5 Properties that Would Make Great MMOs

I can still remember the excitement I felt when I first found out that Star Wars was going to become an MMORPG. Here was a property just begging for the MMO treatment, filled with established canon, awesome characters to interact with, and a compelling galactic conflict to participate in. Unfortunately the end result of that announcement, Star Wars Galaxies, utterly failed to live up to expectations.

All the news that has been slowly trickling out leading up to the release of Star Trek Online has again raised my anticipation levels to a similar plateau. If Cryptic can deliver on the promise that the license comes with, STO could end up being one of the best MMOs of all time.

Of course, Star Trek and Star Wars are not the only huge properties out there that lend themselves well to an MMO environment. There are several blockbuster video game, television, and movie franchises that, if treated correctly, could be adapted into some killer MMO games.

Yes, a Harry Potter MMORPG would be one that would most likely appeal to younger players, we're talking strictly T for Teen here, but the younger player demographic is one that really hasn't been tapped. It's true we've all been stuck playing WoW with over-caffeinated fourteen-year-olds up way past their bedtimes, but Blizzard is not really marketing the game toward them specifically.

The Harry Potterverse is a well-established and fleshed-out fantasy world. Players could spend their time chatting and shopping in Diagon Alley before heading off to Hogwarts. The first half of the game would be spent in the school, learning skills in classes and taking on small instances like the Chamber of Secrets. Afterward, higher-level players could move out into the larger world, choosing to either fight against the dark lord's evil or signing up to stand alongside him.

The books and movies are filled with iconic locations that would make great raids and instances, and I can't even begin to imagine the types of quests Hagrid would send you on.

Check out page two for more on our favorite Sci-Fi properties that are begging to become MMORPGS, and an idea for adapting one of the most successful video game franchises of all time.