Free Realms introduces not-so-free subscription option

Reposted from Kotaku

Looks like man cannot live on microtransactions alone. Sony Online Entertainment is expanding the earning potential of Free Realms by reintroducing a very familiar MMO tactic: monthly subscription fees. Yes, the game is still technically free, but there's a new premium-tier level to the service.

For $5 a month, premium members of Free Realms will be able to access 5 extra jobs, ranking on Free Realms leaderboards, three character slots and 400 extra items and quests. It appears most of the content in Free Realms will be, er, free for all -- however, we wonder how much content SOE will continue to provide for those that decide to play, but not pay.

The PC open beta for Free Realms is due next month. A PS3 version is also in the works.

[Via Massively]

Free Realms introduces not-so-free subscription option originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

http://feeds.joystiq.com/~r/weblogsinc/joystiq/~3/FWRxkJKVB1g/

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Sony MMOs join Steam

EverQuest, Vanguard and Pirates of the Burning Sea available now.
Valve and Sony Online Entertainment have shook hands to bring most of SOE's massively multiplayer online games to Steam.

Click here to read the full article

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=206143?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS

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SOE Sells EQ Loot For Child's Play

Reposted from Kotaku

Sony Online Entertainment has announced a month-long Child's Play fund raising campaign, which will allow players of EverQuest and EverQuest II to buy in-game goodies that generate donations.

Basically it works like this: Players order a special in-game item from the Marketplace using Station Cash, and Sony donates $10 to the Child's Play Charity. EverQuest II players will be able to buy a special Child's Play Bouncing Baby Bear Cub pet, which EverQuest holdouts can get their hands on Child's Play Guktan Shield Ornamentation, seen below.

"SOE and our players have been staunch supporters of this charity since 2003, and with the integration of Station Cash into our online games, teaming up with Child's Play for this online campaign was an easy decision," said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment.

It's a brilliant way to help out a deserving charity, while making more players aware of the SOE Marketplace. Everybody wins!

SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT TO HOST FUNDRAISING DRIVE FOR CHILD'S PLAY CHARITY

Month-long Campaign To Raise Funds Through EverQuest® and EverQuest® II

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – Jan. 16, 2009 – Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is making it easier for players of its popular online video games to support charity in its Child's Play 2009 Winter Charity Drive – and get cool new in-game items in the process.

In a month-long fundraising campaign beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009, SOE will donate $10 each time an EverQuest® or EverQuest® II player buys a specific Child's Play item on the Marketplace with Station Cash (SC), SOE's recently introduced in-game currency.

To support the ongoing efforts by Child's Play to improve the lives of hospitalized children worldwide, EverQuest players will be able to buy the Child's Play Guktan Shield Ornamentation, and EverQuest II players can purchase the Child's Play Bouncing Baby Bear Cub.

"SOE and our players have been staunch supporters of this charity since 2003, and with the integration of Station Cash into our online games, teaming up with Child's Play for this online campaign was an easy decision," said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment.

Founded in 2003, Child's Play is a game industry charity that is dedicated to providing children with toys and age-appropriate games at more than 40 hospitals worldwide.

For more information, visit www.childsplaycharity.org and www.station.com.

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/VgkCeHVf_yQ/soe-sells-eq-loot-for-childs-play

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All future SOE MMOs to release on consoles

Plan to be dominant players in the MMO space on consoles, says Sony Online Entertainment.
Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley has said that the developer is keen to become one of the dominant players in the growing MMO space on consoles.

Click here to read the full article

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=198705?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS

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Geoff Johns to write story for DC Universe Online, new screenshots added

[reposted from Joystiq]

Writing the back story for a new MMO is a pretty thankless job, we'd imagine. Most of the players living in the virtual world whose mythos you've so meticulously constructed probably skip through the dialogue from important NPCs and quest-givers in order to return to their regularly scheduled redundancies. However, you can bet we'll be reading every word in Sony Online Entertainment's DC Universe Online, as it was recently announced that the plot of the game will be penned by DC Comics writer Geoff Johns.

Johns has worked on a number of major DC franchises, crafting the storylines of a number of Green Lantern, Action Comics and Justice Society of America series. In addition to the fantastic news that DC Universe's story is in qualified hands, a new salvo of screenshots for the title, each featuring a high-profile hero or villain, was recently released by SOE. Just don't get your hopes up for any Mister Myxzptlk action.

http://feeds.joystiq.com/~r/weblogsinc/joystiq/~3/399141869/

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Debunking the Stereotypical Gamer Profile

Via Terra Nova comes word that a new series of academic articles centered around Everquest II has just kicked off, starting with an article on 'who plays, how much, and why' (with a couple of 'oddball' gems scattered throughout the data). The results weren't always what researchers -- or the general public -- would expect. While there have been other studies done in MMOs, this group was the first that took place in the game engine had the full cooperation of a company like SOE. What are they going to be looking at over the course of the study?:

Are these findings representative of all virtual worlds, or all MMOs, or all fantasy titles? I have my own speculations (pretty solid for fantasy diku games), and I welcome yours. Of course, until other developers open their doors in a similar fashion, it'll all remain speculation.

What can you expect from future reports? Our subsequent papers will involve research on gender differences, role players, economic modeling, social networks, group success and failure, raiding, detailed player behavior metrics, trust and community, and many others currently in the hopper. As we develop more and more metrics from the player behavior data, we will be merging these with the psychological, demographic, and attitude data from the survey. In other words, for the first time we will know who they are, what they think, and what they do on a truly systematic level.

The article itself is a quick read, and the data is condensed in charts if you're too lazy to read the full article. I'm looking forward to 'future installments' -- what other oddball stats will crop up?

"Who plays, how much, and why? A player census of a virtual world" [Wiley InterScience via Terra Nova]

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/385169196/debunking-the-stereotypical-gamer-profile

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Free Realms MMO Coming to Playstation 3 [Playstation 3]

[reposted from Kotaku]

Sony Online Entertainment's experimental blending of social network service with massively multiplayer online role-playing game, FreeRealms, is coming to the Playstation 3 as well as the PC, Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe announced today.

FreeRealms joins DC Universe Online and The Agency as the first massively multiplayer online role playing games coming out of a new arrangement between SCEE and SOE.

Under the new agreement, SCEE will publish and distribute three MMOs developed by SOE for PS3 throughout the PAL territories. In addition, SCEE will also publish DC Universe and The Agency on behalf of SOE in the PAL territories.

"This is an opportunity for SCEE and SOE to bring the best online experiences from PC gaming to the PLAYSTATION 3 universe, the result of which will certainly benefit PlayStation fans," said David Reeves, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe


Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming arrives on PLAYSTATION®3 with DC Universe™, The Agency™ and FreeRealms™

Leipzig Games Convention, August 2008: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) announced today that SCEE has joined forces with Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) – developer of groundbreaking online Massive Multiplayer Online (MMOs) games including the wildly popular EverQuest® — in an arrangement that will bring a whole new dimension to PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) gaming.

Under the new agreement, SCEE will publish and distribute three MMOs developed by SOE for PS3 throughout the PAL territories. In addition, SCEE will also publish DC Universe and The Agency on behalf of SOE in the PAL territories. The new arrangement allows SCEE to benefit from SOE's experience in a different area of video gaming publishing, one which opens up a whole host of possibilities for PS3.

The games included in the agreement are The Agency (PS3), a fast-paced, action shooter set in an present day online persistent world of bullets, bomb blasts, and betrayal; DC Universe Online (PS3 and PC), an action-focused super-hero game in a fully realized DC Universe Online; and Free Realms (PS3), a vibrant new world for younger players with an exciting mix of reality and fantasy.

"This is an opportunity for SCEE and SOE to bring the best online experiences from PC gaming to the PLAYSTATION 3 universe, the result of which will certainly benefit PlayStation fans," said David Reeves, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.


Here's a look at the three forthcoming titles.

DC Universe™ Online (PS3 and PC): Explore one of the greatest fictional universes in history: the world of DC comics. Create your own hero or villain and run loose across famous DC locations such as Gotham City or Metropolis, alongside legendary characters of good and evil including Superman, Batman, Huntress, Joker, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow in scenarios written by DC writers and in an art style overseen by renowned DC artist Jim Lee.

The Agency™ (PS3): Get your target in your sights with this dark, gritty, online action PS3 shooter, a persistent world of spies, mercenaries and double dealing for aspiring agents everywhere. As you rise thorugh the ranks as a spy through the various missions and in-depth story mode, you can build your own spy faction, recruiting new members to your cause.

FreeRealms™ (PS3 and PC): An all new social networking service and massively multiplayer online role-playing game in one, FreeRealms gives players freedom across a world where exploration and spell casting is as much a part of life as decorating your house or growing a vegetable garden. You chose how you live your life in FreeRealms from day to day – be a wizard one day, play with your virtual pets the next.

DC Universe Online, The Agency and FreeRealms are the first massively multiplayer online role playing games to result from the arrangement between SCEE and SOE – a partnership that will bring gamers together across the world.

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/370161577/free-realms-mmo-coming-to-playstation-3

Sony Fan Faire drops debut trailers for Everquest and EQII expansions

At Sony Online Entertainment's Fan Faire event in Las Vegas, expansions to two of the MMO developer's major titles, Everquest and Everquest II, were revealed and dated

EQ will be planting Seeds of Destruction on October 21, while EQII players will find themselves embarking on The Shadow Odyssey November 18. Shortly thereafter, SOE revealed a teaser trailer for each expansion. We debated about which one to feature on the main page, and ultimately decided upon the expansion for the game that hasn't been out for a hojillion years The Shadow Odyssey's teaser shows off some of the rather uninviting locales featured in the update, and not much else. The Seeds of Destruction trailer previews the new mercenary system, and flaunts a number of new areas which will be added to the title. Pretty impressive from a game that, if it were a human being, would be entering the fourth grade this Fall, where it would slowly begin to develop funny feelings towards its classmate, Asheron's Call.

http://feeds.joystiq.com/~r/weblogsinc/joystiq/~3/366739423/

DC Online Expected to Expand MMO Market

The new DC Universe online game is going after this year's Comic-Con to draw in new gamers. They definitely get credibility with this crowd by having comic book legend Jim Lee as their executive creative director. John Smedley of Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) reveals more in his interview with GameDaily here.