Mar 10
Sam Houser: GTA-type MMO “is a very, very compelling proposition”
In an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly, Rockstar founder Sam Houser talked about the idea of a Grand Theft Auto-type MMO. He seems to think it is an intriguing idea (and I can’t help but agree), saying “it’s definitely something that we’re very keen to explore.” Not only that, but Houser says it is “very, very doable”:
“I think a subscription-based Grand Theft Auto-type game…is very, very doable and is a very, very compelling proposition.”
However, he does admit there would be definite challenges:
“I think the basic things that you can get away with in a fantasy thing–that fantasy players don’t mind doing–just wouldn’t fly for the kind of mass-market users that we really talk to.”
In response to another question statement from EGM, about the lack of successful massively multiplayer games on consoles, he refers to them as “the Holy Grail,” talking about what he believes would make it work:
“I think if you can combine the vibe and attitude and also the gameplay and the tangibility of the games we make, with some kind of–for want of a better term–MMO subscription model, I think that’s like the golden-goal kind of thing… I think this is a world that really can support it”
However, he wouldn’t want everyone just “running around and firing fucking rocket launchers,” because “having 2,000 people run around a map shooting each other, that’s just not interesting.”
It seems like the idea of turning established franchises into MMOs is what everyone is thinking about these days, with the idea being contemplated for Call of Duty by Activision’s CEO and now by Rockstar’s founder. However, I think Grand Theft Auto is much more suited to a massively multiplayer world, and it could make for an insane, awesome game. It may just be an idea right now, but I hope Rockstar decides to pursue it.
An important note that many people discussing this interview seem to be missing though is that Houser specifies a Grand Theft Auto-type game, not necessarily an actual entry in the Grand Theft Auto series.
[Via Massively, quotes from my copy of EGM]
Categories: Epic, Hawt, Magazines, OMG1!!1!, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360No Comments
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