Speaking at Austin GDC Turbine, the developers of the Lord of the Rings Online have revealed that they have spent over $20 million on a Xbox 360 and PS3 MMO. The MMO has been in production for the past eighteen months, and is expected to release in 2011. Turbine has hinted that this game will be free to play. Several rumors point to a conversion of Lotr:O or possibly a tie-in with Lotr:O.
Speaking at the GDC, Turbine is quite adamant that this generation will usher in the console MMO revolution. Currently the only MMOs on the current generation system are Final Fantasy XI and Phantasy Star Universe.
Poll
Loading ...
Comments:
Freek:
Good news, if its free though, it'll probably have micro-transactions... (eg. use real money to get certain items, classes or whatever)
zach:
Actually a really interesting proposed method would be that if its a console version of LotrO or a tie in with LotrO they have a lot of artwork done, so dev. costs would be cheaper. They would release like the original LotrO world as a full $60 game and make MoM, SoM, etc like $25 - $30 DLC. More expensive than PC but no monthy fee.
Also another proposed idea would be a base $20 download, which gets you the starter regions, then you could make micro DLC purchased of $5 or so dollars and buy a region at a time. So you dont pay for a region until you go there, and if you dont feel like adventuring to Forochel for example you dont have to pay for it.
Cheeky Hobbit:
Hey, as long as there's no monthly subscription costs, they can do whatever they like with regards to purchasing additional content to cover costs.
Freek:
I prefer monthly costs to having to pay for a lot of the cool stuff in the game. I'm not too fond of all these stripped-down games that you have to download DLC for to enjoy.
Cheeky Hobbit:
It depends on your point of view, really. I personally refuse to pay a monthly subscription for a game I've technically already paid for - and on consoles, where the standard retail price is likely to be higher than for PC, it's even more ridiculous.
Eh, I probably wouldn't purchase this anyway. MMOs tend to bore me (even if it is Lord of the Rings). :P
Ilaras of The Dunedain:
Cool news. But as discussed I hope we don't have to pay real money for accessories/weapons/armor etc.
d3an-extreme:
micro transactions sound good to me, allow people to tailor the game to their level of play. plus i hate subs :)
witchkingshour:
Interesting! I mean I never thought a MMO would ever be free... And it's gonna be kinda hard to do with a controller.. Still I would probably buy it..