If you’re reading this site, it’s likely you indulge in the occasional video game. Though you may not want to admit it to your loved ones and friends, you’ve probably at least tried an MMO at some point in your life. It’s OK, we’ve all been there. What’s important to note is that your little antisocial indulgence probably took place on a computer. You’ve got your keyboard, mouse, headphones, microphone, and near limitless access to a bevy of software. Yep, the computer is the perfect environment for your every MMO need. How else could they possibly be played?

Computer games thrive on being highly customizable, from having access to more keys than a console controller to being easily altered by those looking to enhance their experience with modification programs. Still, there’s something to be said for kicking back on the couch with snacks and a drink, controller in hand, blazing a trail of glory across the vibrant world projecting out of your gloriously large HDTV. The problem is, can you even conceive of playing World of Warcraft on your PlayStation 3?

The MMO genre is one that, in general, does not agree with the console environment. Sure, attempts have been made, but you can’t say there have been any huge success stories. Released in early 2003, EverQuest Online Adventures is a PlayStation 2 version of the popular EverQuest franchise that is still up and running. Likewise, Final Fantasy XI’s PlayStation 2 variant is still alive, though it can be assumed that its PC counterpart boasts a larger user base. The more recent Phantasy Star Universe is still around, although not many positive things can be said about it.

The Phantasy Star franchise does deserve credit though, as Phantasy Star Online for the Sega Dreamcast was one of the genre’s first attempts to break into the console market. Though admittedly a bit light on the “massive” aspect of MMORPG – every stage was instanced and there were a limited number of stages to play through – the game did attract a large following right up until Sega left the hardware business and shut down all related servers. Xbox and GameCube versions did follow, eventually leading to the release of the PC only Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst.

Though EverQuest and Final Fantasy are respectable products, the genre has seen more failures than successes on consoles. Cancellation after cancellation has left gamers wondering if more console MMOs are ever going to happen. True Fantasy Live Online, a game being developed by Level-5 for the original Xbox, was a high profile title until it was ultimately canned. Then there was the announcement and subsequent cancellation of Marvel Universe. And lest we forget, Ensemble Studios was once hard at work on a Halo MMO. Who knows how many other projects were ended prematurely before have any light shed on their existence. Such has been the genre’s console fate. One could argue that a lack a titles is better than 10,000 games with identical gameplay mechanics (I’m looking at you, Korean developers), but something would be nice.

Don’t fret though, as there is still hope. Now that broadband access and internet-ready consoles are becoming ubiquitous, the number of hoops an MMO must jump through to be successful on a console is lessening. Plug a keyboard into the USB port of your PS3, grab a Bluetooth headset and it’s just like being at your computer. Hard drives allow patches and downloadable content to be possible. The technology is in place – all we need are the games.

And they are coming, or so we’re being told. Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XIV Online at E3, which is set to be released in 2010. Out of all upcoming console MMOs, this one is poised to have the most success if done properly. Other projects are shrouded in a bit more secrecy, but we do at least know they exist. Funcom is said to be porting Age of Conan to the Xbox 360, though when we’ll see it remains a mystery. Turbine, creators of Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online, is supposedly working on or investigating the possibility of a console project. Warhammer 40K, not to be confused with Warhammer Online, is rumored to be in development for both PC and Xbox 360 alike, though the only evidence to support this is a job posting.  And let’s not forget Sony’s The Agency, which has actually been shown to the gaming press.

But how many of these games will we even see? As evidenced by the recent E3 press conferences of Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, motion sensing devices are all the rage. If we are to believe the hype being dished out, fake bows with fake arrows and invisible steering wheels are the wave of the future. There is much success to be had, but the risk versus reward ratio associated with the development of an MMO is keeping many away. It’s also easier to sell the public on fully interactive games as opposed to ones that many require part-time job hours. From a marketing perspective it’s hard to blame them.

Still, both Sony and Microsoft are committed to 10-year life cycles, so it seems more like a matter of when as opposed to if. Final Fantasy XIV Online seems a safe bet to at least be released, with pretty much every other project in an unpredictable state. Is it a market companies want to tap? Absolutely. Are many going to do it and do it well? No, probably not. But that’s OK. Does your console really need rehashed versions of Mabinogi and FlyFF? For the foreseeable future, the console MMO market will have fewer titles than its PC counterpart, but, from a quality control perspective, that’s probably a good thing. We will wait patiently, controller in hand, for the triple-A titles to start trickling in. One day, not all that far off, we’ll be grinding out low level quests with analog sticks and shoulder buttons and you won’t have it any other way.

Hello fellow Total PlayStation readers and welcome to what I hope is the first of many weekly blogs about all things gaming, Blu-ray, and Sony related!

You may know me as Senior News Editor Warren Stallworth, the same guy who brings you daily updates on all things PlayStation. Well, it’s a little known fact that I’m also something of a Community Manager around these parts and part of that community management is putting a little something on this here blog page every now and again. We’re shooting for weekly updates, Saturdays being the most opportune day of the week to jot down some thoughts. I plan to stick to that schedule and give you guys something to read while you’re busy blasting, racing, or questing with each other on the weekends.

I wanted to open with a little something about myself but I figured that would be boring to read. I’m just like any other gamer out there: started gaming at a young age with my console of choice (Nintendo Entertainment System was my drug back then), toyed a little bit with online gaming before the MMORPG explosion, and fell in love with Sony around the middle of the PlayStation 2 era. I like to write (obviously) and I like gaming, so I figured I’d try combining the two and that led me to TPS.

Now that introductions are out of the way, we can get to the real meat of this entry: the future of console gaming. I’ve recently been having discussions with fellow gamers about how much gaming they get to do in a typical week. My peers are all over the age of twenty-five, so we have families and other obligations, and many times gaming gets pushed into the background. Some of my peers haven’t played their consoles (old gen or new gen) in weeks or even months, while others get an hour or two a day. Since graduating college or high school, none of us have been able to do marathon sessions like the old days.

As for myself, I play games for review. With my busy schedule, I typically play one game a week and unwind with a little World of Warcraft on the weekends. I still don’t put in any marathon sessions and I have a back catalog of games that truly are a closest of shame. I’d rather not think about all of the RPGs I’ve started and never finished.

Allow me to go off on a tangent for a moment; what I have to say is relevant to our discussion, I promise. It’s no secret that Sony won the next generation format war. Blu-ray is king… well, if you don’t count DVD. This works in Sony’s favor, since HD TV adoption rates will pick up sometime after February 2009 and folks will be looking for a fancy HD Disc player to hook up to their new fancy HD TV. Granted, if the PlayStation 3 doesn’t come down in price, that won’t be flying off the shelves the way PS2 did for those folks who wanted a DVD player, but at least Sony will do well for themselves with standard Blu-ray players. But therein lies the problem… if PS3 isn’t the AV equipment of choice for next generation players, will the mass market snatch it up the way hardcore gamers do?

Why is this important? Because, as a mobile society, we’re spending less and less time in front of our TVs and more time on the road with friends, commuting to work, or traveling. We’ve traded in our land lines for cellphones and our desktop computers for iPhones and laptops. Wouldn’t that also mean we’ve traded in our consoles for portable devices? Maybe.

A quick glance at Japanese sales charts quickly reveals the reality of that statement: Nintendo DS has sold more in its short lifetime than PlayStation 2 sold over the course of its seven years. The greatest console system of all-time was beaten out by a portable system that still hasn’t run out of steam. People are getting their gaming fix in smaller, bit sized pieces. Granted, that’s Japan and not the United States or Europe, but when the North American NPD’s reveal that Nintendo DS handily sells upwards of 500k a month during the slow season, something has to be up.

What of the PlayStation Portable? It’s selling. In fact, it’s picked up steam in Japan as the multimedia player of choice. People aren’t spending time in their homes watching media, they’re on the subway or out and about doing it instead, which means they aren’t buying PlayStation 3’s to either watch or play that media.

There are other factors involved and we would be here all day if I listed them. But portable gaming is becoming more important than console gaming. I believe this generation, regardless of how any company wants to paint it, will be far smaller than either of the previous two. To the vast majority, consoles just aren’t that important anymore.

But of course console gaming isn’t dead and that’s not what this is about. Did movie theaters die when home video tapes were introduced? No. But it changed the way Hollywood pushed film. More movies are either going straight to video or spending less time at the box office so the studios can capitalize on DVD sales. It doesn’t marginalize the box office, but it makes it seem a little less important than it was in our grandparents time.

So I pose a question to all of you: how often do you play your console systems and how often do you play your portables? Let us know and have a pleasant weekend!