For the record I tried to hold off on the “are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I make no promises. In an interview with Gamespot, Sony Online Entertainment’s President John Smedley sat down to talk about Everquest, DC Universe, and more. Most important, Smedley mentioned that Sony has no intent on shuttering Everquest at any point in the foreseeable future.
I look at EverQuest the way I look at Dungeons & Dragons. We’re on version 4 of D&D and people are still playing in droves. Look at Magic: The Gathering…15 years I think of an awesome game. So we are big believers that this franchise is going to be there for a very long time, and we’re investing in it a lot.
Sony has quite the load on their hands, with upcoming MMOs Planetside 2, Everquest Next, and the transition of DC Universe to free to play later this month. The developer has also shown interest in revitalizing their much-neglected MMO Vanguard, as well as a heavy hand in development for Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures. In the same interview, Smedley also confirmed that SOE plans on utilizing the Vita for its own products, but would not comment on specifics. All I know is that if Everquest is ported over to Vita, I can kiss my productivity and wallet goodbye.
When asked about the changing environment of the MMO pricing model, Smedley commented that although the market is shifting toward free to play, the subscription model definitely still has its place, especially with The Old Republic coming this December. In essence, the subscription isn’t going anywhere until the fat lady sings.
This is good news, especially after Ten Ton Hammer published a rather in-depth article on the issue of cheating in Everquest. You can read up on that here.
MMO Fallout 