DigitalBattle.com » star wars old republic

Bioware Criticizes Lack Of Consequences In Games

Erich Jurgens — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:31:32 +0000

There have been a few traits that have been absent in modern games. Titles such as Mega Man 9 and Bionic Commando Rearmed have illustrated the sheer difficulty that not only retro games had, but is missing in modern games. Another ‘trait’ that games are missing is consequences. According to Bioware they aim to fix that with the new Star wars MMO.

“As an attempt to appeal to a broader and broader audience, consequence has left gaming. Everything is very low impact and there’s no real negative result that can occur. We’re going to start bringing that back but in a rational way, a way that doesn’t punish the player — but puts them on the spot.”

It will be interesting how apparent the conscious implementation of significant consequences is while playing Star Wars The Old Republic.

EA Ready to Challenge WoW With Star Wars MMO

Rajiv Ashrafi — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:28:17 +0000

Blizzard’s MMO juggernaut World of Warcraft is yet to be toppled, not even by heavyweight newcomers Age of Conan and Warhammer Online. That may change, though, with the coming of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is in development at BioWare.

EA Games president Frank Gibeau spoke on the matter, stating that they are ready for the challenge.

"Just look at the base of Star Wars fans, plus what BioWare can do. Trust me: we want to win. EA’s reputation is for wanting to win," he said. "This is going to be a powerful category and there’s lots of ways to compete in this category."

The publisher already has Warhammer Online, which failed to make much of an impact on WoW’s blockbuster status. They also maintain Ultima Online, considered by many to be the first mass-market MMO.

EA Wants to Go Online “ASAP”

Rajiv Ashrafi — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:55:34 +0000

EA may be known for its roster of great single-player games, but isn’t exactly well-known for its online titles. However, that is going to change as company president Frank Gibeau expressed concern that the publisher’s titles must go online “as fast as possible”, noting that there are “more projects we can do that have scale and quality”.

"It’s a key strategy for the company to drive our online businesses as aggressively as possible. It’s clearly the future, and the future is now," Gibeau added.

These statements come on the heels of the Star Wars: The Old Republic, the in-development MMO at BioWare. That, and Battlefiled Heroes, the upcoming multiplayer-oriented free title, is only the beginning, Gibeau noted.