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Will Blizzard Have An Answer To DC Universe Online?


With sales of DC Universe Online going through the roof on the PS3, it certainly proves that console MMO's are profitable and therefore worthy investing in. Blizzard, the undoubted master of the MMO with World of Warcraft on the PC, have been hesitant for years about making an MMO for the consoles. Will they now make a move?

The problem that representatives at Blizzard have always quoted for the reason they have not made an MMO for the consoles, is due to the impracticality of transferring a PC specific formula to a console. Limited buttons and the more casual approach of sitting on a couch at a distance to play consoles, seems to have thrown Blizzard off course. There has always also been that other question of whether a console MMO would sell. You may now start to see the significance of the immediate success of DC Universe Online.

But why does DC Universe Online work? The obvious answer is because this is an experience that console players are rarely treated to. Being able to enter a whole online universe inhabited by a huge amount of players, all with their own character, is not something the majority of console players are used to. But it has been done before, so what makes DC Universe Online different?

Will Blizzard Have An Answer To DC Universe Online?
It is more than likely the appeal of this vast comic book world that has taken console players by storm. Let's face it, superheroes are big at the moment - they have been getting blockbuster movies for the past decade. There were doubts whether this trend would survive into the next decade, but it seems that we all still love superheroes (and villains). Allowing players into a space that enables them to live out their dreams as one of these cultural deities has proven to be popular.

Another thing that makes DC Universe Online work is its simple control scheme. This is no complex RPG. DC Universe Online is at its core a brawler, a ground and pound, a drunkard on a Friday night. And people love it! You can be a superhero and kick ass. Simplicity in design works on consoles. Fact. Other ideas for console MMO's have always tried to live up to the standard of PC MMO's and let's face it, that is not going to happen.

Let us not get too excited though, DC Universe Online has passed its first test; but it still has many, much harder ones to go. Another core part of an MMO is that it has lasting appeal. So far, DC Universe Online has survived its first week. Hell! It's more than survived, it's set up camp, started a fire and is roasting wild boar for dinner. Question is, how long can it survive?

One identifiable problem is that brawlers are button mashers, and button mashers get tiresome quite quickly. Another problem is that in DC Universe Online you level up fast, and it will not be long before you reach the level cap. Arguably this is a good thing because you can then get several characters up to the max level. But, most successful MMO's on the PC at least, work because the character is so absorbed in that one character they made. Maybe this is something that will differ between the console and PC MMO, it's too early to tell.

Will Blizzard Have An Answer To DC Universe Online?
The biggest test for DC Universe Online will be when it comes around to paying that monthly fee. How many players will hand over the cash to carry on playing? If this surprises us as much as the initial sales of the game, then it seems that Blizzard have no excuse to not make a move to the consoles. And with Bobby Kotick sniffing the potential dosh to be made here, this is bound to happen.

Activision have already proved that the online multiplayer FPS works on consoles, in fact they have overtaken the console market and made it their gimp. Call of Duty players have been paying out their nose for DLC for a few years now, and it is not likely to stop anytime soon. It seems inevitable then that counterpart Blizzard will aim to do the same now that MMO's seem to be very possible and profitable on the consoles. Whether World of Warcraft will see a transfer or a new IP is uncertain. Either way, if this works we are not going to be seeing much activity outside for a long time.