Another Hint that Starcraft MMO is in the Works
Filed under: MMORPG News, Rumors
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.
February 25th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I don’t think WoW has started showing it’s age yet. It would actually have to stop growing for that to happen, and for whatever reason, that has not started happening yet.
Also, a Starcraft MMO could be exactly like Warcraft, just set in the Starcraft universe. Actually, it is not like Blizzard to waiver far from the norm when it comes to developing games. If a Starcraft MMO ever comes to light, it will NOT dramatically alter the successful equation set down by World of Warcraft.
February 25th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I don’t agree with that. While WOWs formula works, its already been copied more than enough times. If they did make SC similar to WOW, I think it would be a huge disappointment. I think with SC, they’ll have a chance do get away from what everyone else is doing. A Starcraft MMO would have massive potential for PVP play. And as MMOs seem to be going towards that, AoC and Warhammer, I think Blizzard will want to make there next MMO heavy on PvP.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I’m pretty leery of Blizzard doing a Starcraft MMO, if only because I don’t think people are going to see a compelling need to switch from WoW unless . . .
unless Blizzard lets players paying their WoW subscription fee flip between MMORPGs. Other than that, I predict if the next MMORPG from Blizzard is Starcraft-based we will only see the same level of success as other non-WoW MMORPGs.
That’s just my thought.
February 26th, 2008 at 2:10 am
I think it could be a massive success. Europe and Asia have a soft spot in their hearts for Starcraft, and the Asian region hasn’t really taken to WoW as much as the rest of the world has (though WoW’s numbers are surprisingly good for the region). I think a Starcraft MMO could be just the push needed to empty out Asia’s pockets.
February 26th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I’d bet a SC MMO would work for the simple fact (which was stated above) that the fantasy world is used over and over and over again, and is getting stale.(in my opinion)
Terrans vs Protoss with zerg as the NPC enemy. There are rival factions within each race, and the Protoss/zerg hybrid race that was hinted about in the brood wars expansion could be incorporated. Even the zerg had heroes that could be used as player classes.
I’ve played Eve, but being strictly inside ships gets old. Anarchy online and SWG never really took off, at least not in the way WoW did. I bet if Blizzard stuck to the casual player as their target audience and worked in the same fantastic pvp/arena system it would work like a charm.
Although A diablo MMO would be sweet, and Diablo fans are due a game, its almost the same setting with regards to classes and skills as the fantasy setting in most MMO games.
I’d be interested in seeing how they would handle vehicles in the SC MMO. I’d love to have a/be a siege tank…but doesn’t seem like it would work out.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I’ve been saying the next MMO from Blizzard is going to be a Starcraft MMO for a long time. Now I’m almost sure of it, here is my reasoning.
Blizzard made Warcraft 3 in 2002, but they had to be making WoW at the time (knowing how long it takes to make an MMO and WoW came out in 2004). Their making Starcraft 2 now, so they’re probably in the mist of making a Starcraft MMO. Also like Warcraft 3 put Warcraft in the minds of players again, I think one reason for making Starcraft 2 is to bring Starcraft into the minds of players. Most kids never heard of Diablo, just like they haddent heard of Starcraft until the tailors started coming out for Starcraft 2. So thats why I’m pretty sure a Starcraft MMO is coming out.
I think a Starcraft MMO could be great, it would have more PVP, probably mostly PVP. I could see having a little RTS in there in the way you can build your own city, and in that city you can build your own vehicles and such. I could see it mostly skill based, but not fully. If done well I can see a Starcraft MMO taking a lot away from WoW, especially if they have something like and all access pass.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am
WoW, as we all know, was a huge success. But all good thing must come to an end. I think the creation of a Starcraft MMO would be a brilliant move by Blizzard. The attempt at Star Wars online failed for various reasons but Blizzard’s experience in WoW combined with seeing those failings could allow them to create a massive and in-depth game. Its time to move on from WoW, I mean how many new expansions can they legitimately due?
I think people would switch from WoW to a Starcraft MMO. The ones worried about money would likely wait for their current memberships to expire. But lets be realistic folks, most true gamers don’t care about the cost or owning different games. Its all about the new game and the experience it brings. Blizzard knows this and will eat up the market even if Starcraft 2 doesn’t go MMO. Go Blizzard, I look forward to Starcraft 2 regardless of how the game turns out as far as MMO is concerned.
Now, what is in the works for a new Diablo or Diablo type game?
April 7th, 2008 at 12:44 am
well there is slightly more restriction with the starcraft universe yes?? on top of the aversion to range attacking over melee, at least from what my noobish self can tell
also the terran forces, being composed mostly of convicts would be at loss of choice
and yea, im that guy thats waiting for a new EVERYTHING from blizzard
May 18th, 2008 at 6:20 am
I am a huge fan of starcraft and warcraft, and although the prospect of a starcraft MMO - WoW style - is absurdly attractive, the more I think about it the less it really makes sense. Like, in starcraft, there are three main types of ‘units’: person with weapon, person inside vehicle with weapon, and person inside giant flying ship with lots of weapons that kill everything (in the case of the zerg it’s a little different, but you get my point). Would the character in a MMO starcraft game be limited to just being a person with a gun? Because that would be ignoring the majority of the starcraft universe.
Also, if you have a gun, what’s to stop you from standing really far away and just shooting everybody? It would be really, really different from warcraft because it’s set in the future, so it’s beyond the average gamer’s ability to suspend their disbelief to limit the range of the guns to a few meters. If everybody’s just running around and shooting each other from a distance, maybe with the occasional mele action from around a corner, isn’t that the same thing as Halo?
Other perplexing questions: There is no magic in Starcraft. How, then, would you be brought back to life every time you died? It seems like they could not afford to give up the aspect of character-controlled flight in another MMO - would the aircraft be able to attack from mid-air? If not, why the hell not? If so, how would a character on the ground stand up to an attack from an aircraft? Many similar questions present themselves readily with much thought about such a game.