Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley has been hinting at a PlanetSide sequel since he made a cryptic post on his Twitter page in September 2009. While it's not official, Smedley seems to have let it slip to The Escapist's Greg Tito that the tentatively titled PlanetSide Next may be coming out in March 2011:

"We have a very big launch coming in the month of March," Smedley said. "It's a big first person shooter franchise that we're really happy with."

I took a leap of logic and asked whether it was Planetside.

"Could be," Smedley said sheepishly. "We haven't technically announced it." He then told me that I could say that he "hinted" that the new Planetside was imminent, which translates to 99% of a confirmation. "This is the farthest I've gone [discussing it with the press] and the PR people are going to shoot me."

Considering we haven't heard much about the PlanetSide sequel, it seems a bit surprising that the game could be released in three months, especially when you consider the fact that The Agency has been delayed until late 2011. What do you think?

It's been a long time since we've heard anything about the rumored Planetside sequel, based on the original MMO-FPS hybrid launched by Sony Online Entertainment in 2003. So when a mysterious 18-day countdown clock appeared on the official Planetside Web site last night, community fansites like Planetside Universe were buzzing with speculation; could this finally be the announcement of a sequel, or on the other hand, could it mean the official Planetside servers are about to be closed after all these years? Based on last year's interviews and press announcements from SoE, our money is on the former.

Last fall SoE president John Smedley confirmed that a sequel MMO (codenamed "Planetside Next") was under-development. "Planetside Next means we get a chance to take the essence of everything that was fun in Planetside and make it a lot better," Smedley wrote in his blog. "Massive battles on a scale no other FPS will touch. None of this 64 player stuff. REALLY MASSIVE. With much better organization, and a tight focus on making sure the action is always going on, with awesome graphics."

Coupled with earlier reports like this one, the Planetside fan community has remained confident that SoE is committed to a sequel, despite the lack of news throughout the past few months. Hopefully the nondescript countdown clock on the official site will end with a major Planetside 2 announcement, perhaps with in-game screenshots or even a teaser video. For more information about one of the industry's first MMOFPS titles, check out our retrospective editorial, "Planetside: SOE's Forgotten MMO?" and be sure to visit ZAM's Planetside portal site for more news as the countdown continues!

UPDATE: Massively spoke with SOE and confirmed that Planetside Next is an internal working title and not the official title for the game.

In case you missed the news, Sony Online Entertainment recently confirmed that it plans to expand the Planetside universe with another game. SOE President John Smedley has referred to the new game as Planetside Next on his Twitter page and in his new LiveJournal. In fact, Smedley's newest blog entry is all about what Planetside Next means to him.

"To me, Planetside Next means we get a chance to take the essence of everything that was fun in Planetside and make it a lot better," Smedley said. "Massive battles on a scale no other FPS will touch. None of this 64 player stuff. REALLY MASSIVE. With much better organization, and a tight focus on making sure the action is always going on, with awesome graphics."

Smedley continues to use the word "massive" throughout his blog entry. We'll just have to wait and see if Planetside Next lives up to Smed's hopes for the game. You can read his full blog entry after the jump.

A few days ago, PlanetSide Universe published an e-mail that had been sent by Sony Online Entertainment to PlanetSide subscribers announcing that the company plans to expand the PlanetSide world with another game. This followed a Twitter post SOE President John Smedley wrote on Sept. 2 that simply said, "PlanetSide Next..."

The e-mail sent to PlanetSide players asked them to "guide the development and direction of the next hit Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter" by taking a short survey. Well, SOE has now made that survey available to all gamers. You can fill out the survey here.

The questions cover a variety of topics, from how you'd rate and improve PlanetSide features to whether you play free-to-play games. This certainly suggests that the next PlanetSide game could be F2P if enough fans push for it. What types of features do you want to see in a new PlanetSide game?

According to our friends at Planetside Universe, Sony Online Entertainment just sent an email to Planetside subscribers both new and old about "Planetside Next". Could this mean that SOE has solidified their plans to develop the game?

"We plan to expand the PlanetSide universe with another game and we need your help with the design. After all, who knows the game better than you, our customers, the people who actually play it! Dont worry about the original PlanetSide, it isn't going anywhere.

We want to hear your opinion and to do so we have put together a short survey. The information you provide will play a critical role into helping guide the development and direction of the next hit Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter. As a loyal player and experienced shooter fan, we value your input and look forward to hearing what you have to say."

In light of this email, it's becoming increasingly clear that Sony Online Entertainment has plans in the works for a sequel to one of my favorite shooters of all time. Stay tuned for more information in the weeks ahead!

Direct2Drive is celebrating its fifth anniversary by selling more than 50 games for only $5 each over five weeks. This week's offer is filled with RPGs and MMOs, which means you have until Sept. 28 to pick up EVE Online, Age of Conan or PlanetSide for only $5. And yes, this low price includes 30 free days of gameplay for each MMO.

While you're at it, you can grab titles like Neverwinter Nights 2, Assassin's Creed and BioShock for $5. So do you think you'll take advantage of these offers? With new expansions on the way for both EVE Online and Age of Conan, now seems like a good time to try out either of these MMOs for such a low price.

Also, SOE President John Smedley recently hinted on his Twitter page that PlanetSide Next may be in the works, so it might be worthwhile to hone your PlanetSide skills in anticipation. It's important to keep in mind, however, that SOE has made no official announcements regarding PlanetSide Next.

Back in July, ZAM editor Christopher "Pwyff" Tom wrote an editorial about PlanetSide's current-day relevance. "Interestingly, while Planetside is probably one of the best FPSMMORPGs I've played to date, it's also very sad to see that it's one of the most abandoned MMOs I've seen in quite some time," Pwyff said about the game, which was released by Sony Online Entertainment in 2003.

A few days after the editorial was published, SOE announced the game's existing servers would be merged into one on Aug. 25. The company stated the servers were combined "in the interest in maintaining a high level of competition and gameplay" in the MMO. But with only one realm to its name, what does the future hold for PlanetSide?

On Sept. 2, SOE President John Smedley made a cryptic post on his Twitter page that simply said, "PlanetSide Next..." He made another post 12 minutes later that said, "you will like." While this information isn't much to go on, it looks like SOE is working on a sequel (or at least an update) to the MMOFPS. It would certainly make sense considering PlanetSide has a loyal fanbase. Since many players complain SOE seems to have forgotten about the game, perhaps they will get the attention they crave in PlanetSide Next.

Just a few days after ZAM published an editorial about PlanetSide's current-day relevance, we received news that the MMOFPS is merging its existing servers down to just one. Published by SOE in 2003, PlanetSide never enjoyed wide-spread success, but went on to become a fairly popular niche MMO. In the recent editorial, ZAM editor Pwyff said,"Interestingly, while Planetside is probably one of the best FPSMMORPGs I've played to date, it's also very sad to see that it's one of the most abandoned MMOs I've seen in quite some time."

In an official email announcement released today (see the full text after the jump), SOE said the "Werner" server will be merged into the "Gemini" server on August 25. While the reasoning behind the merge may be obvious, SOE described the action to be "in the interest in maintaining a high level of competition and gameplay" within the MMO. The official release urges players to "preserve your legacy" by logging in to access the name-changing character options, since it will apply to everyone. "After the merge, many character names will be duplicated, and priority will be given to players who have logged in most recently and to those who created their names first," the release states. "As a thank you to our loyal PlanetSide players, special merits will be given to native Werner players to represent your past server."

Ever since I reviewed my first FPS (First Person Shooter) MMORPG, I've held the fairly pessimistic view that it will be very tough, if not impossible, for someone to come out with a good MMOFPS. You see, I've always had the qualm that most MMOs that try to incorporate the FPS element end up creating Counter-Strike with persistent cosmetic items and persistent weaponry; I've always felt that this was a cheap way of stirring the genres without actually mixing them. In fact, it was this disgruntlement with MMOFPSs in general that finally led me to follow the many suggestions that pointed to one of the first (and only?) 'true' MMOFPSs in the market: Sony Online Entertainment's Planetside. Interestingly, while Planetside is probably one of the best FPSMMORPGs I've played to date, it's also very sad to see that it's one of the most abandoned MMOs I've seen in quite some time.

So, you wonder what has been going on in the PlanetSide forums (ForumSide)? With all of the day to day discussions that take place on the PlanetSide forums, sometime's it's hard to keep up with everything that's taken place over the course of the past week. Fear not soldiers, we've done some leg work for you and picked some of the fun, interesting, and possibly entertaining posts on the forums for your pleasure in this weekly recap!