Tag: Sony Online Entertainment

Everquest II Heading Free To Play…Partially.


Expansions, Releases, Shutdowns?

A big thank you to Valerie, who tipped me off on this before the official announcement.

I know what you’re saying, “Omali! You lying sack of crap! Dave Georgeson just said last month that Everquest 2 was not going free to play!” You would be correct, partially. Today’s news brings the announcement that Sony Online Entertainment will be launching “Everquest II Extended” or EQ2X for short. The 14 day trial is, of course, being thrown out the window, however the 14-day recruit-a-friend will still be in effect.

There are, of course, restrictions, but you knew that was coming. Players will find themselves barred from accessing the latest expansion pack, as well as having various classes, races, a smaller coin purse, etc, not to mention the more in-your-face cash shop. Of course, you can always subscribe to the “gold member” service which, oddly enough, is $15 a month. If you’d rather not take the leap and go full-fledged subscription, you can always use the Turbine-style cash shop to buy the locked races, classes, and areas separately.

Levels of membership will be free (self explanatory), silver (from a one time purchase), gold ($15/month), and platinum ($200/year), and each level will grant varying bonuses.

Now for the bad side: If you want customer service as a free player, you’re out of luck as such a service is reserved for those who have made purchases. Free players will also not be able to send (although they can receive) mail, not to mention free and silver members will be locked out of the broker system. If you have items in the broker and downgrade, the broker will not release the coins/items. I should also point out that although members will be able to bleed their characters to Extended servers, the same will not be possible the other way around.

And now for those who hate cash shops: The cash shop being implemented on to the extended servers will sell, as the FAQ put it:

“Healing potions, powerful weapons and armor, attack wands, buff runes, self-rez items, basic mounts, and a lot more. None of these items are required for a great gaming experience.”

P.S: Those of you playing with the subscription (gold member) will find only four races available to you. The rest must be purchased on the cash shop, according to the FAQ and tier-list. Gold members will also have access to only seven character slots.

I have a feeling the opponents of cash shops are going to have a field day with this, especially with the announcement that subscribers will receive perks in the form of bonus weapons/armor/mounts/etc, and the fact that subscribers will still have to pay for addition races. The highest tiers of weapons/armor will not be available on the cash shop, SOE has promised. Also, according to the FAQ, free/platinum members will also be inundated with “frequent reminders to upgrade.”

Hopefully (and I do mean a big “hopefully”) Sony will implement this in a way more similar to Turbine’s free to play approach with Dungeons and Dragons Online, rather than say bringing people in with the promise of a free breakfast, and then locking the doors and refusing to let them leave (or have breakfast) until they buy into your time share.

Read the full announcement here: http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=483443. The beta is coming mid-August.

I’m not saying someone at Sony is a pathological liar but…

“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.”
-Smokejumper, Sony Online Entertainment Senior Producer, 6/25/10

Isn’t double-talk neat? It’s not a change in service, it’s a completely new service!

So where do we end this? Technically speaking, Everquest II will be competing against itself as the 100% separated Live and Extended servers fight for new players. John Smedley has stated that the reason behind making this a completely new service was due to player feedback against having the two services combined. So, as we saw in Trammel on Ultima Online, we’ll see just how many current Everquest II players hold out on the live servers, and how many merge in with the Extended service. As a free/silver member, upgrading to gold on the Extended servers holds much more incentive than switching over to the Live servers, as your characters will be stuck on Extended.

Either way, I wish luck to Sony Online Entertainment and Everquest II. Hopefully Sony can enjoy the same success Turbine does with DDO and (perhaps) Lord of the Rings Online when the latter goes free to play this year. MMO Fallout will continue to bring you news on Everquest 2 Extended as it appears, and if you follow the full announcement, Sony staff are sticking their head into the forums every now and then to answer questions.

Green Latern Corps: The New Jedi?


Kapow

Good news all around for fans of the upcoming DC: Universe Online! Now that we have a concrete date for release on November 2nd (subject to change), those of you looking to purchase the PS3 version will be equally happy to learn that you will not be required to pay for Playstation Plus.

More importantly: Those of you who played the original Star Wars Galaxies will be aware of the Jedi system, where the Jedi class was locked until players completed a non-specific set of random tasks given to them. The amount of time invested and skill required to attain the Jedi class made it so only a minority of players actually managed to unlock a Jedi, and play it in the duration before it became available as a starting class.

In DC:U, it appears as if the Green Lantern Corp will be getting the same treatment. Director Chris Cao has stated that the Green Lantern Corp will be something “very special” and that they do not want thousands of green lanterns running around.

Ultimately, I give the Green Lantern concept two years before it becomes available to everyone, ala the Jedi class.

Mark Gerhard: Free Realms Is Insipid


Just A Gaming Experience?

Mark Gerhard, current CEO of Jagex, isn’t a bad guy by any means. Hell, he was featured here on MMO Fallout specifically this past March for his help in toppling the court case of Evony Vs a blogger. Runescape players may be at a divide on his positive or negative impact on the game, but it seems as though his presence has brought Runescape far more into the news than in previous years.

It isn’t exactly private knowledge that Sony once had plans to invest in Jagex back in 2005, that were scrapped for a simple reason, as noted by Gerhard;

“John Smedley said, ‘I can do this myself.'”

You will of course be aware that Sony Online Entertainment moved to create their own rendition of a browser based MMO, Free Realms, that launched last year and quickly shot up in registered users. Mark Gerhard, in a recent interview with Eurogamer (the full interview is yet to be posted at the time of this writing), is not impressed.

“The thing that saved us was that Free Realms was perfectly designed by committee. It was 100 per cent micro-transactions, 100 per cent subscriptions, 100 per cent male, 100 per cent female. As a result, it was neither fish nor fowl; it didn’t resonate with anyone, didn’t have any identity. It was, I guess, largely insipid, gorgeous graphics and everything else, but it didn’t have have the joie de vivre.”

Harsh words, and unfortunately for John Smedley and Free Realms, Gerhard has the Guinness Book record to back it up. Hopefully there will be more information when the full interview goes live.

Healthy Reminder: DC Universe Preorders…


than a bug in a rug...

Those of you who use Steam,  Direct2Drive, shop at Gamestop/Fry’s, etc, will be aware that DC Universe, the upcoming MMO by development-Goliath Sony Online Entertainment, has recently gone on for Preorder and being the impulsive buyer that I am, I have to say my response was…no. I have a fundamental disagreement with DC:U going up for preorder four months before the game releases, partially because I know that Sony is without a doubt in no position that they desperately need to sell units to pay for development, and also because four months is probably enough time that many of us will buy it, have a period where we do a ton of research into the game, and then finally involve ourselves so much that we get sick and tired of the game before we’ve even had a chance to play it.

I’m not saying I won’t be buying DC:U, just at a later date. The collector’s edition offer (Batman figurine plus a comic book plus an art book plus in-game exclusives) would be making my wallet tug itself out of my pant pocket, if my pants weren’t hung up by the door. As someone who doesn’t own a Playstation 3, I can only assume disappointment on the part of the console gamers that they will not have access to the Batman figurine, nor the alternate cover for the comic, as the PS3 version will only come in standard vanilla flavor (Game + in-game item + comic).

Don’t forget, you’re not racing against the clock. Take some time, read the guides when more people get into the open beta, and keep watching websites like Fileplanet, Rock Paper Shotgun, Gamespot, Massively, and other gaming outlets for beta key giveaways.

DC:U comes out this November for Playstation 3 and PC.

Sony Online Entertainment Layoffs Detailed


Sony Online Entertainment

Earlier I reported on Sony handing out the pink slips to 35 unnamed employees dispersed to several different projects (to ensure the public that they were not targeting one specific game), and if you assumed Vanguard was among the layoffs, you would be correct. A few ex-Sony employees have chimed in on the forums, confirming the layoffs and reporting that among the games affected are mainly Everquest II, Vanguard, and The Agency. Only a few of the employees were actually named, including Joel Sasaki, the Vanguard Community Manager, as well as Brett Scheinert, the man responsible for the Everquest II: Sentinel’s Fate raid design.

Best of luck to those affected. MMO Fallout will continue covering MMO developers, through the good and bad.

Free Realms: Limited Lifetime Membership: $30


One of the first images on MMO Fallout.

Bike dwarf aside, let me ask you something: How much do you expect to pay for a lifetime membership? Depending on which MMO you go to, assuming it even offers such a deal, you’re probably looking at between one and two hundred dollars. Very few MMOs offer lifetime subscriptions, as although it does offer a large upswing in cash, it is one-time and assuming the player utilizes the full amount worth, you then have a player riding for free.

In Free Realms, Sony’s foray into the kid-friendly world of MMOs, they are offering lifetime membership for thirty bucks. Even better, if you have (in the past) purchased 12-month subscription packages, you will be automatically converted to the lifetime membership at no charge.

Getting into, and staying in, Free Realms just got a whole lot cheaper. So if you have a kid who plays this game, or you play it with them, there is not time better than the present to turn them into an MMO junkie.

SOE: Security Alert And Layoffs Abound


Sony Online Entertainment

“In a move to better align the company’s resources against areas of growth that meet consumer demand in today’s online market as well as improve operational efficiency, Sony Online Entertainment has eliminated just over 4% of its full-time workforce, equaling 35 people. The changes will better position SOE to deliver against its emphasis on developing games for a wider, more diverse audience and remaining a worldwide leader in online gaming.”

I would put my money on Vanguard being one of the games to lose at least one person. With the economy the way it is, I don’t think anyone can blame Sony for having to do some restructuring, following a number of other MMO developers who have had layoffs these past few years. Hopefully those thirty five employees were not from Sony’s account services sector.

On that note, security is a day to day issue with MMOs, with potential account thieves never sleeping in their quest to take your stuff. That being said, I make a note not to talk about security as much because it seems as though when any small group of people have their account stolen, at least one of them will presume that there is some massive wave of account theft going on or, in the case of Aion, that the company is working with the account thieves. When the developer itself releases a security alert, however, I pay attention.

Sony this week announced a security alert for Everquest II and Station, warning players of emails being sent directing users to URLs that look virtually identical to the actual Sony website: http://auth.station.sony.com

If you feel your account may have been compromised by one of these emails, you can contact Sony through their chat, email, or directly through their phone customer support.

Shut Up, Everquest, Get On My Horse


Pimp My Mount.

Blizzard appears to set standards wherever they go. The latest venture? A sparkling horse. Not just any sparkling horse, a sparkling horse that generated millions of dollars for Blizzard over the course of just one day. Back in May, Sony Online Entertainment announced that Everquest II would be receiving a similar update. This horse, featuring glowing eyes, was much less sparkly, and wasn’t really a horse.

Flash forward one month and Everquest II’s older brother wants in on the cash pile. Not one, not two, but four mounts are available on the Station cash shop for Everquest, for just twenty five bucks a pop, one of which is pictured above.

So your guess is as good as mine as to which MMO will be following the $25 mount, but if I had to guess I would put my bet on another Sony title.

More on Everquest as it appears.

Another Year: Another Set of Titles Snubbed At SOE Fan Faire


The Cold Shoulder

Sony’s Fan Faire is a several day long event that allows for a lot of good information on our favorite current and upcoming Sony MMOs. From August 5th through 8th, both players and press will be able to meet and greet with some well known developers and community relations folk from their respective MMOs, as well as gather some information regarding what the future has to offer. Last year I covered the highlights of the SOE address, and although not much is likely to change this year, I still plan on covering the event this August, albeit more in-depth.

What I did find so far is the list of attendees from Sony, and a distinct lack of certain titles. Representatives from Everquest, Everquest II, Free Realms, Star Wars Galaxies, The Agency, and Pox Nora will once again be attending. There is, however, no indication that Vanguard, Pirates of the Burning Sea, and Planetside will be in attendance. In regards to DC Universe Online and Star Wars: Clone Wars, there is still the chance that DC and Lucas Arts will be making their own separate appearances, as the list only includes Sony’s attendees.

Still, it is disappointing to see these games get the short end of the stick another year running.

Vanguard Server Mergers Ahoy!


As if we didn't know...

Despite my hope that this announcement won’t come for another few years, I don’t think there will be many shocked faces when the shut-down notice is given for Vanguard. Late last year, Sony announced in a pretty solemn notice that several features had been canned completely, including alternate advancement and various dungeons, among other things. We were informed at the time that server mergers were planned, with no additional information at the time.

Fast forward almost six months, and the announcement is here: In July, more specifically the 7th, Vanguard will begin the process to merge the remaining three US servers into one, with the Halgar server being merged in August. Each server merger is expected to take 24 hours.

On the plus side, however, this is expected to be one of the more user-friendly server merges than you would normally find. Guild names are not affected, even guilds with the same names will be able to transition over with no issues. Players will be reimbursed for their houses, both in the cost of the house and the materials used to build it. Mail, friends/ignore lists will be kept, and items on dead players will be available to them at altars. Items in escrow and at the market will not be merged, however.

I must question, for another time, why Sony is performing a double merger, requiring players to make the same land rush twice for housing space.

There is a poll going on at Vanguard’s forums to decide the name of the server, with Telon currently winning at over 80%: http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m?topic_id=53367