MMOpwn
11-07-2007, 11:17
Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel has claimed the #2 spot behind World of Warcraft for Lord of the Rings Online in the Western world, claiming the it is the second most subscribed MMO behind Blizzards mammoth title.
Steefel claimed that the world of Middle Earth will have increased by 20% when the most recent content up for offer goes live. This is a massive increase in size for a game that is only 6 months old.
He also went on to discuss the possibility of a console port for Lord of the Rings Online, revealing that the licencse agreement for Lord of the Rings MMO content extends to all platforms and all regions.
Our licenses -- and not accidentally so -- for The Hobbit and the trilogy are massively multiplayer online for all platforms and all regions. We have the ability to do that. We got the ability because we think it's valuable. We want to be able to reach the widest possible audience. As for whether we have a specific focus on that now, not necessarily.
Steefel also stated that developing a game set in a world such as J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings is a difficult process and requires a lot of rule bending and breaking.
There are definitely constraints in big things, like magic. Making a role-playing game in a world where there are five wizards and you know who they are and no one else does "magic" -- that's a place where we had to bend, and bend a lot. We just showed you a skill where he's pulling lightning down from the sky to toast a guy. It's really about how you package it.
You can read the full article here (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15652)
Steefel claimed that the world of Middle Earth will have increased by 20% when the most recent content up for offer goes live. This is a massive increase in size for a game that is only 6 months old.
He also went on to discuss the possibility of a console port for Lord of the Rings Online, revealing that the licencse agreement for Lord of the Rings MMO content extends to all platforms and all regions.
Our licenses -- and not accidentally so -- for The Hobbit and the trilogy are massively multiplayer online for all platforms and all regions. We have the ability to do that. We got the ability because we think it's valuable. We want to be able to reach the widest possible audience. As for whether we have a specific focus on that now, not necessarily.
Steefel also stated that developing a game set in a world such as J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings is a difficult process and requires a lot of rule bending and breaking.
There are definitely constraints in big things, like magic. Making a role-playing game in a world where there are five wizards and you know who they are and no one else does "magic" -- that's a place where we had to bend, and bend a lot. We just showed you a skill where he's pulling lightning down from the sky to toast a guy. It's really about how you package it.
You can read the full article here (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15652)