Bye,Bye Werner?

SgtMAD · 2012-01-10, 09:31 AM

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/pressr..._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 · 2012-01-10, 09:32 AM

Hmm that is an interesting development and a good question.

basti · 2012-01-10, 09:40 AM

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 · 2012-01-10, 09:42 AM

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 · 2012-01-10, 09:47 AM

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 · 2012-01-10, 09:49 AM

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 · 2012-01-10, 09:51 AM

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 · 2012-01-10, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by 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.

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 · 2012-01-10, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by basti

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 · 2012-01-10, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by HtSgtMAD

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 · 2012-01-10, 10:08 AM

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 · 2012-01-10, 10:13 AM

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 · 2012-01-10, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by HtSgtMAD

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 · 2012-01-10, 10:19 AM

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 · 2012-01-10, 10:31 AM

here are some articles

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...ine-games.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...es-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.