Make these MMOs!

Year 2008 was a lousy year for MMOs. Hellgate: London and Tabula Rasa both tanked. Age of Conan and the Pirates of the Burning Sea both consolidated servers due to low subscribership. On the whole, the only new MMO that had a good year was Warhammer Online, and arguably it’s little more than a refreshed variation of the 800 pound gorilla known as World of Warcraft.

There’s speculation all over the place why 2008 saw a rash of MMO failures. Yes, releases were rushed. Yes, games were buggy. Yes, games offered nothing revolutionary that wasn’t seen in games before. Bottom line, build a good game with a good concept and people will come and play.

So what’s a good concept that will lure people to play? Well, I submit the following as prime candidates for a MMO. These are franchises, genres and intellectual properties that are just begging to get the MMO treatment.

Naruto

No, I'm not smoking anything. The Naruto world would make a great MMO.

Naruto is an anime and manga series that is as beloved as it is sometimes despised. Both the anime and the manga are getting long in the tooth and even ardent fans have complained about filler episodes. Only very recently has the manga gotten good. In addition, there is much to say about the maturity level of the Naruto fan base. The natural fan progression seems to be from Pokemon to Naruto. Read more