We may be seeing the start of a new trend in console gaming: MMOs. Studios such as NCsoft and Blueside have already announced their intention of releasing console games in that genre, and now Codemasters is ready to get right down and dirty in the ring.

Codemasters, the studio that brought us the MMOs The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar and ArchLord, has announced that it is currently in talks with Microsoft and Sony to publish two new MMOs for their respective consoles.

David Solari, vice president and general manager of Codemasters Online Gaming, explains that it's more challenging to develop MMOs for the consoles, while adding that the field is a great opportunity for them:

The time is right for some good console MMO games. There's two titles that we're really interested in for taking to console right now and that's something I'd like to see happen in the next year or so, but it's got to be the right game.

[...] Certain games aren't going to work. [...] I just think you need the right game, and I think there's a really good opportunity there because there's not enough companies there right now.

Codemasters is hoping that that they can go head-to-head with upcoming MMO console projects like NCsoft's still-mysterious projects for the PlayStation 3, and Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures for the Xbox 360.