Sony Online Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast Collaborate to Develop Magic: The Gathering -Tactics™ For PC and PS3

Magic: The Gathering MMORPG for PC and PS3

Wizards of the Coast announced on their Daily Arcana that they will be collaborating with Sony Online Entertainment to develop a new video game called Magic: the Gathering Tactics for PC and PS3.

Available "in early 2010", Magic: the Gathering Tactics will be an "online, 3D turn-based strategy game" that will have a single player campaign and also feature "PVP action". Magic: the Gathering Tactics will not be like Duel of the Planeswalkers for XBox 360. According to the announcement, there will be expansions, tournaments, and a ranking program.

Magic: the Gathering Tactics new website is live and running at Magicthegatheringtactics.com. According to the website players will be able to "Build [their] spellbook of powerful abilities and see and hear Magic in a whole new way!". As sign ups for beta play testing will be "available soon", interested players should be sure to bookmark the website and check it often.

This is not the first time Wizards has made a Magic: the Gathering that did not focus completely on playing a game of Magic, nor will it be the last.

Shandalar was a popular PC game, where players ran around a map playing Magic against enemies they encountered on the world map. Defeating an enemy in a duel awarded spells to customize one's deck.

Battlemage was for Playstation One, and was a "real time strategy" game where players tried to dominate a world map similar to the board game Risk.

Battlegrounds was one or two player fighting game like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat that had it's own spin of playing spells to attack an opponent.

Wizards of the Coast has come a long way with Magic: the Gathering, learning many things along the way. By teaming up with Sony Online Entertainment Wizards of the Coast can be sure that they will avoid their previous mistakes and make a quality video game that both Magic players and video game players alike will love to play.

Only time will tell if Magic: the Gathering Tactics will be a blockbuster hit or not, however with such a strong following from current players, Magic: the Gathering Tactics is sure to sell a few million copies.