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World of Warcraft creator Blizzard has said it’s “looking into” crafting an iPhone version of its time-destroying MMORPG.
Senior World of Warcraft producer John Lagrave told Eurogamer the world is “evolving toward” gadgets like the iPhone. “It would be foolish for any game developer to not be looking at that,” he said.
Confirmation that Blizzard has its eye on a mobile future will be welcome news for WoW addicts who currently have to stop playing to do things like take the bus or go to the loo.
But while a smart phone edition of the game would mean you could rattle through your dailies while visiting your gran, Lagrave acknowledges porting the mob-mashing massively multiplayer title to a mobile is no easy feat.
“Here’s your platform, and you’ve got to put an interface, what do you do?”
Cramming the game’s dense control system onto a tiny touchscreen is a mind-bending challenge, and as such I reckon we’re unlikely to see a full version of World of Warcraft landing on iOS or Android in the immediate future. More likely is a cut-down version that lets you play mini-games like fishing to earn stuff for your character. “When he have an epiphany, everyone will know,” Lagrave said, “But for now, no epiphany!”
It’s good to know Blizzard has mobile in mind. There’s already a rather primitive World of Warcraft app called Mobile Armory, which lets you eye up your handsome characters, chat with your guild and manage auctions. Handy for hoarding gold while you’re forced off your PC and onto a family holiday, but I’d love to see the full game running on an iPad.
Would you try World of Warcraft on your phone? Or is it good that fans of the game can’t currently play it all the time? Drop some thoughts in the comments, or bubble hearth over to our Facebook wall.
