WoW is the "train driving PC gaming," says John Carmack

Game maker John Carmack, famous for developing landmark PC titles Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake, sat down for a chat with Gamasutra earlier this week to discuss the state of the greater PC game industry. Normally, the shooter visionary wouldn't have much to say that would be of interest to those of us with massively multiplayer games on our minds, but in a discussion about what sets the PC platform apart from consoles, Carmack specifically cited MMOs as one of the few remaining genres that continue to bring in new players to the table, referring to them as the "train driving PC gaming."

While we agree with Carmack's assessment of the PC landscape today, we can't help but wonder how much longer the PC is going to be the exclusive domain of the MMO. With rumors of the next Blizzard MMO transitioning to consoles, NCsoft's plans to develop a new property for the PS3, and Nintendo getting into the MMO game, it looks like consoles are poised to play catch-up. The full interview will run on Friday, so we'll have to see if Carmack addresses this challenge later this week.