Now the really interesting thing will be having my laptop with a built-in UMTS chip. Of course, prices are going to be horrendous, but the possibilities would be fantastic.
Now the interesting question is, how much will this cost the enduser? I can't imagine there being a lot of bandwidth on cellular networks, so access is going to cost quite a bit.
If youd be predicting that online games would rule the market in 5 years Id be inclined to agree. MMORPGs however, like RPGs, are niche products. MMORPGs like AC and EQ require way too much time devoted to advancing your character. A lot of the people playing these games are fanatics and spend every free minute with those games. Not all of them Ill admit, but the game experience gets more rewarding the more you play, which is a problem for casual gamers - and Ill go out on a limb and claim that most gamers are casual gamers.
I think concepts such as EAs Motor City might work in a couple of years, but MMORPGs are just too time intensive.
FFXI is definitely going to be on the PC as well from what Ive read on IGN.com.
I figure that the Japanese gamers will go nuts over FFXI, as for the US and Europe Im not sure. I think MMORPGs are a niche product that will never have a mass market appeal. With games like AO, EQ, AC etc. each having their established userbase itll be hard to get additional people to pay there 10$ or more a month for gaming. Unless its going to be like PSO, which worked, but essentially isnt more complex than Diablo and as such really doesnt qualify as an MMORPG like EQ is or FFXI supposedly is going to be.
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This thing is butt-ugly. I wish Apple would make one of those.
Now the really interesting thing will be having my laptop with a built-in UMTS chip. Of course, prices are going to be horrendous, but the possibilities would be fantastic.
No, using existing cellular airwaves.
Now the interesting question is, how much will this cost the enduser? I can't imagine there being a lot of bandwidth on cellular networks, so access is going to cost quite a bit.
If youd be predicting that online games would rule the market in 5 years Id be inclined to agree. MMORPGs however, like RPGs, are niche products. MMORPGs like AC and EQ require way too much time devoted to advancing your character. A lot of the people playing these games are fanatics and spend every free minute with those games. Not all of them Ill admit, but the game experience gets more rewarding the more you play, which is a problem for casual gamers - and Ill go out on a limb and claim that most gamers are casual gamers. I think concepts such as EAs Motor City might work in a couple of years, but MMORPGs are just too time intensive.
FFXI is definitely going to be on the PC as well from what Ive read on IGN.com. I figure that the Japanese gamers will go nuts over FFXI, as for the US and Europe Im not sure. I think MMORPGs are a niche product that will never have a mass market appeal. With games like AO, EQ, AC etc. each having their established userbase itll be hard to get additional people to pay there 10$ or more a month for gaming. Unless its going to be like PSO, which worked, but essentially isnt more complex than Diablo and as such really doesnt qualify as an MMORPG like EQ is or FFXI supposedly is going to be.