Interesting Blizzard news

[Raelynn]

IGN article

Apparently, as some had already assumed, Blizzard will be bringing all of its franchises to some form of MMOG. They also already have plans for $50 million to make the next one over the next three years.

Let the speculation begin. :D

[Occhidiangela]

IGN article

Apparently, as some had already assumed, Blizzard will be bringing all of its franchises to some form of MMOG. They also already have plans for $50 million to make the next one over the next three years.

Let the speculation begin. :D

It will be called "Defense of Sanctuary" and will be the Diablo franchise MMORPG.

You heard it here first, three beers into the Mav's playoff game.

Occhi

[Mithrandir]

That is disappointing, to be honest. The more resources Starcraft: Ghost, World of Diablo and World of Starcraft suck up, the less chance of ever getting a "true" Starcraft sequel.

[DeeBye]

During a presentation to Wall Street today, a company representative from Vivendi reportedly said, "All Blizzard franchises will become MMOGs."

I dunno about the veracity of this. It's a representative from Vivendi, not Blizzard. I know Vivendi is the publisher and all, but they aren't the ones making the games. There is also no indication if this is an official announcement, or just a personal opinion from someone who happens to work for Vivendi.

That being said, it wouldn't surprise me. I'd be miffed about a Diablo MMORPG, unless it went the Guild Wars route with no monthy fee. Starcraft fans, on the other hand, would riot if the next installment of Starcraft was anything other than a RTS.

[swirly]

That is disappointing, to be honest. The more resources Starcraft: Ghost, World of Diablo and World of Starcraft suck up, the less chance of ever getting a "true" Starcraft sequel.

Is it possible to make a Massively Multiplayer Online Strategy Game(MMOSG)? The article only says MMOG, it doesn't say MMORPG. So that leaves room for other types of Massively Multiplayer Online Games. I'm not sure how one could make a strategy game with a persistent world and lots of players at once work, I'm just throwing the possibility out there to see what comes of it. For that matter, what says that a MMOSG would have to have a persistent world? MMORPGs are known for that, but thats MMORPG not MMOSG. So maybe it will be Massive, Multiplayer, and Online in some different way. I really have no clue as to all of this. I'm just pondering if there is some way for it to not be a MMORPG and still be considered a MMOG.

[ima_nerd]

I think not making an RTS would hurt Blizzard badly. With the way their games have dominated the genre in the past, I think another RTS is guaranteed. Can you imagine Korea when SC2/WC4 is released? They'll freak out:)

[kandrathe]

Like Galactic Civilization?

I've played many player paper and pencil forms of space conquest games. Typically, you start in a home system that is disconnected from the grid of players ahead of you. You build your economy and home world/system up to the point where you have an established base. Once you discover Hyperspace or Warp transport you find "the neutral zone" where you decide to ally with a faction, form trading alliances, discover the map of the known universe and the MMO "strategy" portion begins. A massive defeat can either mean start over, or you get bombed back to "the stone age" and have to spend some effort to rebuild the technology to get back to help your allies again.

[Raelynn]

IGN article

Apparently, as some had already assumed, Blizzard will be bringing all of its franchises to some form of MMOG. They also already have plans for $50 million to make the next one over the next three years.

Let the speculation begin. :D

DeeBye was correct with the concern. I was a bit tired when I wrote this (nothing like starting a job after school). A post was made in the WoW forums stating that Blizzard has not announced any plans past the expansion and they aren't focusing on one genre.

Link

[Rinnhart]

I read that the actual quote was regarding Vivendi's future focus on MMO's, in particular new games under a revived Sierra brand, not specifically Blizzard franchises. If I can find the article, I'll post it.

[Raelynn]

I read that the actual quote was regarding Vivendi's future focus on MMO's, in particular new games under a revived Sierra brand, not specifically Blizzard franchises. If I can find the article, I'll post it.

Found it

After reading this article, IGN really messed it up. There was supposedly a quote from a Vivendi rep that all Blizzard franchises would become MMOGs (note...not MMORPGs...just MMOGs).

The thing about funding for a new game within the next 3 years isn't true though. It just states that they have a model that they claim can produce an MMOG in 3 years for $50 million.

Lastly, the interesting thing they're doing is splitting MMOGs into length of time based sections, short and longer than 2-hour play sessions. As Rinn said, there will be several short session games coming out from the Sierra Online brand. One is a basketball game.

[Occhidiangela]

They're lucky stock brokers know nothing about video games.

That made me chuckle. Thanks for the link.

Occhi

[Nystul]

One is a basketball game.

That is all that really needs to be said, isn't it? Can anyone think of a worse possible candidate for massively multiplayer than a basketball game? Maybe a pro wrestling or tennis game. It seems that we can take any game-matching service and morph it into a VR style setup, and suddenly we have a "MMOG".

[Mithrandir]

Official Blizzard response:

http://pc.ign.com/articles/712/712666p1.html

"No, that rumor is not true in regard to Blizzard. We believe that the rumor circulating about this subject is based on a misinterpretation of information provided to industry analysts. We do not currently have any MMO development plans beyond the upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft, and furthermore, we don't have any intentions to focus on only one genre or platform with our future games."

[Artega]

Still awaiting StarCraft 2, Dawn of War style.

Were that the upcoming Warhammer MMOG was set in the 40k universe instead of the standard universe; I wanna be a Khorne Berzerker, dammit:(

[pakman]

Still awaiting StarCraft 2, Dawn of War style.

Were that the upcoming Warhammer MMOG was set in the 40k universe instead of the standard universe; I wanna be a Khorne Berzerker, dammit:(

But you can take a slayer oath, play an orc, dark elf, chaos something-or-other. I think that WFB lends itself better to an MMO than 40K. However, I have not played WFB, but am considering picking up a dwarf box sometime in the near future after I buy the ginormous box of Eldar that is coming out in late October/early November.

I don't see how you could RP an Imperial Fist, Ultramarine, Iron Hand, Seer, etc. But I guess that is coming out next year when the 40K RPG comes out. I'm looking forward to the box of Eldar goodies and the Dawn of War: Dark Crusade expansion that adds Tau and Necrons to the mix.