A second LOTR based MMO – Do we need one?

Yesterday both Massively and MMOsite reported on Korean games developer Inplay Interactive allegedly signing a deal with Warner Bros. to develop Batman and LOTR based MMOs. However, it has subsequently come to light that the original press release issued by Inplay was incorrectly translated. Warner Bros. has indeed invested in Inplay Interactive but the specific IPs to be developed have not as yet been disclosed.

Now this entire situation raises some interesting questions and I’m sure like me, you have probably pondered a few of them. Here are a selection that have crossed my mind.

• Would such a title be exclusively for the Far East market (as LOTRO is currently not available there) or would it be a global concern directly competing with Turbine’s LOTRO?
• Exactly what sort of MMO would such a new LOTR based game be, as the very term MMO is extremely elastic these days. Would the focus be on RTS or PVP?
• Would Warner Bros. run two games covering the same franchise simultaneously? Lucasarts did not and thus cancelled SWG before the launch of SWTOR.
• Would a new LOTR based game be subscription based or F2P?
• What exact franchise would any new LOTR MMO be based around. The Peter Jackson movies (like games such as Lord of the Rings: War in the North) or a unique vision of Middle Earth as with Turbine’s LOTRO.

However, all such questions are currently academic. At present, no such MMO as far as we know, has been sanctioned or is under development. So let us move on to consider some hypothetical questions. Do we need another LOTR based MMO? We’ll competition is a healthy thing and it is nice as a consumer to have choice. I am always interested in different peoples visions of Professor Tolkien’s work, such as artists like Alan Lee, John Howe and Ted Nasmith, so for me a new game would be welcome purely from an creative and aesthetic perspective. There is also the benefit of the wealth of lore that is available to be developed into new storylines, something that Turbine has managed to do successfully.

If such a game was created and marketed in direct competition to Turbine’s existing product, then I would expect it to offer something different with regard to it’s game mechanics or style. I would not see any benefit in simply creating an MMO that replicated what LOTRO does, but simply used a more modern game engine. However, most developers at present are somewhat loathe to deviate from the tried and tested models that are currently profitable, so there’s a good chance that is all we’d get. One only has to look at the launch of the two biggest MMOs of the last twelve months, Rift and SWTOR, to see the commonality that exists between them and the current marketed leader WoW.

I would like to see a less linear game with a far more open world environment, dynamic content that is proximity based and the chance to develop charterers that aren’t solely based around combat. To be able to lose oneself in a virtual Middle Earth, where you are free to explore, craft, farm, trade or simply wander would be a true marvel and a massive step forward for gamers and fans of the IP. But I am fully aware that such dreams purely that and are not really economically viable. The development costs required to create such a world would be substantial and more importantly, the risk of such an experimental project would be the biggest obstacle.

I’m sure that many interested parties will be keeping an eye on Interplay Interactive over the next year to see what emerges from their liaison with Warner Bros. Even if a new LOTR based MMO was given a green light, it would take several years to create it. Turbine’s LOTRO will be celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. In a further three years time it may be facing retirement or already have been decommissioned. If all goes well with Peter Jackson’s two Hobbit movies, then there could well be a renewed interest for all things Tolkien, among the wider public by that time. Would this then be the ideal opportunity for a new LOTR game?