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Interplay Developing $75 Million Fallout MMOG
Next Generation has very, very good news for RPG fans. Interplay is going to be developing a Fallout Massively Multiplayer Online Game ... and they're in it for serious. The official announcement says that they're going to be throwing $75 Million (dollars!) at development for this thing. From the article: "Production is proposed to begin as early as 2007, with a launch slated for Q3 2010. The company's proposal expects 1 million subscribers during the first year, and projects profitability in year two, revenue of $160 million annually after its first year and net income of $50 million annually starting in year three." Those are fighting words, and the 1 Million club they're aiming for ... maybe not so easy to get into. Also, didn't Interplay go out of business?
So now we are hyping things before they even start production. Wake me in Q4 2009 when we have proof that it might not suck.
Basically a Fallout MMORPG would be unquestionably cool, but how would they implement combat with firearms? I'm not familiar with any of the MMORPGs that have firearms, so I don't know how it's been implemented in the past. I don't really see how it would work. Fallout's combat is tactical, so that's what they should aim for (no pun intended).
They'd also have to balance the character building system (if they scrap it and make an entirely new one, it isn't going to resemble Fallout too much), and they'd have to find a way to keep players hooked. I'm having a hard time imagining WoW-style items and stat increases in Fallout. Now that I think about it, I'm having a hard time imagining Fallout as a MMORPG. Maybe I'm just trying too hard to imagine it like Fallout, but with 3D graphics and other players.
...or, how to get investors to give you a dumptruck full of money:
1) Show them the statistics that explain how video games are now bigger than the movie industry.
2) Show them Blizzard press releases announcing the number of million subscribers (we'll call this x.
3) Explain how each of those people not only shelled out for the game, but pays per $y month for playing.
4) Create a PowerPoint presentation which shows xxy (ensure your projector screen has enough room for all the zeros that come after the $ sign.
5) Let investors know where the dump truck is parked.
In all seriousness - I can't believe Fallout has the brand awareness that the Warcraft brand does. Whoever managed to scrounge together $75m should get some sort of medal. These guys are going to have to be in it for the long haul, but I wonder how much of that cash is going to be allocated towards the marketing budget to try to get WoW players to switch teams.
Not only that, they've got a three year development window to compete with. Who knows what other massive mass-market brands are going to get their MMOs out the door in that time, further chewing away at the potential player base (I'm waiting for the Harry Potter MMO to come out and rule the world - hell, if they make it kid safe and put in enough decent content...).
Bethesda bought the rights for everything EXCEPT a MMO in the Fallout universe, if I understood it correctly.
Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die
I can't remember if Bethesda is developing or publishing Fallout 3, but it really doesn't matter. Judging from their latest releases on both fronts, I'm not enthusiastic. Oblivion was a travesty next to Morrowind. ST:Legacy was a badly-done console port.
Back on the subject, though, the news of a Fallout MMO is not heartening. The last MMO I enjoyed was FFXI, and that was because it was (sorta) Final Fantasy. And it had mithra, too. Fine. I admit it.
It's my opinion that this doesn't really bode well for the Fallout series. Tactics was lackluster at best. I only hope a successful Fallout MMO would generate more interest in making a new Fallout game in the more traditional vein we're used to. It has only a slim chance of "beating WoW" and thus being noteworthy in the modern MMO market.
My real fear is that we'll end up with a NWN2-style sequel--"better" graphics, linear plot, and some fixes for some annoyances from the previous entries in the series.
Firearms are simple like bows and crossbows. Nothing complex on a MMORPG. It feels Ok. You can simply download and play Anarchy Online to test how feel.
-Woof woof woof!
Fallen Earth (http://fallenearth.com/) might be interesting too. And since they have already shown a playable demo in an interview, it might be ready a lot earlier than the interplay game ;-)
C - the footgun of programming languages
MMO's have a tendency to, how should I put this, erode their source materials.
There's few things worse than seeing a world or setting that you've loved for years suddenly inhabited by psychotic idiots. One of those few things is when the people in charge of managing that world start changing it to cater to said psychotic idiots.
For reference, see Ultima Online or Star Wars Galaxies.
Fallout deserves better.
That's like so far off! Civilization could be in ruins, a radioactive wasteland by the time it comes out..... Seirously though, it is a setting that needs an MMORPG.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
it's not a huge popular name like other successful MMO's. It's popular with the critics, but not with the general gaming public like Blizzard was with World of Warcraft, Sony was before Everquest, and SquareEnix was before Final Fantasy XI. Urqhuart (sp?) is better known in the current community for Planescape, KOTOR 2, and now NWN 2 than for Fallout, and it looks like he won't be involved. I worry it's just been too long. Fallout: Tactics didn't help the situation, either.
I know other MMO's have been "successful" without big names, like Asheron's Call, Eve Online, etc, but those might not return the $75 million investment like WoW does every two months (7 mil x $15 US and less in Asia), or FFXI does every half a year (500k x (13$ +$1 per char)) per month).
$75 Million (dollars!)
Oh thanks. I'm always confused by that symbol that looks like an S with a line through it... I could have sworn it stood for "miles-per-hour", but this article submitter has made it clear!
Comment of the year
I think you aren't clear on what MMOGs are. That's Massively (as in huge) Multiplayer (as in many people) Online (as in the internet) Games (as in fun).
These games weren't designed with single player in mind. FFXI and WoW are clear evidence in this. Both require parties for much of their content. If you're looking at MMOGs and thinking "I wish that were single player" I recommend avoiding the genre as a whole. To want an offline, single player experience from a game designed for a massive number of people online at once is somewhat silly.
Diablo 2 and Half-Life were excellent games both in their single player and multiplayer aspects. The key difference here is they were not MMOGs. Their fundamental designs were for a single player game, but were well adaptable to multiplayer fun.
The cost is really the largest factor for many people, but I don't even think about it anymore. $15 a month is three movie rentals from Blockbuster or less than two tickets to an actual theatre (not counting food if you pay those outrageous prices). That's 4 to 6 hours of entertainment. There have been months in the past where I've played WoW for just a couple of hours the whole month and I don't feel I've wasted my $15. Just because I could get more out of my money by playing the game night and day doesn't mean I didn't get my money's worth by only playing a few hours.
I guess it's all just an American drive to maximize our dollar.
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
With those three points alone, everything I love about Fallout is ruined. It's been said before, and I'll say it again - Fallout Online = FOOL.