Game industry.biz came up with this article today. If they are talking about blue ocean and games, I'm all ears.
But first let us look at who is who.
But first let us look at who is who.
Hi-rez
Hi-Rez Studios, located just outside of Atlanta, GA, was established in 2005 to create exceptional online interactive entertainment and is now one of the largest video game studios in the Southeast United States. Their games include the squad-based shooter Global Agenda, the critically acclaimed Tribes: Ascend, and SMITE, the Battleground of the Gods. |
Don't ask me where, but I've seen that name before. Even though I never played one of their games. Maybe in one of the ads of the smaller games I played on armor games. All their games get an average score of 8.5. That's good. Maybe I really should try SMITE.
Mobas
For the non gamers: Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), also known as action real-time strategy (ARTS), originated as a subgenre of the real-time strategy (RTS) genre of video games, in which a player controls a single character in one of two teams. |
I also had a time in which I played League of Legends fanatically. It was so addictive. Trying and buying new champions, getting new charms,... You always want more and better.
How blue?
The question is how blue is the ocean for moba's on console? Wikipedia has a list of moba games but it's not complete at all. Free moba games has a better list.The fact is that you simply don't see many moba games on console. That's good. That means les competition and more profit. But then why haven't more companies tried moba on console? Some have tryed in the past but failed. |
So it seems like there is a lot of potential but there is something holding developers back from launching a moba game on console. I want to know what it is.
Smi1ley did some dirty work for me. In his blogpost he nicely explained why the moba game of lord of the rings didn't work on console. Honestly lotr wouldn't do it much better on PC either. Glitches and network issues of that caliber would have killed any game.
I can't program anything, but I know enough to say that netcode is a pain in the ass. You simply need a specialist if you want it to be flawless.
The second hurdle shouldn't be a hurdle anymore. The gamespot, reddit and battlenet forums point to the controls as the biggest hurdle. But I don't think that should be a problem. Look at diablo 3 and lara croft and the Temple of Osiris. The controls are just fine.
My guess is the same as mmo games, "It works for games like SMITE and Gigantic because they’re already hybrid games and happen to be controller friendly."
When you design your game, you better design it so that it can be launched on console as well.
The final hurdle is fear. Yes, fear. Fear for all the risks.
It costs so much money to make a game. Why should developers and publishers risk it? It's much safer to copy a game that was successful. People and businesses intend to go where the money is made. Is as simple as that.
I can't program anything, but I know enough to say that netcode is a pain in the ass. You simply need a specialist if you want it to be flawless.
The second hurdle shouldn't be a hurdle anymore. The gamespot, reddit and battlenet forums point to the controls as the biggest hurdle. But I don't think that should be a problem. Look at diablo 3 and lara croft and the Temple of Osiris. The controls are just fine.
My guess is the same as mmo games, "It works for games like SMITE and Gigantic because they’re already hybrid games and happen to be controller friendly."
When you design your game, you better design it so that it can be launched on console as well.
The final hurdle is fear. Yes, fear. Fear for all the risks.
It costs so much money to make a game. Why should developers and publishers risk it? It's much safer to copy a game that was successful. People and businesses intend to go where the money is made. Is as simple as that.
Will they make it?
So what's my opinion?
I don't want to be someone that sounds doubtful. And if I'm wrong then I'm wrong. So I'm simply going to say it.
If they can manage their game network and community well, then yes! They will find blue ocean big time.
Am I 100% sure?
No, but no one has a glass ball to look into the future.
I'm very curious how SMITE will turn out on console.
I don't want to be someone that sounds doubtful. And if I'm wrong then I'm wrong. So I'm simply going to say it.
If they can manage their game network and community well, then yes! They will find blue ocean big time.
Am I 100% sure?
No, but no one has a glass ball to look into the future.
I'm very curious how SMITE will turn out on console.