I'm surprised no one has made a thread on this yet. Eurogamer published an interview with Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard today, in which he stated:

 

"A lot of what we've done to push the boundary for Stellar Dawn will benefit RuneScape and another MMO we're working on," Gerhard said. "We've got the advantage in that we share the same MMO tech platform. From there it's really down to the studios to decide how its [sic] used."

 

Eurogamer: RuneScape is your fantasy MMO, Stellar Dawn is your sci-fi MMO. Is there a point when you'll want a new fantasy MMO?

 

Mark Gerhard: We do, we totally do. We're working on it as we speak.

 

The full interview is here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-jagex-factor-interview

 

 

Other comments of note:

 

Another point on World of Warcraft is that they came out four years after us. They had the benefit of hindsight. With Stellar Dawn we have the same benefits. Stellar Dawn will set a higher marker and be more comparable, if not better.

 

 

Eurogamer: You've called Free Realms "insipid". It's got over 10 million users...

 

Mark Gerhard: Registrations. [Grins, laughs]

 

Having played Free Realms there's very little I get out of it. To me it just screams design by committee: 20 different people from 20 different focus groups to say, "Let's have a little bit of this for the girls, let's have a little bit of that for the boys, let's get the six-year-olds, let's get the 16-year-olds." If you want a game for a six year-old you've got it, it's called Club Penguin.

 

Eurogamer: Jagex told me last year that MechScape would have no XP, no skills, no levelling. Is Stellar Dawn trying to be as ambitious, as revolutionary?

 

Mark Gerhard: Yeah... That wasn't true. That was an ambition, it wasn't a reality.

 

Eurogamer: RunesCape's nearly 10 years old. How long has it got left?

 

Mark Gerhard: Our current business plan is another 10 years of slated game updates and content updates.

 

 

SAILINGSCAPE!

Not much to talk about really, except for guesstimating.

10 more years of Runescape? Crikey, how much content can they put into this game!

2020.. Runescape.. Optimus Christ I can't even imagine what the game willbe like then

SAILINGSCAPE

Yay.

 

I don't see what the point in making two fantasy mmorpg's is.

So we gotta wait another 10 years for them to finish off all their quest lines? :lol:

10 years left on RS, but according to Jagex Dungeoneering (endgame update) is already released. Assuming there's actually 3 batches (next batch to 99 then last to 120), will it really be 10 years before every storyline in rs is covered?

 

Also his comparison for Steller Dawn with WoW doesn't really make sense. Seeing as WoW is absolutely huge and I don't even know people who play SD, I'd say RS is still a much better comparison between the 2 MMO giants.

I actually quite admire, for lack of a better term, his balls

10 Years... wow wonder how long the massive amount people will keep playing.

so stellar dawn *will* have xp? ,.,

I hope to God I won't be playing in 10 years.

Hmm a third game and their second is not yet finished, Jagex is thinking big.

i'm really looking forward to see results!

 

Rs style game with wow style pvp owuld be GODLIKE!

so stellar dawn *will* have xp? ,.,

 

From the interview:

 

It will have an, er, accumulation mechanic.

I was under the impression that thirdscape has been known to exist, but no further than that. It has been even less info than what we had of mechscpe/stellar dawn, which is why nobody talked about it.

SAILINGSCAPE

Yay.

 

I don't see what the point in making two fantasy mmorpg's is.

 

That would be like, an MMO at sea? Sure, bring it. :P

Also, I agree. I think 1 fantasy mmo would be enough really.

 

So we gotta wait another 10 years for them to finish off all their quest lines? :lol:

 

Now that made me laugh.

 

Sad thing is it could be correct. :wall:

10 more years of Runescape? Crikey, how much content can they put into this game!

 

Once Sailing comes out I get 99 and quit for good.

Free Realms inspired? That game is for like 6 year-olds...

Nah, that's 10 years minimum. It's a sign they expect this game to last if they're planning 10 years ahead. I think that Jagex are getting a little bit cocky, to say the least. Then again, they might have a right to be.

Free Realms inspired? That game is for like 6 year-olds...

 

Gerhard called Free Realms "insipid" not "inspired," and criticized Sony for trying to appeal to everyone, but ultimately appealing to nobody. Big difference.

LOL, stupid me. Obviously misread that one.

 

In that case, I'm now interested in this new MMO. :)

LOL, stupid me. Obviously misread that one.

 

In that case, I'm now interested in this new MMO. :)

SD, their 2nd MMO hasn't even made BETA status yet. "Working on it" could just be drawing on a piece of paper for all we know. Or talking about it at the water cooler.

My opinion; RuneScape realistically has a "good" 2 more years in it, maybe 3 after that at just being nearly the same.

It bugs me a lot how Jagex (especially Gerhard) is trying to make a different game look bad. What a [puncture].

10 more years of Runescape? Crikey, how much content can they put into this game!

 

And even then it wouldn't beat GemStone, which has been around since 1988. Probably the oldest still running online game.

I was reading over the comments for the article and some of the first ones mention how the interview questions were very rough and trying to get quotes that can be taken out of context.