More and more MMORPGs are being released for consoles. However, a well-known game has forgone a console version, even though MeinMMO author Alexander Leitsch believes it would be perfect for it: Guild Wars 2.
What about MMORPGs and consoles? MMORPGs, as we know them today, have been around for about 25 years. Meridian 59 was released in 1996, a game that is quite comparable to modern titles. For a large part of this time, online role-playing games were primarily developed for the PC.
Big names like World of Warcraft, Lineage, Ultima Online, or Dark Age of Camelot have not been released for any other platform to this day. There are several reasons for this:
- MMORPGs are designed for mouse and keyboard. This applies both to chatting with other players and to the huge number of skills.
- They rely on long play times with grinding and farming. Console players, on the other hand, often value shorter and more action-packed gaming sessions.
- Consoles are less suited to receive many and rapid patches, which is common in MMORPGs, especially when a major release is coming and something goes wrong.
However, a version for consoles can certainly be successful, as modern MMORPGs The Elder Scrolls Online and Black Desert Online show. Both games have, even if there are no concrete numbers, likely found success on the PS4 and Xbox One.
But I believe a major MMORPG is missing on consoles. And I think it would fit well. It is Guild Wars 2.
A Casual Game with Many Features for Consoles
Guild Wars 2 and consoles – does it fit? Guild Wars 2 is an MMORPG that, in my opinion, has many good qualities for a console version. This starts with the game’s mentality.
Guild Wars 2 is perfect for “casuals” and players who have little time, also because it does not rely on long grinds. Once you reach level 80 and have crafted an ascended armor, you theoretically never need to farm again. Since both the gear and the level cap are not increased in the game, even not through a new expansion.
Moreover, with daily tasks, short story missions, PvP matches under 15 minutes, the 5-player dungeons (fractals), and dynamic meta-events, there is plenty of action in really short time.
Can it work technically? From a technical standpoint, this MMORPG has many good qualities in my opinion:
- A maximum of 15 skills can be used at once. This makes the key mapping on controllers easier than in many other MMORPGs.
- There is already an action mode that would be perfect for consoles and the battles there.
- The game generally prohibits the use of third-party addons. Things like damage meters or other client influences do not exist, and accordingly, console users have no disadvantages.
Even a delayed release of a console version would not have as large effects as in Black Desert. There is currently no crossplay there because the subsequently released games have not yet received all the content.
In Guild Wars 2, however, no one is excluded from the existing content if they do not have access to expansions or the latest patches. Although features like the mounts or the latest maps are missing. The old content from the base game can already be played today without the new content without any problems. A big plus.
A console release would have benefited GW2, but now it is too late
Why should the console version have been released? In my opinion, Guild Wars 2 has always struggled with a significant problem: it flew under the radar of many players, even though it had several unique features and advantages, such as loot for all fighters, shared resources, or dynamic scaling of the maps. Some of this has now made its way into other MMORPGs.
A small hype on consoles could have benefited Guild Wars 2, especially in terms of player numbers. With appropriate crossplay, PC users could have gained many new players.
A console version would certainly have helped with media attention, especially in the early years of the game. From 2012 to 2014, there were almost no MMORPGs for consoles.
Could a console version still come? Currently, a console version seems further away than ever. In 2019, there was a significant wave of layoffs at the developer ArenaNet. They described the year as the worst in the company’s history. Since then, both President Mike O’Brien and his successor Mike Zadorojny have left ArenaNet.
2020 looks better for the MMORPG. The now third major content patch this year is set to be released by the end of May, and many smaller changes such as a massive balance patch or adjustments to legendary equipment are positively received by players.
However, a console version is currently unlikely. This is not changed by the fact that ArenaNet is currently looking for a developer for a console game. Because this is not Guild Wars 2 for consoles, but an action RPG in Unreal Engine 4. GW2, on the other hand, still relies on an improved version of the Guild Wars 1 engine.
