Originally posted by Sinzer
Also, Star Wars Galaxies will be opening it's doors to PC, PS2 and X-Box.
Will Star Wars Galaxies players interact in the same places, regardless of what console they are running? If so, that's very impressive.
I'm not against crossover online console gaming (COCG
), but I just doubt how feasible it is as a business plan. Let's assume that Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) does allow PS2, PC, and X-Box gamers on the same servers. Who gets the subscription fee? Microsoft has already said that they want to run X-Box Live themselves, as opposed to just letting developers setup their own games and charging their own fees.
On the gaming side of it, SWG will have to be designed with COCG in mind. That means that all version will have to be equal in scope. How can the PS2 keep up with a PC or an X-Box version of an RPG with no hard drive? (unless an add-on hard drive is a requirement) Either, A) The PS2 version gets tons more data fed down the pipe during the game, which gives PS2 players a serious disadvantage, or B) games will have to be scaled down to the lowest spec on the system. Sure, the X-Box and high-end PC versions can look brilliant, but all 3 versions will have to have the same size maps, the same amount of items/creatures, etc, etc.
I don't think it'll be a million years from now, but I do think there's a ton of issues that have to be addressed before it'll work.
PC VS PS2 gamers - No problem
PC VS X-Box gamers - No problem
PS2 VS X-Box gamers - Big problems