Blizzard could be interested in bringing its MMO prowess to the Xbox 360, but Greg Street, World of Warcraft's lead systems designer,isn'tsure Live is up to the task.
Commenting on the closed nature of the Xbox's online service, Streettold CVG, "I think certainly that we would place really heavy demand on the technical structure of those things before [the Xbox 360] was something Blizzard would want to get into."
Streetcited XBL's limits to third-party updates, and the challenge of adapting to the design of console games, but seemed optimistic about the future of console MMOs.
"A few years ago everyone said the FPS couldn't be done on consoles and clearly Microsoft has been able to pull that off with Halo and other games. Hopefully someone will be able to do the same for an MMO on a console," he said.
Regardingthe differences between PC and console experiences and their control schemes, fellow Blizzard employee David Kosack commented,"I'm sure someone will solve that problem. I'm amazed it hasn't been solved yet but someone has to put a lot of thought into it and it has to be the right game for that medium."
"I think we'll see something in the next few years. (Laughs) I said that a few years ago but I'm pretty sure someone will solve that problem! It's tricky but someone has got to be able to find an answer to that."
The360 hasn't had a great relationship with MMOs - some are promised, but none have been released.Most recently, Square Enixstopped development ofFinal Fantasy XIV for the 360, citing problems with Microsoft and XboxLive.
So don't expect to play World of Warcraft, or perhaps anyMMO,on your Xbox anytime soon.
Dec 7, 2010
As Ultima Online approaches its 28th birthday, former creative lead reveals what it takes for an MMO to last for decades, and why they sometimes fail: "Content does not last forever"
Former Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies dev says MMOs have "been in a rut for a long time" after World of Warcraft's popularity narrowed down "a much more diverse genre"
