.DX.
Power Member
Console-based massively multiplayer online games are a relative rarity, so it's hard to determine how well a console-only MMO could do with so little evidence in either direction. Based on recent comments made by the company, though, Sony is looking to continue what it started with the PlayStation 2 by creating more, and better, console MMOs.
Speaking to the Seattle Times, Sony Online Entertainment's president John Smedley forecasts a bright future for MMOs on the PS3. With more mainstream attention and an ever-growing player base, Smedley asserts that MMOs are "going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term—there's going to be some great ones on the PS3. You're not going to find The Agency on the [Xbox] 360."
SOE is notorious amongst MMO patrons for being the harbinger of death for many franchises: the most famous of which is Star Wars Galaxies. The company's console-based experience is limited only to Everquest Online Adventures, a serviceable and simplified version of Everquest that some (myself included) quite enjoyed for what it was, even if the game never saw wide success. Whether or not the company will be able to deliver on the PlayStation 3 is a question that has yet to be answered.
Smedley overlooks the fact that the only current generation console with any MMO offerings is the Xbox 360, which is home to updated versions of Phantasy Star Universe, Final Fantasy XI, and soon the cross-platform Age of Conan. PS2 versions of the former two titles are available, but the latter is an Xbox 360 exclusive on consoles. Given that the platform's only forthcoming console MMO is on the distant horizon—The Agency is only tentatively scheduled for October 2008—SOE has its work cut out for it.
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thu...-mmos-a-real-strong-selling-point-for-the-ps3