Top Five To-Be-Released Games

Okay, this is purely subjective (sort of) but here’s my list of top five MMO ames coming out in the next year and why:

5. The Agency – Rather unique niche, but being produced by one of the biggest in the business, Sony. Has a lot of potential. I’m going to be giving some more detailed information about this title at a later date.

4. DC Universe Online – It’s actually the lowest rated for hype on MMORGP.com, which certainly is a reflection of public opinion. But, another problem with this game is that it’s a niche product (comics) in a relatively populated, yet somewhat unsuccessful niche for online gaming.

3. Rift: Planes of Telera: This game has a LOT of cool features coming out for it. I read a lot about it in a recent PC Gamer and MassivelyMultiplayer.com articles. I’m actually pretty exited about this title, though I think it suffers from a lack of name recognition.

2. Final Fantasy XIV: Long overdue update in the MMO world for the Final Fantasy franchise. I believe this game has a MUCH, MUCH bigger following in Asia than in the US, so would likely easily be the #1 game were I writing this from there.

1. Star Wars: The Old Republic: One of the most recognizable franchises in the world is making another MMO. It’s being produced by one of the most dynamic gaming companies out there and has one of the largest fanbases in the country. They also introduce some new dynamic dungeon runs, housing and companions in game. This thing is sure to be a huge hit.

Left out: Since it’s not a new game, I had to exclude it from this list, but sure the World of Warcraft expansion deserves an honorable mention.

Tagged as: Massive Multiplayer Online, MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic

agilegamer

I did consider Guild Wars, but it's just such an odd conglomeration of a game, the primary exception I take it is that it's not a persistent world, at least not like any other game I know of. It seemed almost like .. a decent comparison would be if you WoW emphasized the battlegrounds and left most of the rest of the game as less important.

I didn't realize DCUO was going to be on the PS3 as well. Though, that was one of my main beefs with the first FF MMO - having to cater to a console crowd made the interface extremely clunky.. they should have simply made two interfaces - one for PC and one for a console. Also, Guild Wars didn't have a monthly fee and I think that limited it's expansionable appeal.Just not sure how successful that model can be vs. the traditional types like LOTRO or WoW.
OregonUriel

Guild Wars 2 is supposed to be persistent. ArenaNet has released some info and teases about the game over the past couple of weeks that look REALLY promising.
OregonUriel

No Guild Wars 2? I woulda swapped that for The Agency myself. The Agency looked really awesome during the alpha phase- an Bond-esque MMO with an interesting mission system, but after the last video they released, its looking more and more like an MMOFPS or MMO3PS, and most of those haven't worked out so well this far.

DCUO may be late coming to the floor to a saturated market, but I still think the oldest universe in comics and some of the most recognized icons in the industry, not to mention a PS3 and PC launch may make it a surprise it. It won't challenge WoW in subs or box sales, but it might have an impact on City of Heroes, which has actually been pretty successful...just not WoW successful.