Come get your SOE Podcast fix! Podcast #68 includes Block Party 2009 and an interview with Candace Ivy, Global Brand manger. SOE also introduces their newest server hamster, Haggis the Battle Hamster!
So head over to the Podcast’s official site, and click on your preferred bandwidth, or if you have iTunes installed select iTunes store, type SOE into the search box and click Subscribe! Your feedback is always welcome either on the Station forums or via email.
Official SOE Podcast #67 is live! Highlights include: Star Wars Galaxies chapters 11 and 12, Sr. Community Manager Brasse, Timmy’s Fan Faire recap, the latest update for EQ, and the new LON set.
You can get your Podcast goodness two different ways: head over to the Podcast’s official site and click on your preferred bandwidth, or subscribe on iTunes. Your feedback is always welcome either on the Station forums or via email.
According to Massively.com, Sony Online Entertainment has laid off 41 of their full time workforce. In an official statement released by SOE earlier this morning, it was mentioned that reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency was the principal motivator in the decision.
"In a move to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs, Sony Online Entertainment has eliminated 5% of its full-time workforce, equaling 41 people. SOE looks forward to continuing its leadership role in the online games industry as it celebrates the highly successful launch of Free Realms, the 10-year commemoration of its ground-breaking EverQuest franchise, and the continued performance of the company's other games."
While it's still unclear where Sony Online Entertainment made the cuts; we've confirmed that no one from the Free Realms team has been let go. Our warmest wishes and prayers go out to those who have been affected by the layoffs.
If you're in San Diego or close enough to get there, you should plan on going to SOE's annual Block Party! This informal event is a fun-filled afternoon at SOE Headquarters with music, food, drinks, tours, previews of upcoming games, give-aways, raffles and special guests. There will be activities for kids as well. Meet game developers and staff, socialize with SOE employees and friends, and have a great time in the sunshine!
As usual this event is being held during Comic Con (but not AT Comic Con) on Saturday, July 25th. Everyone is welcome and admission is FREE!
For information on shuttle busses (parking is limited) and special room rates for folks from out of town, see this post on the Station.com forums.
Official SOE Podcast #66 is live! Listen to Brenlo and Ashlanne gab LIVE from Fan Faire 2009! They chat with two Fan Faire attendees, the Grumpy Ol' Gamer, and talk about the (upcoming when recorded) eventa at Fan Faire.
So tune in! You can get your Podcast goodness two different ways head over to the Podcast’s official site, and click on your preferred bandwidth or if you have iTunes installed select iTunes store, type SOE into the search box and click Subscribe! Your feedback is always welcome either on the Station forums or via email.
At Fan Faire we got a chance to chat with Dan Kinney about the Station Launcher. Dan's team has made a lot of advancements on the beta Launcher, and they've been very responsive to player feedback.
Dan told us that the next major version will have an improved UI, with much nicer menus. The menus shown below are from left to right: Station Menu, Games Menu, Friends Menu, and Help Menu. Also coming soon is a web update for all SOE games, in the manner of Free Realms.
Wow. That was intense. Two days of mingling with nearly 2000 gamers, developers, fansite people, and game characters. I have a spiral notebook full of notes and four hours of panel audio recordings to go through. Sorry folks, some of this will just have to wait until I get back to Alaska (but I'll be working on it on the plane).
My impressions of Fan Faire are still a blur. I spent time talking to Paul Molina, EQII Lore guy, about the new expansion (I had to swear on my NDA. This is going to be SO COOL!). Dan Kinney and I chatted about the Station Launcher. I hung out with the Free Realms guys and talked hard core gamers into giving it a try.
Friday I went to the EQ2 Potpourri panel, which was largely Q&A and much to my amazement the devs hardly said "Ask me after Smed's address." Then of course we had the Annual Address, followed by a party.
Members of the ZAM team are currently at Fan Faire in Las Vegas and got to see Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley deliver the third annual Community Address. It was announced that the 16th EverQuest expansion will be called Underfoot. It's coming out in November, but you'll be able to participate in events beginning in July that will give you credit to get Underfoot before anyone else. It will launch with 12-15 zones, with bonus zones being added through April 2010. It will include a new achievement tracking system and double the amount of weapons of any other expansion.
UPDATE: To clarify, Eldiroth has stated in the official SOE forums that there is no level increase in Underfoot.
As Calthine has already reported, it was also revealed the new EverQuest II expansion, Sentinel's Fate, will explore Odus, and Free Realms will introduce the Soccer Star job and more content for both driver jobs.
Star Wars Galaxies is celebrating its six-year anniversary today at the convention with a bunch of panels, and attendees are getting a Dianoga Dumpster in-game item that eats your trash and spits out random items. As Tamat reported, the Chronicle Master profession was also announced at Fan Faire.
Keep an eye out on the DC Universe Online Myspace page for information on a new video contest that asks players to explain which hero or villain is their best friend or foe. Fans at the convention are also checking out a service that allows players to purchase SOE art prints and have them delivered to their home, which will launch later this year. Keep reading after the jump for more information.
Sony Online Entertainment has announced the Station Launcher is officially out of beta. The team has been listening to players' feedback since last year's Fan Faire (which makes it somewhat of an anniversary, since the ZAM team is currently at this year's Fan Faire), and the new launcher includes all sorts of updates requested by fans.
First off, Station Launcher 1.1.0 supports Station Voice, which allows you to talk to your friends whether they're playing a game or not. There's a new download system for faster game updates, as well as a new menu layout and other UI improvements. Also, you can now run the launcher without administrative privileges.
To get the latest version of the Station Launcher, you can run this update installer. The announcement, which includes the full list of changes, can be found below.
Woot! We're here! Fan Faire! Day One! I won't regail you with all our travel adventures. We got here, and Fan Faire is on. As I write this it's 1 am and I'm pooped but still too excited to sleep.
Here's irony for you: After all my lists, the one thing i forgot was my camera cable. And it's a proprietary cable. Many players offered card readers and cables to me, but to no avail. So we're stuck, until I get home, with mediocre phone pictures.
Registration didn't open until four this afternoon, but there was an EQII Summit today. About 15 players from EverQuest II were invited to sit down and hobnob about the game. I can't tell you about everything we heard, but you won't wait long as we got a preview of ultra-cool goodies that everyone will know after the Community Address Friday night.
Tease: I know what the expansion is! Nya nya nya!
