Feldon
If you’ve ever wondered why EU patches and Game Updates always seem to take twice as long as US ones, you’re not alone. We’ve never been able to understand why the files aren’t sent earlier, or some steps taken ahead of time to make the update more quickly. Apparently there is some work being done. From SmokeJumper on the EQ2 Forums: The international team has developed a way to parallel process some of the update in the future, so we should hopefully see an update speed increase for non-US servers. Taylen of Splitpaw asked: Does that mean we would...
International
SOE Security Authenticators are now available from SOE.com for $9.95 including domestic shipping and handling. They may be used on one or more Station accounts. Pricing compares favorably to the WoW Battle.net security fobs which cost $6.50 plus shipping. Plus, you may use one SOE Authenticator on multiple Station accounts, a feature the Battle.net devices lack as of October 2010. Note: Only after entering your credit card information does international shipping or handling rates appear. We’ve seen several reports that international shipping is more expensive than the security fob itself. In the range of $10-13 US, 10 Euros, $13...
From Piestro on the EQ2 Forums: In applying Game Update 60 we have found an issue with Battlegrounds affecting our International and EQ2X players. Battlegrounds have been temporarily disabled for these players as we address this issue, and we will let you know when we have it resolved.
Adding to the Identity Theft Protection plan already announced for US customers, today, SOE has announced a similar program for EU customers. For customers based in the United States, we have made arrangements with Debix, Inc., one of the industry’s most reputable identity protection firms, to offer AllClear ID PLUS at no cost to Station Account holders for 12 months from the time an account holder registers for the program. To qualify, Station Account holders must enroll by June 28, 2011. US – based customers will receive an email in the next few days, confirming how to access their...
The American prices for the Destiny of Velious digital downloads are well known — the regular edition is $39.99, while the collector’s edition runs $59.99. We are very happy to see that the days of preferential treatment for the Retail version are over. Last year’s 7 day retail headstart and the confusion leading up to the launch for European customers was the source of much frustration, so we are quite satisfied with this year’s simplified options. So then all is wine and roses, right? Well, it may surprise American players to learn that customers in some other countries are...
Due to a code bug which allowed the EQ2X Marketplace to appear on international servers, all international servers are now down for a patch. From Amnerys: All international servers were just taken offline (earlier than planned) due to today’s patch. It was unplanned but necessary, and we apologize for the inconvenience. We are hoping to have all international servers back online by 1PM PDT (9PM GMT). Please watch this thread for updates.
As of 12:40pm PST From Kiara: EU servers are now up. The BG’s have not been enabled for any of the international servers, due to the database issue. We’ll let you know when they will be available. Thank you for your patience today, we appreciate it.
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 | German Accepting orders February 16th Steam visit Steam International customers will be able to DD the expansion on February 16th and take advantage...
Sentinel’s Fate Digital Download We are getting reports that the Sentinel’s Fate expansion has appeared on Digital Download websites for customers outside the United States and Canada. If you hear of other sites, please let us know! We are still expecting a formal announcement at 9:30am PST today of the Digital Download partners. If you are outside the United States and Canada, you should now be able to purchase Sentinel’s Fate from these websites (of course we would be curious to know if any of you have trouble with these sites): DLGamer – £29.95 (34,95 €) ($46.88) Direct2Drive –...
With hardly a moment to spare, we will soon find out where the EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate expansion will be available for purchase as a Digital Download. We will be releasing the distributors and the links to their sites tomorrow morning after 9am PST. It will be up in this thread about 9:30am PST as soon as I walk in the office. The list will be updated as more information comes in, but will be good to get everyone started. — Kiara Current wisdom indicates that if your IP address is recognized as being outside of the United States...
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,...
Since our exposé on the lack of options for anyone outside the continental United States to order the EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate expansion, it seems we stirred up a hornet’s nest behind the scenes, causing the resolution of at least some of the issues facing EverQuest II customers. We are now able to report that BestBuy.com has corrected its release date to February 16th, Amazon.com is now offering shipping outside the U.S., and Amazon.ca is now offering Sentinel’s Fate for sale directly to Canadian customers. We are still awaiting word of the selection of one or more international distributors....
EQ2Wire has been trying to get some answers about the EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate Pre-Order for the past 2 1/2 weeks. We contacted the SOE PR department with a detailed list of questions. We received an e-mail which quoted the Press Release but which did not answer any of our submitted questions. We sent an e-mail to SOE President John Smedley on November 19th with those same concerns and additional questions. At present, we have received no response to this e-mail. Where do we Stand? Going into December 2009, just where do American, North American (Canada, Mexico), and International...
Kiara has posted the following update regarding SoE’s efforts to locate one or more international distributors for EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate. Answers! Not all the answers that everyone wants, naturally, but definitely better than nothing, for certain. 1) The coupon in the retail box for the $10 in the Station Store is for the DD version of SF only. Good for folks with more than one account or for those who want to gift to a friend to get them into the game. 2) Still waiting on the lists of where Amazon and GameStop will ship. Sharp sticks have...
EQ2Wire is working on a story covering the overseas marketing and distribution strategy for EverQuest II’s sixth expansion — EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate. While there have been some concerns expressed on the EQ2 Forums regarding the 7-day headstart release strategy of Sentinel’s Fate from American customers (specifically within the 48 contiguous states with guaranteed arrival by February 16, 2010), specifically from American customers who have traditionally purchased the Digital Download, this has been nothing compared to the outcry from hundreds of international EverQuest II customers. According to the EQ2Players Announcement, the only means for EQ2 players outside of the...
The news is coming quickly about EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate’s new Retail strategy. Kiara brings us this: Fan Faire attendees with accounts in good standing will receive a complimentary digital copy of the retail version. You will have the early access and items associated with the retail version of the game. We’re looking into Best Buy not having the listing yet. Amazon and GameStop are shipping overseas. I’m trying to get a list of the countries that will be shipped to. Retail boxes ordered online and shipped, SHOULD be shipped in time to arrive on release day to allow...
EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate Getting a jump on the holiday season (and a full 100 days before its official launch), the EverQuest II Sentinel’s Fate expansion has been made available for pre-order!! The most remarkable part of this announcement is the extraordinary measures being taken to get EverQuest II back onto Retail shelves and getting retailers to take the game seriously. With Sentinel’s Fate, it is now clear that the preferred version of EverQuest II will be the retail Collector’s Edition. Not only with in-box and in-game exclusive items, but the release schedule. The Retail version will be available...
The most populated servers have been struggling under the strain of Game Update 53, and now we have an update on this from Kiara. Here’s an update on the performance problems we’ve been seeing. We believe that the issues the servers have been experiencing since Shards of Destiny was pushed live relate to the volume of items being converted to heirloom and the achievement information being accessed by the new system. This has stressed the database and is causing the performance issues. We expect it to abate in a couple of days after the bulk of our players get...