Future of MMOs?

shirlnt

This topic may have already been covered in other threads, and I apologize if it has, but I've heard and read in a few places predictions of the PC going away.  These predictions tend to be based on devices such as tablets and smart phones making computers obsolete.  I've played a few MMOs  available for Android but they play nothing like the majority of MMOs available on the PC.  My preference in MMOs are those with sandbox aspects (although I don't mind a sandbox/themepark combo) with an open world (not overly instanced).  Lots of sandbox style games seem to be on the horizon (how many which actually make it will only be seen as time goes by).

What do people think of the future of the PC and MMOs?  Will the PC become obsolete or just decrease in popularity/usage?  Will tablets become powerful enough to handle the type of MMOs that currently exist on the PC?  How will MMOs adapt their controls?

I've been around long enough to see music go through records, 8-tracks, tapes, and CDs to downloadable.  I've watched the progression of computers as they became a household item to what they are today.  I've watched video games (both console and computer) develop from the days of Pong.  I'm just curious what people think the next step in technology will be and what it will mean for computer games, esp as it applies to MMOs.

....and another semi-related question:  If you had to choose between playing MMOs on consoles or tablets (going with the idea that PCs are no longer an option), which would you choose?

Aelious

Until tablets get to the performance level of PCs I really can't see a shift.  If it does then it will mean I am playing from my couch instead of my computer desk but still playing the same type of game.  If you mean will the advent of more handheld devices see MMOs turn browser based and "lighter" in features I don't think so.  I say this because MMOs take a higher time commitment than most other video games and the whole point of handheld devices is mobility.

 

Take me for example.  The majority of my MMO time is right now, in the evenings when my family is sleeping (I've always been an owl).  Whether I have a handheld device doesn't matter because I'm at home where my higher performance PC is at the ready.  What I can see happening, and I hope it does, is tie in apps and programs that work with MMOs for when you aren't at home but still want to be a part of your MMO of choice.  A companion program if you will that allows you a certain level of functionality when you are on the go.

 

EQ2 had one that allowed you to talk to guildmates, WoW has one that allows you to buy and sell at the auction house and GW2 was rumored to have one for various functions like crafting but I'm not sure where that is now.  At some point Intel will release it's refracted light CPUs and we'll be even further along than we are now.  Maybe then we'll have PCs literally in the palm of our hand.  Until then I think we'll still be using PCs for the heavy lifting.

Greyface

Can you imagine doing office work on a tablet?  On a smart phone?

Can you imagine trying to write anything longer than a forum post on one of these devices?

For all the hype, tablets are just expensive toys.  If you want to get anything done, you need a real computer with a real keyboard.  We may see desktops completely replaced by notebooks sooner or later  -- and we're already seeing notebooks cribbing features from tablets.  But I wouldn't worry about the total eclipse of the personal computer anytime in the forseeable future.  Convergence, sure.  Gradual change, definitely.  But it isn't going away.  Even when (if?) tablets are able to match the power of desktops, people will plug them into docks the same way businesses do with laptops today.

As for console MMOs, nope.  Not for me.  Someday maybe, if the evolution of consoles into living room PCs continues.