JoWood's Future Plans - Gothic: 4, MMORPG, for Consoles; PSP Games

[Borys]

Probably the best RPG site on the internet - RPGDot (http://www.rpgdot.com/) - brings the news about JoWood's (http://www.jowood.com) (one of the biggest Germany publishers) future plans.

JoWooD plans on starting to develop Playstation Portable games, because of the fast growing market, the low production costs and casual gamers as main target. Possible games for the PSP would be Panzer Elite Action, Neighbours from Hell, Pusher, Kao, Legend of Kay and the Skiracing series. JoWooD isn't going into the next generation consoles yet. They've decided to give the next gen console market some time to grow before they entering it.

On this meeting JoWooD also stated its long-term strategy. They intend to shift their priorities towards online business. This includes stronger community work, in-game advertising and increasing online sales.

For future games they are looking into Gothic 4, SpellForce 3, Gothic Episodes, Gothic for consoles and Gothic and Spellforce MMORPG's. All these games were mentioned on a slide labeled "Brand Development" (transl.).
Gothic 3 (http://www.gothic3.com/index.php?do=0970991161051111100611080971101031170 97103101038108097110103061101110103038112114101118 11209710310106111511609711411611209710310104611210 4112038112114101118115099101110101061) planned release date is 2006.

Happy New Year Jetherik!

[Kefkataran]

Gothic 4, Spellforce 3, *and* Gothic Episodes? Very interesting. I wonder how those MMOs will turn out as well. Some potentially really good stuff here. Fingers crossed.

Great post, Borys!

[Deadend]

I am not too sure about MMO games, they do not seem to be worth the effort to me. But it is nice to see that they are thinking of going console, and not going Next-Gen. There is still going to be money in the old systems for at least the next few years. People are still buying PS2s after all.

Even though I think a version of Gothic for PSP would be awesome.

[Kelegacy]

I, too, like RPGDot.com but I haven't read it in a while. Probably because of the desert of RPG nothingness on the PC this past year. Good find, Borys, more Gothic is always a good thing. I could give a rat's ass about more MMOs, though. I loathe them.

[Borys]

I, too, like RPGDot.com but I haven't read it in a while. Probably because of the desert of RPG nothingness on the PC this past year. Good find, Borys, more Gothic is always a good thing. I could give a rat's ass about more MMOs, though. I loathe them.

So true, so sad.

Last (2005) year we got KOTOR2 (meh) and Dungeon Siege 2 (meh again) - worst year for PC RPGs ever? Seems so.

Next year (umm, this year - 2006 - to be exact :) is already 100 times better:

1) Neverwinter Nights 2
2) Dragon Age
3) Gothic 3
4) Dark Messiah of M&M
5) TES4: Oblivion
6) FALLOUT 3 INFO!
...
7) Diablo III info? Blizzard? Please?

[Com_Gaunt]

Well, 2005 got better in the end with the release of Gothic 2 gold for the not german speaking crowd out there.
I loved replaying that game and the expansion made it such a better game.

[Neosho]

Oh god, not D3, please...stop raping my childhood.

(as a side note, i really liked D1, didn't like D2 because it was a bit too cartoon-y compared to the first one, and knowing the "new" bliz, D3 will be full 3d with micromanaged units. AKA WC3. )

Oh and Dark Messiah! Shiny! Source Engine goodness with physics! Woo.

[president_fred]

Don't forget Hellgate:London seriously this year is looking man-tastic for RPG fans on the PC

[[Jez]]

Indeed, this is going to be a far betterr year for us RPG fans, I'm also hoping to hear things on Bioshock

[Kelegacy]

Don't forget Hellgate:London seriously this year is looking man-tastic for RPG fans on the PC
Man-tastic, huh? Well I just hope the Diablo-RPG model chokes a bit this year. There seems to be an awful lot of them, even on the consoles, leading me to think that the hackandslash genre has become the standard for western RPGing. The 90's was a great decade for CRPGs...the 2000's are looking pretty frigging drab.

[Liquidize105]

Gothic could really use a co-op mode.

Regardless, I wonder how developer PB feels about this announcement.

[ldi222]

I agree, Gothic would be an absolute blast to play with a friend sharing the same world.

[Kefkataran]

Well I just hope the Diablo-RPG model chokes a bit this year. There seems to be an awful lot of them, even on the consoles, leading me to think that the hackandslash genre has become the standard for western RPGing. The 90's was a great decade for CRPGs...the 2000's are looking pretty frigging drab

A lot of successful Diablo clones? This year? The only things I can think of that even come close to counting are Fate (which was pretty old school and nice, but not even that popular) and X-Men Legends 2 (which twisted the hack-n-slash formula enough and featured the X-Men, so it rocked).

[president_fred]

I think, hope, Hellgate will be different enough from the diablo series to justify its existance. Only time will tell of course but I have a good feeling about this one and I wasn't a huge D2 fan I liked D1 but it got a little old in 2. Randomized levels, first person view point, relatively different setting etc all add up to creamy gaming goodness, I hope.

[Kelegacy]

A lot of successful Diablo clones? This year? The only things I can think of that even come close to counting are Fate (which was pretty old school and nice, but not even that popular) and X-Men Legends 2 (which twisted the hack-n-slash formula enough and featured the X-Men, so it rocked).
I didn't necessarily mean "successful", because I don't know how individual PC "RPGs" did over the year or past year. Other titles of interest that I can remember are Sacred, Dungeon Seige, Bard's Tale, X-Men Legends 2, Fate, Restricted Area. The problem is, those were a large majority of PC RPGs released this year. Besides that we have KotOR II and Freedom Force, and Fable (which I didn't slot into the hack/slash formula, because it's more console-action/adventure than anything). Now, if you take away MMOs and hack-and-slashers, the year was pretty goddamn abysmal. The last few years have been like that, too.

While obviously I'm not a fan of the Diablo games (which are basically high-action games with a freckle-if that-of RPGing) I can have fun with them if I take them for what they are. But I've been starved for too long on the PC; I want something...need something...new. Here's (http://www.gamespot.com/reviews.html?type=reviews&category=Role-Playing&platform=5&mode=all&sort=post_date&dlx_type=all) a link of all the RPGs released on the PC in the past years, back to mid 2001. The yearly releases have steadily gotten "worse", really starting to sink fast in 2004. Hopefully 2006 is a banner year for the resurrection of the platform and genre.

Edit: after looking at that list again, I can remember many good times on the PC in the 2000's, but 2004 was the beginning of my contempt. Prior to that, the years really weren't too shabby at all, some of the better RPG experiences of my life, actually. I'm just too fatalistic for my own good.

[Jetherik]

I love the fact that they are planning a Gothic 4 - It seems each Gothic is a chapter of a story and we are playing it out. As for a MMO, I bet it would be very popular in Europe, but because Gothic didn't get the good publishing in America (thank you Atari for waiting a whole bloody year), it probably won't be as popular here. Then again, that is a few years down the line and you never know what could happen. I would love to try a Gothic MMO. This does give me something to watch out for this year. Then again, why do all the great RPGs have to come out in the same year?

[Kefkataran]

I didn't necessarily mean "successful", because I don't know how individual PC "RPGs" did over the year or past year. Other titles of interest that I can remember are Sacred, Dungeon Seige, Bard's Tale, X-Men Legends 2, Fate, Restricted Area.

You must mean Dungeon Siege 2. That followed the Diablo formula somewhat, but it also complexified things quite a bit in comparison to the first game, especially in terms of story-telling.

Forgot about Sacred. Cool game. I never got too far though.

[Com_Gaunt]

I am absolutely loving Dungeon Siege 2, it's great! I like the whole "exploration" aspect of going through some levels and finding these hidden caves/levels... or the entire pet aspect where you feed your pet magic items to mature them and such.. and you can enchant your own items now.... i'm not a first timer at RPG's either, I have been playing RPG's since Ultima IV

[Steele Johnson]

Single-player rpg's are a big, lonely world where it would be way more fun if they implemented a solid multiplayer component.

Morrowind had to be one of the most boring games I've ever played. If it were an online game, it probably would have been better. I felt like I was talking to cardboard cutouts in that game.

[Kefkataran]

Single-player rpg's are a big, lonely world where it would be way more fun if they implemented a solid multiplayer component.

ALL single-player RPGs? That maybe works with your example of Morrowind, but I really don't think that comes close to applying to ALL RPGs.

[Com_Gaunt]

Single-player rpg's are a big, lonely world where it would be way more fun if they implemented a solid multiplayer component

The problem that I have with Multiplayer games is that I am dependant upon some one else for not spoiling my RPG experience. I remember playing Everquest and I could never get into the setting because other players kept on saying stuff like "OMG, Britney spears rocks" or some shit.
And another issue is that I have to set a specific schedule to be able to play with my party, because between 4 and 7 est Fandor the NightElf has to feed the kids and Pixella the gnome is never available on Mondays and Tuesdays due to classes.

These, are some of my primary reasons to stick with cardboard cutouts in my games vs multiplayer.
I never had Minsc tell me that playing Baldurs Gate tonight is not good for him because Boo is working on his tanlines ;)

[Steele Johnson]

another issue is that I have to set a specific schedule to be able to play with my party, because between 4 and 7 est Fandor the NightElf has to feed the kids and Pixella the gnome is never available on Mondays and Tuesdays due to classes.

These, are some of my primary reasons to stick with cardboard cutouts in my games vs multiplayer.
I never had Minsc tell me that playing Baldurs Gate tonight is not good for him because Boo is working on his tanlines ;)

lol, you just described a cooperative game, not a multiplayer game. Multiplayer games are designed so that you can play with anyone whether or not you "know" them. If you're playing a game that's leaving you idle because your friends aren't online, then you're either on a LAN or you're playing co-op mode.

I was talking about multiplayer mode.

I can see that some rpg's can be a fun singleplayer experience if it's party-based and the npc AI is top notch. But for the most part, a 3rd person rpg gets awefully lonely if you're not online. It suffers from the cardboard cutout syndrome. :o

[Com_Gaunt]

lol, you just described a cooperative game, not a multiplayer game. Multiplayer games are designed so that you can play with anyone whether or not you "know" them. If you're playing a game that's leaving you idle because your friends aren't online, then you're either on a LAN or you're playing co-op mode.

I played Meridian 59, Ultima Online and Everquest and the experience always turned into the old "level up grinder" because my "friends" were not online all the time due to IRL events.
Then again, I did enjoy the entire PVP and pking thing while playing a mmorpg.
I stopped playing them mostly due to the fact that I could not pause the game easily to spend some time with the wife or I could just not leave the game without missing out on an important quest, or missing out on help to clear some dungeon.


I can see that some rpg's can be a fun singleplayer experience if it's party-based and the npc AI is top notch. But for the most part, a 3rd person rpg gets awefully lonely if you're not online. It suffers from the cardboard cutout syndrome

Morrowind is too large and vast to have anything but a cardboard cutout syndrome, I am thinking that Oblivion will be better in that aspect.
But there are lots of good 3rd person rpg's that created a believable world. Like Ultima Underworld and especially System shock 1 and 2. And what about Deus Ex? Or are those not RPG enough?

[Steele Johnson]

Those games that you mention are hybrids, not pure rpg's. But on the other hand, I've played a few good single-player rpg's in my time. Fallout 1/2, Planescape: Torment, BG1/2, Icewind Dale, Gothic I/II, and then my interest ended with Morrowind. I haven't played a good sp rpg since Gothic II, and that game came out quite a while ago.