In the last Webcast, we were told to be on the lookout for a trailer for EverQuest II‘s seventh expansion Destiny of Velious. This trailer is now exclusively available for viewing at Massively.com.
Watch the trailer at Massively.com and then come back and post your comments about the trailer, as well as your thoughts on what has, to us, been a very low-key (some would say hush-hush!) launch.
The elusive SOE Marketing Dept. took a moment today to pat itself on the back for its “successful launch” of EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate. They also made a point of thanking “our great fans have responded with overwhelming support“. It is unclear what aspect of the Sentinel’s Fate launch players give “overwhelming support” to, but no doubt this will be a key point on a Powerpoint presentation somewhere soon.
EQ2Wire does not think it is too soon to start our campaign for NO retail launch of the next EverQuest II expansion. It costs too much money, diverts too many resources, and ultimately confuses and frustrates players to have retailer exclusives, head starts, and regional lockouts on who can buy the Digital Download when and where.
Did the Retail Push Work?
Marketing will point to retail figures saying “It worked!” but the reality is, these are customers who felt forced to buy the product in a certain way, at additional cost and hassle, just to get the same customer experience they have had in past years with a Digital Download.
There is such a thing as a false economy here regarding players who would have ordinarily purchased the Digital Download over a span of the next 2-3 months, as they had completed all the content they desired to in the previous expansion converted to the new product. No doubt some of these players felt pressured into buying Sentinel’s Fate retail version on launch day, so as not to be left behind, or to get the best possible game.
It just seems to us, although we have no sales figures to back up our theories, that making loyal customers jump through hoops just to add a few boxes on retail shelves is not worth it in the long run, and we feel that a true cost-benefit analysis of how the Sentinel’s Fate retail launch played out (provided it is not merely a self-serving exercise) would bear this out.
And there is no tangible way to measure the ill will created in the European community by the Sentinel’s Fate launch lead up chaos, missteps at DLGamer and Steam, and now almost daily Hotfixes during primetime Europe hours. These players have a right to be doubtful.
I have had some very harsh words for the SOE Marketing Dept, yet I feel like I am on pretty solid ground with my opinions. So far, this department has demonstrated that it does not understand its customers, does not value their feedback, and further, has gone out of its way to insulate itself from criticism.
EQ2Wire is extending an open invitation to any member of the SOE Marketing Dept who wishes to grant an interview on these and other subjects.
Looks like SOE Marketing forgot that there are more countries in the world than the United States, Canada, the European Union, and Japan.
Australia, New Zealand, Norway, and other countries are all reporting that they are unable to order the Digital Download from DLGamer and Direct2Drive.
We have heard that on February 16th, Steam customers in these other countries will be able to order the Digital Download in these countries.
At this point, we’re not taking anyone’s word for it.
SOE Marketing Dept Strikes Again
We here at EQ2Wire consider it a classy move for the SOE Marketing Dept to make it so incredibly difficult for loyal customers to purchase their product. I wonder if they got pay raises this year with exceptional skills like that.
Kiara has officially announced the Digital Download partners for International customers.
Greetings!
We’re pleased to announce the International Digital Download Distributors for Sentinel’s Fate. Our international customers will be able to digitally download the expansion and begin playing on February 16th! We appreciate your patience as we’ve worked out all the details.
Accepting Orders Today
DLGamer – £29.95 (34,95 €) ($46.88)
English | French | German
Direct2Drive – £29.95 (34,95 €) ($46.88)
English | French | GermanAccepting orders February 16th
Steam
visit Steam
International customers will be able to DD the expansion on February 16th and take advantage of the headstart offer.
They will receive the DD version of the game and the things included in that package:
- These include:
- 500 Station Cash
- LoN Fall of Erudin scenario
- 30 days free play time for new accounts
- In-game armor piece – Guarding of the Learned
Continuing Coverage
EQ2Wire is continuing to follow this story. If you are unable to purchase the Digital Download through these sites outside of the United States and Canada, we’d like to know about it! If you find any tips or tricks on how to order the product through these websites, please let us know either by Comment or by sending us e-mail.
It seems sanity has prevailed at SOE. From EQ2 Forums:
The status of retail distribution for Sentinel’s Fate at launch internationally is still uncertain. However in an effort to properly serve our international community we have partnered with several digital distributors who will be providing the expansion to our international customers only starting on Feb 16th 2010. The digital downloads will be IP locked so that only the international community can take advantage of this.
When it became apparent that whoever at SOE Marketing signed deals with Amazon, GameStop, and Best Buy forgot about the rest of the world, this should have been immediately addressed.
Instead, we’ve had 2 months of fear, uncertainty, and doubt about whether players in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Rim would even be able to play the expansion before late February.
I’d just like to personally thank whoever was SOE Marketing Dept‘s secret santa and got them this great gift:
