GamingShogun writes, "Under the new agreement, SCEE will publish and distribute three MMOs developed by SOE for PS3 throughout the PAL territories. In addition, SCEE will also publish the PC versions of DC Universe and The Agency on behalf of SOE in the PAL territories. The new arrangement allows SCEE to benefit from SOE's experience in a different area of video gaming publishing, one which opens up a whole host of possibilities for PS3..."
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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) announced today that SCEE has joined forces with Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) – developer of groundbreaking online Massive Multiplayer Online (MMOs) games including the wildly popular EverQuest® -- in an arrangement that will bring a whole new dimension to PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3) gaming.

Under the new agreement, SCEE will publish and distribute three MMOs developed by SOE for PS3 throughout the PAL territories. In addition, SCEE will also publish the PC versions of DC Universe and The Agency on behalf of SOE in the PAL territories. The new arrangement allows SCEE to benefit from SOE's experience in a different area of video gaming publishing, one which opens up a whole host of possibilities for PS3.
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Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming espionage MMO The Agency is not going to allow cross-platform play between the PC and the PS3, according to lead designer Hal Milton.
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Sony is planning on bringing gamers together in a bigger way than ever before. The PlayStation E3 2008 press conference introduced large scale multiplayer gaming plans for the PS3 with MAG, short for "Massive Action Game." The game is touting 256 player battles. It's a big effort in itself, but not the only one planned for the PS3. See more details on how Sony is planning to push the PS3 into MMO and persistent gaming.
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Griffin: "While spending boatloads of cash on ritzy garments and top-of-the-line gadgetry may seem like a natural behavior for an international man or woman of mystery, gamers weren't keen to last month's announcement that Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming MMO The Agency would be riddled with character-customizing microtransactions. Fortunately, in a recent interview with Eurogamer, the game's developers set the record straight, ensuring that we won't be blowing all our real-world money on digital Emporio Armanis.

The developers explained that they had not enlisted the aid of virtual trading house Live Gamer to establish a microtransaction system, but rather to create a real-world auction house to allow players to trade and sell in-game items (much like the Everquest II Station Exchange). It seems your operatives will have to secure new attire the old fashioned way -- by viciously bonking an appropriately dressed underling, pulling him behind a curtain, and performing a sartorial quick change that would put even Hannah Montana to shame."
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Not long ago, before "World of Warcraft" became the 100-pound gorilla of online games, there was "EverQuest."

It wasn't the first massively multiplayer online role-player game. But in 1999, when Sony Online Entertainment released the "EverQuest," it was the first to break through in a big way to the U.S. market.

Players went crazy for the fantasy-themed game set in the fictional world of Norrath. "EverQuest" won many awards, legions of fans and nicknames such as "NeverRest" and "EverCrack." It spawned a sequel, "EverQuest II" and many imitators, including, some say, "World of Warcraft."

But Sony Online has seen its online gaming market leader position erode in recent years. "WoW," which launched in late 2004, now commands the lion's share of the MMORPG market.

John Smedley, one of the original creators of "EverQuest" and the president of Sony Online since 2000, has watched the rapid changes in the space his company once owned, and he believes it's time for a change.

More after jump.
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Posted by Matt Wilson, Director of Development, Sony Online Entertainment on the Playstation Blog.

Hello! Matt Wilson here - I am the Director of Development for Sony Online Entertainment's Seattle studio where we are working on development of The Agency for the PS3 and PC. This is my first entry here on the PlayStation.Blog and I just wanted to give a quick introduction to our studio in my first post.

We get a lot of questions about how the SOE Seattle studio got started¿ In 2005, a few of the core Mythica development team broke away from the Microsoft games group to form a startup company called "FireAnt Games." Our primary goal when we founded the company was to bring the MMO space to more of the mainstream gamer audience. Specifically, we wanted to target the shooter audience and the console gamer. Well, it happened that SOE was thinking the same thing, and they asked us to start up their Seattle studio. More than 3 years and 80 people later, we are well into building The Agency. Our goal is to deliver an online world where players can "live the life of an elite agent," full of the over-the-top action, exotic locales, and extravagant lifestyles the spy genre is known for.

For more, click on the 'Read Full Story' link.
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Massively writes: "When you think of Sony Online Entertainment, what comes to mind? I'm sure that Everquest, Everquest 2, Star Wars Galaxies and Planetside are some of the titles which most people think about. From what I've recently seen in John Smedley's keynote at ION 08 that's all going to be changing in the near future. While he did tease the audience with a hint that, "There's more Everquest in our future." Smedley left the topic of EQ at that. I've certainly had my thoughts on what the next Everquest experience should or could be like, but it's just my own personal wish.

So why are we going to be looking at SOE in a different light in the near future? Two games are the reason why: Free Realms and The Agency."
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The Agency - the spy-themed massively multiplayer action game being developed for PS3 and PC by Sony Online Entertainment - is to feature officially supported real money trading.
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Sony Online Entertainment has given a date to their annual parade of pale-skinned shut-ins, blinking as they emerge into the bright sunlight, the SOE Fan Faire. This year's convention will be held August 14th through the 17th at the Las Vegas Hilton.

This year's 4-day event will feature demos of The Agency and Free Realms, a talk from SOE President John Smedley, chances to meet and chat with developers, and plenty of geeky hobnobbing and drunk singalongs.
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1UP writes:

"During GDC we were somewhat impressed when Sony Online Entertainment announced the new G.I.R.L. Scholarship, the most recent effort in a collaboration with the Art Institute aimed at getting more women involved in videogame development. We still had some important questions that a press release alone could not answer, though.

To find those answer, we turned to Laura Naviaux, SOE's director of global brand marketing and one of the women behind The Agency introduced during the scholarship announcement. She explained the details of the scholarship, life at SOE, and how The Agency will be more than your average adrenaline-soaked action game."
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Sony Online Entertainment has said it wants newcomers to stand a chance against veterans in its MMO The Agency.

Speaking exclusively to Eurogamer MMO, lead designer and writer Matt Staroscik said the game was a shooter first and foremost, so would use skill to level the playing field rather than time invested.
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The odds are against PlayStation 3-to-PC cross-platform play for Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming spy MMO, The Agency, CEO John Smedley tells Next-Gen.

"If I was a betting man, I'd bet that we don't allow it," said Smedley of cross-platform play. "You'll still be able to log in with your character on either [PS3 or PC]."

SOE still plans on giving cross-platform play a shot, but the shooter mechanics of The Agency make for a tough translation between a console's controller and a PC's mouse and keyboard setup.
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The PlayStation Store has opened up a lucrative new business model for SOE, which is the number two publisher of games for the PS3 digital distribution store with 10 games available. Looking ahead to this year, SOE is developing both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy as downloadable games.

SOE is also developing a downloadable game based on Sony Pictures July tent pole movie, Hancock, starring Will Smith. This marks the first time the company has worked with the film division on a property, but it won't be the last.
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Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is going to the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January in Las Vegas, Nevada. SOE is bringing along the demos for these upcoming MMOs: The Agency, Free Realms and Pirates of the Burning Sea. The demos are only available for the press. In addition, SOE will also bring some old favorites: Legends of Norrath, EverQuest, and EverQuest 2.

[ Posted on QJ.net by Isaac C. on Dec 22, 2007 ]
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One of the biggest downsides of MMORPGs is, of course, the fact that they cost a monthly fee to play. But according to some recent words by Sony Online Entertainment's John Smedley, they're looking to possibly make the upcoming PS3/PC MMO, The Agency, free of charge.

Rather than a subscription fee, SOE would fund the game through micro-transactions and a "velvet-rope policy" where certain sections of the game are only available for paying members. While Smedley said he understood avid MMO fans are used to a subscription charge, he also said SOE believes there's going to be an "aftermarket," and they want to control it so that players "don't get duped into having something switched out from them."
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The list both shows confirmed, and rumored exlusives in an easy to read and well thought out way. The list includes both released and unreleased PS3 exclusives including timed exclusives such as Haze.
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The PlayStation 3 maker's online division believes that micro-transactions and other models are the future of MMOs, not subscriptions.

Sony Online's latest massively multiplayer online game, The Agency, will feature a number of differences from other MMOs currently on the market. Firstly, it will not be an "orcs and elves"-style game within a fantasy universe, but a modern day universe featuring two different factions of spies.

Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley told delegates at his talk on "Subscriptions vs. Micro-Transactions" that, "There are quite a few 'men in tights' games out there; we alone have five, and we didn't want to do that."

After showing a short "making of" video of the upcoming Sony spy-themed MMO, Smedley explained that, "We worked to create a world where adults live out their fantasy of being an elite super agent."
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Here's a surprise (sarcasm detectors should be ringing): SOE is going to increase their support for the PlayStation Network. What does this mean to us? That there is a very close relation between games Sony sends online and the PSN -- the two may someday converge into an awesome explosion of synergy. The beginning is hinted at when Smedley says The Agency and the DC Comics Game (it's not titled yet) are going to simultaneously hit the PC and PS3 -- perhaps some cross-platform play will occur, perhaps not.
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Last month Sony Online Entertainment drew back the curtain on The Agency, an espionage-themed MMOG for PC and PS3 that the developer describes as a "fast-paced online action shooter filled with espionage, intrigue and betrayal" and a "pick-up-and-play experience." We caught up with the game's lead designer, Hal Milton, to discover more... Exactly how massively multiplayer is The Agency? Hal Milton: The game world will support many, many people in a variety of public and private social and ... » Read More