As I mentioned in a previous blog post, an Elder Scrolls MMO would be the worst idea in the history of gaming. But there are a number of IPs and brands that are screaming, nay, begging for an MMO treatment. Here are my top five (in no particular order):
5. Grand Theft Auto
GTA is already famous for its open world, do anything-you-bloody-well-want gameplay. That translates perfectly into an MMO setting. However, the city would have to be somewhat bigger and it would have to be a MMO shooterto work. Judging by GTAIV's sales and popularity, this could be a WOW killer.
4. Assassin's Creed
Kind of a quirky concept, but would be really cool if done well. All of the Middle East open to exploration, multiple faction choices (Assassins, Templars, etc.), numerous ****s (Assassins, knights, thieves, bandits, etc.)...this is a really cool idea. Only problem is game mechanics, as it wouldn't translate well into the standard MMO model.
3. Greek/Norse/Egyptian Mythology
Yes, I know that Dark Age of Camelot has some mythology aspects and that Ragnarok is based on Norse mythology, but it would be really great to see a hard-core MMO based solely on one of these mythologies. Or you could do it Age of Mythology ****and have them all coexisting at once, with worlds based around each. separate mythology.
2. Pokemon
Maybe there is one (I don't follow Nintendo closely), but I'm not aware of it. Pokemon makes perfect MMO sense: turn based battles with other players across a huge world. Make it in any form, it'll sell like hotcakes. Make it on the Wii, it will sell like cream filled hotcakes. Make it a DS game and the world is Nintendo's oyster.
1. Discworld
I'm a big, BIG Terry Pratchett fan. I would pick up any current-gen game based on his works day one. An MMO would probably fail, but it would be awesome. You have all your factions, guilds, ****s, locations and species worked out. Just make a game based around it. I'm imagining something with the Guild Wars environment detail and the WOW character models. That would be absolutely amazing, to me at least.