Tabula Rasa's fall release is getting closer and closer by the day, and today we've got more words from NCSoft's Richard Garriott. This time, it all comes from his recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Read on for a few snippets.

The past. Garriott points to the stock "fundamental creative differences" answers when asked about his departure from Electronic Arts. Going more in-depth, he explains, "EA's core business is making sports games, and they've got a machine and a process that does that very, very successfully. Frankly, EA wasn't convinced that the MMOG business model was the way of the future and so that ultimately led to my retirement from EA."

The present. While most analysts say that the MMOG market is already saturated, Garriott begs to differ. "Lineage is already up to six million players in just Asia alone and something like one out of 10 people in Korea have a Lineage account," he says. "If you compare that sort of penetration to the U.S., we still have a long way to go to reach saturation."

He further adds that while World of Warcraft is clearly a gaming phenomenon and is currently selling millions of copies right now, most blockbuster games also sell in the millions of copies nowadays. "I don't personally think that any game has hit market saturation, including Warcraft."

The future. Garriott says he believes that MMOGs are "still in their infancy," and that World of Warcraft is still in the first MMOG generation. "I love the game and have nothing but compliments for it," he says. "But it is also extremely derivative of the other online games that have come before it."

He acknowledges that change will come slowly, but the process is already starting. "The winner in the competition for the next-generation MMOG will be the developer who can create a game with the same real tension and excitement that solo-player games offer."

For the full interview, click on the "read" link below.