Putting WoW on Consoles

[Sauredfangs]

I have started a thread on the US official forums on WoW on consoles, but I have decided to also post it here.

(link)http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...07280485&sid=1

First of all why would you want to play WoW on consoles?


1. Some peoples computer's are very bad, and consoles tend to execute games to perfection.


2. Its much cheaper on your Budget to play on consoles rather than constantly Upgrading your computer.


3.You just simply like the Big Screen.



Second thing, Playability.


Consoles have:


1. Internet Connection
2. USB dock's
3. DVD/Blue ray reader


This is literally all it takes to put a Key board and a Mouse and start bashing, so that's playability.



[b]And lastly, How to put WoW on consoles.[\b]


The main problem Blizzard probably have is how to keep Updating such a constant game.



Here are some ways that can be done:


- Make it a downloadable game
Problem It can take up half the space of your console



- Sell New Cd's every patch
Problem, it will be too expensive for Blizzard and its Costumers





Really the only way this can be done is for the Disk to be Overwritable, meaning it will only be ever be possible when Consoles have the ability to burn and overwrite Cd's.



Ways that is Possible:

1.Activition Blizzard Can sell their own console
2.Activition Blizzard Can sell a tool to consoles which will let Cd's be overwritten
3.Activition Blizzard Can Confront the Console companies to sell an upgraded Version of consoles with the ability to burn Cd's

[dense]

maybe they can sell wow for consoles on an external usb hard drive with just enough space for wow. shouldn't be too expensive.

[knowles]

I know at least the xbox 360 has the option to load games onto the harddrive and not play them off a disk and require a disk to be in to play, however it would still work with wow updates and the whole game on the hard drive. I am not sure as to whether the ps3 currently has the same option. i personally load all my games onto the console as they load much much quicker off the hdd then the cd.

[Deleted]

play on an xbox, keybinds, your screwed GG

[whoinow]

Space and patching are pretty much the lowest concerns when looking at porting a game to a console. Most consoles have large hard drives. Patching happens on games all the times on consoles. I see porting WoW to X360 the easiest as WoW supports DirectX and the SDK for X360 is very similar to DirectX SDK programming (for graphics, input, and sound). The PS3 will be MUCH more difficult to port to because game coding for a PS3 is VERY different than programming for an x86 (or x64) computer/processor and the graphics engine on the PS3 is fairly week (in terms of GPU and available memory). So for the PS3 some major rethinking and reprogramming would have to happen. Now ACTIVISION might be able to lend some resources in console programming to Blizzard but I am not sure it is viable.

[Aruzar]

I played FFXI on a PS2 for the longest time and it was a huge pain in the ass. WoW and ANY MMO like WoW would be bad on a console.

[Menkey]

to many things you can control your character to do to comfortably fit it all onto a controller IMO

[Rycul]

play on an xbox, keybinds, your screwed GG

Which isn't relevant since you can actually connect keyboards (and mice?) to a 360.

GG.

Although I don't really see the point of playing it on a console besides not having to worry about system specs:

- The input devices can be the same as the ones that you use on your pc.
- The screen can be as big as well since you can probably hook up your PC to your TV. (I watch TV and play 360 and PC on the same big ass monitor)
- Who actually does "constantly upgrade" their PC to play WoW. I mean, we're talking about WoW here! World of motha-effing Warcraft. Sure, each expansion there's a boost to the engine (which still doesn't require you to update, but lets leave that aside), but WoW is perfectly playable still on fairly low-end PC's. Also, keep in mind that the current-gen consoles have been around a couple of years and Sony and Microsoft are actually trying to stretch out their consoles' lifespan by releasing Move and Kinect. The hardware in these consoles is aging more rapidly than ever, which means that about a month after a 360 version of WoW would be released, people would start whining that it doesn't look as good as the PC version does etc etc.
- Then there's the architecture itself. I'm not a console-architecture specialist (yet. Seriously), but I don't think consoles would handle the massive client-server communication a long side managing data very well. Consoles are built to play local games (singleplayer) or multiplayer up to a certain amount. (I'm not necessarily talking about the amount of players on a server here, just the amount of data having to be transferred because of the scale of said multiplayer games). But like I said, I'm no expert. I would like to believe that it CAN be done, however I have grave doubts about that.

So, stop wanting to be able to run WoW at > 60Hz which your monitor can probably not even handle (unless you've got enough money to buy a better monitor, but in such case you wouldn't mind upgrading your PC every 2 days anyway), or just play it on your PC. Upgrading every 2, 3 or even 4 years is not a bad thing, you know.

[whoinow]

play on an xbox, keybinds, your screwed GG

USB keyboard...

[knowles]

I hadnt thought about how diffucult the ps3 is to code for and how it would translate to wow, however Uggz the problem can be very easily solved by simply plugging in a usb keyboard and mouse, just like you do at a desktop to make wow playable.

[Herecius]

Consoles are quickly becoming capable of everything a computer is. I will not be surprised if in the next generation of consoles, we see one that is capable of running like a PC (even to the point of installing PC programs), but will run specific-format game disks, as well as be able to switch to a TV mode. So I'm not sure there is even any point to making WoW for a console.

[whoinow]

I played FFXI on a PS2 for the longest time and it was a huge pain in the ass. WoW and ANY MMO like WoW would be bad on a console.

Why was your experience so poor? Were you using a controller? If so that could be mitigated in a console release of WoW if support for keyboard and mouse were implemented. The X360 and the PS3 are just computers in the end.

[Civfanata]

I have started a thread on the US official forums on WoW on consoles, but I have decided to also post it here.

(link)http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...07280485&sid=1

First of all why would you want to play WoW on consoles?


1. Some peoples computer's are very bad, and consoles tend to execute games to perfection.


2. Its much cheaper on your Budget to play on consoles rather than constantly Upgrading your computer.


3.You just simply like the Big Screen.

1) This isn't true at all. I've had consoles crash, have bugs, etc tons.
2) Eh? Why do you need to upgrade a computer that already plays WOW good if all you want to do is play WOW on it?
3) My GF plays on a 36" screen TV. I'm sure that if you dig you could find something that lets you play on a movie screen type screen.

[knowles]

Im sure blizzard would have considered implementing this before as a way to potentially expand their available base of users, howvever it also goes against their policy of trying to do a few things right and not everything.

[whoinow]

Consoles are quickly becoming capable of everything a computer is. I will not be surprised if in the next generation of consoles, we see one that is capable of running like a PC (even to the point of installing PC programs), but will run specific-format game disks, as well as be able to switch to a TV mode. So I'm not sure there is even any point to making WoW for a console.

I see a game being "installable" only by download and run from the HD. I don't EVER see a game coming on disc and being installable. Console manufacturers avoid that type of functionality on a console on purpose, as drop disc in and play functionality is key for console (and most any platforms at this point).

[Cerus]

I could point out a dozen flaws in your logic but there's no point. All I will say is that MMOs do not belong on consoles and WoW will never be on one. WoW is what it is because Blizzard doesn't stretch themselves too thin. The game would go to crap if they had to devote an entirely new team to console development. The logistics of it just aren't feasible either with the current Xbox and PS3 networks. Besides - the moment MS got their hands on it the nickle and diming of downloadable content would be never ending.

[Deleted]

1) This isn't true at all. I've had consoles crash, have bugs, etc tons.
2) Eh? Why do you need to upgrade a computer that already plays WOW good if all you want to do is play WOW on it?
3) My GF plays on a 36" screen TV. I'm sure that if you dig you could find something that lets you play on a movie screen type screen.

Any screen with VGA/DVI/HDMI input works.
I play on my 32" LG 1080p, which I got for christmas 3 years ago. Feels good man.

I have my friend's old 40" 1080i TV about 5 metres away from me, unfortunately it only has HDMI input.
And my graphics card can't take HDMI without fucking SOMETHING up. ._. Feels bad, man.

[Cerus]

I see a game being "installable" only by download and run from the HD. I don't EVER see a game coming on disc and being installable. Console manufacturers avoid that type of functionality on a console on purpose, as drop disc in and play functionality is key for console (and most any platforms at this point).

While it isn't exactly an installation (the disc is still required and only certain portions of the game are installed) you can currently install games from the disc on a 360.

PS. To those saying consoles are getting close to what a PC can do.....No. No, no, no, no. Have you checked out the specs on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii? They are NOWHERE near the specs of a PC and never will be. They will always be 100 steps behind - otherwise you'd be spending $1500-2000 on a box that basically just does games.

[Insanus]

i would buy it for PS3 in a heartbeat.

Keyboard/mouse Via USB would make it a smooth experience.

[Deleted]

http://www.wowinterface.com/download...cataclysm.html

you're welcome

also transferring it to consoles wont work.. compare the Graphic differences of Vanilla with that of Cataclysm. Eventually the consoles will be getting issues with the graphical overhaul that the PC gamers will experience and console gamers will lag even more than they already do, sometimes.