well, you NEED a keyboard. There is no way that WoW could be converted into a game using a controller like the XB360's. Besides, after hearing about some of their server troubles, I would be surprised if Blizzard could even handle the thousands of new players. I think Blizzard is right about sticking to their PC-based WoW that won't "compromise any game play."
The box said: Requires Windows 98 or better. So I installed Linux!
Paraphrasing: "We'd never port our game to the XBox 360 as it would compromise our player's experience. And also because it's technically impossible. Technical hurdles aside, then yes, maybe."
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