More and more MMOs and MMORPGs have discovered the console market. In recent years, games like Black Desert, ESO, and Final Fantasy XIV have been released there. However, none of these games fits consoles as perfectly as New World does, says MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch.
What’s the situation with MMORPGs and consoles? MMORPGs are actually classic PC games. They rely on:
- Huge game worlds
- Many different skills
- An in-game chat to interact with players nearby
- Frequent updates to fix bugs
All of this actually speaks against a classic console game, which is played alone or with friends in short and fun rounds on the couch. Especially the updates always lead to problems, as they must first be approved by the manufacturers Sony and Microsoft.
However, New World has many features that actually speak for a port to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. I would like to present these points to you here.
The perfect combat system for controllers
What makes the combat system so good for consoles? New World features an action combat system, where you need to directly target your enemy. Classic “tabbing” through mobs, as seen in WoW or FFXIV, does not exist here. Targeting can be done with the controller as precisely as with a mouse.
Additionally, each weapon only comes with 3 abilities. These can be easily accommodated on the controller.
Besides these abilities, only functions for dodging, jumping, crouching, and the 4 food slots are needed. That should also be easily manageable.
Players want controller support: In fact, one of the most requested features regarding New World is a controller support implemented by Amazon. Many players feel that New World would be perfect for playing with a controller even on PC.
While it doesn’t exist yet, you can still use a controller for New World. How exactly that works, we will explain here:
Short sessions also bring a lot of progress
What makes the gameplay so good for consoles? Classic MMORPGs focus on long sessions. You either follow a grand story, fight in long dungeons or raids, or grind world bosses for a specific drop. This is usually very time-consuming.
While there are also console players who enjoy getting lost in long sessions, consoles generally invite shorter and snappier gaming rounds. It’s no coincidence that FIFA, battle royales like Fortnite and Apex Legends, and the game Dead by Daylight are at the top of the PlayStation game charts (via PS-Timetracker).
New World also relies on strong grinding, but you always have the feeling that you are making progress. Especially chopping wood or gathering iron with a pickaxe feels incredibly satisfying and consistently advances the corresponding life skill.
Even the longer dungeons or wars can usually be experienced in about 30 minutes. This way, you can make good progress in short gaming sessions. Perfect for the console players out there.
The interface already resembles a console MMO
What makes the interface so good for consoles? The Twitch streamer shroud criticizes New World for having a poorly implemented interface for a PC MMO. He believes the user interface is designed for “thumbs” instead of mouse and keyboard, and he finds the interaction in chat difficult.
I, on the other hand, find the interface ideal for players using a controller. Navigating with a stick through the various menus is much more intuitive than currently using a mouse. And on consoles, players tend to use the chat less frequently anyway.
Therefore, Amazon wouldn’t need to change much to bring New World to consoles.
An in-game voice chat, so you don’t need an external program
What makes the voice chat so good for consoles? While players on PC often gather in external programs like TeamSpeak or Discord to communicate with their friends, I find using external programs on the Xbox Series S always annoying.
New World makes it much easier for me. Through the proximity chat in the game, I can directly talk to my dungeon group, my team in war, or just with random players around me. This adds more immersion, and I can imagine this feature being used even more intensely on consoles than on PC.
New World is not as large as many other MMOs
What makes the game size so good for consoles? Storage space is scarce on consoles. I constantly need to think about which titles I keep on my Xbox Series S and which ones I take off the console.
However, New World is relatively small for an MMO. The game takes up 39.98 gigabytes of space on my device. For comparison:
- ESO occupies about 80 gigabytes of storage
- WoW Retail + Classic consume about 75 gigabytes
- Guild Wars 2 takes up nearly 52 GB
- SWTOR takes up 48 gigabytes
While 40 GB is still a lot of storage space, New World is overall a bit smaller and more manageable than classic MMORPGs. You can also see this in the player numbers per server.
With about 2,000 to 2,500 players, it doesn’t take a large community to fill a server. Moreover, the low numbers are another plus regarding performance on consoles.
What do you think of the idea of New World on consoles? Would you play it there? Or are you already playing other MMORPGs on consoles? Feel free to write it in the comments. We have summarized the best MMORPGs for consoles here:
The 7 best MMORPGs on PS4, PS5 & Xbox that you can play in 2021
