Feldon We missed this news on Thursday, but word of Planetside 2 and other SOE games region locking are making it to mainstream media, specifically PCGamer.com:
Sony Online Entertainment have announced that the running of many of their games is transferring to German publisher ProSiebenStat.1 Games Group in Europe. Games affected include EverQuest II, DC Universe Online, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Free Realms, and this year’s Planetside 2.
While SOE will continue to manage the European servers for their games, European players will no longer be able to play with friends in the US. The two providers will use separate account systems and virtual currencies, effectively splitting each game in two.
“effectively splitting each game in two”
That’s the take of a trade journalist.
I don’t see how SOE could have anticipated anyone having a problem with that. EQ2 players are obviously just out to get SOE staff.
/sarcasm
I have a feeling that SOE just found out how bad a publicity nightmare they created by not thinking about there player base.
We’ve not been sold off seems to be the SOE line on things..the fact that pretty much everyone else seems to think the euro playerbase HAS been sold off is besides the point in SOE land.
What did they expect for us to roll over and do nothing?
SOE screwed up EQ2 launch in 2004. Now they’re *again* screwing up EQ-Next & Planetfall 2 Launch before the game is even ready.
how stupid are these guys?
@ Nyna: Stooopid. Its not often someone is three “O” stupid, but they are.
I am dancing with joy that the various gaming news sites are picking this up. I know that I sent in emails to a couple, as well as folks from here. It goes to show you that if you stand up for yourself and let other people know what’s going on you can effect change.
..that said, I don’t know if anything worthwhile is going to come out of Smed’s mouth tomorrow. Change may just be a couple cosmetic changes, while the greater deal remains intact.
I’m just glad the guys over there in EQ2land get to see some payback. Hey, if you want to screw over your playerbase, don’t expect us to be quiet about it. Now everyone knows at least some of the douchebaggery that is going on over there.
Just wait Untill Guildwars 2 comes out SOE…you’ll regret it.
@Wanda PAYBACK?
geez, SOE made a crappy sale, but still you shouldnt turn this into a hate vendetta. after all they also make really good games – we all love EQ.
people are really overreacting. nobody got “sold” to p7s1. you still need to register there if you wanna become their customer.
the region split sucks, but i doubt they can keep that up anyway – thanks to the legitimate outrage over it.
@Nyna: Honey, this isn’t a Charles Bronson action flick, so calm down. Payback =/= hate vendetta.
Payback refers to the tactics SOE always uses against their customers: silence, stonewalling, and the head-patting and shooing away like they are herding children that don’t know any better. Now, we aren’t putting up with that anymore and refuse to sit on their forums with tape on our mouths and have them tell us what the rules are. Payback is letting the media know what is going on there, what they are doing to their paying customers, and having SOE have to answer for it.
I think you are confusing loving a game with loving the people that manage it as well.
As for “overreacting”, maybe you should take a read on the 2,500+ feedback thread and really see the issues here. Maybe you just don’t understand. However, all that info is out there so inform yourself if you need to. That’s not my job.
I think some players still don’t understand the ramifications of what has happened with the PSS1 deal.
Players as represented by their characters were sold to PSS1. It was a publishing deal that sold the accounts in Europe to a new company. It’s true, the accounts now overseen by PSS1 do have to be registered with them, but if people want to continue to play the game they love, they haven’t got much choice. And now, because of region locking, which at this writing hasn’t changed, they can’t play internationally.
I wouldn’t count on outrage to change this business deal, but we’ll see. Anyway, the outrage came after the details were learned, so the fuss was productive since it’s making some waves.
I would really love to get T-shirts with the Cheese Pirates comic strip on them and we all wear them to Fan Faire. I don’t know what kind of copyright laws I’d be breaking if I did that myself. Do you or anyone know the person from Cheese Pirates that did that strip? I’d gladly buy the shirt from that website or this one (if you worked out a deal) instead if getting it done myself. Either way, I seriously want to wear it to Fan Faire . . . as long as Brasse is right and it’s still gonna happen.