MMORPG - MMOCrunch - World of Warcraft

In an interview posted by The Seattle Times, John Smedley President of Sony Online Entertainment, gave his thoughts on MMORPGs and where they fall in for PS3.

Q: Does the realignment of your group, from Sony Pictures to Sony Computer Entertainment, mean that you’re going to try boosting PlayStation 3’s online network with your MMO [massively multiplayer online] games.

A: I think MMOs are going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term — there’s going to be some great ones on the PS3. You’re not going to find “The Agency” on the [Xbox] 360.

Q: Have MMOs reached the mainstream yet?

A: I would say they’re getting more mainstream. If I were characterizing it, I would say think of the video-gaming industry five years ago. That’s kind of where I think we’re at. … Five years ago, do you think “Grand Theft Auto IV” would have done $500 million [in opening-week sales]? To me, video games are just reaching the real mass-market now. That is going to translate to the MMO side of the business.

Q: Do you think everything will be an MMO in the future?

A: I don’t. I think it’s just like in the single-player or low multiplayer; it’s just about the individual games. We think there’s a huge, hungry audience waiting for that to come to the MMO world. It doesn’t mean everything’s going to be an MMO. I’m sure there’s always going to be single-player games.

Good news if your a MMORPG fan and have a PS3. But personally, I think I’ll stick with my PC.