Pre-order opens for EverQuest II Sentinels Fate

Pre-orders are now available for EverQuest II Sentinels Fate and EverQuest II Sentinels Fate Collector’s Edition, the sixth expansion for Sony Online Entertainment’s popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game EverQuest II. You can get started by visiting www.everquest2.com. The expansion, scheduled to be available at retail on February 16, 2010, followed by the digital launch on February 23, 2010, is an all-in-one compilation pack which

EverQuest II Sentinels Fate takes players into the fabled lands of Odus, promising a new area to explore, epic quests, new dungeons and fresh new content in various forms for all types of players. The fancy Collectotrs Edition contains the new expansion pack and all five previous expansions and content, a level cap increase to 90, two new overland zones (The Sundered Frontier and Stonebrunt Highlands), 12 new dungeons, over 400 new quests, all new alternate advancement abilities, a 7-day headstart (if you buy the retail product), a stipend of 500 Station Cash, 30-day subscription for new accounts, more loot (2,000 new weapons, pieces of armor and items), Legends of Norrath (includes digital card game client and The Fall of Erudin scenario), a collectible Armored Highlands Stalker pet figurine, Guarding of the Reasoned in-game armor piece, Armored Highland Stalker in-game mount and the EverCracked Documentary featuring Jace Hall.

Both retail and digital versions will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.99 (plus applicable taxes). Additionally, a Collector’s Edition including exclusive items is being offered for $69.99 (plus applicable taxes).

Magic: The Gathering Tactics announced

Sony Online Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast are working together on a new strategy game for the PC based on Wizard’s popular collectible trading card game Magic: The Gathering. The game is being billed an online, 3D turn-based strategy that uses core elements from the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. It is being developed by SOE’s Denver studio.

Magic: The Gathering - Tactics will let players command 3D figures and spell cards from the CTCG with the promises of a single-player campaign, multiplayer and even PVP. Other plans include regular content updates, achievements and rankings, and - no doubt - plenty of collectible cards and decks.

Magic: The Gathering - Tactics will be released in early 2010 for PC, with a PS3 version to be released “sometime after.” For more information about the game check out www.magicthegatheringtactics.com.

Legends of Norrath: Travelers released

Sony Online Entertainment has launched Travelers, the eighth add-on to the Legends of Norrath online collectible trading card game based in the EverQuest universe. Travelers introduces all new challenges for players, complete with new characters and storylines that send players to the Planes themselves. Travelers Features new cards, an all-new 200 card starter that can be used to create four different starter decks, new loot cards including exclusive new encounters in EverQuest and EverQuest II that open all-new chambers and rewards of loot and XP and -In EQII - players can combine several key cloaks to create the game’s first wearable - a visible backpack, while In EQ three new collection items will grant players the Frozen Skull of the Cursed which equates to a unique mercenary.

Find out more about it by visiting www.legendsofnorrath.station.sony.com.

Crisp Thinking: keeping Free Realms players safe

Crisp Thinking is helping Sony Online Entertainment make Free Realms safer for kids; in fact it has been doing so for quite some time. Free Realms is using Crisp Thinking’s online threat protection software, NetModerator to accomplish this. The product identifies and blocks predators and other threats in online games in real time as well as providing analysis of veiled online communications which might be a “well-disguised wrong-doer” or an escalating situation of bullying.

Since Free Realms is geared towards adults and kids, a solution like this is probably for the best because it could be a potential breeding ground for Internet predators. NetModerator analyzes the intent of dialogue between players as well as the actual words they are using. According to its makers, the software can identify potentially escalating situations such as potential self-harm or cyberbullying as well as immediately calling attention to predators. In tests undertaken by Cambridge University in the UK in 2007, NetModerator proved 98.4 percent accurate.

“We take our responsibility to ensure child safety in our products very seriously and that makes it a priority in Free Realms especially. We feel strongly that it’s up to us to implement protections for children while they’re playing our games,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “After installation and weeks of testing, we found Crisp NetModerator is a high-quality product that works well. It goes far beyond anything else we’ve seen. We are looking to implement it into other SOE games in the future.”

Crisp clients include Cartoon Network’s FusionFall, ZulaWorld and SuperSecret, along with Internet service providers, Sky and Tiscali. Full details of all Crisp Thinking solutions can be found at www.crispthinking.com.

SOE opens Usability Lab to the development masses

Sony Online Entertainment will now provide in-house “Usability Lab” services to outside companies. it announced today. So just what the hell is a “Usability Lab?” SOE says that it is a disciplined approach to product development that incorporates user centric feedback throughout the process to produce a better end product.

SOE’s Usability Lab was originally created to test the company’s in-house products, with Free Realms being the first major game title to benefit from the process. During the development process Free Realms was vigorously tested in the lab; everything from the tutorial and user interface to the gameplay mechanics were tested and tweaked during the process. This allowed the development team to make necessary changes to the game prior to launch, and made it so that users didn’t have to endure massive changes after the game was in service..

The SOE Usability Lab consists of “top of the line” PCs and PS3 systems, and is able to accommodate projects varied in size and scope - unless they are on the Wii or Xbox 360 - I would assume (they are owned by Sony after all). The services offered include usability testing, heuristic evaluations, focus group testing and feedback, and product evaluations.

For more information about the Usability Lab visit www.soedevservices.com.

The final days of The Matrix Online

Time is running out for players of Warner Bros. movie-based MMO, The Matrix Online. The game is set to shut down on July 31, 2009 for good. A note a The Matrix Online community manager has some slightly good news for those former subscribers that couldn’t get into the game for its last hurrahs; you’ll have your chance after all:

THE MATRIX ONLINE has always been a place where friends get together and have fun, be it in a club dancing to your favorite DJ’s tunes or adventuring and taking on seemingly insurmountable odds. We understand that some of your friends might not have had the opportunity to hop back into the game before the June 1st cutoff date.

We’ve heard your call and wanted to help oblige THE MATRIX ONLINE players both past and present so they can log in and have the opportunity to reminisce with old friends and participate in the final days of the game.

If you are a former player of THE MATRIX ONLINE with an inactive account, and your account was in good standing (e.g., you are not suspended or banned from playing) when you last logged in, you will now be able to log in and play THE MATRIX ONLINE for no subscription fee until the game’s closure on July 31st, 2009.

We look forward to taking Mega City down in style…together!

Please note that this opportunity to return to THE MATRIX ONLINE does not include any trial offers provided to players who had active accounts in good standing prior to June 1, 2009.

If you are a former player that wants to enjoy that last moments of this game, now is the time to do so, because soon it will be gone.. forever.

Free Realms hits 3 millionth user mark

Sony Online Entertainment announced that more than three million unique users have registered for Free Realms,since its launch on April 28, 2009. Recently awarded recognition by Guinness World Records for conducting the first concert to take place simultaneously in the real world and a virtual space during E3 in Los Angeles last week, Free Realms continues to prove that free-to-play games are serious business.

To celebrate the rapidly growing community of players, SOE will grant its first three million Free Realms registrants the “3M Pet Party Pack,” filled with goodies for use with their virtual pets, both cats and dogs. From the in-game Marketplace, players can choose from more than 20 different types of dogs and cats to train, feed, groom and dress up. Players have until Friday June 19, 2009 (11:59 PM PDT) to redeem the “3M Pet Party Pack”.

Free Realms also features 14 other fun jobs to master, as well as the Free Realms Trading Card Game: a full-featured trading card game, playable both digitally within the Free Realms online game and offline via physical card decks sold wherever you buy trading cards.