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Summary: Kim stated that IPs that
are easy to identify, like Star Trek or Star Wars, make this
problem disappear. Players know what to expect in a Star Wars
universe, and it could be successful.
February 25th, 2008 by Mike
This year at GDC Blizzard dropped some more hints that indeed a
Starcraft MMO could be on the way. At the "Future of MMOs" talk,
President of Blizzard, Rob Pardo, had this to say when asked
"Can sci-fi be as successful as fantasy in the MMO space?"
Provided by WanderingGoblin.com
Kim stated that IPs that are easy to identify, like Star Trek or
Star Wars, make this problem disappear. Players know what to
expect in a Star Wars universe, and it could be successful.
Looking sidelong at Rob Pardo, he indicated that a Starcraft MMO,
for example, would be immediately understood by players and,
"I'd probably play that instead of WoW." (both the panelists and
the audience laughed at this exchange.)
Rob Pardo had a tinge of palpable disdain for the question. He
reminded everyone that in the 1970s, people thought sci-fi
couldn't be successful on TV or in the movies. "Then a little
film called Star Wars came along and it revolutionized
everything." According to Pardo, a big, successful sci-fi MMO
simply hasn't been seen yet. You just have to have the right
product, and it could easily be just as succesful as WoW.
I have to be frank in saying that three WanderingGoblin.com
staffers attended this panel discussion, and Pardo's comments
had the three of us raising our eyebrows and looking sidelong at
one another. It wasn't simply the answer he gave, one that was
very strongly in support of the idea of a big sci-fi MMO. It was
the tone he took when answering it. While we can't say that
Pardo was intending to drop a hint about Blizzard's unannounced,
in-the-works MMO, it is obvious that Blizzard thinks that a
sci-fi MMO like Starcraft could be a big success.
With World of Warcraft showing its age, Blizzard knows that if
they want to continue being kings of the MMORPG world they will
need to branch out. Doing a Diablo MMO might make more sense in
the fact that Diablo is already a RPG, so turning it into a
MMORPG would be a natural transition. However by doing a
Starcraft MMO, Blizzard can really do something completely new.
A Starcraft MMO would most certainly be very very different from
WOW. Only time will tell, but as I said months ago, I'm putting
my money on a Starcraft MMO.!
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