ProSiebenSat.1 company discussion - "Who are they?"

[Figment]

Okay, so we've been (justifiably) having this huge row regarding segregation between players from the US and EU and surrounding countries due to agreement between SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 (Pro7). Unfortunately, I'm rather skeptic about the chances of a good arrangement being struck as a lot of negotiations have finished already. Which means we've been sentenced to deal with Pro7.


However, most of us don't even know what Pro7 is all about. So my idea for this thread is for you to share the experiences you may have had with P7, both in gaming and any television or radio channels they run.

What is their product quality like? Who do they target? How is their support rated? What is their advertising strategy? What big or known names in gaming have they done before? What is their history for licensed products?



We need to get a bit better profile of this company, because outside of Germany (especially in the west) it's rather unknown.

__________________________

Some info:
http://www.prosiebensat1games.com/
http://www.prosieben.de/
http://www.prosieben.de/games/
http://www.prosiebengames.de/

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

http://en.prosiebensat1.com/media/2781004/e_16.11.wettbewerbsposition.jpg

The countries they will be active in for SOE surpass this by a lot:

Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. [Other countries may be added later]

__________________________

[Figment]

From personal experience, I only know they used to own the lowest common denominator tv channels in the Netherlands (Net 5, SBS 6 and Veronica), which they only owned for a short period of time. I can't really talk for their German channels, through from what I've seen during holidays, it's not much to write home about.

So far to me, the image I have of Pro7 is a bit of a German version of the Murdoch empire: exploity, cheap, commercial mass media. A bit of a gossip/celeb channel, cheap (action) movies with lots of lengthy commercial breaks and little regard for viewer experience. And of course everything is dubbed in local languages (no subbing in Germany on virtually any channel afaik). This image is further strengthened by bids made on the company, by the owners of Bild and Der Welt (think german versions of british gossip tabloids) and the media group owned by Berlusconi.

I have absolutely no thorough knowledge of their gaming history, but it has come to my attention that Alaplaya does not have an extremely good reputation and even broke some privacy laws by publishing real life names in relation to debts:

http://en.alaplaya.net/forum/support-f66/open-payments-t12991.html

^ The above thread has been updated with a correction that it is not about due payments, but payments already made on an archaic payment system they have since abandoned. Apparently, at the time they could not link the money spend to the appropriate accounts.


They also have terms and conditions which allow them to end an account after 90 days of inactivity:

http://en.alaplaya.net/pages/terms

So I have questions about the level of their... 'improved service'.


Anyone feel the need to correct, expand on or nuanciate this image?

[Coreldan]

WHAT LOL?!

I'm Finnish, been gaming all my life, I've never heard of the company lol. They are number one nothing in Finland :D Except if they are some kind of "mother company" for some other names I'm familiar with.

That said, I dont judge em before I try them. Naturally I'd rather be under SOE (although I guess under Pro7 I'm less likely to lose my CC details to haxors :D), but not a big deal for me.

EDIT: As I suspected. Did some googling, they actually do run/own/whatever many of the biggest and most famous radio and TV channels here. The name ProSieben just is nonexistant here, but it doesnt change the fact that they do still have a huge impact.

As for the quality of those channels, they are all high quality. The TV channels they have around here are just about the only ones I watch anymore (lots of good movies and series), but I overall dont think that one can really draw any connections between those finnish channels and with how PS2 will be hosted.

[Figment]

WHAT LOL?!

I'm Finnish, been gaming all my life, I've never heard of the company lol. They are number one nothing in Finland :D Except if they are some kind of "mother company" for some other names I'm familiar with.

They bought (and I think sold parts of) SBS.

[Sinilaid]

The cash shops in their game seem to sell power items :/ this will not end well...

[Sighpolice]

Alaplaya rings a bell.. They made/provided the online aspects of a game called Land of Chaos Online - http://loco.en.alaplaya.net/

I've played it, and in all honesty it's a good game in concept, and even in the actual gameplay (the battles) but it's brought down by an extremely bad "town" system where instead of a server browser, you walk around a town doing terrible quests. Not to mention you can't get any decent gear unless you pay for it with real monies, and that goes for getting any decent heroes to use as well.

Also the support for that is completely non-existent and rife with lag problems :(

If LoCA is anything to go on for PS2, then it is destined to fail. Think Global Agenda currently, where any time you do anything on a free account it's - "YOU COULD HAVE GOT THIS IF YOU BOUGHT A SUBSCRIPTION, OMG WHY DON'T YOU BUY THIS, SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE NOW AND HERE AND NOW!!!!!"

Annd back on topic, I've never even heard of Pro7 and I live in the UK. I'm pretty sure they aren't the "mother" company of any gossip magazines or anything in the UK, it's quite a unique name so it would have stuck if I ever heard it

[Figment]

Annd back on topic, I've never even heard of Pro7 and I live in the UK. I'm pretty sure they aren't the "mother" company of any gossip magazines or anything in the UK, it's quite a unique name so it would have stuck if I ever heard it

Probably because you got Rupert Murdoch instead of Saban or Berlusconi. ;)

[Wakken]

The cash shops in their game seem to sell power items :/ this will not end well...

God no. for reals? some kind of source for this?

I really hope they're better than GOA was for EU during Dark age of camelot and warhammer online.

But really? If they start to sell power items for PS2, I think im out. I hate that. Cosmetics or no deal

EDIT; also, never heard of them. Their name doesnt sound too... comfortable though..

[Sighpolice]

Probably because you got Rupert Murdoch instead of Saban or Berlusconi. ;)

Don't remind me :( *cries at the state of the world*

[Sta]

Here in germany pro7 is one of the richest tv-channels. That means they've got the money to buy the licenses for showing the newest hollywood movies.
Like one mentioned before me, yes lots of long commercial breaks...

I'm also quite surprised they trying now to fuk with the video game market on a bigger scale since I can only remember their logo on cheap 5 euro pc games which were released for several years already...

Also I'm concerned about the fact that a german company takes over soe's eu area because here in germany you really get a feeling that they're trying to Germanize everything on the internets what I find fucking intolerable!!!
You also have to buy games every fucking time from uk or usa because here in germany they have to censore efing everything! Like green blood and such things...

To make long story short, they're seriously trying hard to fuck up your day in germany when its about games or internet! :mad:

Edit:
4 example, in the game hearts of iron3 which is about ww2 they've even censored the name of adolf hitler.. I mean isnt it wrong to censor such things? Like such historic persons never even existed by giving them totally different names?

[Fara]

http://www.prosiebengames.de/ Looks like a very tacky, social media gaming website. I can see where this is headed, I've seen it before. PS2 is leagues better than this. Feel really bad for Higby & Co. here.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll261/farazelleth/facepalm.jpg

[Coreldan]

God no. for reals? some kind of source for this?

I really hope they're better than GOA was for EU during Dark age of camelot and warhammer online.

But really? If they start to sell power items for PS2, I think im out. I hate that. Cosmetics or no deal

EDIT; also, never heard of them. Their name doesnt sound too... comfortable though..

I'd think the cash shop items will be made on SOEs end. I doubt they are gonna have any programmers running the cash shop in Europe..

[Canaris]

*Statement RECANTED* due to false impression on the website. Apologies, seems to be innocent enough now they updated just what the thread was about.

http://en.alaplaya.net/forum/support-f66/open-payments-t12991.html

[Dart]

Just posted this in the long thread but will repost here as I think it's relevant:

Read this for some more background on Pro7Sat.1:
http://eq2wire.com/2012/02/22/20-things-soe-forgot-about-in-the-prosiebensat-1alaplaya-deal/


Pro7Sat.1 is known for poorly-supported, security flaw riddled Korean-style browser MMOs. Not only does Pro7Sat.1 have a history of hacked accounts due to poor security, but they’ve done little to resolve the matter. More than a few players have expressed concern at the prospect of dealing with this shady company.


At least the two companies have some common ground!! :mad:

Here are the final two points, for anyone wondering what kind of company we're being sold to in Pro7Sat.1


UPDATE: Pro7Sat.1 reserves the right to DELETE accounts and character data (http://en.alaplaya.net/pages/terms) (Part 6) after 90 days of inactivity. Will this apply to SOE games?


UPDATE: In violation of German and EU privacy laws, Pro7Sat.1 publishes the real names on accounts (http://en.alaplaya.net/forum/support-f66/open-payments-t12991.html) which are past-due.



So for everyone wondering, no SOE isn't the worst company in the MMO landscape for customer service... This one is!

[Duddy]

they also seem to post up the real names of their customers on their forums for some reason http://en.alaplaya.net/forum/support-f66/open-payments-t12991.html......... :huh:

Well if they're anything like Blizzard they did it to prevent bad behaviour on the forums.

I'm so bothered by using my real name, but I can understand why most people would prefer not to.

[Rabb]

anyone know how to do a petition. Something along the lines of we deal with SOE direct or you don't get our money.

[Dart]

Well if they're anything like Blizzard they did it to prevent bad behaviour on the forums.

I'm so bothered by using my real name, but I can understand why most people would prefer not to.

No, you've misunderstood. Part of their policy, if your account goes into arrears, is to post private details of the account holder in a sort of 'name and shame' list. Sounds like excellent customer support to me... Enjoy paying them your hard earned paychecks.

[Figment]

anyone know how to do a petition. Something along the lines of we deal with SOE direct or you don't get our money.

That's for a different topic. Please guys, stick to finding some more background information on these guys so we at least know who we'd be sentenced to before we'd give them any account information.

[Duddy]

No, you've misunderstood. Part of their policy, if your account goes into arrears, is to post private details of the account holder in a sort of 'name and shame' list. Sounds like excellent customer support to me... Enjoy paying them your hard earned paychecks.

Oh wow, now that is appalling behaviour.

Does not speak well of those who we will be supposedly trusting our accounts to.

[davek]

Wow i can already tell SOE really screwed up with this one this will be remembered like hacking or BFRs

[Dart]

Oh wow, now that is appalling behaviour.

Does not speak well of those who we will be supposedly trusting our accounts to.

Bingo. Seriously, read the page I linked earlier in the thread. If you're planning on playing the EU Server you might find it... informative.

[Sabrak]

No, you've misunderstood. Part of their policy, if your account goes into arrears, is to post private details of the account holder in a sort of 'name and shame' list. Sounds like excellent customer support to me... Enjoy paying them your hard earned paychecks.

That's just...
Disgusting.

There's no other word.

[Canaris]

Oh wow, now that is appalling behaviour.

Does not speak well of those who we will be supposedly trusting our accounts to.

it's also completely illegal to do in Europe, I'm guessing the only reason they've gotten away with it is the people they've shamed don't care.

[Figment]

it's also completely illegal to do in Europe, I'm guessing the only reason they've gotten away with it is the people they've shamed don't care.

Or don't know or want to draw more attention to themselves...

[Dart]

It sure would be nice to get some SOE reassurances that there will still be ways for EU players to play with their clans/friends/enemies over on US servers when PS2 is released.


But I'm not holding my breath.

[ArcIyte]

It's like the iron curtain of internets

[Figment]

Focus guys, anymore background info we got on Pro7?

Beyond the uhm... obvious bad stuff... How do we feel about their capacity in marketing the game to new EU players for instance? Would PlanetSide 2 actually become a well-known game opposed to PlanetSide?

[Sabrak]

Focus guys, anymore background info we got on Pro7?

Beyond the uhm... obvious bad stuff... How do we feel about their capacity in marketing the game to new EU players for instance? Would PlanetSide 2 actually become a well-known game opposed to PlanetSide?

Easy enough to answer that.

Have you ever heard of the other games Pro7 is in charge of?

Ever seen commercials of their games on TV or magazines?

I haven't, except for Floresia. I've heard the name once or twice. Awesome.

[BlazingSun]

I think my predictions regarding everything PS2 related have been pretty good (accurate) so far. I won't join the doomsayers just yet, but I admit I have a very bad feeling about this.


I'm therefore forced to lower Planetside 2's (Europe) rating from 'AAA' to 'AA' with a negative outlook.

.

[Redshift]

First line of their wikipedia entry is:

ProSiebenSat.1 programs had low ratings because of unconvincing marketing efforts.

Sounds familar :P

[ringring]

The cash shops in their game seem to sell power items :/ this will not end well...
But the game is SOE's not Pro7's.

Pro7 will not make any changes, the game IPR remains with SOE.

[Figment]

Well at least you're an European credit rating agency KD! ;)

@Sabrak: I have not seen them active in the Netherlands under the name ProSieben at all, nor have I seen their games on sites here or promoted in the past through those television channels they did own for a while.

I may or may not have seen some of their games in online banners. I still simply have little idea of what games they promote and publish. The games on those websites I've hardly ever heard of before, but then I generaly choose not to play f2p browser games and certainly not the German versions.

[BlazingSun]

Focus guys, anymore background info we got on Pro7?

Beyond the uhm... obvious bad stuff... How do we feel about their capacity in marketing the game to new EU players for instance? Would PlanetSide 2 actually become a well-known game opposed to PlanetSide?

Yes and no. It depends on how much money they expect to make. The additional and possible revenue gain from the game, because of TV advertising, has to outwigh the loss of income for payed advertisment (which is the main and often sole source of income for any private TV/radio media company).

But I do get the impression that the ProSiebenSat1 Media AG wants to start playing in the "major league" by signing this contract so they are not interested in peanuts, which means we might (or quite likely) be seeing some TV ads. Definitely not on all the company group's TV stations, but on those who's target audience fit the bill (for germany/austria/swiss that would be Pro7 and Kabel1 for example).

If it happens, don't expect a long or intensive campaign though, just some rather short ads around launch.


But here is the big 'but': I'm less concerned about their intentions and capability in advertising the game; I'm more worried about their service (account management, etc.).




Well at least you're an European credit rating agency KD! ;)


Was about time we had one of those, or? My 2nd step is to give the USA a more realistic rating of 'BBB-'.

[texico]

I haven't heard a single thing about them in the UK. They have nothing here. I really doubt they'd get any kind of effective marketing campaign going on here.

The best way to market in the UK is chain store/bus advertisement and ads through the BBC (radio and tele), but it's not easy. Word tends to spread quickly though and become fads with a lot of momentum if something does get going.



Service worries me the most too. It's such a terrible way for a company to loose customers - through poor management of the customer, even if the quality of the product is good.

[Nephilimuk]

they have no footprint or market share in the UK

This may be the deal they have been looking for but it will be interesting if they start publishing names. Free to play could quickly turn into no win no fee!!!

I will see if I can find anything possitive in the UK trade press about them and link

[Ailos]

Holy shit, where is the EU comission looking? They're trying to investigate Apple and Samsung, Microsoft and Google for breaches of privacy laws when these guys violate it on a daily basis left and right. WTF? You all's government is worse than the American one.


More on the thread's topic: I have never once heard of the company thourghout any travels or even events around Europe. Are they even listed on any stock exchanges?


Also, although I don't have any particular ties to outfits in Europe, I do think that European (and worldwide in general) players deserve the right to play on the same, "top-notch" servers that SOE will be maintaining on their own. I think if we keep up the pressure on SOE, they'll give in and allow you to have an account for US servers. I mean, at the end of the day, you'll still be making purchases and SOE will still be making money.

[basti]

Hokay.

Remember, Im german. And i know stuff. So, Pro7:


Pro7Sat1 is THE major television company in Germany. Both channels Pro7 and Sat1 (each are their own channel) are two of the most viewed ones. There is just one other group that got pretty much the same size, and thats the RTL Group. And those guys suck. ;)


Now okay, that tells you about the the size of the big company, but how does this affect planetside 2?

Well, its rather simple. Pro7Sat1 wants to expand and become one of the big publishers. They clearly have the money to archive that, and they clearly have a goal set, but they lack expirience. They buyed a few browser and casual game publishers, but dont yet ever dealed with the more serious MMOs.

Truth is, there is a high potential of failure right now. We do not know how much they affect the cash shop, we do not know how good they will be able to hande the game, the community and the support, we pretty much know nothing, just as them. Pro7 Sat1 literally has NO clue how to deal with us.

Now, fellow Euro players, i understand your frustration, because im frustrated as well, but theres only one thing to do: Show them how do to it right. Once they have proper forums up, once there is a clear line of communication established, we need to tell them that we want to talk with those who make the decisions, and nobody else. No random community guy who just relays information, no whoever the fuck person, no, the right players right away. And once we got that far, we need to make them understand that they have to listen to us if they want to keep us. Screwing with us means screwing with their customers, means loosing us.

Screwing this up will damage them for many years. Ask SOE, they know. People are still hating them because of the CU and NGE for SWG, and that happend plenty of years go.


Lets help them to get it right, or we all will be doomed.

[Ailos]

^Guy has a point. Follow ze German.

[ThGlump]

Now, fellow Euro players, i understand your frustration, because im frustrated as well, but theres only one thing to do: Show them how do to it right. Once they have proper forums up, once there is a clear line of communication established, we need to tell them that we want to talk with those who make the decisions, and nobody else. No random community guy who just relays information, no whoever the fuck person, no, the right players right away. And once we got that far, we need to make them understand that they have to listen to us if they want to keep us. Screwing with us means screwing with their customers, means loosing us.

but but but that means creating pro7 account, that means accepting their rule, that means collaboration! You should be shot for that.

[sylphaen]

That's it, ze germans finally took over Europe !!!!
:rofl:
:rolleyes:
party:

[Nephilimuk]

why don't we just ask them what they plan to do and would they like to talk to the community about future European plans regarding Planetside 2. They could put all our fears at rest and step up were SOE has stepped down.

The following information is in the public domain and freely available on the ProSiebenSat1 website - http://www.prosiebensat1games.com/index.3.html

Managing Director
Markus Büchtmann
ProSiebenSat1 Games GmbH
E-Mail: [email protected]

Managing Director
Andreas Heyden
ProSiebenSat1 Games GmbH
E-Mail: [email protected]

Managing Director
Achim Kaspers
ProSiebenSat1 Games GmbH
E-Mail: [email protected]

Marketing
Gunther Schiblhut
E-Mail: [email protected]

Public Relations
Christina Flanze
Communications Manager Games
E-Mail: [email protected]

Career
Diana Pick
HR Business Partner
E-Mail: [email protected]

Youth Protection
Sabine Fischbach
E-Mail: [email protected]

[bjorntju1]

they also seem to post up the real names of their customers on their forums for some reason http://en.alaplaya.net/forum/support-f66/open-payments-t12991.html......... :huh:

Damn. That is disgusting. What is this company doing man? :huh:

[ThGlump]

Why ask when you know the answers?
They will provide for us stable gaming environment, with great game advertisement/propagation, with excellent game support, everything for our best etc... Same PR nonsense, that all companies uses.

[Wargrim]

On the bright side, Pro7 is able to bring massive advertizing power to bear, at least in Germany. There is hardly a night where i dont see some commercial advertizing their browser game websites. On the other hand, i am not sure if being associated with low quality browser games is really a good thing when you start the PS2 advertisement campaign.

[Canaris]

Hokay.

Remember, Im german. And i know stuff. So, Pro7:


Pro7Sat1 is THE major television company in Germany. Both channels Pro7 and Sat1 (each are their own channel) are two of the most viewed ones. There is just one other group that got pretty much the same size, and thats the RTL Group. And those guys suck. ;)


Now okay, that tells you about the the size of the big company, but how does this affect planetside 2?

Well, its rather simple. Pro7Sat1 wants to expand and become one of the big publishers. They clearly have the money to archive that, and they clearly have a goal set, but they lack expirience. They buyed a few browser and casual game publishers, but dont yet ever dealed with the more serious MMOs.

Truth is, there is a high potential of failure right now. We do not know how much they affect the cash shop, we do not know how good they will be able to hande the game, the community and the support, we pretty much know nothing, just as them. Pro7 Sat1 literally has NO clue how to deal with us.

Now, fellow Euro players, i understand your frustration, because im frustrated as well, but theres only one thing to do: Show them how do to it right. Once they have proper forums up, once there is a clear line of communication established, we need to tell them that we want to talk with those who make the decisions, and nobody else. No random community guy who just relays information, no whoever the fuck person, no, the right players right away. And once we got that far, we need to make them understand that they have to listen to us if they want to keep us. Screwing with us means screwing with their customers, means loosing us.

Screwing this up will damage them for many years. Ask SOE, they know. People are still hating them because of the CU and NGE for SWG, and that happend plenty of years go.


Lets help them to get it right, or we all will be doomed.

sounds like a fine plan Basti

[p0intman]

John Smedley's email address is [email protected] if you'd like to shoot him an email, but he seems to be keeping mum about it.

[Aractain]

Youth Protection
Sabine Fischbach

Errrrr... ???? Is this some kind of german thing? Think of the children position?

[Boomzor]

Pro7:
-What's that on the ground there?

Smed:
-Oh that? It's just the shadow of an enraged MMO fanbase looming over you. It's yours now.

[Gandhi]

http://mmohuts.com/editorials/alaplaya-how-to-ruin-an-arena-shooter

A little more insight into how they've run their current F2P MMOs.

[ThGlump]

http://mmohuts.com/editorials/alaplaya-how-to-ruin-an-arena-shooter

A little more insight into how they've run their current F2P MMOs.

Thats great future for planetside2.
Maybe soe deserves their games to be hated (for this step), but players dont deserve that.

[Figment]

Errrrr... ???? Is this some kind of german thing? Think of the children position?

They do a lot of online games designed for younger children. So we're probably talking about protection through (chat) monitoring in order to catch potential child molestors trying to recruit victims online. Another task could be making sure they'd not spend too much of their parent's money.

Though I'm not sure how many companies would warn or stop their clients from getting their parents into debts because the child doesn't understand the value of money.

But hey, you got her email, you can always ask. :p

[ThGlump]

Errrrr... ???? Is this some kind of german thing? Think of the children position?

Germans are overprotective paranoids. Expect TR to be repainted to green, as anything that could resemble blood, must be masked :)

[Wakken]

Basti, you do realize we have to create a account and accept their policies? I do get your point though.

And I will probably not accept it if they do this kind of nasty stuff to its community as people have said here.

And also, they probably dont give a furry jacks ass what we want and what we think about them, as long as they get their paycheck. Most players will probably just accept their terms and play PS2 anyways, because the game is looking great.

I fear the worst... what you suggested is probably the best though, even if I doubt it'll ever happen.

On a side note, I have never heard of these guys... and after reading on this forum about them it doesnt really make me like them. But I do hope this all will get sorted out

[Sta]

Germans are overprotective paranoids. Expect TR to be repainted to green, as anything that could resemble blood, must be masked :)

If I remember correctly we had robots instead of humans in 1 of the early half life parts :rofl:

[Boomzor]

http://mmohuts.com/editorials/alaplaya-how-to-ruin-an-arena-shooter

A little more insight into how they've run their current F2P MMOs.

Well that was a sobering read.

I do know Korean game exports are notoriously bad at patching their western counterparts in a timely manner (heck even NCsoft had issues with their own games), though I guess it's inherently in the nature of the beast when it comes to 3:rd party outsourcing. It has rarely ever worked out well in my experience, and I'm still not fond of the prospect.

I also really do hope that SOE did not sign over enough IP rights (content creation I guess) for pro7 to pull that kind of game-store unbalancing shit and drag PS2 into the mud.

They'd seriously have to step up their game if they want to play in the pond they just jumped into.

[Figment]

This:

http://mmohuts.com/editorials/alaplaya-how-to-ruin-an-arena-shooter

A little more insight into how they've run their current F2P MMOs.

In combination with this:

ProSiebenSat.1 Games is a company that is targeting a broad range of customers with diverse interests. Will there be changes to in-game content in order to appeal to the masses?
SOE’s game line-up is packed with hundreds of hours of content for players to enjoy and explore. As we kick off this partnership, the first and foremost objective will be to deliver a fun and engaging experience for players in the above mentioned games.

Looking ahead, SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 Games will closely monitor the needs and wishes of local communities to bring special content as appropriate to European players.

Has me severely worried.

EDIT: And I'm not just talking Lederhosen.

[Aractain]

My first thought/fear was jacking up the prices on the cash shop content.

[basti]

This:



In combination with this:



Has me severely worried.

EDIT: And I'm not just talking Lederhosen.

Worrys me a great lot as well.
Going to shoot those guys a few mails tommorow, make them fully aware of the situation, and direct them over to PSU and the SOE forums.

[Wakken]

Worrys me a great lot as well.
Going to shoot those guys a few mails tommorow, make them fully aware of the situation, and direct them over to PSU and the SOE forums.

I'm glad we have you on our side ;)

I dont like this situation one bit.

[Wakken]

so there seem to be a feedback thread here:

http://forums.station.sony.com/station/posts/list.m?start=60&topic_id=11500038790

anyone can take their time and post important bits out of this thread there?

[SgtMAD]

you guys need to round up every outfit member you can find and spam those E-Mail addys until you get a reply from one of them.

[Wakken]

i'll lend smed a quick mail and direct him to this thread. I dont want no crappy EU customer service from these prosieben guys

[Wakken]

Got a "working on it" response from Smed, at least thats something!

[goneglockin]

Got a "working on it" response from Smed, at least thats something!

Thank you. Do keep us updated.

Ive been pretty reserved on making judgements on a game that hasn't even hit beta yet, but it's hard to take this news as anything but bad without clarification from SOE.

If money has already changed hands and contracts have been signed, as is usually the case before most partner announcements, I don't really think there's anything that can be done about this.

[p0intman]

I told smed about dropping by here because of it, but he is apparently in Japan or something.
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww50/Theokhoth/smiley-indifferent_640.png

[Nephilimuk]

you guys need to round up every outfit member you can find and spam those E-Mail addys until you get a reply from one of them.

whist I agree with your sentiments I would advise that for maximum effect you take the following approach

- Sent 1 polite short email only
- Briefly explain why you are sending the email and keep this factual
- List your questions about what services the new company offers again try and keep these factual
- Ask for a response to those questions
- Say thank you and ensure the tone of your message is polite at all time
- If you have not received a response in 5 working days resend the same mail clearly mentioning when you sent the first and ask when you can expect to get feedback.

At all times keep the mails polite these guys are picking up the accounts they have not done it already it is still work in progress.

The above should give you a response and if it does not then you have a hammer to legitimately use when questions regarding customer support come up.

[Rabb]

Looking ahead, SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 Games will closely monitor the needs and wishes of local communities to bring special content as appropriate to European players.

This could easily be stretched to mean we can change what ever we want and just call it special.

Who ever cam up with this deal is special and not in the good way.

[Canaris]

Guys, Prosieben Forums updated that thread with player names with a response:

Well I apologies for getting the wrong end of the stick on that,
So it's not as bad as it looked then, well that's good news.

[Gandhi]

Other companies would have just taken the money.
Or done the normal thing and simply refund it.

But at least there's no malice here, that's nice. My fears about their customer service have been allayed a little, still a long way to go.

[Sinilaid]

from alaplaya forum

Postby Protagonist » Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:17 pm
We believe that a game like EQ2 still has huge potential and we plan really big marketing efforts in Europe for it. The SOE games will not be integrated in the alaplaya webpage as we totally understand that you want to feel home.

[Wakken]

Just checked alaplaya's forums... by the gods... that community seems awful! I have a very bad feeling about this.

[Canaris]

Just checked alaplaya's forums... by the gods... that community seems awful! I have a very bad feeling about this.

last post before yours mate ;)
They're not planning on adding us to that part of their community

[Wakken]

last post before yours mate ;)
They're not planning on adding us to that part of their community

Yeah.. and thanks for that. lol

[basti]

Hokay, contact has been established. At least via forums. ;)

So, some news:

Alaplaya is not going to be running Planetside 2. Each of the SOE games will recive their own site etc.
They are also hireing more staff like crazy, to be able to offer the nessesary support etc.


So, the entire thing is up in the air, but it seems like we have at least a chance. But will keep doing whatever i can. In fact, they hire staff, so why not try? ;)

[Wakken]

Hokay, contact has been established. At least via forums. ;)

So, some news:

Alaplaya is not going to be running Planetside 2. Each of the SOE games will recive their own site etc.
They are also hireing more staff like crazy, to be able to offer the nessesary support etc.


So, the entire thing is up in the air, but it seems like we have at least a chance. But will keep doing whatever i can. In fact, they hire staff, so why not try? ;)

Keep up the good work Basti! :)

[Sinilaid]

All SOE-games will have their own websites and forums. They will not be integrated within the alaplaya-portal. And regarding IP-Lock and account-concerns: We are currently in discussion with SOE about that and might come up with a solution all SOE-Players will like

From their forum


I can assure you, that we have no plans, that "advantage" items (or power gear as I call it) will be avaiable in european market places. 

And this