A short thread on some of the first MMORPGs released on console, starting with Dragon's Dream (Saturn, 1997), the first known representative of the genre.
videogamesdensetsu.tumblr.com/post/142740794…
videogamesdensetsu.tumblr.com/post/142740794…
The need to buy a modem, the costs of online gaming in those days and a timid press coverage make it a rather obscure title, although a video recorded around 1998 is available on Youtube :
Rune Jade was produced by Hudson Soft for the Dreamcast and, as with Dragon's Dream, it was never released outside of Japan. The game hit the shelves in August 2000 and clearly took inspiration from Diablo.
Then comes Phantasy Star Online only 4 months later, with its worldwide release and its simplified communication system which helped the game to democratisize the genre on console.
Polygon recently published a series of interviews in which the developers cite Diablo II as a major influence for PSO (which started its career about 6 months later) and revealed that Burning Rangers was originally intended to be an online multiplayer game
polygon.com/users/jamesmie…
polygon.com/users/jamesmie…
