WRUP: Should WoW come to Xbox?

A little known fact about your intrepid WoW Insider staff: we plan our weeks way early. As a matter of fact, we get started planning our weekends in the middle of the week. So when I asked the team about what they're playing this weekend -- and the bonus question to go along with it -- the news about Flexible Raids hadn't made the full rounds yet.

So we asked about Diablo III going to the Xbox, and whether WoW should be next. As you might have guessed, though, our team actually reached a near-consensus on the issue. I'd paraphrase that consensus, but it's more fun to read everyone's individual opinions.

Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) I think I'm going to help out with doing stonework in the atrium. We have a wall that needs important things. Like mortar. Other than that, I plan on diving into some D3 with a friend of mine, and finish capping out my valor - probably via heroic scenarios, because that seems to be the quickest way to do that these days! As far as the bonus question goes - I think it would be really weird to have WoW on a console. I guess if they could pull it off that'd be cool, but since I don't have an Xbox, it doesn't really affect me one way or another!

Chase Hasbrouck (@alarondruid, @alaronmonk) No weekend plans currently, so will probably get some WoW and Borderlands 2 time in. My druid is currently on a server all by his lonesome, so I'll be transferring an alt or two during the 50% off sale and getting them the rest of the way to 90.

Bonus: WoW wouldn't work on a console simply because the "many abilities, all usable at once" model doesn't translate well to a gamepad. If they went to more of a GW2/D3 style system with limited ability slots, it could actually work, to an extent. Healing would be....interesting. (It's rather academic, as the upcoming generation of consoles holds zero interest for me.)

Dan Desmond (@Antigen_) Oh boy, what to do this weekend? My warlock is 90 and of sufficient ilvl to run Throne of Thunder LFRs, so not much to do there. I have a couple of ideas of things to do on my paladin, so maybe I'll work on those. Overall I don't have a whole lot going on this weekend in the gaming sense.

Porting WoW to consoles would be awful. It works for Diablo because you only have a small handful of abilities active at one time (it might actually be better for consoles because there would be no auction house), but WoW would require so much work to scale down that they might as well make a whole new game.

Daniel Whitcomb (@danielwhitcomb) I'd like to get a few battle pets to level 25 this weekend if I can, in addition to running old raids to grab more battle pets. I'm also working steadily on my ME3 insanity run. I may see if I can get to the Quarians this weekend if I have time. As far as the bonus question goes, I'm not a big console dude, so WoW on Xbox doesn't grab me much. The Console version of EQ didn't do that great, did it? Also, since Flexible raid news is out, I just want to say I am in favor of it. I think it's a great idea, and there's a good chance it will replace my guild's Raid Finder runs unless it has simultaneous lockout with normals.

Dawn Moore (@dawnwow) The guy and I are finally getting around to playing the Portal 2 cooperative a year and a half after we bought the game. He's only killed me twice so far.

Bonus: I played Diablo 3 on console at PAX East and there's a lot of changes from the PC version to really make it work on console. In fact, I think Diablo 3 on console is better than on PC. WoW would need similar changes to work on console, and I think it could lose some of its appeal in the process. That said, I think 5-man dungeons would be amazing if you could play them on the couch with a group of friends.

Elizabeth Harper (@Faience) I've been catching up on old, unplayed games like Fallout 3, but I think this weekend I'll be heading back to WoW where I'll be ignoring my alt problem. WHAT ALT PROBLEM? I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM.

Elizabeth Wachowski (@leeatwaterlives) Probably finishing off ME3, messing with Dragonborn in Skyrim, the usual. I've been feeling the hankering to come back to WoW, though I probably won't get to it until next week.

Bonus question answer: No.

Joe Perez (@lodurzj) I'm still playing that whole "New Job" game, not sure if I'm winning or losing but I'll let you all know at some point. I also plan on some Marvel Heroes, more Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing and I'm going to try Diablo 3 again. Just in that sort of click fest mood this week.

Bonus: For WoW to work on a console you would need something like this bad boy to do it. Or this. It could work in theory, but I'm not sure many folks would go for it.

Kristin Marshall (@kristin) After iffy internet access last weekend I'm looking forward to playing WoW this weekend. There'll be alt leveling and raiding! Bonus: Should WoW be next? Eh, I don't even know if it'd be doable. There's so much to deal with in-game, WoW for console would require a serious revamp -- UI, combat, and whatnot. I think Diablo translates better to console than WoW would.

Lisa Poisso (@lisapoisso) Staring dumbly at my spell bars. That's all - just staring at them. I've just respecced my baby warlock from Affliction to Demonology, and life is a mess. Everything seems dependent on something else, but every time I think I've got it nailed down, I get into battle and find some ability not lit up when I expect it to be. So I leap into demon form, stand there flapping and looking cool, and then go back to shuffling things about on my bars. /flapflap

Matt "Matticus" Low (@matticus) I'll be playing some Marvel Heroes this weekend. Might mess around on my alts and find some raids to get into from last tier. Still trying to learn how to do this mage stuff.

Bonus: Xbox? With WoW? No way! PC master race all the way!

Matthew Rossi (@MatthewWRossi) I just finished the final essay for At Last, Atlantis (I had to replace one because it was in the last draft of Bottled Demon and I missed that) so I'll be raiding Sunday, but otherwise working on the fiction collection which I hope to get out by Christmas. I'm debating releasing a sneak peek somewhere.

I don't think WoW would work on the Xbox, but I do think consoles will see more MMO development in the future.

Matt Walsh (@Rhidach) I'm flying out for a work trip this week, so I will be doing absolutely nothing in WoW. About the only gaming I'll be doing will be finally starting to read the Game of Thrones series, on the flight.

I can't think of a worse idea that opening up WoW to the Xbox crowd. LFR is already bubbling over enough with teenage angst.

Megan O'Neill (@slowpoker) This weekend is raiding all around for me. Sunday we'll finish out the stuff we didn't kill tonight. Saturday I might get on an alt to run LFR. And all in between I believe I see retro raids being soloed on various alts -- that is, when I'm not trying to get a demon hunter to 60 (finally) in D3. Bonus: I don't see WoW as a whole going to console, but trying the old Project 5x2 out with a PC controller might be fun. I could see PvP pet battles or Hearthstone on console, though.

Robin Torres (@cosmiclaurel) I'll be playing my WoW duos with my family as usual. Bonus: I think Diablo is a natural for consoles, but WoW has too much going on for it to be simplified to console combat.

Sarah Pine (@ilaniel) I'll be playing WoW. I've got alts to level, man! As for the other question, I really don't know. Whether or not it "should" probably depends on a lot of demographic (like the population distributions of who plays games on what platforms and how likely they'd be to play WoW on a console based on their gaming history) and financial factors (like how much it would cost to do the port versus how much Blizzard could expect to make off of the expansion to a console) of which I know nothing, so I can't really answer that question!

The weekend is the perfect time to kick back, relax and enjoy some game time. Are you an achievement junkie? Can't get enough raiding? Rolling a new alt? Considering taking the leap into roleplaying? Whatever your favorite way to play World of Warcraft, let us know in the comments what you're playing this weekend!