I get the feeling that, if you want to think of Star Trek Online and Champions Online as brothers, Star Trek Online is the more successful younger brother who got all the love from mom and dad, while Champions Online was forced to live in the cupboard under the stairs when his room was emptied to make room for the new baby.
In a recent interview with Jack Emmert, Jack announced that Star Trek Online has “well over 100 thousand subscribers,” an announcement that is great…until you look at the lack of announcement of Champions Online’s subscriber numbers. I don’t want to suggest that Champions Online is doing poorly, but I have always said that what someone doesn’t say speaks a lot more than what they do say, and this lack of information in regards to Champions Online may suggest that the game is not going as great as Cryptic had hoped. Champions Online today launched Revelation, the latest expansion pack that brings new villains, new areas, and new perks/costumes/etc.
One bit that caught my eye, at the end, was when Emmert was asked which properties he would like to work with, his answer being “Godzilla and Neverwinter Nights.” Godzilla aside, this will likely reignite longstanding rumors of a Cryptic-run Neverwinter Nights MMO, the same title that is actually part of the Turbine Vs Atari lawsuit (If you recall, Turbine is alleging that Atari hoped to crush Dungeons and Dragons Online in favor of a rumored Neverwinter Nights MMO).
“It has always been, and still remains our intent to release on consoles, and as soon as we’re able to share more information about it, we will.”
-Daeke, Community Manager, Cryptic Studios, on Champions Online on consoles.
One downside to the internet is that anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of “hey, you said this.” I don’t think I need to remind Mythic of Mark Jacob’s now famous quote regarding the health of MMOs being tied to how many servers are opened post-launch, but I digress. Back when Champions Online was still in closed beta, Cryptic still had high hopes to get the title out on the Xbox360, as one of the few console MMOs on the market. I even commented on Champions Online in 2010: A Blue Moon Year.
“Will we ever see a new 360 MMO? Champions Online and Age of Conan are just two titles slated to release on the Xbox360, and we learned earlier this year that it is Microsoft’s doing that is delaying these titles. With the cancellation of the planned BBC streaming, alongside another year of no MMOs on the 360, Microsoft continues to make an ass of itself in regards to its live service.”
Since I’ve already revealed the spoiler in the title, there’s no point delaying this any longer: According to a Cryptic Studios developer, the console version of Champions Online has been canned, with no plans to revive the project. In a post on the official forums, Jackalope had this to say:
“100% of our focus is on making the current PC product the best it can be. There are no current plans for a console version of Champions.”
-Jackalope, Cryptic Studios, on Champions Online on the 360.
I’m sure Microsoft’s well touted ability to turn developers away from putting MMOs on their consoles had something to do with this decision, but the less-than-stellar reception to Champions Online since release may have been the final straw that broke the console’s back, in a manner of speaking. I’m sure the community will find some way to spin this news in a million different directions.
For those of you still waiting for a console MMO that is not Final Fantasy XI, or Massive Action Game, you are still out of luck. Age of Conan is still allegedly making its way to the Xbox360 this year, with The Agency, All Points Bulletin, and Free Realms bounding in next to an unnamed Turbine game, as well as possibly a Blizzard MMO.
MMOs on the consoles have historically had less of a chance of not only surviving to completion on the console platforms, but actually making it out the door to warm welcome. Searching deep enough, you can find a substantial list of MMOs dating back to the Xbox/PS2 console generation of console MMOs that were canned. So far Final Fantasy XI is the only console MMO to gain and keep a large number of subscribers, and even at that Square Enix has announced no plans to place Final Fantasy XIV on the Xbox360, although it will make its way to the Playstation 3.
More on console MMOs, and Champions Online, as it appears.
MMO Fallout 