First look at MAG

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Recently we had the incredible opportunity to share with you a first look for the MAG project at the SCEA E3 Press Conference. We’re thrilled with the early responses from everyone and have been amazed at all the creative speculation about the game. If you haven’t seen the news, MAG is a new online shooter coming in 2009 where up to 256 players wage battles as 8-person squads in a new and unique World. You can watch the press event here or download it from the PLAYSTATION Store.

Though it’s early to talk in depth about MAG, we can definitely quell some fears we’ve already heard from you about how MAG will need to compromise on gameplay to support its size. Well, it may be massive but it is an action shooter at its core. You can run around and shoot enemies, throw grenades, and drive vehicles just like any other shooter except with MAG you’ll do it with up to 256 players. The team at Zipper was one of the pioneers of online gaming on consoles with the SOCOM franchise and they’ve used this knowledge to create a brand new server architecture to make an original game like MAG possible.

Here’s a sneak peak from one of our internal play sessions:

MAG 1st look
We’re anxious to talk more about MAG and all its features as soon as we can. Until then, stay tuned to the PlayStation blog for more details and official news.

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220 Comments

3 Author Replies

  • M.A.G
    Massive Action Game
    the name is alright
    it doent bug me at all when you call it M.A.G.

    this game will pwn big time.

  • Will it be possible to see all the players who are online at once? Like on a large open battlefield.

    Will it be viewed from first person or third person?

    Will there be a story or just pure action?

    I would love to see all those people shooting at each other from a hilltop in the game. And it would be even cooler to call in a tactical nuke on them blowing all 200+ players away :D haha!

  • TouchyEd;

    Because it’s a free forum and it was announced in GamersDay a while back that a true SOCOM sequel was in the works. Its disappointing to hear that Zipper is not working on the title.

    If you don’t like what I’m saying, stop feeding me.

  • i just want to know
    will this game be FP or TP?
    i think we should have the option.
    TP then its like another warhawk

  • @ 48 Kedaro | July 22nd, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    Haze is a great game?

    Wow, that’s all I can say…

  • Dunno if this has been answered already but are you planning this game to be subscription based or free to play once you buy the full game.

    Thanks

  • BTW, the questions I posed was -not- intended for an uninformed blog reader to answer. It was intended for a representative at Sony to respond if they choose too.

    Now, go ahead and get your last word… I’m no stranger to the forum, I know you need to have it. You know who you are… TE…

  • Will this be an fps, tps or both or is it too early, and what about a a beta test here? Anything. BTW it looks good, can’t wait.

  • Oh yea, it might be a good idea to change the name of this game. Massive Action Game is pretty cheesy!

  • I am really looking forward to learning more about this game. In the mean time do NOT announce a release date until you are 100% sure you can keep it. If there is any doubt as to whether or not you will be able to make it, do not announce a release date. Thank you.

  • To those IDIOTS on here bashing this game especially with the little information we have about it….. GO F*** YOURSELVES!!! Im going to buy it and play it before i make a final judgement on it and i suggest you morons do the same!

  • I can’t wait to purchase this game! Whatever you guys do make sure there is ZERO LAG! Because with a name like M.A.G. the word LAG is an immediate setup joke. Please focus on making the online experience optimal. I look forward to seeing where this title is going. Keep up the good work guys :)

  • under no circumstance should a game have the word “Game” in its title. (MGS4 you are forgiven). I would revise the name to something like, i don’t know, SOCOM : TOTAL WARFARE or something like that

    • Rade Stojsavljevic

      MAG is a brand new IP and is not part of the SOCOM franchise so it won\’t have that as part of the name.

  • SOCOM: OPERATION HUGEMAP

  • @105 Ghostm:

    Yeah if you actually bothered to play HAZE you would know that it was a good game. Not the best ever, but good. Too bad so many people just spout off stuff they heard from stupid game reviews. Not everything you read on the internet is the absolute truth. I know that might be shocker to some of you.

  • I would also like to know if the game is 1st person or 3rd person.

  • @114

    Where do you get the word game from Metal Gear Solid 4?

  • this is awsome this game looks really great considering how many people will be playing.

    2009 I can wait its not that far for a game like this

  • Thanks !

    Lots are complaining there are too many shooter games, but this sounds great to me.

    Keep up the good work.

  • I thought the name needed a little something as well, maybe there is something about the game that we don’t know, that makes the M.A.G. acronym more relevant.

    I myself would have to vote to call it…

    Bush’s Ambitious Finale… or BAF! could toss an exclamation point on there for good measure… like a backhand to the head… BAF!

    or MHAGOCH(Pronounced Mah-jock, ie. slur for Magic)

    could stand for… Microsoft Had A Game Once, Called Halo.

    Expansion pack could be ‘Does anyone even play Halo anymore!’ I don’t yet see the point of putting that into an acronym… It’s fine the way it is…

    Anyway on a more serious note:

    If ‘Art of War’ is a publishable game name, which I doubt, but would seem to fit.

    with a tagline of… ‘Mors Prius Quam Non Honero’ which loosely translates to Death before Dishonorment in Old Latin, and would work well for those that have experienced tons of clan drama in the past.

    Best idea I could come up with, is a name the game contest for the fans, on PlayStation.blog you could have everyone send in ideas, then you could pick the best names, and have the community vote on it.? Keep it to a very strict, and quick timeframe, then remove as much of the record as you can from the net, and run with it. Chances are, we ‘the fans’ know what kinda’ name is going to appeal to a mass majority. Not to say that the person/team who is mostly responsible for MAG isn’t, It just sounds like a working title through and through… I hope you guys hear us.

  • Not bad game but i think what the ps3 really need now is more RPG games.

  • I want to iterate that I don’t dislike the name MAG, I just think it sounds like a working title, obviously there is a lot to learn about the game yet, and There could truly be a reason as to why MAG fits, and if that is something that gamers have yet to understand, If I had a vote in that scenario I’d say keep it MAG, because chances are you guys know what you’re doing, and maybe it’s just that ‘Massive’, and that full of ‘Action’, and that much of a ‘Game’. That we the community don’t yet understand the relevance.

  • I had my doughts until I had seen the screen shot…WOW!! The game is gonna be awesome!

  • I am looking forward to seeing some gameplay with all of the players onscreen!

  • Zipper is the king of in game character animations. Not to mention they pioneered the on-line revolution on the PS2. My clan and I can not wait to get our hands on this game.

    I like how they made it 256 players in the game, but still left the 8 man squads so it will be easily manageable.

    Bring it on!!

  • @118 ou814me

    Metal Gear Solid
    Tactical Espionage Game

    look closely at the game cover…

    that’s what 114 is talking about.

  • RPG’s ARE FOR FAGZ!!! Anyone wanting to know if this game is FP or TP, go here and read this article. It says that it will be TP. http://kotaku.com/5027094/insider-describes-the-world-of-sonys-mag

  • Zipper is the king of in-game character animations. Not to mention that they single handily pioneered the on-line revolution on the PS2. My clan and I can’t wait to get our hand on this game.

    I also love how they were bold enough to go against the grain and do huge 256 player maps, and still keep it very manageable with 8 man units.

    MAG- Bring it on!!

  • @Kedaro

    “Bush’s Ambitious Finale”

    genius!

    lol!

    good one man!

  • @106 Ghostm

    Yea HAZE was a great game, especially if you progressively turned up the difficulty upon completions, as it seemed to act/feel more and more real, I was suprised at just how realistic, and difficult the combat was on the hardest setting, The online is limited, but definitely fun, you should not trash on it for no reason, please go try it, I know it’s impossible to find a good review on HAZE out there, but that’s just propaganda, please do yourself a favor and at least rent it.

  • @129 FritoZ

    I had a couple more, but I wouldn’t be allowed to say them here… They’re GTA rated.

  • For all that is good in this world, keep the title MAG.

    Remove the subtitle for the final product but keep MAG. It has dual meaning (magazine of bullets, or massive action game for those in the know).

    MAG is a very sleek, iconic name.

    Also, as a Zipper fan I have this request: Framerate above all.

    Cannot wait to try this out. Hopefully it’s early 2009.

    PS! Are there any discussion in regards to there being a subscription needed for this game? Also, how many of the 256 players can the engine handle on screen at once? Cheers.

  • I belong to a large player clan & we’re quite excited about this game. However, we have several questions: 1) Lag – how will you handle the problem of lag with 256 players in a single game? 2) Voice Communication – will it be available? If so, how will you ensure that it works properly in light of the well known voice communication problems in Warhawk? 3) Clan Support – will MAG have it? 4)Maps – will this game have maps that are detailed & large enough so that players with smaller TV screens can actually read them without too many problems? 5) Six-axis Motion Control – will there be an option to enable this for vehicles?

  • I belong to a large player clan & we’re quite excited about this game. However, we have several questions: 1) Lag – how will you handle the problem of lag with 256 players in a single game? 2) Voice Communication – will it be available? If so, how will you ensure that it works properly in light of the well known voice communication problems in Warhawk? 3) Clan Support – will MAG have it?
    4)Maps – will this game have maps that are detailed & large enough so that players with smaller TV screens can actually read them without too many problems? 5) Six-axis Motion Control – will there be an option to enable this for vehicles?

  • @ 116ou814me | July 22nd, 2008 at 2:39 pm & 130 Kedaro | July 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Alright, if you guys say so. It was so great that they lowered the price a couple a weeks after released.

    By the way, I’m not bashing Massive Action Game. Its just seems like the PS3 is going the way of the 360 (shooter, shooter, shooter, shooter). I know what some of you guys are going to say but yes, I know about stuff like LBP. It’s just that Sony is FPS happy this generation. I’m tired of playing catch up with other consoles already.

  • I guess we don’t hear more from the game on TGS? So in that case when then this year?

    I´m excited for this game!

  • Ghostm… stop moaning. Moan when the year is over, and there still isn’t promise of more RPG’s.

    TGS is just roudn the corner, I wish all you whiney people would just wait. Be whiney when stuff has been annoucned, but it’s obvious Sony is keepign stuff for Leipzig and TGS, so calm down.

    This game to me, reeks of awesome.

    And the Socom team are behind it, so that’s great.

    And I actually love the name… it sums it up, it doesn’t give it a narrative, it doesn’t need it… it’s a huge game. That much is made clear.

  • I am very excited about this game. I can’t wait until you guys show us some live action gameplay.

  • Also can I just say, great job on Son’y s behlaf keepign this not only secret (I only foudn out 2 days before E3) and then showing it quite as soon as this.

    Everyone was shoutign vapourware at it. It took a year for Killzone 2 material to surface.

  • I saw the trailer from the conference and it looks awesome, i cant wait to see more about this title

  • Dont change name MAG, i like it, why are so many so negative about that name?

  • one question that i would like to know is the player count 128 vs 128 or 256 vs 256 and have you guys played planetside by sony because that game suck and i wouldnt want this to become that

  • one question that i would like to know is the player count 128 vs 128 or 256 vs 256 and have you guys played planetside by sony because that game wasnt very good and i wouldnt want this to become that

  • sorry for double post the blog said there was a error but i see it posted it anyways

  • Hey Rade!!!! quick questions

    TPS or TPS

  • @ Ghostm

    Another tidbit of misinformation bud, I would urge you to air on the side of caution when reading things abroad the inter-ma-nets, as also the lower HAZE price was originally just a deal at a specific outlet, which lead to the media blowing it out of proportion, and resulting in Ubisoft and Free Radical having to lower their game’s price after all, by $10, instead of the publicized 20-30 dollar reduction.

    Also if you paid attention, Free Radical offered an exclusive trade in deal if people didn’t like the game within two weeks of purchase, they could return it for full value towards any other game of their choosing, I have every single Grade A game ever released, … ever… and HAZE is perfectly at home in my collection.

    Stop reading & spreading mis-information, go rent it if you’re afraid of the $50 price, and then you can give an educated opinion of HAZE.

  • @ atoms quit trolling and post your thoughts in one comment, on topic this is what most people ignored at E3, i hope that this one comes out on time.

  • Questions
    Are you going to use your own servers?

    Will the community be strong like Socom?

    Can you tell us one kind of gamemode?

    Is this squad based objective like Resistance 2 or is team vs team?

    Is there more than one team like 1 vs 2 vs A vs B?

    Will it only be Multiplayer or single player as well?

    Will some soldiers in multiplayer be controlled by A.I.?

    Will there be a lot of selection of vehicles?

    When Do you guys think it will be released and when do you think the first gameplay be released?

  • Amazing I tought 60 people in R2 was alot Im very excited, Mr. Rade Stojsavljevic sir I know this might be a little personal but I was wondering what your backround is because I am Serbian and your last name is very similar to many last names from my country, for example mine is Andrijevic.

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