CES 2009: Exclusive Interview with John Smedley

Some of you may remember a recent editorial that was published here at Allakhazam about my concerns with Station Cash. Obviously, there were people at Sony Online Entertainment who disagreed with me. During my time at CES last week I had the opportunity to sit down with John Smedley to let him know why I decided to write the piece and our conversation quickly turned into an interview opportunity. Mr. Smedley was both rational and receptive during our off the record talks and clearly understood my opinions, regardless of his own. He even went out on a limb to let me know that he'd like to take some of the concerns that I had back to the EverQuest II development team. You don't have to have a very big imagination to know that those remarks put a smile on my face.

During the interview, which is nearly ten minutes in length, we talked about Station Cash, Free Realms, EverQuest's ten year anniversary, and the EverQuest movie which has been rumored for years.  I have to admit, some of the Station Cash products that Sony Online Entertainment is going to be rolling out are exciting. I even found myself saying 'I'd buy that' during the interview. As far as my opinions of Station Cash are concerned, as long as the experience potions available for purchase are where they draw the line, I'm willing to co-exist.

'Imagine being able to open up a book with every member of your guild, and have that physically mailed to you as a part of station cash. Our goal is to be able to buy both in game items, and those kinds of items, but be able to do that among all of our games in the future.'

Please check out our interview with John Smedley which we've transcribed for those of you who don't want to see John Smedley and me stare into each other's eyes for ten minutes. Also, please tell us what you think about the interview, Station Cash, the EverQuest movie and anything else that comes to mind, in the comment box below.

Transcribed Version :

Tamat : So where’s the line with Station Cash?

John Smedley : I think it’s fair to say that we walked up to the line and probably stood on the line with XP potions. That’s really as far as we want to go. Most of the things we want to be cosmetic. We’re going to be announcing a few things that we’re going to be doing for a charity here in the near future, but the important steps that we’re trying to take are to get a variety of things that people can buy. Not just virtual items but things like a T-shirt with your character's picture on it, posters, maybe a guild book. These are all things we’re working on right now. Imagine being able to open up a book with every member of your guild and have that physically mailed to you.

Our goal is for players to be able to buy both in game items and those kinds of items, but be able to do that among all of our games in the future. Right now we’ve done it for EverQuest and EverQuest II. We’re not going to be doing it for Star Wars Galaxies or for Vanguard. We have made the decision for Free Realms and you’ll likely see it in our other games in the future as well.

Tamat : DC Universe Online and The Agency being those?

John
: We'll certainly have micro transaction items available, but our goal is to make things that allow for different game play options, not necessarily 'selling power'. I realize that there are respectable viewpoints that say that this is selling power - and I can see why they can feel like we've gone too far - but I respectfully disagree. I feel like we've been pretty careful with what we've done. We have to be careful not to upset our player base so much that people start quitting, which, frankly speaking, people have not done with the introduction of Station Cash.

Tamat
: So earlier today you and I were talking and one of the concerns that I brought up was that has been a concern within the community were items that are available via Station Cash that can’t be acquired in game by any other means. Are you going to continue with that standard or is that the line that we were talking about earlier

John : I think it's fair to say that there are going to be some items that are only available through Station Cash at the end of the day. However, you brought up the idea that there might be some way to make experience potions. I want to bring those ideas back to the team. One of the things we've done is we've started a thread and we've asked people to submit their ideas and their comments; now we’re monitoring that thread pretty carefully so we can get feedback from people.  The experience potion idea is something I'd like to discuss with the team. The problem, however, is that I think we need to be super careful about how we do this, so that we can get items that are truly a 'convenience,' where the community doesn't feel like it's over the line. That, to me, is the line. Is that fuzzy? Sure, but we're being careful not to cross that line. I understand the slippery slope argument, but it's our job to make sure we don't go down the slippery slope. I think so far we're doing that. Respectable people may disagree.

Tamat : In a recent article that I did about Station Cash, which voiced some of the concerns that I had and were somewhat shared by the player base, I talked about the differences between Station Cash and Station Exchange as far as how they were unveiled. With Station Exchange, the players knew long in advance what was going on and they were only implemented on a few, select servers. With Station Cash however, it was just kind of shoved down everyone’s throats. Why was that?

John
: What happened with Station Cash was that, during the very last part of development of our most recent set of expansion packs, we decided that micro transaction currency was a strategic move we wanted to make as a company. We also knew that it would be a controversial choice, so we decided that it would be best to simply implement it, test it thoroughly, and then put it out there. The reason behind this is that it's hard to have an argument in a vacuum. Talking about it, there is a vocal group of players who are passionately against it, and there is a larger group of players who have mixed feelings about it. By putting it in, we are able to get strong feedback about it, both ways, instead of everyone simply arguing in a vacuum. While there are people who are very against it on the forums, there are more people simply playing the game and experiencing what we're talking about. The reality is, the reaction to it, for the most part, has been neutral. While there is certainly an active group in the forums that are complaining about it; most people are just in and simply playing the game and they got to see for themselves exactly what we were talking about, instead of talking about it within a vacuum. We felt that would be a better way, knowing that it would be controversial.

Tamat : Let’s change pace a little bit. You’ve talked about launching Free Realms in Q2. Is that still a realistic goal?

John : Very much so. We are about to be opening up the beta to our company. We have a lot of testers on this game; we're very far along on it internally. All of the major systems are done, and a lot of them have been tested, actually. So we're pretty far down the line with it and we're going to start letting in outsiders very soon too. The website has been up at www.freerealms.com and we've gotten good response there, for anybody who wants to participate in the beta testing. We are being careful, though, it's interesting. This is the first time we've done a beta test where we're actually looking at the gender, for example, of the people that are signing up. We want an equal number of boys, girls, men and woman, so when we select beta testers, we're actually being careful to evaluate that.

Tamat : That’s another thing; your target demographic for this game is 10-14, boys and girls. How are you going to incorporate that demographic into the beta with such a young player base?

John : One of the big things that we are doing, is we're being super careful to make sure that we select people based on the criteria when they sign up. Obviously we can't tell if it's really a boy or girl, but we assume that people are telling the truth when they sign up. What we're trying to do is make sure the beta testers are reflective of the audience we expect, because MMOs are predominantly male right now. The average age of our players is 33 years old, 85% of them are male right now. This is a different demographic we're going after, so we have to get the testers in there that are of the right age and the right gender mix.

Tamat : So designing a game for that demographic has to be somewhat challenging considering the much older age of the design team. How have you been able to bring in younger kids to see what their reaction is to the game?

John : One of the exciting things that we’re doing with Free Realms which is really sort of new to SOE, is that we built a “Usability Lab”. It’s really neat, it’s a lab with six computers that allows us to record the players face, and we also put a camera on the keyboard and mouse. So we can actually see everything that they see on the screen and how they are reacting to the stuff. It’s really helpful when we were doing the interface. The interface for Free Realms was really a radical new design for an MMO interface. We’ve been tweaking it along the way based on what were seeing. We might put a button in a place that makes sense to us, but the kids didn’t get it.

A good example of this is the registration flow for the Free Realms website. We actually did extensive usability testing on it to make sure that kids could get through the process and that error message were very clearly explained in big bold letters. In fact we’re still making revisions to it because we still don’t have it perfect yet. We don’t want a player to not be able to register for the game, so we’re streamlining even that aspect of it. Within the game we’re doing that in major ways. Every major system gets ‘usability tested’, and then goes back into the shop if we find out something that isn’t fun. It’s been a blast to see this process

Tamat : There have been rumors for years about a possible EverQuest movie. Is that ever going to be something that comes to light?

John : So the EverQuest movie, I can say that it’s being worked on. I can’t really announce anything specific yet, but it is in active discussion with Sony Pictures, and they’ve got some things going up there but we can’t really comment on it yet.

Tamat : So now that the 10 year anniversary for EverQuest has been announced. What can we expect to see in March?

John : I think you can expect the tabletop book which we haven’t announced when it will come out. We’re working on a documentary about the making and history of EverQuest. It’s a really big deal for us. I mean 10 years since EverQuest helped launch this industry, and this industry has grown so much and there are some amazing games out there. We’re proud to be one of the companies that helped start it.

Comments

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keep the game the same
# Feb 08 2011 at 10:11 AM Rating: Decent
Keep the game the same as EQ1!!

not the 2010 EQ1, I hated how they added things and ruined the game...
I wanna play the 1999-2000 EQ1... Way better game!!
I've played eq2 and vanguard and both of those suck, their lame..
they had it right the first time and I really Really hope they make the game play for EQN the same as the 1999-2000 EQ1 :)

that is my wish!
keep the game the same
# Jul 17 2011 at 12:52 PM Rating: Decent
1 post
You know why do Everquest Character's move around like wooden puppets and the landscape is very flat , Eq2 is awesome with many eye popping candies and in-depth gameplay sorry you are no good with change but your franchise has to do it to stay alive
EverQuest 3
# May 11 2010 at 4:53 PM Rating: Decent
Sony,John Smedly,Brad Mcquaid and Team create the Ultimate new MMORPG that millions of gamers will want to play Such as an Everquest 3.

Lets say 20 to 40 servers to begin 20 for PVE the other 20 create a new enhanced more enjoyable open PVP/RVR feature into the game play so both types of players, would be interested.

Take your time as a gaming company developing each part of the game so that people aren't rushing into a new expansion every 12-18 months would be ideal.

Epic weapons always were nice, allow them to evolve and upgrade with new expansions so they don't become old or un-usable.

Keeping Names and Locations familiar Norrath,Starting Locations,Classes /Races with new additional Zones,Race's/Class's,and PVE Boss Mobs.

Even if you guys didn't call it Everquest and changed the name and a few classes take the best of the Original EQ and implement something that people can take in similar contrast to the old Everquest everyone enjoyed and had taken their greatest gaming memories from.


I played EverQuest 1 for 8 years and Enjoyed it other than not having the time to continue highend raiding.I would not have stopped playing after the 15th expansion came out.Still haven't found a PVE based game to match it and have numerous times wanted to re-subscribe to to it.
Lower monthly fees
# Jan 29 2009 at 12:25 PM Rating: Default
With the addition of Station Cash,it would be nice if they lowered the monthly fees a bit. I know I'm dreaming,but it would be nice LOL
I think it would be a viable change since Station Cash will be bringing more money into their pockets. Even $1/month less would be sweet!! :-))
Station Cash: the end of EQ?
# Jan 20 2009 at 9:16 AM Rating: Decent
13 posts
If you don't like Station Cash, don't use it! Enjoy the game and forget about it! Problem solved
Commercial Venders?
# Jan 18 2009 at 12:52 PM Rating: Decent
Maybe because I was in advertising a few years back I've wondered about the possibilities of a few commrcial venders within the game itself. I've casually mentioned this before at some of the SOE Block Partys. What would neat is a Taco Bell or Del Taco in Freeport or South Ro, or a Dairy Queen in Thurgadin considering dwarves love of ice cream.
add ons
# Jan 18 2009 at 8:09 AM Rating: Decent
i never liked that card game they "added" to the game i was already playing, i dont log onto a game to play another inside the game, i think that card game should be seperate, from everquest, as all its doing on my hard drive is taking up space, i dont play it and i never will, if i wanted to play card games, i would just do that , their are alot of other better deck games out thier, than this chessy eq version, as far as station cash goes, who cares, either use it or don't, its that simple. people wanna complain about oooh eq is all about the money, when in fact most of them have 3-6 accounts well you know what thats 15 bucks an account lol so whos paying who with money, i have 2 accounts and thats all i want or need, soe is a business, thier in it to make money, from a product they sell, its that simple of course thier in it for the $$$ wake up n smell the coffee, either play the game or don't, i play it with or without them bad add-ons they like to throw at us now and then, like having 2 allinone expansions in a row, so we have to pay 40 bucks for the last 2 expansions, when seeds of destruction should of just been a stand alone expansion, but sony wants the money so they put all the old expansions with it to get and extra 10 bucks from us.
plain and simple sony is a business and they are in the business of making money thats the bottom line, play eq eq2 or dont it dont matter to them because if they lose your account im sure someone already playing will create 4 more, so they dont have to find a group to play with lol peace out EQ'Aholics
RedGh0ul
A lot of fuss about not very much
# Jan 18 2009 at 1:41 AM Rating: Decent
I think that, when Smed says "We have to be careful not to upset our player base so much that people start quitting, which, frankly speaking, people have not done with the introduction of Station Cash", what he means is that they haven't quit in statistically significant numbers.

Of course some people will have quit. People quit all the time, over all sorts of issues and none. I can recall many changes in EQ that have caused flurries of people to leave. The game, however, carries on.

I can't see what the fuss is about with Station Cash, but then I never saw MMOs as competetive games. It makes no difference to me what anyone else has or does in game, I just care what my characters can do and that's the end of it. I never felt compelled to do Epic quests, for example, just because they got added to the game, nor to raid because raid content got added. Long quests and big raids bore the pants off me, so I don't do them. Content additions like those had the potential to affect my gameplay far more than adding stuff you can buy with real-world cash ever could, yet those changes never really affected my enjoyment of EQ.

Station Cash, raiding, epic quests, all just parts of the game that I don't use. The whole thing about MMOs is that they are pick&mix. No need to do everything, just focus on the parts that you like. So long as I can play my characters and find interesting things for them to do, nothing else much comes into consideration. I've had no trouble doing that for nearly ten years now so I can't see it affects me that they added a pop-up window that offers me stuff to buy, which I won't be using. If other people do use it, what business is that of mine?
POST INTERVIEW THOUGHTS
# Jan 17 2009 at 11:38 PM Rating: Decent
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Well two things that comes to mind after watching this interview with Smedley. Interview content aside, I felt that the rhetoric spoken by Smedley in this interview was more of an defense and/or justification for his decision to implement the Station Cash. In short, it sounded a lot like a propaganda and/or advertisement reel. Kind of reminded me of Regan's sales pitch to get funding for his SDA program (otherwise known as 'Star Wars') during the 1980s.

And secondly, for those of you who only watched the interview once; I would suggest you watch it again. Only this time, pay special attention to Smedley's eyes during the interview. The eyes cannot lie. He is obviously trying to cover something up during certain key parts during his interview with Tamat. Here's what to look for. Whenever he looks up and to the right, it means he's trying to recall a memory; which usually indicates he is telling the truth. But whenever he looks away from Tamat or stares down and to the right, he's either not telling the truth or covering something up.
Four Accounts Here
# Jan 17 2009 at 8:55 PM Rating: Decent
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Quote:
We have to be careful not to upset our player base so much that people start quitting, which, frankly speaking, people have not done with the introduction of Station Cash.


That is a total load of BS. There are a number of people that closed their accounts due to this. My Wife and I have a total of four accounts between us, and they are ALL closed.

This was the proverbial straw that broke the EQ players back for us and we didn't tolerate it.

There is an old saying, it goes:

"It is easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission"

This holds true in this case. Granted they didn't need to ask for permission to implement this travesty, but they knew damn good and well it was not a requested "feature" and is held in a negative light by most players whether they quit over this or not.

And as for not implementing it on SWG or Vanguard? I have a bridge to sell you if you believe that. Smedley blatantly lied when he said it would only be on a couple of the EQII servers and would not go live on them all, and now the infestation carried over to the EQ side as well.

Bonechip (Formerly of the Stromm Server)

Four Accounts Here
# Apr 14 2009 at 1:53 PM Rating: Decent
Um, I believe they won't add it to VG or SWG, and I know you don't have a bridge. Why do I think Smed is telling the truth about those two games... simple... this comment.

"What happened with Station Cash was that, during the very last part of development of our most recent set of expansion packs, we decided that micro transaction currency was a strategic move we wanted to make as a company"

Looks like they need expansion pack money to justify implementation costs, as VG and SWG will likely never see an expansion pack again, I don't see them getting Station Cash either.
Used car salesman !
# Jan 16 2009 at 12:50 PM Rating: Decent
The forums at EQ2 are a absolute joke!
They are covering up so much feedback and it is very obvious. I know two people that quit after having multiple posts (that followed every rule)deleted and then being banned after PM'ing the mods as to why ?

This whole issue is about trust and paying a sleezy company led by a used car salesman to be lied to. They can not cover up or lie about what they have done and how they did it.

You can pay a company to lie to you but I will not and do not any longer !
Smed Lies - A lot
# Jan 15 2009 at 10:29 PM Rating: Decent
I know a LOT of people that have cancelled accounts. Smed lied on that because its all over their forums. 3 of the people in the forums there I have access to their account; and all 3 are sitting at the status: CLOSED message for EQ subscriptions and they told everyone in the forums and was VERY clear, "x accounts canceled".

We'll I canceled all 6 of mine and did the same thing. If Smed wants to take his lies right to the EQ grave he can. The thing is, this is like someone you love that just committed some kind of hanus crime against you, you know? I can leave EQ like this, no tears, no regret, no remorse.
Smed Lies - A lot
# Jan 17 2009 at 12:36 AM Rating: Decent
I stopped playing EQ last October, and jumped in to World of Warcraft. I can't tell you how great it is to be able to play a MMORPG that has seamless zoning, among other things that help to make the gaming experience more enjoyable.

This is the first time I've stopped into check out what was going on here at Allakhazam and EQ, and I have to tell you. I don't know what they are talking about with station cash, and I really don't care, I'll just take it that it is some other kind of gimmick to get account holders to fork over more cash for something that isn't worth canine poo.

What did grab my attention was the editing of posts, more exactly the editing of negative post.

People need to rant (complain, blow of steam) and rave (give thanks) to their gaming experiences. For the longest time I felt Allakhazam was letting that be unhindered, but am I wrong now? Are you really censoring the views of registered posters?

If so, there is no other excuse for it than this website has become just as lame as Ever Quest has.

In those immortal words...."Say it isn't so Joe."


Smed Lies - A lot
# Jan 17 2009 at 10:12 PM Rating: Decent
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If I am not mistaken, the references made to posts being deleted, edited, etc. refer to the EQ and EQII forums not to Allakhazam. :)
Smed Lies - A lot
# Jan 17 2009 at 12:35 AM Rating: Decent
I stopped playing EQ last October, and jumped in to World of Warcraft. I can't tell you how great it is to have be able to play a MMORPG that has seamless zoning, among other things that help to make the gaming experience more enjoyable.

This is the first time I've stopped into check out what was going on here at Allakhazam and EQ, and I have to tell you. I don't know what they are talking about with station cash, and I really don't care, I'll just take it that it is some other kind of gimmick to get account holders to fork over more cash for something that isn't worth canine poo.

What did grab my attention was the editing of posts, more exactly the editing of negative post.

People need to rant (complain, blow of steam) and rave (give thanks) to their gaming experiences. For the longest time I felt Allakhazam was letting that be unhindered, but am I wrong now? Are you really censoring the views of registered posters?

If so, there is no other excuse for it than this website has become just as lame as Ever Quest has.

In those immortal words...."Say it isn't so Joe."


I still dont believe you - with LoN, why would I?
# Jan 15 2009 at 10:31 AM Rating: Decent
It's interesting to note how his viewpoint of how many people are for/against SC has changed, even though the multiple threads with pages on multiple websites has been there all along. I guess he actually checked out the various threads finally, and took note of how many are for/against this?

I'd like to know what kinds of items he's talking about that wont be able to be gotten in-game & only bought through SC. I'm pretty sure he isnt talking about T-Shirts, books & coffee mugs.

Honestly, I just dont believe him when he says xp potions are the line that isnt getting crossed. Power items have already been sold through LoN. The precedent has been set long ago.

Also, Station Cash in a kid's game(Free Realms)? That makes me cringe.
I still dont believe you - with LoN, why would I?
# Apr 14 2009 at 2:01 PM Rating: Decent
There are to versions of things that can be got in game. Everything currently available in station cash results in a claimable item for use in game. The only way you can get those items, other then certain XP pots, is via Station Cash. Want the Sorcerer's Apprentice hat from Fantasia you have to buy it from SC, same with the Good Humor hat, and such. There is no quest or mob drop that nets you those items. That is what people mean by in-game ways to get those items. He is also talking about RL items you can buy with your Character info and such on it, that would be cool.

::EDIT::
as far as Free Realms and SC goes... um you are aware that Micro-transactions is the model of payment for ALL of the kid focused MMOs right? If SoE went with a $15 a month subscription plan it would actually be an abnormality and marginalize Free Realms... BTW what did you think the FREE part of Free Realms meant? BTW, Free Realms will give FAR more Free content to players then any of the other MMOs that use this model that I have seen.

If you don't believe me check out Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, Nicktoon's Cartoon Network's Fusion Fall or the many other kid focused games from Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and many other developers, SoE is following a VERY well traveled path with Free Realms.



Edited, Apr 14th 2009 6:10pm by KelaEQII
microtransactions
# Jan 15 2009 at 6:41 AM Rating: Decent
Great interview Tamat!

Regarding Smedley's comments on the microtransactions - let's remember that SOE is really trying to cater to the largest common denominator. Some have no problem forking over a buck here and a buck there (or even $5 in some cases), but it's all about having the choice to do so. Do I think Station Cash is yet perfect? Meh...not quite. Am I grateful to have the entertainment option? Absolutely!
good interview
# Jan 15 2009 at 4:58 AM Rating: Decent
Lots of interesting things coming down the line for EQ. Books, movie..thats really awesome for a Hobby.

As for cash thing..im meh...I`m one of those people that just play the game and focus on my progression. Small gimmicks like this aren`t going to ruin my fun in game.

But it would be nice if our crafting community could become the optional way to receive things like exp pots and any other gimmick sold on station cash. that to me would keep it pixel "real".

Edited, Jan 19th 2009 12:24pm by Tudana
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good interview
# Jan 15 2009 at 8:06 AM Rating: Decent
36 posts
I truly agree with Tudana with "it would ne nice if our crafting community could become the optional way to receive things like exp pots and any other gimmick sold on station cash" but if they do impliment something to that effect I hope they dont' do it with alchemy. I have a high lvl shaman with his alchemy maxed but don't want to see people out there make a mint off them if / when they come out. I would rather see something in the line of say Brewing, where every one can do it. Make it different level potions, like at the marketplace, for different level skills and no trade items.
I'm happy......but..
# Jan 15 2009 at 3:35 AM Rating: Good
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129 posts
"One of the things we've done is we've started a thread and we've asked people to submit their ideas and their comments; now we’re monitoring that thread pretty carefully so we can get feedback from people."

Where's this thread they've started?
I'm happy......but..
# Jan 15 2009 at 12:18 PM Rating: Decent
It's highly moderated. Negative criticism will only get deleted, as several of my posts were.
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I'm happy......but..
# Jan 15 2009 at 1:12 PM Rating: Excellent
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missjackie wrote:
It's highly moderated. Negative criticism will only get deleted, as several of my posts were.


Criticism is fine if one is not rude about it :) Not saying you're rude, just that they've really eased up in the recent past.
I'm happy......but..
# Jan 17 2009 at 8:04 PM Rating: Decent
Quote:
missjackie wrote:
It's highly moderated. Negative criticism will only get deleted, as several of my posts were.

calthine wrote:
Criticism is fine if one is not rude about it :) Not saying you're rude, just that they've really eased up in the recent past


I recently had a post of mine deleted and got a couple pms because of it. My Original post was deemed "snarky", when it fact it was purely stating a problem and giving examples of why the item (and any future ones like it) should not be put into the Station Cash program.

My post after that one was, I'll admit, slightly "snarky", though it stayed, 'cause it was buried in the "appropriate thread" and not where it could do any good. And, of 'course my other post, several days later, was deleted approx 2 mins after it was posted, in response to said Mod who blatantly lied about "posts being polite and respectful being okay" in said thread was overwhelmingly "snarky". But, it at least was a truthful post, unlike the Mod's.
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As far as Station Cash goes .. As long as it stays Fluff, in or out of game, I don't care about it being part of the game and if they ever get anything in there that I'd want, I'd certainly consider purchasing it. But, as LON has already shown, it'll more than likely become a disruption of the game's integrity. One way or another. No matter what Smed says, which generally can be trusted as much as any campaigning politician's promises can be, SOE is and always will be about the $$$ over the game or even the people playing it.

I love "my" game but hate the business model.
I'm happy......but..
# Jan 15 2009 at 9:25 AM Rating: Excellent
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Olivan wrote:
"One of the things we've done is we've started a thread and we've asked people to submit their ideas and their comments; now we’re monitoring that thread pretty carefully so we can get feedback from people."

Where's this thread they've started?


Over here: http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=438341
I'm happy......but..
# Jan 15 2009 at 7:36 PM Rating: Good
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129 posts
Thanks a ton :-)
I'm happy......but..
# Jan 15 2009 at 1:23 PM Rating: Decent
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And here

http://forums.station.sony.com/eq/posts/list.m?topic_id=144357

Note: They have routinely deleted any and all negative comments and Grimwell has sent extremely insulting PM's to those who expressed any negative comments.


See also this thread. Smedley is not being entirely honest (no surprise) with his comments regarding canceled subscriptions.

http://forums.station.sony.com/eq/posts/list.m?topic_id=144049

Another thing to consider here might be just exactly how does Smedley actually expect to be able to provide an accurate Guild Picture Book? For heaven's sake, SoE has not been able to get the "You need to pay for it if you want correct information" EQPlayers program to work right since its very inception!

Edited, Jan 15th 2009 9:33pm by Adani
I'm happy......but..
# Jan 20 2009 at 7:49 AM Rating: Decent
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Hmmm, I scanned the first 3 pages (50 posts each) and found a whopping 10 players who "cancelled," four of which are still playing and have left their comments behind in hopes others didn't notice them.

Not saying its good, not saying its bad. But the rants and raves of the same 50 people who are the "loudest" on EQ forums at Sony do not necessarily speak for the other couple hundred thousand accounts who just never type /marketplace or whatever it is in the first place.
heard it all before.
# Jan 15 2009 at 12:31 AM Rating: Decent
Ah yes Smed has a great track record of following through with what he says..sorry but this interview doesnt ease my mind about this "service",its very easy to sit back now let the dust settle and then move to bring in uber gear..time will tell of course but i'll bet somewhere along the line theres an item such as the LON house awaiting to be bought.

It simply should not have been brought into a live game,simple as that..i do wonder if he missed the 87 page thread on the OB about it..i would say being generous too,theres about 5 pages of positive feedback about it,but of course thats just the "vocal minority" isnt it??

SOE should trademark that term,they really should.
toughts
# Jan 14 2009 at 11:55 PM Rating: Decent
"Most of the things we want to be cosmetic."

If I need to spend real cash to buy new wears for my char, I will not stay very long time ...

"We’re going to be announcing a few things that we’re going to be doing for a charity here in the near future,"

Hope he means a revamp graphic engine, otherwise ...

"Not just virtual items but things like a T-shirt with your characters picture on it"

Easy to do myself ...

", posters,"

Same ... A3 print is cheap ...

"maybe a guild book. These are all things we’re working on right now. Imagine being able to open up a book with every member of your guild and have that physically mailed to you."

I enjoy very much playing with people on my guild and that's only thing (with raid challenge) that do me to stay in EQ otherwise ...

Well not very clear anwsers, so only to say we test, we test and we are testing more. It's only good news here :-)

My anwser to tests is : MAKE NEW GRAPHIC ENGINE WITH FREE CUSTOM APPAREANCE AND EVERQUEST WILL BEAT WoW !!!!

LONG LIVE TO EQ ! (well hope so ...)


Nice Job!
# Jan 14 2009 at 8:50 PM Rating: Excellent
So much cleared up and all the grey areas more clear. Thanks John for speaking up and putting many people's minds at ease. And, thank you, Tamat for a great interview!
Welcome!
# Jan 14 2009 at 8:33 PM Rating: Excellent
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1,577 posts
Again, I'd like to encourage you to leave feedback about any of the topics that were discussed during our interview. Please do so but make sure to observe our forums rules.
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Fly High Daevas,
Tamat ~ Andrew Beegle
Community Manager
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