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GameDaily has discovered a new online gaming survey from Intellisurvey that appears to not only confirm the development of a Lord of the Rings Online for the Xbox 360 (as
Destructoid reported earlier this year), but also reveal details about the MMO's proposed pricing structure and future downloadable content.
Screen from Lord of the Rings Online for the PC.
The survey asked a series of questions about online gaming, including the following:
Assuming that you liked the
content and theme of this Lord of the Rings MMO for the Xbox 360, how likely would you be to purchase the game for $59.99, plus pay a monthly subscription of $12.99?
Screenshot of the Lord of the Rings Online survey (click to enlarge)Neither Warner Bros. Interactive (who currently holds the license to the Lord of the Rings franchise) or Turbine, developer of Lord of the Rings Online for the PC, have confirmed the development of the game, although it's no secret that the latter has been working on a console MMO for some time now.
A representative from Turbine declined to comment on the survey or the game, but offered this: "Turbine has always been focused on the customer and one of the ways we do that is through extensive consumer research."
To date, the Xbox 360 has
only seen one other massively-multiplayer game, 2006's Final Fantasy XI. The game required a subscription fee of $12.95 a month; this applied to both users on the free Xbox Live Silver accounts as well as users paying an upwards of $7.99 a month for Gold accounts. Current information about Lord of the Rings Online for the 360, including the information posited by the survey, doesn't indicate that the subscription model for the game will be any different.
Screenshot of the Lord of the Rings Online survey (click to enlarge)In addition, the survey asked respondents whether and how much they'd pay for additional content for the game, which is again in line with previous reports that Turbine was working on a micro-transaction based MMO. These add-ons range from in-game currency and additional classess/races to individual items such as clothing, weapons and armor, animals and transports. Potential
downloadable items also include more traditional content such as expansion packs with additional quests and map packs.
Screen from the PC version.The survey also reveals a proposed game description, whose features are fairly similar to the PC version of the game (emphasis added):
Make the move to Middle-earth
as you adventure from the Shire to the shadowed walls of Mordor! Fight for the Free People of Middle-earth as you battle against the forces of the Dark Lord, or serve Sauron as you seek to obtain the One Ring! Play as any of 8 races and set ou