VP of Publishing at Wargaming.net says long approval times on consoles are restricting development of MMOs, would "be there" if manufacturers made it easier for developers.
"Consoles are still lacking in important functionality," which makes them unsuitable for MMOs like World of Tanks, according to developer Wargaming.net. Speaking at the World Of Tanks World Championship final in Moscow, Andrei Yarantsau, VP of Publishing at Wargaming, said that while the console market is "attractive," long approval times for updates mean that companies like Wargaming can't respond to player feedback fast enough in order to maintain a good service.
"Consoles are a nice, attractive part of the market, because there are no really well-known MMOs there, and the install base is huge. But as you know, those consoles are still lacking in important functionality. In MMOs, it's very important for developers to have a fast reaction time for the service. If you're a big company like Sony or Microsoft, then the approval time for release candidates is so, so long--you can't change the game immediately.
Take us [Wargaming.net], as an example. We're not a unique company in that we make mistakes--everybody does it. Sometimes we balance vehicles in an inappropriate way, and we have to listen to feedback from the community. If you see pressure from the player side you have to fix that problem immediately, otherwise they'll leave."
Yarantsau admitted that there were "many other challenges to consider" before a free-to-play MMO like World Of Tanks could ever be released on a console. However, he wasn't entirely dismissive of the idea.
"If Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo can ease the life of developers, then no problem; we'll be there. So far the politics and technology itself is slightly different. It was designed was for retail, and will stay that way for some time; when it changes, we'll be there."
For more on Wargaming.net and World Of Tanks, check out GameSpot Asia's interview with Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi below.
Writer, riff maker, purveyor of fine foods. Mark currently spends his days trying to overcome his small (large) obsession with high-top trainers and mobile games. He's known to respond well to Long Island Iced Tea, falafels, and karaoke, but not necessarily in that order.
I can see MMO's being more doable on the Wii U because of its tablet controller... Like World of tanks, you could have the game going on on the screen, and then have the map and command shortcuts on the tablet controller's screen. On a standard analog controller like Xbox and PS3 have... No way! PS3 does have some MMO's tho. Recently, DUST 514.
If you remember, THIS is EXACTLY what they said about consoles doing First Person Shooters (FPS's). Screw Wargaming.net
"Consoles 'lacking in important functionality' for MMOs - Wargaming.net"
Yeah...its called "a life".
1 Like I'm awfully surprised at how negative everyone seems to be about MMO's coming to consoles. For god sake they're free, don't like it?, don't play it, not like you bought it either.
i have a average rig, but i prefer consoles for one thing. GAMEZ way more games on consoles then pc which are worth playing. devs/publishers are too scared of the piracy, to even bother making games for poor pc. all you see now is half assed pc ports like darksiders 2(pc version). i know some die hard pc fan will mention battlefield 3 how it was made on pc first then ported to consoles. ok cool, but bf3 on pc has half the players on consoles.
That's not true, the PC has LOADS of software that the consoles don't, it's just that the PC exclusives are much lesser known and not big-name franchises. The PC does miss out on some of those, like Madden (which is utterly stupid because PC gamers do actually want to play Madden). If you want the best of both worlds, you buy both (I'm a PC gamer who collects consoles).
The problem with some ports is that they're designed for the hardware constraints of the consoles and simply ported to the PC without really enhancing it. I mean I guess I can't blame them from a business perspective if people are still buying the game. Why bother? PC games are cheaper than console games, anyway. Lazy console ports have given the impression that PC ports suck. But with a relatively cheap PC, a lazy port will probably still look better on the PC (higher resolution, higher frame rate). And then there are the games that aren't just straight ports, the sims, all the stuff you can find on PC that aren't on any consoles.
If you use Steam, then you can buy games right from your PC, usually at highly-discounted prices. PC is becoming a great alternative to the consoles, and once developers start taking real advantage of the power (likely when the next new hardware comes out), things will really get interesting. I love the current consoles, but they really are quite dated at this point compared to the PC.
1 Like you noticed that too huh? well now days, PC gamers have to wait for games and DLC to come out after consoles already had them for a while...if they're lucky to even get a port. Red Dead Redemption anyone? That or wait a decade for a game release...
1 Like Nope, consoles aren't missing anything. All 7th gen consoles have USB ports, all people with internet have USB keyboards... Unless you're retro with PS/2, btw, get a usb keyboard you slacker!
World of Tanks can never be played with a controller, auto-aiming equals to death there, unlike console shooters. You need very precise aiming on moving targets or you're cannon fodder basically.
This is not the first time i've heard developers complaining about the long approval time for updates. while it's good that ms/sony/nin want to protect their customers, streamlining their processes will be an essential revision in months to come, especially with their next gen consoles on the way.
If it means keeping free-2-play garbage off our consoles, I prefer them just the way they are.
consoles have had MMOs for years. FFXI, EQOA were both on the PS2. PLayed both for a few years with no problems.DC Universe Online is out now and Planetside 2 is coming. I can understand what this guy is saying but its not really true.
World of Tanks just kinda sucks.
5 Like From a pure consumer stand point.
I think consoles don't have many MMOs (or F2P) games because the idea behind a console is to sell not only the console itself but the games.
That's because the console is a one time sale but the console maker also gets money from each game sold, where they expect each consumer to a lot of purchases.
MMOs are time consuming, arguably never ending games...if console makers allowed many MMOs (especially good ones) to be ported in consoles, they would risk seeing their games income go down as their consumers could spend a long time in a single title instead of purchasing new titles regularly.
I know that's a very weak logic as the same consumers can already get their MMOs fix on their computers (which most homes have plenty).
MMO games are more associated with the PC anyway. Still, the touch screen on the Wii U would be a valuable tool for these types of games, with all their on screen icons and whatnot.
4 Like hope consoles never get free to play games and I am not a fan of mmo anways they can stay on pc
I was a part of World of Tanks during beta and after initial launch and it is an amazing game. If any mmo should be ported over to consoles, this is one of them. It's essentially a mmofps anyway. I agree with the devs on the amount of time it takes publish updates to the games. Weeks or months is just too long to wait for certification. At a certain point, you've (read: Microsoft) got to understand, these are PROFESSIONAL companies - they aren't going to institute console destroying features or things that will tarnish the good name of the company whose name is on the console.
3 Like To be honest I do not think console makers want mmos on their systems because the average mmo player will be addicted to the game he plays and no longer buy a game to multiple games per month since he will be satisfied with his monthly fee or freemium pay model.Most mmo players I know have not purchased another game for several months which means regular game makers would lose a ton of sales.It is a trade off pay a small monthly fee for an ongoing game or buy regular games finish them and move on to the next mentality of regular console gamers:P Now all of this except for games like COD etc with multiplayer have longer lives:P
1 Like For me this guy sounds like: We are a small developer and have no money to invest in deep beta and Q&A so we are happy that we do that with help of ppl who bought our game...and that is currently only possible on pc's.
If MS,Sony or Nintendo would allow us to release untested games on their consoles and allow us to daily release patches then we might consider release games on these plattforms.
@sladakrobot Exactly. Its only a problem for these type of studios/games that are usually buggy and require tons of patches.
@oflow @sladakrobot Well they're free, did you forget that when you noticed that these games have some problems?.
Not to mention much more incentive to fix problems since it isn't a one off purchase like traditional games are.
@division_9 @sladakrobot they arent really free either. Just like World of tanks these games are designed to so you want to purchase upgrades from their store. Either that or you play the basic model tank for 100,000 games til you can upgrade.
I'm not complaining I actually prefer the F2P + store option rather than a set sub. That way I can buy what I like and not support what i dont.
But pretty much all of these type games are going to this model now. Smite, LoL, WoT, GW2, Wrath of Heroes, Mech Warrior Online, Age of WuShu will all be based on this type of model.
division_9-It will not be free when released for consoles! That is what i think and are afraid off.Remember Dungeon Fighters Live? We had to pay and on top off that for way less content.
3 Like I think this article is missing a very important point. MMOs have been (and will always be) CPU hungry and consoles aren't exactly powerful in that department. Plus how many buttons are you gonna need for all the skills? I don't see it practical.
@Anigmar thats a non-issue. Current consoles have a powerful enough cpu to run most games, its the memory thats the problem. Most MMOs use 10+ gigs of HDD space. Also, controlling a game without a keyboard isnt an issue either. First of all TERA is a pc MMO that can be controlled with an xbox controller no problem at all its built into the game. Second, in case you didnt know you can plug a USB keyboard into a PS3 they also make a keypad controller attachment. if you dont want to use a full-sized keyboard.The next gen consoles will have better GPUs than most PCs out now they are designing the PS4 to be 4k resolution compatible instead of 1080.
@Anigmar you nailed it right even if consoles use keyboard and mouse the CPU problem is still there since you cant upgrade on a console unless the mmo is watered down so bad
3 Like Doesn't it just mean you have to make sure you have a polished and complete game to start with? I mean, in Japan they have recently release TWO console MMO's... Dragon Quest and Phantasy Star Online 2, and Final Fantasy XIV will also be coming soon. I'm not arguing that it's far EASIER to release for the PC, but it's not IMPOSSIBLE to do for consoles either.
4 Like if rather get more good single player (only) games for my console instead of MMOs
This is one of the aspects of console development that's going to have to change over the next few years, or consoles are just going to keep losing more and more content to tablets and phones. It's not just games like MMOs, either, it's pretty much everything that shows up on services like PSN Store or XBLA. If you want to continue seeing games like Super Stardust, Flower, Pinball Arcade, and Papa y Yo on consoles, you should be very conscious of this issue, and try to support devs when they bring the problem up.
3 Like Since when has the fact that a vast majority of console owners not giving a flying fig about MMO's been a console compatibility problem? It could be done with a little imagination, but if people wanted to play MMO's they'd buy a PC not a console in the first place.
@TTDog not really, some people just can't afford a gaming PC, and or just are not knowledgeable about the media.
Some people don't like key board and mouse, and a lot of people would like games like TERA and or Guild Wars 2 on consoles, but if its not marketed to a system they play, they won't know about it.
@misterbanks87 @TTDog you're talking about me I cant really afford a gaming pc but I am starting on the one im on now because Elder Scrolls Online is not coming to consoles! And I hope I can play with a controller instead of a keyboard. Btw: Cotroller=Gaming Keyboard=Typing...IMO lol
1 Like @misterbanks87: I doubt the cost of a PC comes into it at all... PC Elitists are always sayng how cheap they are... especially when it suits their argument. I hate it when people assume stuff like that, the same way they think console owners are somehow "missing out" on game mods. People buy a console for a reason, not because ofthe fact they are cheaper... convience, ease of use etc., etc., etc....
@TTDog exactly. I have a gaming rig and I also play console games. Cost has nothing to do with it you can build a gaming rig that would run most games good enough to play for $400 the same price as a highend console package.
The benefit of playing on console is that you can play co-op with other ppl sitting on the couch. Something pc gaming lacks.
I'm not exactly an MMO fan. Okey, I've never really an mmo, I admit it.
Now, one thing I'm sure is that the interface used bysome mmos, were not in any way controller friendly, sure consoles do support mouse/keyboard ( such as CS: GO on the PS3) but most console player problably preffer to stick to their controllers.
I think that could be the most important factor that developers need to take into account, after all, it has to be playable to attract the players. I've seen my brother playing Tera with a PS3 controller and that was a good adaptation, I wonder how many mmos could be like that on a console.
6 Like FFXI is an MMO and can be played on Xbox and Playstation. I played for years, and it played fine.
2 Like @Kale4444 plus dcu free realms and now dust 514 and I'm pretty sure there is more
8 Like What i dont understand is why 360 has ads on every nook and cranny AND you have to pay to be online. That is bs and i stopped paying those leeches and starting buying games for ps3.
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