By Ryan Parsons | Image property of respective holders, Variety.
EverQuest
About a week back I had the privilege of sharing a few beers with one of the lead designers over at Blizzard. Now, if you don't know what Blizzard is, then you obviously haven't played or heard of the game WOW -- World of Warcraft for the layman. The massively multiplayer game is home to almost 10 million monthly subscribers, who all pay near $15 to keep playing, and credited with the deaths of actual gamers. I kid you not, people are getting so addicted to online universes such as this, that they forget to eat, sleep and shit.
A long time in the making, I did learn a couple new details about the possibly/upcoming Warcraft movie. First off, Blizzard plans to use the success of their online game and title the film World of Warcraft. Though it sounds like a hard way to make sequels, the title immediately gets attention. A film based on a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game)? Sounds tough.
Maybe not that tough, however, as Sony is hoping to adapt another online role-playing game, EverQuest, and be first to the punch.
EverQuest Finds Level 12 Scribe
While it was rumored that Sony was hoping to turn EverQuest into a bigscreen feature, the studio has finally confirmed that they are making ground by picking up 300 scribe Michael Gordon to pen the adaptation. Avi Arad is also onboard to produce for Columbia Pictures.
The idea of an EverQuest adaptation has existed in Hollywood for some time, but Michael Gordon is the first step in actually making it happen. The original EverQuest hit shelves in 1999, with a popular sequel following in 2004.
In the game, players create a character they use to explore the world of Norrath, where they interact with other players or fight off creatures while going on quests for treasure. Everquest was the most popular online role-playing game until Blizzard showed up with their own fantastical universe in World of Warcraft.
While EverQuest once had 450,000 subscribers, WOW eclipses this number with something closer to 10 million. Some have credited the popular MMORPG with the expansion of GA, Gamers Anonymous. You might not have heard of it hear in the States, but take a flight over to China and try to find somebody who hasn't heard of it.
Add to Heffee!
