PS3 to get exclusive MMORPG titles in NCsoft deal

Out of this week’s E3 gaming conference comes news that NCsoft will be producing “several MMORPG” exclusively for the Sony PS3 according to Sony’s Phill Harrison.

NCSoft owns PlayNC which means the possibility for titles such as City of Heroes / Villains, Dungeon Runners, Guild Wars and more. They are also the company behind Auto Assault, the Road Warrior style MMORPG that is shutting down after August 31, 2007. They didn’t have enough players to keep it going.

A post on the official PlayNC website on the Sony deal is promising:

“This is a great step forward for online gaming,” said Geoff Heath, CEO of NCsoft Europe. “We are delighted to be working with Sony Computer Entertainment. PS3, with its advanced Cell Broadband Engine™ and standard hard disc drive on every unit, has already demonstrated it is a truly versatile online platform that gives NCsoft the potential to create massively multiplayer environments.

In the same Phill Harrison speech at E3 he gives a few more details about Playstation HOME project, but doesn’t indicate whether “publishers” includes Sony developer partners or anybody (emphasis mine):

Publishers will have the chance to create game-specific lounges where Home users can meet up as well as discuss or play their favorite titles.

If publishers only includes the big developer houses already making games, that’s just more closed door stuff. Though I haven’t seen it yet, HOME is sounding more and more to me like a 3D GUI for the Playstation network. I think it’s a good idea, but it could be a lot more if anybody can be a developer to make and share things inside HOME. Guess we’ll find out more as the open beta is released this fall. If it’s released this fall on schedule.