Tag: Planetside

No, Vanguard Isn’t Top Priority…Or Middle…Or Low…


As if we didn’t know…

“The monthly subscription fee means players can expect a lot of new content from us. And I say a lot — I really mean that. This is something that we feel obligated to the players, because they are paying a monthly sub fee.“

Sure, John Smedley was referring to DC Universe online when he said Sony Online Entertainment felt an obligation to churn out regular updates for their subscription based games. Sure, Vanguard is a subscription based game operated by Sony Online Entertainment. The question that has been hitting the blogosphere is quite simple: Why is it that Sony continues to charge a subscription despite there being no Vanguard-devoted developers left at Sony, and despite the latest official update coming out in Spring 2010.

A great pianist can only reach his full potential with a piano of equal quality, and Vanguard and Planetside are on the list of Sony Games that are not so much dumped in the trash as they are hooked up to life support machines until the population levels hit zero of their own accord. While the other games in SOE’s lineup receive regular updates, expansions (in the case of Everquest and Everquest II), and new content, assuredly players of Planetside and Vanguard would take issue with Smedley’s promise on their subscription based games.

In an interview at last year’s SyndCon, John Smedley said:

We’re thinking about specific next steps for Vangaurd, but we’re not shutting it down or anything like that. We want to add more stuff to it. Will we change the business model? That’s the question people keep asking me. Will it go free-to-play? I don’t know – we’ve discussed it. What we’ll decide? I’m not sure yet. We’re going to see where EverQuest II Extended goes. But certainly if we make a decision like that, it won’t be without deciding to add more content to the game.

So depending on the success of Everquest II Extended, Vanguard could receive the free to play treatment priority over outright pulling the plug, however as John Smedley promises this will not happen without new content, which undoubtedly means pulling developers from other projects, and spending money for what Sony may determine too high of a risk.

So there we are. Vanguard will likely choose free-life over death, and Planetside may or may not bite the bullet when Planetside Next launches (John Smedley has stated that Planetside Next is being specifically designed so computers scaled back six years can play at minimum settings, which means Planetside players should be able to run it fine).

"Big" Planetside Announcement On The Way?


Somewhere in an MMO Fallout post...

Planetside is hitting its seventh birthday soon, and I still believe that no other MMO has come close to the enormous battles that Planetside has presented since its launch in 2003. In fact, here is a community video recently highlighted on Sony Online Entertainment’s website, highlighting the action of the game. I’ll give you a few minutes.

Back? Being at Planetside’s age, and considering the current state of the game’s population, any “big announcement” is going to be met with a lot of speculation. By speculation, of course, I mean claims that the big announcement is the game shutting down. But can you blame them? Servers have been consolidated down to one, and my understanding from MMO Fallouters in the field is that botters have become quite an issue over the past year or two.

Well, there is a big announcement coming: On the 18th of May to be exact (and not just the season finale of House MD). A countdown timer appeared in the Planetside News section, alongside the above comic. You can follow the countdown in the link, or just wait until early on the 18th.

MMO Fallout will continue to cover any Planetside News as it appears. Could this be an official announcement of the elusive Planetside 2?

“Big” Planetside Announcement On The Way?


Somewhere in an MMO Fallout post...

Planetside is hitting its seventh birthday soon, and I still believe that no other MMO has come close to the enormous battles that Planetside has presented since its launch in 2003. In fact, here is a community video recently highlighted on Sony Online Entertainment’s website, highlighting the action of the game. I’ll give you a few minutes.

Back? Being at Planetside’s age, and considering the current state of the game’s population, any “big announcement” is going to be met with a lot of speculation. By speculation, of course, I mean claims that the big announcement is the game shutting down. But can you blame them? Servers have been consolidated down to one, and my understanding from MMO Fallouters in the field is that botters have become quite an issue over the past year or two.

Well, there is a big announcement coming: On the 18th of May to be exact (and not just the season finale of House MD). A countdown timer appeared in the Planetside News section, alongside the above comic. You can follow the countdown in the link, or just wait until early on the 18th.

MMO Fallout will continue to cover any Planetside News as it appears. Could this be an official announcement of the elusive Planetside 2?

A Downward Spiral Does Not Mean Death.


I like to take some time every now and then to detail certain parts of MMO Fallout, usually terms and expressions I use, that generates the most feedback from fans. More recently, I’ve had a few questions about my consistently ending certain product articles (Star Wars Galaxies, Age of Conan, Planetside, and several others) with “More on ____’s downward spiral as it appears.” Some of the readers appear to be under the impression that I’m calling the deaths of these MMOs, lovingly pointing out that I have said from day one that I will never predict the death of an MMO.

Well they are right, at least on the last point. When I say downward spiral, I always have facts to back myself up, and I am not always referring to subscriber numbers. Take Funcom for example, who not only cut off 20% of their staff, delayed a non-dated MMO, announced a massive revenue drop, and somehow is still finding the time to develop a free to play kid MMO. When I say Funcom is in a downward spiral, I mean financially that company is in a downward spiral, that changes direction depending on your hemisphere and leads right into the septic tank.

I don’t call death because, to be honest, it’s redundant. Dwindling subscriber numbers? Yes. Financial ruin? Yes. Ponzi Scheme? Stargate Worlds. Calling death on an MMO is akin to calling yourself a soothsayer and predicting that someone would die, but they would have financial gain at some point before they do. Not when they’ll die or what the financial gain is, and all that can be chalked up as everyone dies and, generally, everyone has an income at some point in their lives. Blamo, you’re the most generalized soothsayer in all the land.

Continue reading “A Downward Spiral Does Not Mean Death.”

Hello Planetside 2!


planetside2

That’s right! Although the original Planetside downsized to one server this year, it appears that Sony is not yet done with the intellectual property. Yesterday, Sony sent out a mass email to their subscribers telling them that a new game based on the Planetside universe is being planned, and that they would like input directly from the players as to what should be put in.

This is where I admit that I looked at Planetside all wrong. John Smedley had this to say about the (soon to be) series:

John Smedley: PlanetSide fans will be happy We have big things planned in the next 12 months. Were working on something new thats really cool.

Sony Online Entertainment, as I have said, is notorious for keeping MMOs online as long as humanly possible, even if it means cutting every cost except for the electricity required to keep the servers running, as long as the title remains profitable. Although Planetside was a pioneer of its time, one of the first MMOs to bridge the gap between first person shooters on a massive spectrum, the title has aged greatly since its launch. A brand new Planetside would do justice to the game that capitalized on massive battles involving hundreds of players.

It should be noted that Planetside 2 is technically unconfirmed at this point. There is the possibility that this new game may be a complete rework of the original Planetside, reminiscent of what Jagex did with the transition from Runescape to Runescape 2.

Direct 2 Drive: Good Stuff Cheap


d2drive

Been thinking about picking up that MMO title, but don’t want to run the risk that your initial investment will be a dud? Direct 2 Drive has the answer for you. As part of their 5th year anniversary, you can pick up a few select MMO titles for just $5 USD. This week (Running from the 20th to the 26th), the following titles are only $5 (USD)

For those of you not looking to pick up any new MMO titles, there is a plethora of old and new titles on sale for five dollars, with a new range of titles every week. If you’ve been holding off buying Eve, Age of Conan, or Planetside, you have until this Saturday ends to snatch up a copy and get your free month.

If you have five dollars handy, you can choose between one of these titles and a foot long Subway sandwich. In my discredited opinion, the MMO might last longer.

Instanced Vs Persistent: The Guild Wars Debate


Ask someone if World of Warcraft is an MMO, and you’re bound to receive a raised eyebrow, and the kind of look you can generally only get when you ask how to download the internet on to your computer so you can go online. World of Warcraft is a persistent world, where players travel across miles of open terrain, fighting varied mobs, gaining levels, fighting other players, completing instances, etc. There is no doubt for many players that World of Warcraft is an MMO.

Continue reading “Instanced Vs Persistent: The Guild Wars Debate”

On the Brink: Planetside


Planetside, touted as the first true MMOFPS, takes yet another turn towards its ultimate demise, with the announcement that the game’s two servers will finally merge into one, to deal with lacking population. The original five servers have gradually closed and merged, and currently the game houses two servers; One North American and one European.

As far as MMO’s go, server closure is one of the first lines of defense in keeping a game alive. When empty servers spread players thinly, forcing them into a smaller space will give an illusion of player count, and may inspire ex-players to jump back into the renewed action, creating a snowball effect that brings more and more players to the game.

Sadly, if history has taught us anything, it is that this mantra will more than likely fail for Planetside, a game that has been on a downward slope for years now. Planetside’s status as pioneer in MMOFPS action, massive scale battles, and focus on skills above levels, will not help it in its fall from grace.

The merge will go ahead on August 25th. Once Planetside is consolidated on to one server, it is anyone’s guess as to how long it has to live afterwards.