Game Dev - a Guildwars Port?

I wasn't quite sure where to post this, but I figured that Game Development was a good start (feel free to move this post if it is miscategorized)

I was wondering if ArenaNet, or NCSoft had any plans to port GW to any Console platforms, since most of the Next-gen consoles offer online play.

I own a sony PSP, and based oon what I know about console development, I beleive that a port of guildwars could theoretically fit into a 1.3Gb UMD disk.

now, sure, it wouldnt have the option of being updated directly, but it could however, have memory-card based updates, and since 2Gb DUO cards are readilly available almost anywhere (and larger ones up to 8Gb have been rumoured to be available in some areas) it would be a rather nice thing to have GW available on the PSP, or any other console for that matter.

With the advent of GW2 on the horizon, the GW1 franchise may start to dwindle as GW2 becomes more and more popular, but if there were a console port, it would almost guarantee a permanent user-base for years to come.

look at the final-fantsy series...........how many times has Squaresoft rehashed, and remade the classics dating back to 1990? If I am correct Final fantasy 1 is available for the NES, was ported to the PSX, the DS, and is coming soon to the PSP. 17 years after its debut, it is still a hit.

I suppose if ArenaNet or NCSoft were concerned about being obligated to host the game for such a long time after its console release, they could always initially offer it as an Offline game with online capabilities, or make a downloadable patch available for console users once they ceased hosting the servers (whenever that may be)

I don't see the GW franchise becoming abandonware anytime soon though.

just my thoughts, for what its worth

eh, you do know we are talking about an online game here right?

i know several big consoles can go online
didnt know a PSP could let you play online for 5 hours in a row...

btw, it wouldnt be that cost effective, if they have to port the game to console idea, and have to bring all updates trough memory cards, you have your initial time and cost for the porting process (which they dont have, current updates and creation of gw2 would slow down), and the time and cost for each update, because whenever there is an update they now have to look for 2 platforms, pc and psp... that would be impossible to do with their current workforce...

let alone complaints about bugs which are platform specific...


i dont think we will see ports happening. not now, not in the near future, but i will never say never.

Anet won't even do one for Mac, what hope does little psp have? Anyway you can play Sam & Max on psp now, which make the number of good games on psp into 2.

Guildwars and any other MMO require communication via typing. You need to be constantly shouting commands and telling people where to go and what to do.

You need to be selecting spells and skills and enchantments fast. You simply cant mimic that with a console, unless they offer a keyboard and mouse. But I dont know any that do.

A joypad wouldnt offer you the fluid movement that you need to make instant choices and actions.

You'l certainly not get GW on a hand-held device.

Personally, if I was playing GWs on my PC and I knew another player who wanted to join my team was playing on a console....

....I wouldnt let them join.

They simply wouldnt be able to micro-manage their interface as fast and accurately as you could with a keyboard and mouse.

Its ok to have an RPG on a console, which doesnt rely on other human players to interact and fight for you. But when you relying on other players to have the same responces, it wont work.

don't think it would work on the PSP, not enough buttons.

the 360 or PS3 would work, and the 360 has voice software. But it'd be rather fiddly to play I'd guess.

It was a little disappointing to see that the first post regarding a possible port of Guild Wars 2 to another system was to the psp, but I would hate to start another thread just to spite that, so what the hell:

Of the three systems I could possibly see Guild Wars 2 migrating to, it would indefinitely be the Xbox360.

I have tried and tried to play G-Dub on my 360 controller, but besides the fact that the program doesn't allow it, I could never imagine how I would possibly map all the necessary commands to the controller. Microsoft inadvertently solved this problem for me with the invention of the qwerty pad add on soon to be released. This would make the previously ridiculous task of properly mapping controls to a controller easy, and thusly the only system to be able to properly control the game.

Secondly, the immense network that is Xbox Live and the updated storage of 120 gigs would make updates and downloaded content entirely possible. Along the vein of Xbox Live is the new release of Live Anywhere, which could link the PC version and the Xbox versions and unite the communities. Also, titles could easily be used as achievements.

As far as connectivity issues are concerned, besides the considerable bulking up of the Live network with the release of the 360, instanced zones with limited players would cut down on latency.

I'm unsure of how expansions would be introduced, be it multi-disking or the use of the whopping 120 gig, but either approach is possible.

In conclusion, though there are so many reasons why it could happen, the biggest reason why it wouldn't is simply a matter of money. The commitment of the community to spend would be enormous. An Xbox, 120 gig hdd, controllers, the qwerty peripheral, xbox live subscription, the game itself. Finally, with a user-base of 3 million, all of whom are pc based, the thought of either crossing over doubling up is a little silly. Microsoft and A-Net need to be willing to invest a ridiculous amount into the port as well as the massive advertising required to bring in new console-based players. This would be a huge leap of faith for a game with no subscription fee.

I don't think that's going to happen. Can you imagine trying to see what's going on (mini map, party window etc) on such a small screen and trying to cast spells etc?

I definitely wouldn't see it on the PSP, but as people have already stated, XBOX360 and the PS3 have great capabilities to be able to incorporate GW and possibly GW2 into those platforms, and it wouldn't be such a bad idea for this to happen.

It won't be considered for another 2 or 3 years, but its worth something to look at if Anet want to take another step up.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/gallery/gal...ice-250771.php



can work with 360 .-.

They've mentioned in several interviews that they have no current plans to port GW to a console, though they haven't necessarily ruled it out as an option.

Guild wars would actually probably work fairly well on a console.

But, its not going to happen. Anet basically trashed the xbox 360 last year, saying that it technically wasnt up to stuff with what they wanted to do. This was widely reported and you ought to be able to google it.

I can't see how you could ever port GW to the PSP its far too small, as others have already pointed out.
The 360 would be the most likely candidate since it is the most akin to a PC, but I doubt it would happen, when i think about how you would control everything without a keyboard and mouse, one of the main reasons I don't own consoles.
The control systems would be so different I doubt you could fairly compete with players using a PC, just imagine trying to draw on the mini map with a controller, I expect people who have consoles would be more used to it but I would just look for my mouse every time.
As for the need? GW is designed to run on lower-end systems which negates one of the main advantages consoles have over PCs. Having seen games that were designed for the 360 and PC, well the game would have been better if it was designed for the PC alone. In that light I hope GW2 is not considered for the console market.

Totally awesome idea... why would I want to play on this stupid 17'' 1920x1200 LCD notebook display when I could be playing on my Panasonic from 1985 in my living room.

So you can play it on the go. /facepalm

That reminds me...Weren't they thinking of transfering WoW to the 360? And if they do, then holy hell Blizzard'll be rich.

I guess you can never rule the possibility out.
I don't ever seeing it going to PSP if it ever ports over to consoles. If anything, it would be XBox360 and PS3.

Microsoft has already started uniting PC and Xbox360 games through their XNA to make things easier with transition.
Article Here
The article was in 2004, and for some reason why do I have this feeling there is a game that you can play as a whole...no matter if you have an XBox360 version of the game or the PC version. I can't put put my finger on the name.

With the PS3 just recently being released, I am sure it will also hold the capability. The specs on a XBox360 or PS3 beat out the computers for some of the people that play Guild Wars (so I don't think that will be a main issue).

There are also peripherals that you can get to stay competive (keyboard, mic) that will work with either.

I think there would be a lot of obstacles though. How would the updates work....finding a way for GW's to run on the PS3 or XBox 360 on the downloaded client rather than putting in a disc (like you do when you typically play a video game) and trying to figure out a way around XBox Live's subscription so that GW would remain "subscription free" would need to be worked out. I am sure there are a lot of other issues that will need to be sorted when porting games over and making PC gamers and video gamers coexist in the same world, but I don't see it being too far off. Whether or not ANet and NCSoft want to venture into the "unknown" waters is a different story. It would be interested to watch to see what may happen in the future.

- Aldoros of Faydark

A console is essentially a computer with pretty much well fixed (or "static") hardware and software components in it, finely tuned for games. A modified console could potentially handle the game, but you would find yourselves having some difficulty completely controlling the game like someone behind a keyboard and mouse could. This would require too much extra development.

The example in the opening thread was... probably the worse that could have come out. The PSP simply does not have enough input components at all for this, unless you wanted to start screaming invalid voice commands at it. The DS is a more viable, but still futile, option. You have two screens and the added touch screen, but the resolution is again too small, and the graphics processing ability too feeble. Of course you could work around it, but just keep reading.

That all being said, its simply not currently feasible to put any research into ports and so on for consoles specifically. As for operating systems, Linux and other posix-like systems already have ways of getting around the boundaries preventing us from playing our games, just that most Mac users are too lazy to even bother searching for it.

Certainly, it would be fairly cool to be able to pay it on a console, but frankly its really not worth it right now. I'm more interested in the scalable component so that I can still play the thing with a 30$ graphics card and also be able to play it on a machine with 4x 500$ graphics cards. Play it on a 28k modem, or play it on an optic connection. Heck, I'd be super-happy if we could get a 2d (or fixed angle 3d) client too, just so that I could play it on my really cheap laptop without having to worry about slowdown times.

Its not impossible, just would you rather they focus more on making the game better, or trying to scratch a smaller, new userbase out of thin air. For that matter, why the heck was StarCraft ever ported to the N64?! Maybe in like 4 years, if the game is still very popular, the updates have mostly stabilized, and... well its just possible, but VERY improbable until something like the 360 or the Wii somehow make a name for themselves with another MMO.