Tag: Sony

Taco Tuesday: How Will Planetside Manage Cheaters?


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Last year I asked John Smedley if Planetside would be shutting down with Planetside 2 releasing, since Planetside was already dead in the water in terms of population. The response I received was that Sony would rather seek options including transforming Planetside into the free to play model before they shut the servers down, and that there would be more details as to where things were going in 2013. Just a day or so ago, Sony Online Entertainment threw a block grant of six months of game time in Planetside for Planetside 2 players. John Smedley also noted on Twitter:

This also gives us more time to make it f2p. So enjoy starting tmw late morning. And yes I’m sure we will miss flag some people.

Even though I knew that Sony preferred free to play to shutting the game down outright, my reaction to the announcement is still a sound “why?” I understand why Sony would want to take that road, since by their own admission no one plays Planetside anymore and therefore anything is better than nothing. On the other hand, players like myself are fully aware of why Planetside doesn’t have a trial system: because hackers were abusing it and mass-creating accounts. So when Planetside goes free to play, it’s hardly unrealistic to assume that the hackers will simply return in droves to ruin the experience once again.

Will Planetside become a den of aimbots, exploits, and hackers? At first, most assuredly. Afterward, who can say? Part of me wants to say that Sony will address the problem of mass-hacking in Planetside because otherwise the investment required to take the game free to play wouldn’t be worth it. A game like Planetside that is fully player vs player will see its population turn right around and leave if the game is infested with hackers. The hope, of course, is that Planetside will generate enough revenue after the transition that Sony can afford to have some full time staffers on hand to update the systems to battle cheaters at a software level while simultaneously having staff in-game to track down and ban cheaters by hand.

And again, this all comes down to how prepared Sony is to deal with the cheaters who will no doubt show up once the doors open.

EA Sends Origin Coupons In Response To Playstation Store Downtime


OriginsEA_logo

Update: EA has retracted its free game offer, noting that the original notice was created in mistake. EA CFO Blake Jorgensen reached out to MMO Fallout to explain what was simply a case of mistaken identity:

Electronic Arts stands at the head of a large number of subsidiaries, and it’s become so hard to  keep track of how many we’ve had to apologize for that we decided to set up an automated system we call the Apology Bot 3000. Unfortunately the system still has some kinks to work out and sent out the coupons under the false pretense that EA owns Sony. We apologize for the mistaken apology and to compensate our users, we will be sending each of our members an unlock code for a free copy of Peggle on the Playstation Vita.

Original Story: In an unexpected and unexplainable move, Electronic Arts has reached out in apology to Playstation 3 owners affected by today’s Playstation Store downtime, and has offered the console users a free Origin game as compensation for their frustration and time. Gamers are admittedly confused by the sudden move, since EA is neither responsible for the Playstation Store, or are they at fault for the store’s extended downtime. Still, it’s rude to look a gift horse in the mouth, and EA is offering players a free copy of Battleforge, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Need For Speed World, and Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes.

We will hopefully have a comment from Sony on the matter once they stop screening our calls.

SOE Abolishes Gold Limits To Promote Krono


The Krono is an item similar to PLEX in that it is purchased on the cash shop and can be traded between players for in-game currency, and then redeemed for a month of subscription. The idea behind the item is to undercut gold farmers and (in the case of Everquest II) to allow for the safe trade of platinum for subscription time (players trade platinum for SOE codes, which is incredibly risky for the buyer). While some of the community disagree with the item as a concept, the introduction has prompted an unexpected, but hardly unwelcome change to the way Sony limits accounts.

Under the current system, Krono is kind of self-defeating. The item is selling for hundreds (seven or eight hundred, approximately) of platinum on the trade broker, and the item is impossible to buy for anyone who isn’t already a subscriber due to the hard cash limits placed on accounts. However, in the patch notes for the public test realm for Everquest II, the following note popped up:

Memberships: There will no longer be coin limits on any account types.

Since Krono is coming to other titles in SOE’s library, it’s probably safe to assume that those games will lose their cash limits as well, if for no other reason than to open a larger market for people to buy Krono.

(Source: EQ2 Forums)

Sony All Access Pass Gets Better Every Day


Sony Online Entertainment’s All Access Pass is one of the few services you will find these days where prices have gone down while benefits have increased, dramatically. Priced at $20 a month, Sony’s All Access pass only continues to add games to its library as the months continue . Currently, Access Pass offers premium services for all of the following games:

  • Bullet Run
  • Clone Wars Adventures
  • DC Universe
  • Everquest
  • Everquest II
  • Free Realms
  • Pirates of the Burning Sea
  • Planetside
  • Vanguard

All Access also grants $5 in Station Cash per month. Over the next year or so, Sony will also be adding benefits for their upcoming MMOFPS Planetside 2, hardcore fantasy MMO Wizardry Online, as well as Everquest Next, all without adding to the total cost of All Access. So as far as the idea of subscriptions in MMOs, Sony seems to have the right attitude on roping in players.

Sony Will No Longer Sell Expansions For Station Cash.


Two months ago, Sony Online Entertainment incited a backlash from the community by removing the ability to purchase subscriptions with Station Cash without notice. In learning from their past PR mistake, Sony has offered players prior notice before their next change. Beginning Monday August 27th, it will no longer be possible to purchase expansion packs on Everquest I & II or DLC packs on DC Universe with Station Cash. For the next day or so (until early morning August 13th), players will be able to purchase expansion packs at 50% off.

Unfortunately, the cause of this change in marketing is due to the substantial cost in content development clashing with Sony’s desire to continue running double and triple Station Cash promotions, as well as free Station Cash for subscribers. The two deals combined into an unsustainable, low level of income.

(Source: SOE Announcement)

Vanguard Free To Play Details Likely To Change


Vanguard goes free to play this summer, and recently Sony Online Entertainment released the prerequisite membership matrix, detailing what players would receive for free or be required to pay for. Several of the restrictions have players up in arms, and in response Sony is giving consideration to altering several of the conditions on free accounts. Vanguard’s customer relations has set up a thread in the Vanguard forums with the hopes of hammering out a new F2P Matrix.

The changes are ongoing, and are not final.

(Source: Vanguard Forums)

Vanguard Free To Play Matrix Revealed


After a long hiatus of development, Sony Online Entertainment’s MMO Vanguard finally goes live this year. So what can free players expect to find when they log in? Today, SOE released the usual Free to Play Matrix, detailing exactly what will be available when the game makes its transition. Players can expect limited access to races, classes, character slots, and more. Additionally, free players do not have access to the housing system and limited access to the broker.

Unlike SOE’s other titles, Vanguard does not offer the “premium”  or middle-ground level of membership obtained for a single transaction. Generally other Sony MMOs offer a less restricted membership for returning subscribers or for a one time fee in the cash shop.

Vanguard Free to Play comes this summer.

(Source: Vanguard)

DC Universe Legendary Is Even More Legen – Wait For It…


As part of a measure to keep all of their games in-line with one another, Sony Online Entertainment announced today that Legendary (subscriber) members of DC Universe Online are in for a treat. Starting April 3rd all Legendary players will receive a monthly “allowance” of 500 Station Cash on PC or Loyalty Points on PS3. In addition, players will be able to find Promethium lockboxes that can be unlocked free of charge, while free and premium members must buy keys from the cash shop. In addition, Legendary members will receive 150 replay badges which are used to reset instance loot lockouts.

Station Pass members are likely used to the restrictions by now, and can skip this section. You need a recurring subscription to receive the 500 station cash/Loyalty points, and the 500 station cash does not stack with other games on the station pass (You can still receive 500 station cash if you subscribe to each game individually). Loyalty Points on PS3 are due to Sony being unable to use Station Cash on the system.

In the future, Sony hopes to place DLC packs on the loyalty market.

(Source: DC Universe Online)

Everquest’s Massive FAQ: Making Sense of It


Everquest goes free to play this Friday and in preparation Sony has released a Frequently Asked Question list that covers everything, and I do mean everything. The list is enormous, and many questions overlap one another, so I’ve decided to create a list to consolidate most of the important points.

See the entire FAQ here.

  • A welcome pack will be given to all players.
  • Veteran rewards will accumulate on all accounts.
  • There will be multi-month subscriptions at a reduced rate. Existing subscriptions will become gold.
  • You need a reoccurring subscription for the monthly 500 station cash. If you have station pass, the EQ and EQ2 monthly cash does not stack. Yearly subscribers will receive 500 station cash monthly.
  • You will receive 500 station cash from each game if you subscribe separately (no station pass), but this is not advisable.
  • Silver membership is an upgrade in the store for 500 station cash, it is a separate purchase and should not be confused with “spend 500 station cash.”
  • All accounts will be upgraded to House of Thule, gold members will still have to buy Veil of Alaris if they haven’t already.
  • Alternate advancement point cap can be raised.
  • Legends of Norrath cards will still be handed out each month.

Free Limitations:

  • If you allow your subscription to expire, your gold races/classes will be locked. You will have to resubscribe or purchase to unlock those characters.
  • If you purchase Veil of Alaris, you still have access to it if your subscription lapses.
  • Free/Silver can buy from the bazaar but cannot use “trade mode.”
  • If you drop back to free with gold rank spells, you will keep the spells but they will only have rank 1 effectiveness.
  • You will not lose any platinum if you are over the limit and lapse, you will simply not be able to gain more currency.
  • Prestige gear (gold only) will not be lost on lapse of subscription, it cannot be used.
  • House of Thule augments are prestige, this will change when free to play comes.

Everquest's Massive FAQ: Making Sense of It


Everquest goes free to play this Friday and in preparation Sony has released a Frequently Asked Question list that covers everything, and I do mean everything. The list is enormous, and many questions overlap one another, so I’ve decided to create a list to consolidate most of the important points.

See the entire FAQ here.

  • A welcome pack will be given to all players.
  • Veteran rewards will accumulate on all accounts.
  • There will be multi-month subscriptions at a reduced rate. Existing subscriptions will become gold.
  • You need a reoccurring subscription for the monthly 500 station cash. If you have station pass, the EQ and EQ2 monthly cash does not stack. Yearly subscribers will receive 500 station cash monthly.
  • You will receive 500 station cash from each game if you subscribe separately (no station pass), but this is not advisable.
  • Silver membership is an upgrade in the store for 500 station cash, it is a separate purchase and should not be confused with “spend 500 station cash.”
  • All accounts will be upgraded to House of Thule, gold members will still have to buy Veil of Alaris if they haven’t already.
  • Alternate advancement point cap can be raised.
  • Legends of Norrath cards will still be handed out each month.

Free Limitations:

  • If you allow your subscription to expire, your gold races/classes will be locked. You will have to resubscribe or purchase to unlock those characters.
  • If you purchase Veil of Alaris, you still have access to it if your subscription lapses.
  • Free/Silver can buy from the bazaar but cannot use “trade mode.”
  • If you drop back to free with gold rank spells, you will keep the spells but they will only have rank 1 effectiveness.
  • You will not lose any platinum if you are over the limit and lapse, you will simply not be able to gain more currency.
  • Prestige gear (gold only) will not be lost on lapse of subscription, it cannot be used.
  • House of Thule augments are prestige, this will change when free to play comes.