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Could there ever be a Zelda MMO?

Y

YAWN

Ask me which Shakespeare novel is best
MMO's rake in the cash, well, if they're good at least and have a strong name backing them. Final Fantasy is a good example of this. Do you think Nintendo would ever fancy dipping their toe in that pool?

A lot of fans would request Pokemon instead, but I believe Zelda is a lot more reasonable. It has a lot of tropes already in use in MMO culture, such a high fantasy world, a variety of races to choose from and their cultures to visit, medieval weapons, magic, dungeons, lore. etc. Basically, all the ingredients they could put to good use. It'd also appease the fans wanting a female protagonist, as not only would you get that, you could make even her a Goron!

With BotW new open world direction, the team has built experience in delivering that sort of atmospheric world MMO's are known for. Zelda is a strong name, and being Nintendo's first MMO theres bound to be hype around it.

What do you think? Could there ever be a Zelda MMO? Would Nintendo even ever make an MMO?
 
Eolz

Eolz

Member
Nintendo can make a MMO for sure.
Doubt Zelda would be amongst their choices despite the potential though. Not because "muh Link" (it'd be a spinoff), but they'd probably go the Souls route for Zelda in terms of multiplayer.
Pokemon and Animal Crossing would be the most probable bets.
 
S

Svafnir

Member
I... don't think I would want it. It would not Zelda in the sense you are link and interacting with Ganon/Zelda in a meaningful way. MMO's really have a bad habit of EVERYONE IS CHOSEN HERO THAT BRINGS PEACE or you just feel like a small pawn in big world.

I thought Elder Scrolls makes a better fit for an MMO than Zelda does, and I really did not enjoy that game at all. More so I just think age of the MMO is gone.
 
N

NipplesAndToes23

Member
Eolz said:
Nintendo can make a MMO for sure.
Doubt Zelda would be amongst their choices despite the potential though. Not because "muh Link" (it'd be a spinoff), but they'd probably go the Souls route for Zelda in terms of multiplayer.
Pokemon and Animal Crossing would be the most probable bets.
Click to expand...

Throw Fire Emblem in that shit too.
 
C

cyress8

Banned
I believe it would be possible. You will be relegated to being a side character to Link/Zelda/Ganon. You choose your path of Courage/Wisdom/Power and aid that leader with side missions and whatnots.
 
davepoobond

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
it wouldnt (read: couldn't) be made by Nintendo

so the question is do you want a non-Nintendo Zelda game?
 
J

Jonneh3003

Banned
I don't think the current template for MMO's really fits Nintendo's style, I suppose Zelda could translate into an MMO but what would it gain other than having other players roaming the world with you?
 
1

120v

Member
a traditional MMO will never happen. just can't see nintendo ever going that route

some sort of MMO-lite, maybe.
 
F

Finale Fireworker

Member
Everybody must play traditional male Link?

Jokes aside, Hyrule is Nintendo's most established mythos. If there were ever a Nintendo MMO (which I don't think is something I want), I would want it to be on Hyrule.

But I hope the opportunity would be taken to tell a Zelda story WITHOUT Link, in this case.
 
M

Mista Koo

Member
Well they are more comfortable licensing their franchises now, so maybe? Because I doubt that Nintendo would want to make an MMO themselves.
If this happens it would probably not be called Zelda, but Hyrule something. Also expect zero mentions of Link by name.
 
MisterHero

MisterHero

Super Member
How does BotW's size compare to the average MMO world?

Making such epic worlds would be a waste on completely single-player games.
 
C

Chaos17

Member
Not Zelda but XCX ?
Oh, yeah I can totaly imagine it but need to be ported on Pc, tho.
Pc players will just love those mechas to the core.
 
T

Trike

Member
MisterHero said:
How does BotW's size compare to the average MMO world?

Making such epic worlds would be a waste on completely single-player games.
Click to expand...

Taking single player maps and making it into an MMO wouldn't be very enjoyable. Also it isn't a waste if the game is good.
 
LordRaptor

LordRaptor

Member
KeasbyKnight said:
MMO's rake in the cash, well, if they're good at least and have a strong name backing them. Final Fantasy is a good example of this.
Click to expand...

FFXV had like, a ten year long development cycle, and had to be basically remade from scratch due to the overwhelmingly negative reception its initial release consisted of and how much harm it did to the FF brand name.
Squeenix literally poured millions into it to try and prop it up; I don't know if its hit actual profitability yet, but I'd be surprised.

Terrible example to use as a "doing MMO well" citation.
 
P

Piers

Member
You'll only be seeing either:
  • Links running around with specific end-game gear
  • Links nagging you for rupees and items

Would rather they stick to private-sessions with friends.
 
E

Eumi

Member
They've just spent weeks it iterating how much they see Link as an integral part of Zelda games, so I doubt they'd make anything even slightly close to an mmo.
 
K

Killyoh

Member
Not fond of the idea but eh we had a Zelda musou so nothing is impossible. Although I'm all for having a Goron or a Korok character.
 
T

Trike

Member
TheAmazingXemo said:
This about this carefully. Is a Zelda MMO really something you want?
Click to expand...

"Legend of Zelda: One Million Swords Adventure"

It would be the most suitable I could think of, due to the nature of the series. Fantasy setting, various races to choose from, well known and varied locations, etc. I think an MMO from Nintendo in general would be interesting to see their take on MMOs. But I doubt it would play very similar to Zelda.
 
eXistor

eXistor

Member
There could, but I don't think there should. I'm a fan of tradition and while the main series can experiment to an extent, I really don't think it's a good idea to try and appeal to a completely different crowd with such a beloved franchise.
 
R

R00bot

Member
Remember when we wanted an elder scrolls mmo? And then it came out and was pretty meh? I suspect a Zelda mmo would be just as meh, if only saved by it being a Nintendo game and thus being polished to high heaven.
 
R

Raiden

Banned
Eh Nintendo is like my mom and ill always love her. But my mom sucks at doing stuff online so im pretty sure she is not capable of handling something like this where she has zero experience in.
 
V

Vex_

Banned
a pokemon mmo would be nintendo's end game.

If they were about to go out of business/get absorbed, they would do this to stay afloat. There has never been a game that lent itself well to mmos quite like the constantly changing and ever expanding world of Pokemon.
 
N

Nosgotham

Junior Member
if they made the story make sense it would be awesome. maybe it takes place in the fallen hero timeline between ocarina and AlttP where the hero of time is dead and the King calls for help from all courageous adventurers to help defend hyrule, search for the hero etc... the main goal could be to find the things necessary to resurrect Link, the same Link from BotW.

it could work.
 
P

papo

Member
No, I hope not.

If Nintendo makes any MMO before making a Pokemon MMO, which I think is not as god an idea as I used to, then they suck.
 
H

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
You realize that MMOs aren't the money makers they once were, right?

Nintendo would probably be better off making a MOBA at this point, and it's really too late for that, too.
 
I

Inferno313

Banned
Traditional MMOs in the vein of WoW are not in the best place right now. I can't see Nintendo being like: "Let's do one of those!" I think, if Nintendo were to make an MMO, it would probably be a pretty massive departure from what WoW and established MMOs do, and I honestly see it being a new IP, rather than taking Zelda and making it into an MMO. Sort of like how once Nintendo finally ventured into the online shooter territory in a big way, they did so with a new IP.
 
S

Sylas

Member
Please, no. The content that exists in a Zelda game has already been backtracked on and "fleshed" out time and time again. Look at the storyline thread for Breath of the Wild. A MMO would ruin a lot of the experience.

It's basically not a world that really deserves consistent, persistent updates. Getting a new Zelda every few months would be tiresome. A chunk of what makes Zelda charming are the different ways they engage with the Hero's Journey trope and that's one thing most MMOs get wrong 90% of the time.

Don't get me wrong, I really love Zelda; But the exploration is enhanced by the feeling of solitude. You're the one that can do this and nobody else.

Plus, yeah. A Pokemon MMO would do gangbusters I think. Tie it into Pokemon GO to let people engage with elements of it while mobile? Good goddamn.

MMOs also don't rake in the cash. FFXIV is a fairly strong MMO that has very consistent updates and decent developer communication and it's still unable to hire a team big enough to do crazy things (which can, in part, be attributed to FFXV and KH3).

R00bot said:
Wait, that's not what Elder Scrolls Online is?

No wonder people weren't happy.
Click to expand...

Nooope. It's a shitty version of a TES game. A multiplayer Skyrim is what people wanted but what they got was... something else.
 
V

Vital Tundra

Member
Strangely enough I can see Nintendo having the talent to make an Ultima like MMO and it be popular. To bad their so family friendly. People getting their stuff stolen and what not wouldn't fly with them or whatever.
 
S

Sylas

Member
Vital Tundra said:
Strangely enough I can see Nintendo having the talent to make an Ultima like MMO and it be popular. To bad their so family friendly. People getting their stuff stolen and what not wouldn't fly with them or whatever.
Click to expand...

This is also the company that's about 10 years behind in the online infrastructure front, soooo.
 
U

ubernoob

Neo Member
Nah, not Zelda.

I think it would 'fail' for the same reasons I think it would 'succeed.'

It is set up to translate well to MMOs, but traditional MMOs are basically in a holding pattern. Think of it like FFXIV:ARR (not the much-maligned launch version of that game.) FFXIV is, by all means, a fantastic traditional MMO. Why would anyone leave their established game of choice (be it EverQuest, WoW, EQ2, Wildstar, whatever) that they have poured hours into, unless they were a huge fan of the series.

I, personally, consider myself a Zelda fan and would try one but it's not something that would make me go "Yeah, this will be a smash hit." Financially it could do well for Nintendo, but that's just hypothetical at this point. I don't think the Zelda fanbase is much larger (if larger at all) than the Final Fantasy fanbase.

So by virtue of Zelda translating to traditional MMOs the best, I think it also sets itself up for 'failure' in the sense that it's not going to be this huge thing. There needs to be a shift in the fundamental MMO format for a new MMO to make it big.

That's why I offer up Pokemon as being a Nintendo property being the one with the best chance of a smash hit MMO, but it won't be "reskinned WoW/FFXIV/etc." People much more intelligent about game design than myself would have to think up something to draw people away from other games. If you're solely relying on the property name to do that, you have failed in a sense.
 
T

Theanine3D

Member
I would love one, but only if it's given to a second or third party developer.

If Nintendo themselves made it, it'd likely end up playing like Baby's First MMO. All the important social features you expect in an MMO would be ripped out, because Nintendo assumes everyone playing is a child.
 
B

Bishop89

Member
im sorry, but if nintendo wont even bother making the gold mine which is pokemon MMO, i doubt they would even bother with Zelda.
 
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