Star Trek Online continues to live long, but will it prosper?

It was over four years ago, when I was a young reporter just starting at Variety, that I broke one of my first big videogame stories: Perpetual Entertainment had secured a license from Viacom to create a "Star Trek"-based MMO. I confidently asserted -- based on what Perpetual told me, of course -- that the game would be coming in "early 2007."

Not so much, as we now know. Not only did 2007 come and go, but Perpetual appears to have gone out of business following rumors that it would be acquired by a media company.

It wasn't clear what would happen to "Star Trek Online" -- whether so much work had been done on the game that somebody would inevitably buy it and make it happen, or whether the main reason Perpetual went under is that the project was going tragically wrong and was better left to die.

Now, via Wired's Game/Life, it appears that "Star Trek Online" ain't going away. The game's homepage has a new graphic: a simple federation logo with the words "coming soon" underneath. Game/Life speculated that "City of Heroes" maker Cryptic may have taken on "STO," which would be a very good sign for the project's future. But right now, we don't know.

On the one hand, it might be good timing to make "Star Trek Online" happen. At the time I wrote my story, the folks at Perpetual had to argue that the game would be relevant even with the franchise running out of steam. But in May of '09, Paramount will be trying to revive it with the new movie directed by JJ Abrams. That would obviously be a great time to launch "Star Trek Online."

On the other hand, as "World of Warcraft" continues to kick ass and take names, it's a very tough time to launch a new MMO. Especially a licensed one. Just as Warner Bros. about "The Matrix Online" or Microsoft about "Marvel Universe Online."

(PS Sorry for the awful headline, but I'm a major "Star Trek" nerd. I can't help myself. And as a major "Star Trek" nerd, I have to say that if this game ever sees the light of day, it will probably be the first MMO I ever play.)