Bye,Bye Werner?

[SgtMAD]

it looks like SOE has sold the licensing of a bunch of SOE games to a german company that will run them in Europe,this does include PS2

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/81691/ProSiebenSat1_is_the_Exclusive_Partner_of_Sony_Onl ineEntertainment_in_Europe.php

so I wonder is this like the agreement SOE has with The9 in China?

will this effectively isolate european and N.A. gamers?

[Hamma]

Hmm that is an interesting development and a good question.

[basti]

You are mistaken. The Pro7 media group does not host the games, they advertise them. That means they do TV spots, web ads, and all kinds of stuff.
On top of that, they have a dedicated web page for all those games (http://www.sevengames.com/), where you could play said games in case they are browser based, or download the client/get additonal info/talk (forum)/ etc etc. Yet, if you play a online game through their platform, you end up on the actual servers hosted by the original guys. You also get your patches through them.


In short, that means Planetside 2 will get shitload of TV advertising for several european countries, with no actual downsides for us euros.


YAY! :)

[SgtMAD]

they aren't announcing a media PR deal, it says the games are licensed to them,which is far more than just running the PR for SOE.

here is the german company's site, it sure looks like a gaming site

http://www.prosiebensat1games.com/

[basti]

Hmm, cant get the press release atm, and lots of news sites say different things.

Propably get smed or someone else from SOE here to give us more information. :)

[Verdon]

Well ofc they will split EU and US, it's the only logical thing to deal with latency.
As you know the merger in PS was only to deal with low pops.
I don't like it though, since I regulary play with both US and EU players. But there isn't really an option as i see it.

[BlazingSun]

I'm not sure if that is the case basti. I think they will also be responsible for server hosting and since SOE is not such a big company as EA for example, even the european customer support for the game could be outsourced to them. That is actually quite a common practice. But it`s just a guess of course.


Anyway ... let's hope ze germans know what they are doing. The ping should be good at least.

[basti]

I'm not sure if that is the case basti. I think they will also be responsible for server hosting and since SOE is not such a big company as EA for example, even the european customer support for the game could be outsourced to them. That is actually quite a common practice. But it`s just a guess of course.


Anyway ... let's hope ze germans know what they are doing . The ping should be good at least.

Yet, SOE hosts European servers for Free Realms, EQ, EQ2, and all of their other games.

No, seriously guys, i am 100% sure this is a publishing and Advertising deal. SOE will still host the servers, everything else just simply doesnt make sense.

[SgtMAD]

Yet, SOE hosts European servers for Free Realms, EQ, EQ2, and all of their other games.

No, seriously guys, i am 100% sure this is a publishing and Advertising deal. SOE will still host the servers, everything else just simply doesnt make sense.

Dude, the article says SOE just signed an agreement with them to run the servers for all those games, there are 8 games listed in this deal.

Quote-
"Under a cooperation agreement with Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), the Unterföhring-based games publisher has secured a multi-year partnership with the Europe-wide exclusive licenses to eight online games of the U.S.-based games development studio, including blockbuster games like DC Universe™ Online, EverQuest® II, Star Wars®: Clone Wars Adventures™, Free Realms®, Magic: The Gathering – Tactics®, PoxNora®, the upcoming PlanetSide® 2 and the next installment of the EverQuest® Franchise. By means of this long-term strategic partnership, the subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 Group has positioned itself as one of the biggest games publishers in Europe."

are there any current SOE games not on that list?

[basti]

Dude, the article says SOE just signed an agreement with them to run the servers for all those games, there are 8 games listed in this deal.

Quote-
"Under a cooperation agreement with Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), the Unterföhring-based games publisher has secured a multi-year partnership with the Europe-wide exclusive licenses to eight online games of the U.S.-based games development studio, including blockbuster games like DC Universe™ Online, EverQuest® II, Star Wars®: Clone Wars Adventures™, Free Realms®, Magic: The Gathering – Tactics®, PoxNora®, the upcoming PlanetSide® 2 and the next installment of the EverQuest® Franchise. By means of this long-term strategic partnership, the subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 Group has positioned itself as one of the biggest games publishers in Europe."

are there any current SOE games not on that list?

There is not a single word about hosting, in any way? Even if you want, you cant read anything there as hosting.

edit: and instead of reading one article and stating this as true and fact, read more. There is quite a bunch of articles about this topic now, and they say different things. While some speak about publishing and advertising, others speak only about publishing, and some speak only about advertising.

Need to get my hands on the press release already...

[SgtMAD]

what do you think they are licensing?the ability to release a spiffy press release?

we have company here that is an online gaming company and it announces a licensing agreement with SOE,now SOE has shown in the past that they will license the game(s) to be run by regional companies like they did in China.

there isn't anything in the whole release about about a PR agreement.

[SgtMAD]

this is the press release-
_________________________________
This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]
Press Release

- to be published immediately –

Munich, January 10, 2012. The starting gun has already sounded for 2012: ProSiebenSat.1 Games announced its latest coup at a press conference in Munich today. Under a cooperation agreement with Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), the Unterföhring-based games publisher has secured a multi-year partnership with the Europe-wide exclusive licenses to eight online games of the U.S.-based games development studio, including blockbuster games like DC Universe™ Online, EverQuest® II, Star Wars®: Clone Wars Adventures™, Free Realms®, Magic: The Gathering – Tactics®, PoxNora®, the upcoming PlanetSide® 2 and the next installment of the EverQuest® Franchise. By means of this long-term strategic partnership, the subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 Group has positioned itself as one of the biggest games publishers in Europe.

Christian Wegner, Executive New Media and Diversification of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group: “The games business is one of the most important growth drivers on our path to becoming a digital entertainment powerhouse. The cooperation agreement with Sony Online Entertainment brings us a big step closer to our goal of becoming one of the top 3 publishers in Europe.” Arnd Benninghoff, Chairman of ProSiebenSat.1 Digital's management board, added: “We want to offer our gamers genuine blockbuster games because that is exactly what they expect from one of Europe’s leading TV companies: premium TV content, premium online offerings and premium gaming entertainment.”

“We have found the ideal partner in the ProSiebenSat. 1 Group for helping us reach an even broader audience in Europe,” said John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment. “We’re confident that combining the strength and full media power of ProSiebenSat.1 Games with our expertise in creating original, quality games and entertainment will engage players in exciting new ways, setting the stage for great success in Europe.”

***

About ProSiebenSat.1 Games GmbH

A subsidiary of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, the games publisher focuses on the Europe-wide licensing of online games and on the acquisition of game partners. The company’s portfolio includes L.A.W – Living After War, LOCO – Land of Chaos Online, S4 League and Audition.

About SOE

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games. Best known for its blockbuster hits and franchises, including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, PlanetSide®, Free Realms®, Clone Wars Adventures™, PoxNora®, Magic: The Gathering – Tactics®, and DC Universe™ Online, SOE creates, develops and provides compelling online entertainment for a variety of platforms. SOE is building on its proven legacy and pioneering the future of online worlds through creative development and inspired gameplay design for audiences of all ages. To learn more, visit www.soe.com.

SOE, the SOE logo, EverQuest, PlanetSide, PoxNora, and Free Realms are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. STAR WARS, and all related characters, names and indicia are trademarks of & © 2011 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

[basti]

what do you think they are licensing?the ability to release a spiffy press release?

we have company here that is an online gaming company and it announces a licensing agreement with SOE,now SOE has shown in the past that they will license the game(s) to be run by regional companies like they did in China.

there isn't anything in the whole release about about a PR agreement.


Now heres the thing: All german news sites report about a advertising deal. http://www.gamespress.com talks also about publishing, and they are the only ones that i found so far talking about publishing.
Nobody ever said a single word about hosting, or anything even remotly that could be understood as hosting.

Now lets list facts here:

There is no word about hosting or anything that could be understand as hosting
Pro7 never hosted any of the online games they publish/advertise (Battlestar galactica online is one of them. They have a website for it, where you can register and stuff, but you end up on the same database and servers as anyone else, I JUST TESTED THIS!).


Trust me, this is a advertising deal. Pro7 is not going to host any SOE servers. It would be completly new to Pro7, would require a lot of cash to do, and also a lot of extra staff for support.

Whats going to happen: there will be a german/european site for Planetside2 and the other games, if you download it that way you get a fancy Pro7 logo in your launcher, when you register/login/whatever, you end up at SOEs site of things.




The stuff with the9 is something completly different. Remember, China...

[Ailos]

Even if a different company does the hosting, it doesn't mean EU folks won't be able to play on US servers or vice versa.

[SgtMAD]

here are some articles

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-10/prosieben-gets-european-licenses-to-eight-sony-online-games.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-online-prosiebensat1-games-sign-280122

this german company has been aggressively buying up german online gaming companies and has signed an agreement for game licensing in germany with EA,this outfit is moving into online gaming in a huge way,I can link all those stories too if you like.

[Stevo IRL]

Honestly I hope to god that they don't end up having the hosting rights for the European servers and base them in Germany. Need to squeeze my latency !

[Shogun]

the good thing about this is, that there will be a lot of planetside 2 advertising on tv in europe!

this pro7 gamer site is advertised all day on tv in germany! mostly battlestar galactica, but they have lots of ads for their other games, too.
i never saw an ad on tv for planetside 1, so this is good news for me!
just provide them with great footage and in a few weeks every gamer in germany knows about the game! i guess that fits for all europe, not only for germany.

[BlazingSun]

Let's just wait and see. But it would be quite nice to actually have someone who can push the reset button of the server if it crashes this time around. With Werner in Holland, I had the impression that the cleaning lady was asked to check if the server was fine on her once-every-2-days-cleaning-routine in the office.

[Coreldan]

the good thing about this is, that there will be a lot of planetside 2 advertising on tv in europe!

this pro7 gamer site is advertised all day on tv in germany! mostly battlestar galactica, but they have lots of ads for their other games, too.
i never saw an ad on tv for planetside 1, so this is good news for me!
just provide them with great footage and in a few weeks every gamer in germany knows about the game! i guess that fits for all europe, not only for germany.

Never heard of the company before. At least here in Finland we don't really have anything but the biggest games advertising, so pretty much just WoW and BF3 (mainly pre-release) :D

[basti]

Pro7 isnt in all European countries. But they are in quite a few. ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProSiebenSat.1_Media

[Sabrak]

Eh...

I hope SOE doesn't solely rely on that Pro7 company for advertisment in Europe...

I'm in France and I've NEVER heard about them.

[Shogun]

at least this is evident, that soe plans to do advertising this time!

that we have only heard about this one thing doesn´t mean they got the rest of europe or the world uncovered.

any news about soe doing advertisement for planetside 2 is good news ;-)

[Princess Frosty]

Oh god I hope not, oursourcing in my experience just leads to monumental f**k ups and bad customer service for the european players.

It happened with WAR, a french company (GOA or something) completely ballsed up the beta launch and repeatedly ballsed up other things like billing as well. They also ended up with segregated forums and everything else as well, really made me feel like a 2nd rate customer having to deal with these 3rd party buffoons.

Obviously we want european servers so that latency is good to euro players but farming that responsibility out to another company I predict would be a massive mistake.

[ThGlump]

I fear its licensing. Separate servers, separate accounts. We will be paying pro7 instead soe.

Pros - Closer servers, better maintenance, customer support in our timezone
Cons - Totaly cutoff from developers & station, zero feedback, huge delay when dealing with problems that need some work from soe.

They just sold us. After f2p bummer, this is another bit, to lose interest in ps2 :(

[Sabrak]

Yeah well, anyway, it'd nice if Smed could come around and give us some informations about that.

Nothing too specific, really.
Just enough for us to understand what we're talking about, because right now it's quite vague, and a bit worrisome to be honest.

[CuddlyChud]

I don't know what the difference between licensing / publishing might be, but keep in mind that your still going to be using station cash to make purchases, and the game store is still going to be run by SOE, so I would assume you would still be interacting with Sony for the most part. I don't know why there would be all this doom and gloom about bringing in different companies for different regions. Division of labor is usually a good thing.

[bjorntju1]

Oh fuck. I don't like this AT ALL. This probably means we get content later then normal since it isn't directly managed by SOE. Same as support and such. Also i am afraid we Europeans don't get in the beta because of this.

I wouldn't mind if they just managed the servers. Just as a server provider.And you still play the game via SOE. However what i don't like it if they also manage the game. Would really like some clarification on this.

[ThGlump]

but keep in mind that your still going to be using station cash to make purchases, and the game store is still going to be run by SOE, so I would assume you would still be interacting with Sony

I wouldnt be so sure about that. Like in other licensed games you create account on publisher system, and paying publisher, using his shop. You dont even interact with soe. No station access, and no station cash for europe.

It was that in lotro and it sucked. We had accounts in europe publisher (codemasters) and had no access/contact with US developer/publisher (Turbine). We payed CM and not turbine. We was always behind, updates, support, no influence from our feedback, no information replies from devs like on turbine forums. All we had was CM PR crap, as they didnt know anything and had no influence on game. And as it fell apart we had to create new account on turbine system to move our characters there.


I dont want that crap again in PS2. CM taught me to never play online game if its not publisher by developer company here.

I really hope its only advertising!

[Nephilimuk]

I would wait to see how this pans out - could mean a lack of server mergers but does fragment the existing community

[CuddlyChud]

I wouldnt be so sure about that. Like in other licensed games you create account on publisher system, and paying publisher, using his shop. You dont even interact with soe. No station access, and no station cash for europe.


One of the community managers for SOE mentioned that SOE just started selling physical SOE cash cards in Europe in December. I doubt they would do that if they were gonna then turn around and use a third party cash system.

[Surge72]

Hmm. I think basti is right on this. I'm not too worried about it being separated entirely like they are doing with the9 in China.

[ThGlump]

One of the community managers for SOE mentioned that SOE just started selling physical SOE cash cards in Europe in December. I doubt they would do that if they were gonna then turn around and use a third party cash system.

Ahhh. That sounds like a relief. Maybe its not all lost and its only advertising. Thanks for that info.

[Princess Frosty]

Oh fuck. I don't like this AT ALL. This probably means we get content later then normal since it isn't directly managed by SOE.

This sort of outsourcing doesn't usually lead to delays in content thankfully.

[ThGlump]

Sometime it does. Some leave localization on local publishers, and often they get patches very shortly before its live in US, leading in delays till its localized (no matter that most ppl dont care and play it in english, they still have to wait for it to be localized into dozens of languages and that take times).
And even some content could be denied under local publisher - im looking specifically at statistic data from game, as that was promised by soe, but local publisher could cut them off.

[Vancha]

So long as I'll still be able to choose from all the EU and US servers, I don't mind what they do. Having to import US versions just so I can play with my friends is a pain in the ass.

[ringring]

It would be nice if one of the devs could respond and explain exactly what this means.

I think the biggest question (worry) would be, can US based players play on EU servers as many did in PS1 and can EU based players play on US servers, again as many did?


Thanks in advance

[CuddlyChud]

Its a done deal, so whether or not an SOE official come along doesn't particularly matter. Its a business decision, so I doubt Higgity's got much say in the matter. I don't see any reason to be pessimistic though. This does affect all of SOE's largest and most profitable games, so I'm sure they put a lot of thought into it.

[dachlatte]

i dont like this at all.
all prosieben does is market casual games for the casual audience and squeeze as much money out of a game in the process. i guarantee you they dont know what PS is about and they have no passion for it what so ever.

if they have the licence to "run the game" does it mean they can choose their own payment model?

omg i feel sick...

[Shogun]

i wouldn´t worry about external companys getting content later... just look at the chinese! they got a gameplay video on their side first! it´s still not on the us mainsite, right?

i guess the cash shop will be ingame, so it will use the same system as the us one.
but dev comments on this would really help

[Higby]

I met with the Prosieben guys several times leading up to the deal being struck, their games folks are very plugged in to mmos and they're very excited about Planetside 2.

I'm really thrilled about this because it means that we'll have a more dedicated focus on the European Planetside community as well as full scale marketing campaigns to be sure people know about the game out there. We're still doing all the dev work in house, including localization.

All in all this is nothing but positive for the EU Planetside folks and Planetside 2 in general.

[Knocky]

We're still doing all the dev work in house, including localization.

That mean servers are stateside or are we going to loose our EU friends?

[Shogun]

I'm really thrilled about this because it means that we'll have a more dedicated focus on the European Planetside community as well as full scale marketing campaigns to be sure people know about the game out there. We're still doing all the dev work in house, including localization.



that´s what i wanted to read! yeah!
with pro7 for advertising the game will be known very fast! at least in germany, which is a hugh gaming market. ps1 never had anything like that!

thanks matt for all the love! ;-)

will the servermanagement stay at soe, too?

[Higby]

That mean servers are stateside or are we going to loose our EU friends?

It's always been our plan to provide local servers for Europe. I don't have details on the exact server locations yet.

[SKYeXile]

It's always been our plan to provide local servers for Europe. I don't have details on the exact server locations yet.

Chop out with some Australian servers.

host them here: http://www.micron21.com/

(I have a CAT 5 cable drilled through my wall direcly into their fibre network on the backbone)

[ThGlump]

Game servers yes. But is account, shop etc staying under soe, or its now pro7 all the way?

[SKYeXile]

Game servers yes. But is account, shop etc staying under soe, or its now pro7 all the way?

you would ahve to think so since they're using station cash or maybe thats why they're switching to an EU publisher? i know EU have some thing with MMO's and tax.

[Vancha]

It's always been our plan to provide local servers for Europe. I don't have details on the exact server locations yet.

No he's asking if EU and US servers will be available to all. I.e. will I, in England, buy an EU version of the game and see both EU and US servers on the server list like I did in Planetside or will EU players be restricted to EU servers?

[Sabrak]

I'm really thrilled about this because it means that we'll have a more dedicated focus on the European Planetside community as well as full scale marketing campaigns to be sure people know about the game out there.


Do you know if there's any plans for other partnerships in Europe?

Because, as I pointed out earlier, ProSieben is pretty much unknown in France (one of the biggest gaming market in Europe, uh...), and I assume it's actually unknown out of Germany/Austria and maybe some Eastern Europe countries.

So yeah, partnership in China and USA is pretty simple in some way, but over here, one partner won't be enough...

I'm gonna be a Captain Obvious, but you guys need a truly european partner, as a german-speaking-only one won't bring you the audience you could expect in Europe. (But yeah, I know, you're not the one in charge of that ^^")

[Knocky]

It's always been our plan to provide local servers for Europe. I don't have details on the exact server locations yet.


Will the EU peeps be allowed to log into a US server?

[basti]

Higby!
Tell me, who will host the european servers? SOE, or Pro7? Who will be responsible for the customer support? What exactly will pro7 do, and what will SOE do?

We euros fear that we get seperated from the rest of the crowd. We fear that we dont register with SOE, but with pro7 instead.

Tell me if that is actually going to happen or not. Need details! ;)

[basti]

you would ahve to think so since they're using station cash or maybe thats why they're switching to an EU publisher? i know EU have some thing with MMO's and tax.

We dont. At least for Germany.
Never had a problem billing with SOE, NCsoft or whoever, and never had to pay some extra tax.

[Vash02]

Segregation makes me a sad kitty. :(

[basti]

Godamnit, someone tell us already what exactly is going to happen. Im 99.99% sure its just marketing/publishing, and hosting/account stuff is still done by SOE, but it drives me crazy to not know it for sure! GNaah!

[dachlatte]

some more infos on this topic would be muhc appreciated.
with this little info i am really worried!

i know my last post was a little pessimistic but everyone who knows the german tv program/culture can understand me.

[Duddy]

No he's asking if EU and US servers will be available to all. I.e. will I, in England, buy an EU version of the game and see both EU and US servers on the server list like I did in Planetside or will EU players be restricted to EU servers?

I also wish to know if you're going to be forcing segregation on us, because honestly... very little annoys me more than doing that.

[Coreldan]

No he's asking if EU and US servers will be available to all. I.e. will I, in England, buy an EU version of the game and see both EU and US servers on the server list like I did in Planetside or will EU players be restricted to EU servers?

I'd sort of doubt they would do a region block. It's a lot of extra effort before and after (cos there will be lots of people who technically reside in EU/US but somehow their IP shows up so that they still cant play)

Just about the only game I've played with a region block was Vindictus and the reason is clear, it's a peer2peer hosted game, thus playing on the "wrong continent" wasnt really an option if you wanted to enjoy the game. Planetside has pretty much proven that this game works "just fine" even if on the wrong continent. I don't see that the region block would be worth the time and effort.

That said, even if the region blocked, it wouldn't bother me in any way really, except for the fact that then I probably had no chance to get into beta and would probably have to wait longer.

[BlazingSun]

Oh god I hope not, oursourcing in my experience just leads to monumental f**k ups and bad customer service for the european players.

Have you played the first Planetside? There wasn't much of a customer support from SOE, especially for europe.


It happened with WAR, a french company (GOA or something) completely ballsed up the beta launch and repeatedly ballsed up other things like billing as well. They also ended up with segregated forums and everything else as well, really made me feel like a 2nd rate customer having to deal with these 3rd party buffoons.

This is what I fear might happen. The european (german) closed beta test of WAR for example was a total farce. The feedback of roughly two thousand beta testers had to be handled by just a single Community Relation Manager. It was quite obvious that those developers had no interest in the feedback from european players. When the game was released, european players where not allowed to enter US forums and therefore couldn't communicate with the Devs whatsoever. All kind of events were held on US servers and awards given, again with the european players excluded.

some more infos on this topic would be muhc appreciated.
with this little info i am really worried!

i know my last post was a little pessimistic but everyone who knows the german tv program/culture can understand me.

Proleten TV :cry:


But let's wait for more infos and see how it turns out, before we get up in arms.

[Higby]

Lot of questions in here that I don't have 100% certain answers for and I want to be completely sure of what's happening rather than comment on something and then later be wrong. So, stay tuned! I'm going to try to get some definite info on all these questions and get back to you sometime next week (Most of the folks with the answers are out this week in Germany)

[Vash02]

Are they doing it for all of Europe? According to their website they dont do anything in countries west of Germany.

[CuddlyChud]

Are they doing it for all of Europe? According to their website they dont do anything in countries west of Germany.

The press release mentions that this is part of Pro7's big push to become one of the top 3 largest publishers in Europe, so I would assume they will be expanding outside of Germany.

[Sabrak]

Lot of questions in here that I don't have 100% certain answers for and I want to be completely sure of what's happening rather than comment on something and then later be wrong. So, stay tuned! I'm going to try to get some definite info on all these questions and get back to you sometime next week (Most of the folks with the answers are out this week in Germany)

Or you could slip a word/email to Smed so he shows over like he did some months ago?

In any case, thank you Higby for taking the time to get some infos just for us, poor little europeans! :)

[basti]

The press release mentions that this is part of Pro7's big push to become one of the top 3 largest publishers in Europe, so I would assume they will be expanding outside of Germany.

They are already in different europe countries, having channels with all kind of names. Check wikipedia. ;)

[Vancha]

Well, this feels like a turning point. Either my faith in SOE will be solidified or they'll have reverted to the SOE of olde.

I'm assuming we won't be segregated, simply because making such a decision without any consultation with, forewarning or explanation to the community would be devastatingly stupid after all the effort they've gone to to keep up communication with us.

[basti]

Well, this feels like a turning point. Either my faith in SOE will be solidified or they'll have reverted to the SOE of olde.

I'm assuming we won't be segregated, simply because making such a decision without any consultation with, forewarning or explanation to the community would be devastatingly stupid after all the effort they've gone to to keep up communication with us.

Nothing about the deal was know before yesterday, means they didnt want to share anythign till it was done, and thas propably for a good reason (its a big deal for both SOE and Pro7)

[Mirror]

We better get access to both sets of servers in the US and in Europe. Just like we did in PS1 and every other SOE game.

[bjorntju1]

I wouldn't mind if they only hosted the servers. But that you still use your SOE account to log into the game and that you can chose between US and EU servers. But what I am afraid of is that they are also going to manage the game. So instead that we log in with our SOE accounts, we need to create an account on ProSieben and use that. And since they will manage the game, I am afraid we get updates, expansions etc. later than the US. Now I of course don't mind if we get it a few hours later for example. But what about 2 weeks? (not saying that is going to happen. I will just wait for some clarification) Also things like not getting into the beta maybe... Would like to know that as well. If we Europeans get access to the beta.

[Tapman]

Published Friday 13 January 2012 | 11:37 CET (http://www.telecompaper.com/news/prosiebensat1-sony-partner-on-online-games)

German braodcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and game developer Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) have signed a cooperation contract. Under the agreement ProsSiebenSat.1 will have the exclusive Europe-wide distribution rights for the six SOE products DC Universe Online, EverQuest II, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Free Realms, Magic: The Gathering Tactics, Pox Nora and the still unpublished PlanetSide 2 as well as the sequel of the EverQuest Franchise. ProSiebenSat.1 said that the game business is one of its most important growth generators and that the cooperation with Sony Online Entertainment will help the company realise its goal to be one of the top three European game publishers.

[basti]

Published Friday 13 January 2012 | 11:37 CET (http://www.telecompaper.com/news/prosiebensat1-sony-partner-on-online-games)


Can be fully ignored atm. They just read the press release quite late, and wrote up their own text rather than just copying it (like most sites did).


The only actual information given is still just the press release.
Lets wait till higby returns with news. :)

(btw, i wont play on Pro7 servers. We all know very well how it ends if you dont have the original guys doing such stuff.)

[bjorntju1]

Can be fully ignored atm. They just read the press release quite late, and wrote up their own text rather than just copying it (like most sites did).


The only actual information given is still just the press release.
Lets wait till higby returns with news. :)

(btw, i wont play on Pro7 servers. We all know very well how it ends if you dont have the original guys doing such stuff.)

Yeah, if that happens I will probably play on the US servers. As i already said I don't mind that Pro7 hosts the servers. But I do mind if they also manage the game.

[Mirror]

Being from Europe I know that I will be playing on an East Coast US server as will everyone else that is based in Europe from DT.

SOE needs to realise that since they merged all the servers that players from Europe and the US have formed friendships and Outfits which they will want to continue into Planetside 2.

Higby if you happen to read this. Get it confirmed and make sure that we will be able to access the US servers using a version of the game bought in Europe.

[ringring]

I see there is still no feedback from SOE on the official EQ2 forum, although a 'message' has come through from Pro7 Germany that they and SOE are putting together an FAQ to answer players questions.

The main question on EQ2 as well as here is do we in the UK and EU get access to US servers and vice versa?

And btw, was one empire one server confirmed previously? (No doubt people will want and should be able to experience different empires from time to time).

[bjorntju1]

I see there is still no feedback from SOE on the official EQ2 forum, although a 'message' has come through from Pro7 Germany that they and SOE are putting together an FAQ to answer players questions.

The main question on EQ2 as well as here is do we in the UK and EU get access to US servers and vice versa?

And btw, was one empire one server confirmed previously? (No doubt people will want and should be able to experience different empires from time to time).

I think it was yes. However it was not set in stone.

But nice to hear they are getting a FAQ ready. Lets hope it answers our questions :)

[Tlacatecatl]

The problem I see is that ProSiebenSat1 primarily runs TV stations over here and tries to expand into videogames, but their track record this far isn't very big. They primarily host small Browser and F2P Games. Their online gaming platforms alaplaya.net and sevengames.com are primarily known for providing casual games.
If they host the servers and run the customer support for Planeside 2 I would expect problems just because they never hosted a game of this scale. So informations would be welcome.
But a huge thanks to Higby for looking into this!

[Vancha]

They're responsible for alaplayer? Surely we must have some S4 players here who can speak for their quality? I didn't really play it long enough to remember, though looking at the S4 forums they seem to be infamous for bad communication and ballsing things up.

Edit: Oh wait, I remember people complaining about being X patches behind Korea/Japan, or wherever the hell the game's from.

[dachlatte]

the one server one empire things doesnt make any sense for F2P games imo. you could just make a new account and join the other empire. i think its going to be a pay for character slots or something like that. i can live with that.

i see another problem with pro7 runnig the show in the EU. what happens do the vet specials/boni? name reservations? i doubt pro7 will get access to SOEs databases to see if some player is a vet.

[basti]

Dach, theres a difference between switching characters and switching account. Also, it does make sense. One account means you have all the station cash on that account. Several accounts force you to split your cash.

[dachlatte]

thats my point. its more convenient to have all your shit on one account. they will prolly see some cash for it and im ok with that. just let me play on any empire i want. dont restrict me to one empire or force me to make multiple accounts

[Vash02]

One empire one server. No one has said anything about restricting accounts to one server only.

[basti]

thats my point. its more convenient to have all your shit on one account. they will prolly see some cash for it and im ok with that. just let me play on any empire i want. dont restrict me to one empire or force me to make multiple accounts

No. IN fact, it should be impossible to have a second account.

Empire hopping is the whorst. Everyone doing it should be shot.
Play a different empire as much as you want on a different server, but dont just join the freaking winning team.

That being said, a 24 hour timer after login would be good. Lets you play whatever you want, you just have to wait for 24 hours before you can switch. Fully prevents empire hopping.

[Hmr85]

I agree completely on the 24 hour wait.

[ThGlump]

i see another problem with pro7 runnig the show in the EU. what happens do the vet specials/boni? name reservations? i doubt pro7 will get access to SOEs databases to see if some player is a vet.

That wont be that much problem. Most veterans would refuse playing under pro7, if they handle accounts too. I rather endure higher ping to US servers, that to be separated, and treated like shit. But still i would like to have Werner back (with new hamster).

[dachlatte]

No. IN fact, it should be impossible to have a second account.

Empire hopping is the whorst. Everyone doing it should be shot.
Play a different empire as much as you want on a different server, but dont just join the freaking winning team.

That being said, a 24 hour timer after login would be good. Lets you play whatever you want, you just have to wait for 24 hours before you can switch. Fully prevents empire hopping.

why do you assume that i join the winning team?


empire timer as was in PS1 is fine

[DaddyTickles]

Apologies if this has been dealt with elsewhere, but if it has I haven't seen it.

So. Its been over a week.

Any updates Higby?

[basti]

Apologies if this has been dealt with elsewhere, but if it has I haven't seen it.

So. Its been over a week.

Any updates Higby?

Nothing new yet, and this really makes me mad.

[Vash02]

They had some clauses that they realised would be unpopular?

[texico]

I hope this is just for marketing and the game gets decent exposure out here. I wouldn't mind going into a game store in the UK and hearing people actually talking about PS2.

If we're being segregated, well, I'm as upset as anybody else. It's a mistake, right from the start of the game. I'd be pretty suspicious about slowly becoming second-rate too.

[Shade Millith]

This brings up something that's slightly worrysome to me. Is the game going to end up region locked?

I live in Australia, and being trapped in Australasia servers, away from most of my gaming mates in the US sucks.

Not to mention being stuck with non-english speaking people. And far lower populations.

TL: DR
Region-Locking sucks balls for Australians.

[BlazingSun]

I live in Australia, and being trapped in Australasia servers, away from most of my gaming mates in the US sucks.

Not to mention being stuck with non-english speaking people. And far lower populations.


Man ... tell me about it. I live in Austria and I'm also stuck with non-english speaking people. Imagine that!

[texico]

Yep, I'm stuck in England with non-english speaking people. I don't even know what most of the people in the north are going on about half the time.

[SKYeXile]

This brings up something that's slightly worrysome to me. Is the game going to end up region locked?

I live in Australia, and being trapped in Australasia servers, away from most of my gaming mates in the US sucks.

Not to mention being stuck with non-english speaking people. And far lower populations.

TL: DR
Region-Locking sucks balls for Australians.
Ping is better from au-us than it is from au-Asia, would be dumb to put us on Asian servers.

[Nephilimuk]

Yep, I'm stuck in England with non-english speaking people. I don't even know what most of the people in the north are going on about half the time.

I am also from England and fail to comprehend southern shandy drinking poofs; especially when they get over excited on TeamSpeak because their Horlicks did not come with the right coloured drinks umbrella....

[Mastachief]

To be honest if the euro servers get hosted in Germany, I (in the UK) would probably get a better connection to the U.S East coast.

This all smells very fishy. If it is all outsourced and segregated this game will fail hard and fast.

I do however seem to recall that the werner servers were leased from a 3rd party.

[BlazingSun]

To be honest if the euro servers get hosted in Germany, I (in the UK) would probably get a better connection to the U.S East coast.


I highly doubt that.

[Mastachief]

my connection to gemini is 103ms and 0%loss

[ThGlump]

I do however seem to recall that the werner servers were leased from a 3rd party.

Thats pretty usual. Why have your hardware all around the world, when you can use some from local datacenter. I highly doubt anyone have problem with that. But only if its HW and in everything else is soe in charge and its their system.

[ringring]

To be honest if the euro servers get hosted in Germany, I (in the UK) would probably get a better connection to the U.S East coast.

This all smells very fishy. If it is all outsourced and segregated this game will fail hard and fast.

I do however seem to recall that the werner servers were leased from a 3rd party.
I never imagined that SOE would manage the servers themselves.

I did think they would manage the game tho, which obviously could be done remotely from SD.


ps to Higby, still no update on the situation?

[BlazingSun]

my connection to gemini is 103ms and 0%loss

I just did some ping tests to the London area from Vienna ... 35-45ms with 0% loss. The new server (should it be in germany) will be even closer to you. I think the ping will be the least problem that we'll have with a german server. :D

[Mastachief]

I just did some ping tests to the London area from Vienna ... 35-45ms with 0% loss. The new server (should it be in germany) will be even closer to you. I think the ping will be the least problem that we'll have with a german server. :D

My ping to cologne is 85ms and i always tend to see a little loss to europe. Its all about the routing(it routes around the uk before it leaves).

So only time will tell really. I just don't understand why they would have it in the Netherlands again it made the most sense.

[Shogun]

So only time will tell really. I just don't understand why they would have it in the Netherlands again it made the most sense.

because the server tends to slow down a lot when it is high on dope ;-)

[Sighpolice]

bump for any new info? marketing = cool, outsourcing servers and receiving 2nd rate treatment = bad seems to be the general response here but with little clarification :p

[DaddyTickles]

Bump for Higby to keep his promise.

[texico]

Hate to sound negative, but after the treatment PS1 got from the suits it wouldn't surprise me. Too bad they're not as awesome as the set of devs we've got.

[Higby]

Hey guys -

We definitely haven't forgotten about you. We're still hammering out details and expect to have an official announcement soon.

[Vancha]

Hey guys -

We definitely haven't forgotten about you. We're still hammering out details and expect to have an official announcement soon.

The fact that there's anything to announce already sounds rather ominous...

The words say "official announcement", but my mind reads "damage control".

[ringring]

The fact that there's anything to announce already sounds rather ominous...

The words say "official announcement", but my mind reads "damage control".

Possibly not. There probably just working on getting the 'i's crossed and the 't's dotted, getting it checked over by two sets of legal teams and then released to us as a fully rounded FQA that answers every question that we may possible ask, ever.

[Mastachief]

Hey guys -

We definitely haven't forgotten about you. We're still hammering out details and expect to have an official announcement soon.

Thank you Higby.

[texico]

For some reason I'm not as worried about this as some of the other euro's, but anyway thanks Higby :)

[DaddyTickles]

Lot of questions in here that I don't have 100% certain answers for and I want to be completely sure of what's happening rather than comment on something and then later be wrong. So, stay tuned! I'm going to try to get some definite info on all these questions and get back to you sometime next week (Most of the folks with the answers are out this week in Germany)

They must be back by now, Treebeard.

'Fess up, Higby, it'll be good for your soul:evil:

[Gortha]

Ohh NEIN, nicht ProsiebenSat1!!! *arghhh*

I really hoped SOE will run PS2 in Europe themselfes...
Now it´s clear EU Servers will be in Germany again but i am not that impressed
by ProSiebenSat1 as the Publisher for Europe...

But ProSiebenSat1 has the biggest and most seen private Television Channels in Germany, so there will be Tons of Advertising for Planetside2.

@ basti
Lets hope the best, let´s hope they don´t fail with Servers :mad:

[Duddy]

I too would like to see these questions answered.

[Vash02]

Would be nice to get the Q&A, its been two weeks.

Dont you dare cross into valve time Higby :p

[Figment]

Now it´s clear EU Servers will be in Germany again but i am not that impressed

What do you mean by again?

We've not been annexed by the *** since the 1940s and as far as I can tell that makes Amsterdam a capital of a non-Gerry country. ô_ó

[Sighpolice]

Bump

[Gortha]

What do you mean by again?

We've not been annexed by the *** since the 1940s and as far as I can tell that makes Amsterdam a capital of a non-Gerry country. ô_ó

haha Sorry,

i just remebered my good ping from Cologne to the Server.
I thought Werner was in Germany.

But many MMO-Servers for the EU are based in Germany these days.
But Amsterdam ist good too... at least for me :D

Next i want to say is, that i see the dutch as my brothers.
A few hundret years ago we were the same kingdom ;) :P

[BlazingSun]

What do you mean by again?

We've not been annexed by the *** since the 1940s and as far as I can tell that makes Amsterdam a capital of a non-Gerry country. ô_ó

Are you sure? :brow:

[Figment]

Well you almost were again! There was once a dutch plan to have Cologne annexed post-WWII... :P

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Bakker_Schut-plan.PNG

Along with say a... small section... of BRD Germany. :x

I mean you lot did take Kleve and all earlier during that thing with the Prussians and all that jazz. And what do you need Munster and Oldenburg, Berg and Aachen and all such silly little bits of land for anyway? >.> Fair is fair, right? xD

[ringring]

Lack of reply hints at something not pleasant to be revealed.

[bjorntju1]

Lack of reply hints at something not pleasant to be revealed.

This.

It is more than a month ago when it first was announced. Sure they have more info by now...

[Figment]

Or negotiations taking longer than expected, or other distractions. Or simply little news.

Don't shoot the messenger, certainly not before they've arrived and told you the news! :P

[ThGlump]

Cant shoot him because he dont even come to bring us some message. Maybe we need to spam him till we get something.
A month ago they promised on their forum that there will be FAQ in 1-2 weeks. And still nothing. So either negotiations failed and we stay under soe (yay), or they thrown us away to pro7 grasp and fear to tell us.

[DaddyTickles]

If we're playing the speculate game, and we love to do that, don't we?:D Then I'd guess that we have indeed been sold and that the rights to the announcement itself and all subsequent decisions and communication relating to Europe now belong to Pro7. :cry:

There, now thats speculation done properly!:p

[ThGlump]

When there is no information, think of worst case scenario and take it for true. Always expect the worst and you cant be disapointed, only pleased if you were wrong. Im expecting ill have to play on US servers with high ping, refusing to have separate account under pro7.

[Sabrak]

Or negotiations taking longer than expected, or other distractions. Or simply little news.

What negociations?

The partnership between SOE and Pro7 has been signed, that was the point of that topic, so negociations has been over for a while now.

European players (and others if they wanna be nice and help) with twitter, don't forget John Smedley, president of SOE, can be found on it.
And if we want an answer, the best way is still to ask to that one person who knows.

@j_smedley (http://twitter.com/j_smedley)

[Figment]

What negociations?

The partnership between SOE and Pro7 has been signed, that was the point of that topic, so negociations has been over for a while now.

European players (and others if they wanna be nice and help) with twitter, don't forget John Smedley, president of SOE, can be found on it.
And if we want an answer, the best way is still to ask to that one person who knows.

@j_smedley (http://twitter.com/j_smedley)

Having signed the intend on a partnership does not end communication about which responsibilities go where.

We've not read the contract, there may well be a lot of things they still have to work out in this partnership.

[Sabrak]

Having signed the intend on a partnership does not end communication about which responsibilities go where.

We've not read the contract, there may well be a lot of things they still have to work out in this partnership.

They didn't sign an intend on a partnership.
They signed the partnership.
No company would sign a partnership if things are still to be worked out.
Hence, negociations are over.

But we still need and want more communication about what has been decided, yes.

[basti]

HIIIGBBYYYYYY! GET US NEWS!

People are starting to get mad. :(

[Boogster]

Could do with some answers on this now, especially considering the US only beta key release in PCGamer. Is beta going to be held on European servers?

[ThGlump]

BUMP

Its been almost a month since Higby promised us more info (soon). How much time can it take to sort it up and provide some info?

We should start petition to ban "soon" from game developers vocabulary since they all are abusing that word.

[Figment]

We should start petition to ban "soon" from game developers vocabulary since they all are abusing that word.

If you'd remove Soon™ from their vocabulary, they'd have to use something else. Here's some suggestions:

In the near future™, anon™, before you know it™, down the line™, down the road™, momentarily™, any day now™, before long™, betimes™, by and by™, coming down the pike™, directly™, early™, ere long™, expeditiously™, fast™, fleetly™, forthwith™, hastily™, in a little while™, in a number of weeks™, in a short time™, in due time™, in short order™, in time™, instantly™, eventually™, lickety-split™, posthaste™, presently™, promptly™, pronto™, quick™, quickly™, rapidly™, short™, shortly™, speedily™.

Any preferences?

[Ragefighter]

http://forums.station.sony.com/station/posts/list.m?topic_id=11500038788

looks like the servers are separated. =[

[Knocky]

HIIIGBBYYYYYY! GET US NEWS!

People are starting to get mad. :(

We can't handle the truth?

[ThGlump]

FUCK IT, FUCK IT, FUCK IT.

Bye planetside2 was nice to know you. I wont play under someone else, under their own account system. I had bad experience with it before.
I was prepared to play with high ping on US server. But i cant even do that. So looks like no ps2 for me. :( :( :(


Ps: in station aacount my country is selecten as US (dont know why) so if there is no ip check mabe i have chance.

[Ragefighter]

FUCK IT, FUCK IT, FUCK IT.

Bye planetside2 was nice to know you. I wont play under someone else, under their own account system. I had bad experience with it before.
I was prepared to play with high ping on US server. But i cant even do that. So looks like no ps2 for me. :( :( :(


Ps: in station aacount my country is selecten as US (dont know why) so if there is no ip check mabe i have chance.

or try using a proxy if it is just IP idk, read through that link a few times i just read it once but didn't look favorable to euro gamers, kind of like how SOE games in Asia are, US can't get to them. but somehow they get to us ;p

seems like that may be why the euros didn't get the invites in the magazine?

[ringring]

So, we say goodbye to our American and Canadian friends :/

This is bad news for UK people, PRO7 is unknown here.

I saw the word 'local' mentioned in that piece. It obviously has gained a different meaning to the one I normally associate it with.

[Vash02]

What an utter disgrace.

[ThGlump]

Worst is that no matter how we cry it wont change anything. They wouldnt get any money from us anyway so even if we refuse this system, for soe it mean nothing.

For euro player is only bad things:
Migration to new system (and back when it fails in few years)
Pointless forums (i expect that we wont be able to post on us forum without us account) - with no dev or anybody who know anything about game to communicate with us.
Incompetent customer support - theyll be able to reset you account pwd but notthing more. Complicated stuff will go through soe with serious delay or just being ignored
Bad dev support - weird bugs that will be only in EU version and or in US US will be ignored, or very low priority.
Possible stripping of additional services - promised access to game statistics for third party programs, and other stuff? Very probably only in US version and pro7 wont give us access to it.


This isnt anything i just pulled from my ass. This is real experience with same partnership between turbine and codemasters in lotro, including CM shutting down game after 2 years and migration back to turbine. Forums dead, communicanion and customer support almost nonexistent, ignored bugs, web access to game data only in US etc.

How we can believe pro7 will be any different? CM had atleast some online game experience. Pro7 has none. So it will be even worse.

What can we done to play on your servers SOE? We want to play under you. We will bring you profit.
Why kick us out?

[Garem]

Well. Doesn't this fucking suck.

I play with a big group of players from around the world. I was greatly looking forward to transitioning with many of them into Planetside 2. How frustrating.

[ringring]

I'd always thought the Pro7 deal was a great idea from a SOE perspective and was also probably good from a UK/EU one too.

SOE would possibly be speading their promotional resources quite thinly by including Europe but by bringing in Pro7 they have a company that can do that for them and get more players, which is the bit that will be good for us.

However, the segregation of players on different sides of the Atlantic is a major bummer.

[bjorntju1]

I met with the Prosieben guys several times leading up to the deal being struck, their games folks are very plugged in to mmos and they're very excited about Planetside 2.

I'm really thrilled about this because it means that we'll have a more dedicated focus on the European Planetside community as well as full scale marketing campaigns to be sure people know about the game out there. We're still doing all the dev work in house, including localization.

All in all this is nothing but positive for the EU Planetside folks and Planetside 2 in general.

All in all this is nothing but positive for the EU Planetside folks and Planetside 2 in general.

positive for the EU Planetside folks

ha

ProSiebenSat.1 Games will oversee all accounts and commerce,


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

Fuck this shit. This is horrible. HORRIBLE.


And what about beta? Looks like we are excluded from that AS WELL. Any clarification on that?

[Sinilaid]

well that does away with the 24/7 battles, as servers will be dead during night time :/ and for us that work in the evenings there will be too few people online in the moring to enjoy the game to it fullest :(

[basti]

ITS NOT REGION LOCKED!

You simply have two accounts now! One for European (pro7), one for US (SOE).

For subscription based games, that would suck indeed. But Planetside is F2P, means its not as important. You would only have to buy Station Cash for both accounts seperatly, but thats just a little extra hassle really. Its very likley that there wont be much account wide stuff to buy with station cash that you really want that damn much...


But im not happy about this at all. Dont want to get seperated and have to install the game twice... :(

[Ragefighter]

ITS NOT REGION LOCKED!

You simply have two accounts now! One for European (pro7), one for US (SOE).

For subscription based games, that would suck indeed. But Planetside is F2P, means its not as important. You would only have to buy Station Cash for both accounts seperatly, but thats just a little extra hassle really. Its very likley that there wont be much account wide stuff to buy with station cash that you really want that damn much...


But im not happy about this at all. Dont want to get seperated and have to install the game twice... :(

i hope your right! hate to see populations split up =[

[Marsgrim]

This is shit and unacceptable.

It will mean 2 copies of the game, IF SOE allow a US account registration from a Euro address - and I am willing to they won't because the deal will be exclusive.

Further to that, I went through the Turbine/Codemasters issue on LOTRO and the service, forums and experience was abysmal. This will result in SOE not caring about euro subscribers and ProSieben investing fuck all in customer service as it makes them no money and they have no direct line to resolve major game issues.
It doesn't matter what promises are made now, it will not go that way.

Further to that, for outfits like us in Unleashed where we're a mix of people from all over the world that play in a euro timezone, we can no longer maintain our outfit.

This is horrible thinking and treatment from SOE.

[Hamma]

Locking so we can keep this discussion to one thread.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39095

[basti]

I think you forgot to do something hamma. :P

[Hamma]

Nope.. ;)