Cameron: Avatar MMO would work, but launch timing needs care

Avatar director James Cameron has opined that the 3D cinema show pony is "perfect" fodder for an MMO adaptation, and even very gently hinted that one may already be iplanned.

"I think Avatar is a perfect IP for an MMO. It's a very, very big world," Cameron told IGN.

"Based on the first film, you might not sense that, but we're talking about an entire planet, an entire alter world, and in fact a universe that has other planetary bodies, as well, and other cultures, other life forms.

"Eventually people will see enough scope to be able to see how the MMO will work, but that's going to have to be launched…the timing of that is going to have to be carefully orchestrated with the release of the second and third film because we don't want to be giving away elements before the fact."

The director noted that MMORPGs allow for "a lot more possibilities for characters than what you see in the film".

"The film is really just a leaping off point, so we've got to create a rich and diverse world that lives well beyond the films," he added.

Asked about the poor critical and commercial performance of the Avatar game - the first cross-platform stereoscopic 3D release - Cameron cited poor timing.

"The Avatar game hit the street well before the movie came out and it wasn't like an anticipated movie in the sense it was a known brand. It had to prove itself," he said.

"And Avatar, the movie, entered the marketplace with a healthy opening but nothing resounding, nothing that certainly would have told you it was about to set the record as the highest grossing film in history. It had to prove itself in the marketplace.

"By the time it had proven itself, the videogame was kind of old news and so it under-performed, but the underperformance I think was just a release timing issue. The actual game itself I think, while it can be improved, I think they did a pretty damn good job integrating the stereoscopic experience into the gaming experience."

Thanks, Shack.