Shout Out Gaming - Lego MMO will break generational divide

NetDevil believes MMO Lego Universe can break apart the generational divide that exists between technologically adept children and their parents.

Seabury thinks we get "excited" when we have children and they become old enough to play with Lego. "You have that excuse to go and play with toys again," he said, and Lego Universe has a "lot of potential" to capture that parent-to-child bond.

"Online games and the online communications experience are very accessible and children are ready for that, immersed in that, and parents are not. So this is where the children can actually lead the parents by the hand and show them what to do," he added, "and that can be a really powerful experience together."

Lego Universe has been kept under wraps since being announced in 2007. The family-friendly MMO has missed 2008 and 2009 release dates, and now steers a course for next year, which is when Seabury expects a beta test to open.

But why should a core gamer be interested? "Why shouldn't they be interested?" countered Seabury. "Good games are fun to play, no matter what."

"There's a lot of depth that we can offer that will be there. Obviously it's family-friendly so it's going to be in a different context to some of the more adult-themed games. But if you like Lego and if you like playing MMOs or connecting with your friends and playing games then you're probably going to like Lego Universe," he said.