Arena Junkies picked up an interesting tidbit by comparing two different interviews. Rob Pardo, Blizzard's EVP of Game Design, gave an interview to Onlinewelten in which he talks about the next-gen MMO. That interview isn't exactly news on its own. We knew since Diablo III was announced at the WWI that it probably isn't the new MMO, and Pardo confirms that in the interview. "..Diablo 3 isn't an MMO," Pardo says, "So we have another development team."
But what is that new MMO being developed? Some speculate it could be an entirely new property. Well, Paul Sams, Blizzard's Chief Operating Officer, has an interview with Gamasutra that indicates no new IPs are coming soon. "Are we ever going to release a new [franchise]?" Sams says, "I would absolutely say we will at some point. I just don't know when that day will be quite yet."
Okay, so Blizzard's still working on a MMO, but there's no new IP on the horizon. So, what's the next-gen MMO going to be? World of Warcraft 2? World of Starcraft? And if Diablo 3 isn't considered an MMO, then is there a possibility of a World of Diablo? For me, this just means that my hopes of Tauren Marines aren't yet dead.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-03-2008 @ 2:05PM
Linkage said...
I call WoLV
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7-03-2008 @ 2:11PM
jake said...
Beat me to it.
LFOlaf 4 Tomator raid
7-03-2008 @ 3:23PM
jrb said...
i'm thinking starcraft ghost, online. maybe with a name that doesn't suck as much as that, but still the same thing.
7-03-2008 @ 2:06PM
MechChef said...
Tip: There is no cow level.
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7-03-2008 @ 2:12PM
DigitalMonitor said...
What about Thunder Bluff?
7-03-2008 @ 2:06PM
Jusk said...
That really means nothing. If they have only started in the past year, they may have not even decided on a subject for the MMO. Seems to me that the next-gen MMO is all about being prepared to get back on top of things when WoW is well past its hayday, rather than a concrete project with a clear outcome.
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7-03-2008 @ 2:07PM
Eternalpayn said...
World of Pandaren, no doubt about it. You heard it here first.
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7-03-2008 @ 2:08PM
Kellerune said...
We will still get Tauren Marines. In SC2. Whether or not they will be official blizzard made ones is to be seen. But I know some programmers who would jump on making a tauren marine faster than the gun blizz said the marine would have.
O and hurray World of Starcraft.
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7-03-2008 @ 2:09PM
peaglemancer said...
World of Captain Placeholder II
Anywhere, Anytime, One-Click.
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7-03-2008 @ 2:13PM
Todd said...
As long as my $15 a month works for both games I'm fine with anything.
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7-03-2008 @ 3:56PM
Mindstrike said...
Agreed.. See CoH/CoV, and Sony Station.
Then again.. corporations love to hit the "Greed" Roll a lot more.
;)
7-03-2008 @ 2:18PM
Jesse said...
now that they've merged with activision, I want World of Mechwarrior...
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7-03-2008 @ 2:19PM
Shogun said...
Who else was at the WWI when Samwise hinted at World of Starcraft during their set?
Went something like:
"ok, so we've done some World of Warcraft songs... how about a World of Starcraft song, I mean something set in the World of Starcraft, who'd like to play WoS?"
*big cheers*
Means nothing of course, but might as well add to the rumor mill :D
"Oh, no one? Hey *blizzdevguy* lets cancel that one, no interest"
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7-03-2008 @ 2:20PM
Shogun said...
Can't edit, but my comment about the rumor mill should be at the bottom (down one line) my bad
7-03-2008 @ 2:33PM
ackthbbft said...
World of Diablo? Wasn't that what Hellgate:London was supposed to be? Same dev team as D/D2, I believe.
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7-03-2008 @ 2:39PM
Buffalodave said...
World of Call of Duty!
WoCoD
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7-03-2008 @ 4:11PM
Tuhljin said...
"Are we ever going to release a new [franchise]?" Sams says, "I would absolutely say we will at some point. I just don't know when that day will be quite yet."
Considering that Blizzard doesn't "know when [the] day will be" that any of their upcoming projects will be released, whether WotLK or SC2 or D3, this statement means nothing. It could be a new IP or it could be one they've already got.
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7-03-2008 @ 4:48PM
dAnixx said...
I dont think there will be a starcraft MMO. It probably would weaken WoW, so, if it is a MMO, i hope its World of Warcraft 2 :D
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7-03-2008 @ 5:12PM
Ichthus said...
Releasing an MMO franchise that's in the swords and spells fantasy world would just be adding another to a long list of the same. However, doing a futuristic MMO using Starcraft? The pool is much smaller and with Blizzard's notoriety behind it, the pull should be fairly decent.
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7-03-2008 @ 5:14PM
Gorysh, lvl60 Undead Rogue: Greymane said...
Here's my opinion:
1) No way in hell is the new Blizzard MMO going to be new IP. Think about it... is Blizzard really going to spend millions investing in a new MMO (time/effort, people, equipment, etc.) that is unproven as a popular, much less financially viable title? Of course not.
2) World of Warcraft 2? Doubtful; not until they see the current WOW floundering, which is probably at least 5-10 years off.
3) The most likely candidate is Universe (not World) of StarCraft. Think about it... there are no "giant" sci-fi MMOs like WOW (not even Eve, which according to Wikipedia has around 220K active accounts) which would make Blizzard a standout in a new MMO genre. Also, StarCraft is not only wildly popular, but monetarily successful franchise as well.
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