News: Resolved - PS2 Region

[Dart]

Originally Posted by Whalenator

They are just comments.
Not that the article is still reputable, but still. Comments.

We're all in the same boat here... We're looking for information on what kind of company the PS2's EU gamers have been sold to. That comment was left by a gamer who has first hand experience of Pro7's customer support. You may be willing to disregard that in favour of wishful thinking but I'm not and nor I hope is anyone else to whom PS is important.

Heads in sand isn't really an option for those of us who are either part of international gaming communities or really don't want support a company like Pro7.

[Dart]

Originally Posted by Raymac

Exactly. They are comments about an editorial. How much weight do you give comments on youtube videos or yahoo news articles? Let's not take a comment as the end all be all.

As I've said many times today... It's about building a picture of what kind of company the EU arm of PS has been sold to. I know you don't seem to be that bothered by this issue Ray, but that's because you're a US resident with no particular clan ties. I'm not quite sure why you're still commenting on this.

[Duddy]

Originally Posted by basti

Can only hope that they dont do the same with the SOE games...

Well as hinted to in this post, it seems they might reserve the right to change things down the line.

Requires clarification, but still not promising if combined with other anecdotal evidence.

Naturally I'd prefer them not to tamper with the original, with the exception of any necessary regional requirements.

[Whalenator]

Originally Posted by Dart

Heads in sand isn't really an option for those of us who are either part of international gaming communities or really don't want support a company like Pro7.

Oh god, nowhere near. Most of my faith in Sony Online Entertainment was whisked away years and years ago when they started buying (and then killing off!) great games. But this forum wouldn't be here talking about Planetside 2 if nobody had any hope for the game. I just pray SOE keeps open ears to beta testers, something that seems to be a rare feat these days.

[Dart]

Originally Posted by basti

Hmm, well, i never played S4, and i cant speak for its support really. But they do care about their other games, as i got some friends playing Florensia, and after asking them just today, they said they never got issues with support.

Im really not making it up, but after that comment on the S4 article, it seems like S4 is like a fifth weel on the wagon for Alaplaya. The entire situation seems to come from bad adjuments to the cash shop. Can only hope that they dont do the same with the SOE games...

So you're basing your "facts" on the feedback from your friends (which I think is entirely reasonable as part of constructing a larger idea of what this company like) but I should ignore negative comments from other gamers who've worded them in a logical and eloquent fashion? I'm not getting what you want me to say here guys... Everything is fine and being divided from our clans is cool?

[Dart]

Originally Posted by Whalenator

Oh god, nowhere near. Most of my faith in Sony Online Entertainment was whisked away years and years ago when they started buying (and then killing off!) great games. But this forum wouldn't be here talking about Planetside 2 if nobody had any hope for the game. I just pray SOE keeps open ears to beta testers, something that seems to be a rare feat these days.

Hey I'm with you brother. Hope is the reason I've been playing PS for the last 7 years. As I said earlier, you won't find a bigger supporter of PS than I, nor will you find someone less inclined to panic and cry "foul". But this is big stuff we're talking about here. Being separated from my clan and forced to pay a company I've never even heard of before with an apparently shady customer support history is, in my book, reason for concern.

As I said in a previous post; hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

[Whalenator]

Originally Posted by Dart

As I said in a previous post; hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Wait, but that's what I just said.
Stole my line

[Vancha]

Originally Posted by Fenrys

I've never heard of him before, but just reading a few of his tweets leads me to believe he's a corporate tool in muckraker's clothing and should probably not be taken too seriously.

Unless I misunderstand what you mean by corporate tool, then...No. He's about as opinionated as you get and certainly isn't afraid to bash companies that deserve it.

As for whether you feel he should be taken seriously, that's another matter.

[Sta]

Originally Posted by Fenrys

I've never heard of him before, but just reading a few of his tweets leads me to believe he's a corporate tool in muckraker's clothing and should probably not be taken too seriously.

i suggest to start at 3.15 mins


check what hes says bout ea's moneywhore bioware...

[basti]

Originally Posted by Dart

So you're basing your "facts" on the feedback from your friends (which I think is entirely reasonable as part of constructing a larger idea of what this company like) but I should ignore negative comments from other gamers who've worded them in a logical and eloquent fashion? I'm not getting what you want me to say here guys... Everything is fine and being divided from our clans is cool?

Nah, you got me wrong. I completly agree that splitting communitys is extremly bad. And i never said you should ignore negative comments. I just simply didnt knew that S4 got even worse.

[dsi]

Originally Posted by Fenrys

I've never heard of him before, but just reading a few of his tweets leads me to believe he's a corporate tool in muckraker's clothing and should probably not be taken too seriously.

The only corporation I can think of that agrees with this guy is Valve.

I assume you think that because he thinks developers should receive money from the sale of games? (lol @ people who think they're better than pirates because they gave a re-seller their money instead of the people who made the game)

[Sardus]

I want to point out the possibility that this may only be based on your account. I.E, if you want to play on a US server you would just need to make sure that you have an account with the US provider.. which would be SOE. So if you can speak english and know how to use SOE's website, you would be okay. And if you are purely a European customer and only know European servers/games, you would be doing business with the new company.

It kinda makes sense.. as long as they give us.. the players.. the option to choose.

[Shade Millith]

Haha.

I was right. I kept asking about 'region locking', asking for any details, and got told "Of course not".

Make sure everyone goes here -
http://forums.station.sony.com/stati...id=11500038790
And tell them your thoughts.

[Chefkoch]

Originally Posted by Dart

The notion of SOE asking us for "feedback" on this deal is insulting and disingenuous. The contracts on this multi-year deal were signed 6 weeks ago... Our negative feedback will make less than no difference now. Their pretense of being interested in our 'feedback' is ridiculous and I'm amazed more people haven't commented on it. Don't kid yourself, this is a fait accompli!

Obviously this decision was made above Higby and RadarX and actually if you read Higby's replies it's more telling what he didn't say. His comment about always intending "Localized Servers" made no mention of forcing players to use them. It would be nice however if they'd stop treating us like idiots and saying that they care about our "feedback" - if you're reading this and employed by SOE please take note!

Now in regards to the actual deal, although we don't know the specifics yet (the official SOE line from Higby, RadarX et al is that they're still working them out - this of course is rubbish; you don't sign a multi-million dollar contract but agree to hash out the details 'later'...) I'm inclined to believe that this will involve some kind of IP lock. The reason for this suspicion is simple. Pro7sat.1 is an ambitious and fast growing media company. They've signed a deal with SOE to license every aspect of the game for the entire EU region. Now if you'd done that, wouldn't you want to protect that investment by ensuring that all of your potential customers had to play on your Servers and had no choice of using alternate Servers? I can't believe they wouldn't impose an IP lock. It'd just be bad business.

In terms of SOE's reasoning behind this deal, don't get confused by the 'Latency Smokescreen'. This has nothing to do with pings and everything to with profits. A couple of weeks ago the new CEO of Sony reported the company was headed for a $2.9 billion annual loss. SOE is only a very small sliver of the corporate pie but the entire entity is in the shit right now. So with PS2 gathering steam SOE has decided to 'cash-in' now on the EU region and struck this licensing deal with Pro7sat.1 media. Put very simply, we, as customers, have been sold. We - the loyal, hardworking, long-standing gamers who have played their games for many years and are the only reason they even have an 'EU region' have been sold to a Corporation we've never heard of without even so much as a clear explanation.

Finally, to everyone who played the first game saying they don't see the big deal here - you have no idea how many European/Australian/Asian gamers were very prominent members of your "American" Servers. These were fellow gamers with whom you were playing, fighting against, being led by and basically enriching your gaming experience. If you don't understand that you simply weren't as knowledgeable about your community as you think.

I won't start listing individuals because the this is about us as a community but I've played PlanetSide since beta and only on US Servers and I can't think of a single veteran Outfit that won't be affected by this "business decision".

The decision is made and our opinions are irrelevant, so all we can do is vote with our $/£/€. SOE don't care - as a European gamer I'm now Pro7's responsibility - but neither I nor the rest of Delta Triad will be playing PS2 unless we can all play together.

What a shame to be so utterly failed by a company I've supported for the last 8 years, and yes Higby, Radar, Smedley, that one's on all of you.

Dart,
Delta Triad

Very well written ! I salute you

The new weapon forecast looks like a big smokescreen to me to calm the community down with goodies...way to obvious !

[GalacticaActual]

Originally Posted by Duddy

Well, I'd of thought there would be far more players that would just play on EU because they either wanted to, didn't care or didn't know any different than there would be players that would play on US.

New players if given the choice of where they can play between US and EU servers, would I assume go where the fight is. If the EU servers start off with a low pop due to PS1 vets heading to US servers, why would new players want to play on lower populated EU servers if the US ones presented a fuller fight?

Originally Posted by Duddy

Even then, whilst I want to play on US I'd still be playing on EU, why? Because I have groups of friends that are international but there are also groups that are only composed of EU players. I don't want to, nor should I have to, only be able to play with one to the exclusion of the other.

I'm not advocating being locked to one or the other, quite the opposite!

Originally Posted by Duddy

If anything such players would be more likely to generate more income due to spending on both systems. To go a step further, both sides would be getting that benefit but at half the use the player would otherwise make upon their network.

The problem is that we are not being given that choice, as the FAQ reads at the moment, EU players have to play on Pro7 servers and spend our money with them, we can't play on the SOE US servers even if we wanted to.

Originally Posted by Duddy

Unless I'm missing something I don't understand how it presents a block in any way.

The block is the problem! Live in the UK and wanna play on the US servers? Not allowed, gotta play on the Pro7 ones. Want a US player to play on the Pro7 servers? Not gonna happen.