Tag: Dave Georgeson

Breaking: Dave Georgeson Departs Daybreak Game Studio


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Dave Georgeson has announced via Twitter that he is no longer involved in the Everquest franchise.

Update: Daybreak Game Studio has confirmed a big round of layoffs. An unknown number of employees have been affected.

(Source: Twitter)

Everquest/Everquest II Becoming Even More Free


Everquest_II_Age_of_Discovery_Logo

Good news, Everquest gamers! You are probably well aware by now that Sony Online Entertainment has announced some pretty big changes to the free/silver membership tiers, particularly with the opening of all classes and races to free/silver tiers. Dave Georgeson has posted a list of updates coming mid-next week, which you can see in this article, that will open features of the game without requiring a subscription or Station cash payments.

  • We are opening up ALL CLASSES.*
  • We are opening up ALL RACES. **
  • All bag slots are unlocked.
  • All players can now use the shared bank slots.
  • The quest journal restrictions are lifted entirely. Quest away!
  • Additionally, EverQuest is allowing all players to send delivery parcels! (This change is for a game-specific change in EQ, so it doesn’t happen in EQII.)
  • * “All free classes” exception for EQII only: Beastlord is still only accessible via the “Age of Discovery” expansion pack.
    ** “All free races” exception for EQII only: The Freeblood race is still an SC-only marketplace option.

Georgeson notes that Sony is still committed to membership having perks that are entirely unavailable to free/silver players.

(Source: Everquest)
(Source: Everquest II)

Everquest II Has No Room For You F2P Folk


Subscriptions, subscriptions, subscriptions?

Those of you playing Everquest II, or really any other subscription based MMO are probably looking at your fifteen bucks a month and wondering, “Gee. I hope they don’t turn my favorite MMO into a cash-shop money farm for casual kiddies who want to pay to win,” and quite frankly your fears would be justified. When Lord of the Rings Online announced its transition over to free to play, we finally recognized that the transition isn’t just for MMOs that are on the brink of death (Ahem…Dungeons and Dragons Online), but a valid source of income, especially for publishers who love money a whole lot.

Senior Producer Dave Georgeson (or was it George Davidson?) over at Sony Online Entertainment wants to calm your fears, well at least if you play Everquest II. Responding to fears that the game would follow Turbine’s approach, Georgeson stated;

As I said in that interview, we will not be changing your subscription model. We’ve heard you folks loud and clear that you do not want items with stats introduced, you don’t want players buying their way to power, etc. Your world will stay the way it has been and we will continue to support it with new content, items, etc.

Directly from the Georgeson mouth itself. I believe the interview Georgeson refers to was back in April with Ten Ton Hammer where he was asked about subscription vs cash shop, and he had this to say:

Games that are fully microtransaction-funded are generally “easily chewable”. In other words, you play them for a month or two and then move on. (Sometimes only weeks.) Games that are subscription-funded tend to be longer-term communities and homes for players to build and grow over time. Plus, there’s plenty of room for hybrids with elements of both. In short, I doubt that subscription games will just “go away”. It’s just another type of business model.

Of course you would talk about hybrid models, what with your fancy pants $25 mount (one thumb down). More on Everquest 2 as it appears.