Jaxus: So, with the recently announced projects of Middle Earth Online and The Matrix Online, are there any MMOGs based upon books/games/movies/historical events that you'd like to see made?

Bartle: If you're asking whether there are any virtual worlds I'd like to see that have a big license behind them, no, not at present. I don't think the market is big enough to support many more of these right now. If you're asking whether there are any big licenses that would make great virtual worlds that aren't already in the works, well the obvious one is Star Trek. Second-tier licenses would be things like Stargate and Dr. Who. Third-tier licenses would be for book series such as Wheel of Time and Pern. I'd suggest checking out text MUDs for ideas here. As for unlicensed but first-one-claims-it franchises along Dark Age of Camelot style (which "owns" Arthurian myth), I'd say go for the Arabian Nights. In fact, I did say that when I was trying to get funds to develop a virtual world a couple of years ago that the only substantial reason for going for a license is marketing. Yes, alot of the world has been designed for you already, but that's the fun part of design as far as I'm concerned. Middle Earth isn't a great concept for a virtual world, but it's a great marketing concept for one.