Who doesn't want to be in South Park?
Speaking today at the New York Gaming Conference, President of Sony Online Entertainment's John Smedley admits to having the same dream we all do, being involved with a South Park episode. He also talks about gaming, but really we just care about South Park, right? Well he does discuss the reason that fantasy games own the MMO genre to date, and how Free Realms is really a "whimsical fantasy:"
"Free Realms isnt exactly high fantasy. Id say it is more whimsical fantasy. Think of the movie Shrek, and you wouldnt be too far off. It is that kind of irreverent humor set in a fantasy world. But we still think that high fantasy has a key pillar spot in our company."
John also discusses in-game advertising and how consoles fit into the SOE growth plans:
"Consoles for us are about the broadening the user base out, so that an audience that doesnt typically see these sorts of games do see it. Most console gamers have PCs but the studies show that they spend most of their time gaming on their console. And so what we want to do is introduce them to these kinds of games. We think that is the simplest way."
So essentially consoles are the entry point for people to get more involved into real gaming (PC gaming for those not keeping up). While this seems reasonable, a game has yet to be displayed on a console that doesn't give MMOs a bad name. Hopefully someone can solve that, DC Universe Online I'm looking at you.
Read the rest of the interview at VentureBeat.
