The PlanetSide 2 beta was supposed to kick off today, "barring any unforeseen circumstances." Oh no! Unforeseen circumstances have arisen, and it'll now be a few days late, to ensure it's all polished and shiny. No one wants a free-to-play MMOFPS caked in crud and filth, after all.
Sony Online Entertainment has launched quite a number of online games in the past few years, and the company doesn't appear to be slowing down. A new trademark may just give us the name of its next online game: Reign of Fear.
We're rather enthused by SOE's upcoming free-to-play MMOFPS PlanetSide 2. Soon, we'll be able to see if the game lives up to its promise, as SOE president John Smedley has said the beta for the game should begin early next week.
"The beta will start next Monday or Tuesday, barring any unforeseen circumstances," the enthusiastic president tweeted.
Does free-to-play work on consoles? Sony Online Entertainment would argue "yes." The evidence? DC Universe Online. According to SOE president John Smedley, the majority of the game's players are on the PS3, making it the rare example of a successful console MMO--and perhaps one of the only notable free-to-play efforts on console.
Sony Online Entertainment's Vanguard is moving ever closer to the launch of its free-to-play model this summer. While the game's model will be similar to other SOE F2P games, there will be no Silver membership option.
Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming MMOFPS PlanetSide 2 is quite an ambitious undertaking. If you haven't been following the free-to-play shooter very closely, this seven minute video from E3 should cover the bases. This is the same presentation shown to attendees of E3--and if you couldn't find a way to sneak into the convention center, this is a great alternative.
MMO's are fun and all, but imagine if there was technology to bring your face into the game. Sony Online Entertainment has taken a big step towards perfecting that technology with its new SOEmote software, which they showed off for EverQuest at this year's E3.
By using any available webcam, the SOEmote can capture 5,000 facial elements and scrunch them down to 64 nodes. The result pastes the player's face on an actual game character. On top of that, it follows the face's movement, capturing full facial movement in real-time. I tried out the software earlier this week and marveled as the software tracked my head's every move, right down to my eyebrows.
The future of entertainment is, we all know, ultraviolent bloodsports--like video games, but with real people and on television. Giving us an early glimpse of this grim game is Bullet Run, a free-to-play FPS announced today by Sony Online Entertainment.
Sony Online Entertainment announced the fourth downloadable content pack for DC Universe Online, titled "The Last Laugh." It's due for PC and PlayStation 3 in June, and puts the focus squarely on PvP fights. Also, by the name, you could probably guess which major DC villain plays a role.
Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the annual event previously known as "Fan Faire" has been redubbed "SOE Live." Plans are underway for this year's event, which will take place October 18-21 at Bally's in Las Vegas. As usual, it will cover the gamut of SOE's various offerings, including DC Universe Online, EverQuest II, Free Realms, Magic: The Gathering - Tactics, and more.
Sony Online Entertainment is sending yet another of its MMORPGs free-to-play, planning to open Vanguard: Saga of Heroes up to all this summer. SOE's also ramping up development a little, expanding the team to make new content.
Some of the most admirable aspects of PlanetSide 2's ambitious massively multiplayer FPS world are its scale and persistence. With the battle taking place on maps larger than Call of Duty games, it's no surprise that players will want stay connected to the game--even when they're not playing it.
While most multiplayer communities offer web-based stat tracking, SOE promises to take it "a step further" with PlanetSide 2. Creative director Matt Higby told us at Game Developers Conference about their plans to open up the real-time data of the game. "We're real interested in seeing the state of battles that are occurring on the map at any given time, seeing their friends that are online and fighting, being able to see what region they're fighting in."
Sony Online Entertainment's ambitious massively multiplayer FPS PlanetSide 2 will be free-to-play. But, how will SOE make money?
Microtransactions, of course! However, creative director Matt Higby reassured us that the game won't be "pay-to-win." At Game Developers Conference last week, Higby promised that "anything that affects gameplay, such as grenades or medkits or implants that give you additional power within the game, will be exclusively unlocked via [in-game] resources."
EverQuest II is one of the oldest RPGs still running. Even as a newly free-to-play title, Sony Online Entertainment is aiming to keep players invested with new content updates. One will come in the form of the Skyshrine update on April 17.
[Update: 3/2/12 17:50 PDT] A public relations representative for Sony Online Entertainment contacted Shacknews to clarify that the games being closed are online multiplayer games and not massively multiplayer online games. We have updated the headline to reflect this differentiation.
[Original Story] Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it will be permanently shutting down a quartet of its massively-mulitplayer online titles this month.
"Yea I was a big fan of the original. Really was a game ahead of its time. Even in the largest ..."
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