Ensemble's Console, MMO Plans

April 3, 2006 7:10 AM

Ensemble Talks MMO Plans is the latest article as part of Next Generation's Dallas developer tour, this time talking to Ensemble Studios CEO Tony Goodman. He talks about the start of the company and Microsoft not believing in a historical strategy game, the company's business strategy and the 2000 acquisition by Microsoft. The conversation then shifts to plans for a console strategy game ("When they got it to the point where we had Age of Empires up and running, and our people with gamepads could beat the people with mice, then we knew we really had totally reconstructed the control systems.") and the possibility of an MMO game by Ensemble

"Maybe it's not crazy to go spend thirty or forty million bucks to actually make one of these things." [Executive producer Patrick] Hudson points out, "At some point, they'll get tired of WoW and want to play something else."
"We haven't settled on anything," Hudson cautions. "It's safe to say we won't be chasing the fantasy genre. It seems like there are so many coming out. [We're] still pretty far out from even thinking of taking that prototype to a greenlight phase."
As for monthly subscription fees: "Yeah, I think that's the business model we mostly believe in," Hudson says. "There could be things that come along and change our mind, but there's a lot of people trying different things... If anything, WoW is charging too little, not too much."

Maarten Goldstein

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MMO
Ensemble

From The Chatty

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spl

 reply
April 3, 2006 7:17 AM

Man wtf, is he saying MMOG prices should be higher?

As if the estimated (15x6million =) $90 million a month WoW makes isn't adequate, holy fuck comon.

Now, if he is saying that entertainment could be pushed to another level through the support of higher monthly revenue in some way, that would be one thing, but something pretty friggin incredible better happen before they go raising prices again.
- stgdz
  
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  April 3, 2006 7:21 AM
  
  Blizzard doesn't make 90 million a month though
  - spl
    
     reply
    April 3, 2006 7:23 AM
    
    I know that but noone knows the exact number so I'm just rounding based on standard subscription fee.
    
    Regardless, it's a metric shit-ton.
- [deleted] 1784011840
  
   reply
  April 3, 2006 8:09 AM
  
  [deleted]
  - yourname00
    
     reply
    April 3, 2006 8:18 AM
    
    Except for most of those hours you're doing pretty much the same thing. At least a book has new content every page ;).
  - spl
    
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    April 3, 2006 8:56 AM
    
    Since there are no other forms of entertainment that I subscribe to, I wouldn't really know. I do know that 15/mo for what you get in an MMORPG is already pushing it.
    
    You can make comparisons all day, but it's going to be apples to oranges no matter what you come up with.
    - yourname00
      
       reply
      April 3, 2006 9:07 AM
      
      I pay Ã‚Â£10 per month (roughly $15) for my screenselect (UK version of netflix) account, lets me rent 3 dvds/360 games at a time. Completely different I know but much better value for me.
  - warcrow
    
     reply
    April 3, 2006 9:01 AM
    
    Oh, I cna think of an even better value for the buck Oblivion = $50