Sony Online Entertainment and ProSiebenSat Parting Ways


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Sony Online Entertainment’s deal to turn European customers over to publisher ProSiebenSat has been, how do you put this lightly, a complete disaster. The move left SOE’s European customers feeling like second class citizens, managed by a company with no experience in gaming other than running cheap browser titles. The end result, a whole lot of missteps and mismanagement. After two years of negative feedback, Sony Online Entertainment has finally announced that they are divorcing ProSiebenSat.1, and that players will be migrated back to SOE accounts in the near future.

We constantly review community feedback via all channels and want to thank you for your ongoing dialog. We wanted to let you know that Sony Online Entertainment and ProSiebenSat1. Games have jointly decided to migrate all PSG accounts for PlanetSide 2DC Universe Online and EverQuest II back to SOE in the near future. Please take a moment to read the FAQ, and watch for updates as we iron out the details of the process!

The region locks are already lifted as of this publishing, with account migrations coming next month.

(Source: SOE)

ProSiebenSat.1 Suspends Some Planetside 2 Accounts Following Server Breach


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ProSiebenSat.1 has posted a notice on the Planetside 2 Europe website to notify customers that an unauthorized party gained access to one of their systems. While it is unknown if data containing usernames and passwords (which are encrypted) was stolen, the publisher has taken steps to prevent unauthorized access by suspending accounts suspected of being affected by the breach.

All accounts that may have been subject to unauthorized access have received an e-mail in which we have requested the user to change their password. If you are not able to log into your game, this means that your account has been suspended for security reasons. You can reactivate your account by following the link below and creating a new password. http://www.planetside2.eu/en/forgot_password

You can read the entire post at the link below, as well as an addition email address to contact in case your account has been deactivated and you are unable to retrieve it.

(Source: Planetside 2)

Developing: John Smedley Discussing Region Restrictions


[Update] From SOE’s Facebook page.

ProSieben and SOE Continue to Work Toward a Solution –

SOE and ProSieben worked throughout the weekend to develop a plan that will allow our players to access and play on any server regardless of where they are in the world. Our community is our top priority and rest assured, all of your concerns have been heard.

We continue to work together with ProSieben and appreciate your patience as we work around the clock to work out critical technical details. We will share more information as soon as possible. [Brasse]

[Original Story]There is relief coming for Sony Online Entertainment fans, both present and estranged. A little earlier today, SOE’s John Smedley tweeted:

“@j_smedley: We’ve come up with a plan to allow ALL players to play on any servers they want. More details to follow.”

Sony has been in hot water this past week over an announcement that European publishing would be handed over to German ProSiebenSat.1, a side effect of which being that while existing European customers would still have access to their characters on US servers, new accounts would be restricted by region.

I will update this as more information appears.

Cleanup In Aisle 5! SOE Community Explodes In Response To Europe Deal


In the land of MMOs, few have ginned up more controversy than Sony Online Entertainment. Sony announced that they would be partnering with Alaplaya, gaming division of ProSiebenSat.1 to publish most of Sony’s MMOs in Europe, transitioning European players off of Sony’s account system and on to PSS. The deal has an astounding laundry list of negative impacts on both the North American and European communities which you can read here at EQ2Wire, and the drama only increased when allegations arose that PSS once had a policy of publishing personal details of its customers, and how Alaplaya’s current library is mostly filled with cheap free to play Korean grinders with pay-to-win cash shops, servers riddled with exploits and gold farmers, and mostly absent GMs.

The community has exploded over this news, and the forums were set ablaze by angry customers resulting in numerous posts deleted and users banned for “excessive negativity,” including Morgan Feldon of EQ2Wire. Sony has been mostly silent, saying little more than that the deal is not a done deal and nothing is set in stone yet, while ProSiebenSat has set up a forum and has been talking to users about specific complaints.

There will surely be more information on this as it appears.