Tag: Sony

Epic Loot: Sony, Codemasters, and Blitz Looting Realtime Worlds’ Unemployed


Here in my town, there’s no better moment than when an electronics store goes out of business, generally because that means 50+% off on expensive electronics. When FYE went out of business, I managed to pick up Tabula Rasa at 90% off, and it was only one year after the game shut down! When a company starts shedding property (read: Employees), and said company is Realtime Worlds, it’s a veritable picking day for other companies to come in and get recruiting.

Sony, Codemasters, and Blitz were reported shipping off recruiters, designers, and artists to populate the nearby hotels as they pluck up ex-Realtime Worlds employees for interviews in one of their many studios. Codemaster’s chief talent acquisition manager had this to say about the company’s outlook on the ex-RTW staff:

“Realtime employees expertise is unquestionable,”

Blitz’s CEO Phillip Oliver had equal amounts of praise;

“We know that Realtime World has some fantastically talented people and were very sorry to hear the  news as it broke late last week. We think Realtime Worlds staff will be pleasantly surprised at the opportunities we can offer them and look forward to talking with them.”

The administrators are doing their best to keep Realtime Worlds alive, but for the time being it is nice to see that ex-employees are getting every offer to jump back into the work force as quickly as possible.

Everquest Next: With The Everquester In Mind!


And John Smedley Said: Let there be light!

If Sony Online Entertainment’s abbreviated name was NSD, I could point out that their name could also spell out Never Shuts Down. However, since it doesn’t, I’m stuck with my next best idea: Soldier On, Edith which, although surely touching to anyone named Edith who enjoys Sony’s products, only appeals to a limited audience.

But enough of my attempts at word play. At the 2010 Fan Faire, SOE fully announced Everquest Next, the third Everquest MMO to come out at some point in the future. So, very little was offered in terms of when we might actually see Everquest Next, but the SOE staff present were more than willing to give out information regarding the title.

Everquest Next is not a sequel, nor a prequel to Everquest, but a re-imagining. Sony is going for the original charm of Everquest, and notes that fans of the original will feel right at home in the title. They hope to give more engaging content, better combat, immersive story lines, and a more streamlined approach to players with less classes (think Everquest).

More importantly, however, was the fact that Sony is committed to supporting both Everquest and Everquest II, neither of which will be going anywhere anytime soon. We were also promised that players will not be shepherded to EQ Next like they were with Everquest II, a move that was wholly rejected by the Everquest community when Everquest II released those many years ago. Everquest Next will also offer scalability to lower end machines, something Everquest II sorely missed.

And even more importantly, Everquest Next is not being made for kids, and you can take that to the bank.

More on EQ Next as it appears.

Checking In On The BBB


A Bureau For Better Business

Earlier this year I started Checking In With The Better Business Bureau, a segment talking about the consumer protection group with no authority. Back in February I checked up on a few MMO developers to see their scores, and this time I want to go more in depth on each company and their score.

For those of you who have forgotten or do not live in the United States, the Better Business Bureau is an independent organization that fields complaints and offers the company a chance to respond. The idea is to create a web of trusted businesses where people can check what is being complained about and how the company reacts to those complaints. When it comes to your score, a business can maintain a good score if they respond in a way that pleases the BBB.

Blizzard: B

  • Blizzard’s score has plummeted from February’s A+ rating. The BBB’s explanation is as follows:
  • “Recent complainants allege the company closed accounts on 130,000 users without providing notice, and accused them of using “hack” techniques to cheat on gaming. Most of these complainants deny any illegal usage, and in some cases, they challenge the company to provide them some proof of the alleged violation. The company responds in some cases concerning faulty servers by advising that new servers installed should remedy the problem. The company addressed a few complaints regarding account terminations by issuing the same letter in each instance of complaint, accusing the complainant of cheating, lying or using hack programs.”

Cryptic Studios: C+

  • Cryptic’s rating has remained steady since April, and the BBB has some kinder words for them than Blizzard.
  • “Our complaint history for this company shows that the company responded to and gave proper consideration to most complaints. However, more than one complaint is unresolved meaning the company failed to properly address the complaint allegations or their response was inadequate.”

EA/Mythic/Bioware: A

  • Technically lumped into EA, the BBB scores Electronic Arts with an A.
  • “When considering complaint information, please take into account the company’s size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm’s responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.”

Funcom: A+

  • Funcom is maintaining their A+, with surprisingly few complaints in the past year. The BBB had this to say:
  • “BBB had previously identified a pattern of complaints concerningcustomer service issues. The company discussed with BBB in October 2008 ways to correct the cause of the customer complaints. Complaints have decreased in volume since the meeting.”

Gala-Net: F

  • For those of you unaware, Gala-Net is gPotato, publisher for such games as Allods Online and Aika Online.
  • “Our complaint history for this company shows that the company responded to and gave proper consideration to most complaints. However, more than one complaint is unresolved meaning the company failed to properly address the complaint allegations or their response was inadequate.”

Jagex: C-

  • This is based off of one complaint.

NCsoft: B-

  • NCsoft is up, from a C- to a B-. According to the BBB, this is due to a few unanswered complaints:
  • Based on BBB files, NCsoft Corporation has a BBB Rating of B- on ascale from A+ to F.
  • Reasons for this rating include:
  • Failure to respond to 5 complaints filed against business.

Sony Online Entertainment: A

  • Most of the complaints, according to the BBB, are from people who forget to cancel their trial accounts.
  • “Consumer complaints received by the BBB allege difficulty in using this company’s online gaming service and being over billed or billed after they cancel the trial offer. In response to these consumer complaints, Sony indicates that some of their games may come with a limited number of days of game-play with purchase of the game software…”

Square Enix: A

  • Along with Sony, score remains in place.
  • “Our complaint history for this company shows the company gave proper consideration to complaints presented by the Bureau.”

Turbine Inc. : A+

  • Technically now part of Warner Brothers.
  • The BBB had nothing of interest to note.

A few companies on the list slipped in the past couple of months, most notably Blizzard over that mass ban. I guess it depends on how these companies view the non-authority of the BBB that dictates their reactions.

More on the BBB in three months when I follow up this article.

Final Fantasy XIV: Delays And Pricing Structure


PS3 Compromised.

I’m not a fan of cross-platform games as the more systems that are added to the fray, the higher the odds for delays due to unforeseen problems on one system. The end result is that, in an attempt to please everyone in the crowd, the developer delays all of the titles in order to ensure a simultaneous release, even if it means a delay of up to a year or more. MMOs, thankfully, have not had this issue. Given their release dates, the rest of us can breath a sigh of relief that Funcom never decided to delay Age of Conan for the never-released 360 port, or Champions Online with the also-never-released 360 port, and now Star Trek Online for its now-canned 360 port. In the case of Champions Online, the 360 version was fairly close to release, shutting down due to issues with Microsoft.

So bully to PC and tough luck for PS3 as Square Enix decided that they will release the PC version of Final Fantasy XIV this September, while the PS3 version will be delayed until March 2011 (at least). The PC version will hit at the end of September, and not much has been said specifically what caused the PS3 version to be delayed.

Even more interesting was the announcement of pricing structure. Players will be given one player and one ‘retainer’ character. The retainer character essentially acts as an official mule, managing the player’s sales and storage. Creating alts is possible, up to 8, but each one will tack on an additional three dollars, a month, to your subscription. Given the versatility of the player (able to level up all jobs), and the possibility of Final Fantasy XI’s grind making its way to XIV, an alt is unnecessary.

More on Final Fantasy XIV as it appears. Hopefully we won’t see any 20+ hour Pandemonium Wardens.

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.

Put Your Money Episode #1: ________ Station Pass


Back in January I asked a pretty simple question: Since Sony has had so much success with the Station Pass, an offer where players can pay the fee of two MMOs to gain access to eight (previously nine) MMOs, why don’t we see more packages where developers or publishers bundle together MMOs to increase subscriber numbers and population?

Put Your Money is my response to people who have been asking me just that: Put my money where my mouth is. If I’m soooo smart, then maybe I should come up with some deals. And deals I have come up with. I give to you, my ideal picks for what individual Turbine, Mythic, Cryptic (above), NCsoft, and Funcom. My goal was to hit a price with reasonable savings, while at the same time reasonable cost, with regards to number of games and their individual subscription price (as not all games have the same price). I did not include any upcoming games.

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"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?

Why Not A Cryptic Pass? NCsoft Pass? Turbine Pass!


So-eeeee.

Whatever you think about Sony, you can’t deny the deal they have going for their titles. For the price of only two MMOs per month, you can access virtually any Sony game you own. Everquest, Everquest 2, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard, Free Realms, and that console Everquest game. That’s 8 games for the price of two!

Going over Sony’s station pass got me thinking: Why don’t other developers have a similar deal? I would love to see an NCsoft Station Pass, that could bundle Aion, City of X, Lineage, Lineage 2 in one package. Or possibly a Turbine deal, a package of Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and Asheron’s Call. How about a Funcom pack, with Age of Conan and Anarchy Online in one deal?

Now, some will say that developers will be losing money on this, but I wholeheartedly disagree. In fact, Sony’s Station Pass has shown to be a way to coerce people into spending more than they normally would on subscriptions. To believe that even a fraction of the players who have the Station Pass would spend the over hundred dollars a month on each game’s subscription separately is absurd to say the least. Having such a pass could also breath life into the older titles on the list.

Jagex has an offering similar to this. Although not an MMO, players can subscribe to Runescape and FunOrb for a discount. When Stellar Dawn is launched, it is expected that players will be able to opt for an additional discount.

This may all be wishful thinking, but I would certainly pay for a Turbine Station pass.

Everquest to nDoors: This is How You Charity


Teddy bears for all!

“On January 12th, 2010, a massive earthquake devastated the island nation of Haiti. In an effort to show support and lend aid, SOE will be offering items priced at 500SC on the Station Marketplace through EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Free Realms.

From January 15th to January 18th at 11:59pm PST, redeem 500 station cash towards the purchase of one of these items and SOE will contribute $10 (up to $25,000) to aid in the relief efforts being sent to Haiti.”

People often ask me, Omali, are you ever going to stop berating South Korean developer nDoors and their game Atlantica Online for exploiting a charity cause, one that coincidentally had record donations to its name this past year, for their own profit after half-lying about the paltry two dollars of the forty dollar item, that actually went to charity? Well that’s an oddly specific question, but the answer can be summed up simply: Not as long as other companies offer me the whip to beat this horse with.

If you play Everquest, you now have the opportunity to redeem 500 station points towards a plush bear, with $10 going towards the relief effort in Haiti. Likewise, Everquest 2 players may buy a 500 station point armor crate, with $10 going towards the relief effort in Haiti. And finally, Free Realms players can buy Zando the Red Trex for, you guessed it, 500 station points, with $10 going towards the relief effort in Haiti.

You have until tomorrow night to purchase any of these items. The items themselves only cost $5, meaning Sony is matching every donation with a donation of their own. Sony joins Popcap, who yesterday held a charity drive where 100% of the day’s sales went to charity.