If you want to know what’s been going on at the EQ2 forums, the quickest way to sum it up is this — I have been banned for the first time ever from the EQ2 forums for “excessive negativity”.

ProSiebenSat.1/Alaplaya — A Company Unfit for SOE Customers

Six weeks ago, an exclusive distribution deal affecting all Europe-based SOE customers was announced with a German TV media company named ProSiebenSat.1. Within minutes of the announcement, players discovered that ProSiebenSat.1’s gaming division is called Alaplaya, a company known for IP Region Locking, publishing the personal details of customers in violation of EU and German privacy law, shady dealings with customers, and a lineup of poorly supported low-grade pay-to-win browser games riddled with exploits which even Alaplaya’s official moderators have admitted the company plans to do nothing about.

This Tuesday afternoon, after six weeks of silence, SOE finally came forward with a Frequently Asked Questions about the ProSiebenSat.1 deal. Our worst fears were realized.

When the deal goes into effect, U.S. players will no longer be able to access EU servers. For a variety of reasons, this is a serious problem.

Also, no new EU-based players will be able to access U.S. servers — only current players will be grandfathered in. The end result being that the hundreds of Euro-based guilds on U.S. servers will no longer be able to recruit new players from the EU.

But the real elephant in the room is: NOBODY who has done even the most cursory of investigation wants to do business with Alaplaya.

The ProSieben-Sony Online Entertainment distribution deal announced over six weeks ago has finally got some Frequently Asked Questions answered:

ProSieben FAQ in French

ProSieben FAQ in German

ProSieben FAQ in English

Can players still access the U.S. servers?
Under the new partnership between SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 Games, European players of the above mentioned SOE games will be able to play via ProSiebenSat.1 Games’s service and will not have access to U.S. servers.  However, existing EverQuest II players in Europe that have played on U.S. servers before the transition will be allowed to continue playing on those servers through their SOE accounts.

Can U.S. players log on to the European servers?
U.S.-based players will have access to the U.S. servers only.

Will International servers be merged with the U.S. servers?
No, European and U.S. based servers will exist independently of each other.

I’m a European player; after I create my ProSieben account, will my SOE account be shut down?
Your SOE account will not be shut down, but you will only be able to play the above mentioned games through a ProSiebenSat.1 Games account.  As discussed above, we will provide a simple way to have your characters and game progress transferred and the value of your Station Cash granted to your new ProSiebenSat.1 Games account.  Also, existing EverQuest II players in Europe that have played on U.S. servers before the transition will be allowed to continue playing on those servers through their SOE accounts.

Can players continue to use Station Cash?
European players will be able to use a new virtual currency similar to Station Cash.