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If major, AAA MMORPG companies were smart, they would start working on web-based versions of existing, older games. For example, say Mythic games released a browser-based version of Dark Age of Camelot today. Or if SOE released a web-based Everquest 1. Or even if EA released Ultima Online (this could basically be done with Javascript today).

At first it may not seem like a good investment for a company to try to relaunch an old MMO on a new platform, but this is the way I see it:

1. The games are already established with existing communities if you tie them into the same servers. That gets around the catch-22 of the first players not wanting to play because there aren't any other players to stay with.

2. Making a web-based version of the game would likely only cost 10% or less of what the original game cost to develop. The server was made years ago and likely would need little-to-no upgrades, and should be able to connect to basically any client that supports sockets. All of the art is already created as well, which is another one of the major costs. Actually assembling the client is quite straight-forward once you have all of the graphical assets done and the server, fully debugged and extremely stable. There is also already a stable client to base the browser-based code on, so it is basically just a port.

3. A new, more simple and accessible client could bring back in many of the hundreds of thousands of players who have played these games over the years and left. While a player may not be willing to repurchase a boxset, install it and get a new subscription to play an older MMO on their desktop, they quite likely would be willing to try the game for free with no commitment in a browser, and may even re-create an account to just play when they are away from home.

It seems to me like a no-brainer. Older games are getting 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th chances every day on Wii's Virtual Console, Xbox Live and PSN. The games have become very profitable again and enticing to the players because they have become much more accessible. The reason we haven't seen something like this for MMOs yet could just be an issue with 3D graphical ability without a plugin, as plugin-less gaming is a big boon and upcoming in the next couple of years. We may just see some of this around the corner.

I think creating some sort of browser based extension of the 3D game that links in by using the same database would be the first step to test. A wholesale conversion seems a large bet - but if a simple broswer extension ending up proving to work, it might be evidence that a wholesale conversion would as well?

Oh yes, I definitely don't want to come off sounding like it would be chump-change to port the client to the web. Many MMOs cost $10 million or more to develop, and even 10% of that would be $1 million or more, which is nothing to take lightly (and 10% could still be quite a lowball figure, as it may be more like 20 - 25%). But that is the same kind of money that major developers are putting into even narrow-market browser-based games these days, and something like this could really leverage the reputation of an already-famous MMO to offer something really different in the browser.

I would love to be able to grind in EQ 1 a bit while on lunch break at work lol!

all i have to say is a I agree 200%...

They'd not be in a business where not making a profit was the norm.

Cayle wrote:

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If major, AAA MMORPG companies were smart,

They'd not be in a business where not making a profit was the norm.

Touché

They don't make a profit?

From what I hear, various companies close down games not because they aren't making a profit, but because they aren't making X amount of profit. Kinda like when hollywood says that a movie that just made twice its cost to make, bombed.

haha exactly. Also why they cancel good shows.

This show started with 1 million viewers! we are so happy ...
whoa the second season it had 10 million !
wait the third season only had 15 million, it did not follow the 10x growth, cancel it!

It is the same way store like best buy and wal-mart show losses.

i have 5 stores and I make 5 million total off the stores, 1 million per store. I open up 5 more but instead of making 10 million I am making 9 million.

I took a loss of 1 million this year!

No you didn't! Your stores are still making money! You gained 4 but they want to show they are losing.

There has also been a shuffling of the MMO industry as sky-high production costs for subscription-based games are out, and more frugal costs for item-shop supported games is in. I have to believe there must be lots more money in the latter, because it is the direction basically everyone has gone.

That gets around the catch-22 of the first players not wanting to play because there aren't any other players to stay with.

Actually this just reminded me of how there's an odd audience structure in mmorpgs.

I honestly think, if only because I'm one of them, some people will simply play for the game (assuming its worth playing to them) and the social side is simply a bonus. These people, lets call them audience #A, end up being the kernal of your game, because then you have audience #B, who put the social side first and any gameplay second and they start playing because #A is around. Audience #B are the ones who buy sparkle ponies and monocles for $$.

The irony is, #A obviously have the reverse priorities of #B.

No you didn't! Your stores are still making money! You gained 4 but they want to show they are losing.

Yeah, it's bizarre! I suspect the process is rather like a soccer player getting mildly bumped, but then falling to the ground as if they had been GBH'ed - simply because it might pay off and doesn't cost anything to whine.