Being interviewed by the Seattle Times, president of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley touched on numerous topics, including the PlayStation 3's MMO library:

"I think MMOs are going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term — there's going to be some great ones on the PS3. You're not going to find "The Agency" on the [Xbox] 360."

Here the interviewer poses the question "Have MMOs reached the mainstream yet?", to which Smedley replies:

"I would say they're getting more mainstream. If I were characterizing it, I would say think of the video-gaming industry five years ago. That's kind of where I think we're at. ... Five years ago, do you think "Grand Theft Auto IV" would have done $500 million [in opening-week sales]? To me, video games are just reaching the real mass-market now. That is going to translate to the MMO side of the business."

Well, the virtual world thing has skyrocketed in terms of popularity in recent years, not to mention social networking sites (heh heh), so it certainly wouldn't be unexpected to see that aspect of things soar, assuming there's time to actually build a community before the next generation is ushered in. For all the Playstation 3 owners, would you be into it?