SOE reckons PS3 will be half its business

By Oli Welsh Published 12 January, 2009

It will bring new players to MMOs, says boss.

Speaking to GameDaily at last week's Consumer Electronics Show, Sony Online Entertainment chief John Smedley has said he thinks PS3 will provide almost half the company's revenue in the future.

"I think PS3 will be close to half our business," he said. "There's an audience now waiting for online games on the PS3. I believe PSN has over 15 million users today. It's growing so quickly, we see a great user-base potential there."

SOE currently operates PC MMOs like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies. However, following its integration with Sony Computer Entertainment - the company's PlayStation arm - it will be developing all its future titles for console as well.

These start with free-to-play family MMO Free Realms this year, followed by spy-themed The Agency and supehero-licensed DC Universe Online later in 2009 or 2010.

Smedley thinks most PS3 owners aren't currently playing MMOs, and that the console will bring a new audience to SOE's games. He also drew a comparison with FPS gaming, mentioninig how it has migrated from PC to console in recent years.

"I think a lot of the people who play PS3 games right now aren't the same people playing MMOs right now. I think it's going to bring in a lot of new players," he said.

"There are certainly people who have consoles and PCs in their house. The difference is what they actively play. PS3 gamers are used to playing Resistance 2 instead of a shooter on the PC. I think we can bring this kind of gaming to this audience and I think it's going to be huge."

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (29) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mcbi4kh2 #1 3 years ago

    MMO's on consoles?

    Goodbye life.

  • Methys #2 3 years ago

    i said goodbye to my life 10 years ago

  • Doctor_What #3 3 years ago

    Now all they need to do is sort out the control scheme... That'll be easy then, eh? Great idea, but tough implementation.

  • miiiguel #4 3 years ago

    "He also drew a comparison with FPS gaming, mentioninig how it has migrated from PC to console in recent years"
    But that, my friend, you can thank that dude that *everybody* loves to bash called Master Chief.

  • mcbi4kh2 #5 3 years ago

    Thank? FPS on consoles are still, and always will be poo. M&k ftw (for FPS anyway).

  • miiiguel #6 3 years ago

    But they are the home of FPS's now, like it or not..., it's where the players are (read money).

  • Widge #7 3 years ago

    there is nothing wrong with a joypad!

    oh and if I was to choose one to play right now, Halo > Goldeneye
    Edited by 1 at 12/01/09 @ 10:43

  • DFawkes #8 3 years ago

    Goldeneye is sill awesome, and famous for pre-dating Halo. If anyone metions it, they always go "Ah yeah, I remember that and how it was out before Halo." Okay, so no-one says that. EDIT: Beaten to it! And I do like Halo more.

    Half their business? If I were Sony, I don't think I'd be putting half my eggs in that basket, or any basket in fact.
    Edited by 1 at 12/01/09 @ 10:43

  • Rash' #9 3 years ago

    all depends on pricing there is the suggestion the games will be subscription based like PC, which, if true, doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

    how much to WoW players pay a month for their service?

  • miiiguel #10 3 years ago

    " "..But that, my friend, you can thank that dude that *everybody* loves to bash called Master Chief."

    No thanks, rather thank *that* dude called Bond, and his lovely Goldeneye Game.

    Goldeneye > Halo.

    Fact."

    It can be good, but it didn't bring the "mainstream" to play FPS's on consoles. The one to blame *is* Master Chief, once again, like it or not... .


    edit: and tbh, Goldeneye is (was?) awesome but the 1st "proper" FPS controls spawned with Halo.
    Edited by 1 at 12/01/09 @ 10:50

  • DFawkes #11 3 years ago

    Pretty much all of my non-gaming friends got into gaming with Goldeneye. Sure, they bought Playstations instead, but the N64 was their gateway drug.

  • DanWhitehead #12 3 years ago

    edit: and tbh, Goldeneye is (was?) awesome but the 1st "proper" FPS controls spawned with Halo.

    Correct answer: Timesplitters.
    Edited by 1 at 12/01/09 @ 10:53

  • Widge #13 3 years ago

    I nailed Halo in one weekend on a lovely widescreen TV with several cans of the beery stuff. I used to love Goldeneye back at uni but the game hasn't aged well. Its a bit like when you get 'legendary' singers like the old Mariah and Dion rolled out on things like Xfactor, only to find that its not the 90's anymore and they're now trading on reputation.

    I wonder if Halo holds its own nowadays when compared to something like Bioshock? A few years back I went and visited a mate and he bunged Halo 2 on and online on that was still cracking fun (AND I was still able to easily hold my own).

  • DFawkes #14 3 years ago

    Rainbow Six had proper FPS controls before 'Splitters. I discussed it in a thread, and there is another game that predates both but I can't remember which.

  • Rash' #15 3 years ago

    the original halo is quite dated by today's standards. the framerate can be choppy and the controls at times seem sluggish. having said that i played that game to death so know it like the back of my hand. it was so revolutionary for it's time. 8/10 indeed...
    Edited by 1 at 12/01/09 @ 11:06

  • miiiguel #16 3 years ago

    ^ it's much better in a Xbox 180 rather than the "Originals", though... .

  • Thunderbolt #17 3 years ago

    Oh Dan, dont bring your Timesplitters bias up again.

    We all know that Halo is the daddy of FPS.

  • miiiguel #18 3 years ago

    "We all know that Halo is the daddy of FPS. "

    On the consoles... yes he is!

    The most unneeded Disclaimer of the whole universe: I'm so Halo biased, I can't stand myself... (because it's cool to hate it).

  • Sunyavadin #19 3 years ago

    Yes.... MMOs on consoles.


    A sure win.







    .........like McCain picking Palin as his VP candidate....

  • Widge #20 3 years ago

    ...the difference between sitting playing an MMO on a console and on a PC being?

  • danathjo #21 3 years ago

    When did timesplitters come out? I always thought Turok controls were pretty revolutionary.

  • moggsy #22 3 years ago

    I will never pay a monthly fee to play a game.

    That is all.

  • MasterNameless #23 3 years ago

    I clocked many many hours on Phantasy Star when it was first released on the Dreamcast. Oh the days of playing on a 1p/minute dial up connection for hours and hours, only to not quite realise how much time clocks up and getting a £200 bill at the end of the month! Getting unlimited internet access was heaven at the time...

    I think MMO's on consoles can work very well, PSO's popularity on the DC proved that, as long as it is optimised properly for the joypad. If Sega had pulled their finger out of their arse and at least updated the graphics engine from the original DC release it probably could have done a lot better, even with subscription fees.

  • Slamhound #24 3 years ago

    A Sony subdivision claiming that it will be producing games for a console developed by another Sony subdivision?

    Stop the presses, folks.

  • KayJay #25 3 years ago

    " Doctor_What - 12-Jan-09 10:32:04 - Now all they need to do is sort out the control scheme... That'll be easy then, eh? Great idea, but tough implementation."

    The PS3 likes Keyboard & Mouse. Well Unreal III likes it anyway. Should not be that difficult to implement.

  • merkdot #26 3 years ago

    merkdot reckons SOE are going to adjust their revenue forecasts down 50% in the future.

  • HermitArcader #27 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • wayneh #28 3 years ago

    As moggsy said there is no way I will ever pay a subscription to play a MMO on a console.

  • etherfiend #29 3 years ago

    If you pay for a sub on a PC mmo, why would you then refuse on a console? OK so you dont have a massive keyboard to macro commands to (queue peripheral mania and the re-hash of the age old question do macro keyboards give an unfair advantage?) but that doesnt mean the content will be any less.

    The main issues the creators need to work around for *any* MMO to successfully work on a console (controller issues aside) is space on the console, 3 years of updates could easily wipe out 20GB (especially moving forward to more HD biased content) so some serious hardware upgrades or streamliing needs to be done there. Another issue would be the in-game chat (arguably the whole point of an MMO...to meet and greet strangers and work together), ideally probably achieved purely with voice comms channels and then a text backup for those with the aforementioned keyboard peripherals (or the poor standard controller based ingame keyboard...ouch that's gonna hurt).

    Ultimately though the range of game mechanics and feature won't have to be any different from a PC MMO (crafting, combat, socialising, grouping, auctioning, etc) so you arent gettign less of a game and as such if you want updated content you will have to pay a sub. Considering WoW is the anomoly in the MMO field with it's closest competitor citing subscription figures way lower and more realistic for any future MMOs, then it isnt a case of them printing money as WoW are the only ones doing that, but channelling that money back into dev work (and making a modest profit to allow development outside of MMOs).

    Personally I love single player RPGs and although a long-time WOW player (was also sucked in very briefly to the terrible Vanguard, AOC before my wallet realised it's mistake) I spent most of my time in WoW alone doing solo things, since quitting I havent touched another MMO. I grow weary of being forced into social interaction at every juncture. XBLive is just about my limit of social interaction when playing games, even then I sometimes unplug the wireless USB to ensure a pop-up and interruption free gaming session all on my own. Should MMOs fall out of fashion I wouldnt be upset, however as always you get what you pay for. Want a great multiplayer game capable of hosting tens of thousands of clients with bi-monthly updates?...then you will have to pay monthly as that isnt going to get funded for long by a few hundred thousand people paying £40 for the game.

    Naturally in the future we may see in-game advertising easing the burden of subscription costs, there are micro-transactions, even pay as you play will probably rear its head. For the next 2-3 years whilst current consoles run their course and PC MMOs remain insistent on trying to topple/match WoWs subscription base rather than make a good game then I don't see anything but monthly subs for the majority...including console mmos.

    Still reading this? I'm amazed, have a cookie. :)
    Edited by 2 at 13/01/09 @ 12:27