Lord of the Rings Online: Preview @ Games Radar

High-profile licensing is no guarantee of widespread success for MMOs, as Star Wars Galaxies proved. Being faithful to the source can restrict the evolutionary freedom a virtual world needs; on the other hand, a fully-developed franchise can provide a well of detail that's invaluable in quenching these games' ceaseless thirst for content.

In this respect, LOTR Online producer Jeffrey Steefel is confident he's sitting on a goldmine. "I could spend all the money in the world to find the best writers, the best designers, the best artists, and they could never devise a world as rich and deep and consistent as Tolkien did."