Ma Bell, meet Joe Gamer:

Sony Online Entertainment Ushers in New Era OF voice chat

FOR ONLINE GAMES with powerful suite of Communication services

- SOE Gives In-Game Chat an Audio Overhaul in Agreement with Vivox^® -

San Francisco, Calif. — February 20, 2008 — Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, is poised to revolutionize the way gamers stay connected with sophisticated new voice services where fellow gamers and guild mates are never more than a shout away.

Need standard chat for groups and raids? Check. Don’t want to tie up your own bandwidth? Roger that. Want your voice to sound completely different? Done. Late for your raid but want to take part in the group setup by cell phone? Can do. Dream of having in-game voicemail? There ya go. Playing a non-SOE game but want to use this service, free of charge? Aye.

These powerful community building features and tools are coming to SOE games at no additional cost to players and go far beyond basic real-time chat with the usual headset and microphone setup that is commonly used today.

In an agreement announced Wednesday at the Game Developers Conference between SOE and Vivox Inc., an established provider of high quality voice communications, players will be able to access a suite of voice communication tools including voice mail, voice fonts to synthesize player voices into in-game character voices, and the ability to receive external calls in SOE games.

“We’re proud to offer this level of communication power and flexibility to gamers. These new voice services not only replace many of the voice chat options currently available but add a broad range of capabilities that streamline communication and empower gamers to maintain their online relationships in both the real and virtual worlds,” said John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment. “We are giving gamers the ultimate one-stop shop to stay in touch at all times.”

Beyond voice and guild chat channels, North American players will get a special PIN number to dial in from either a land line or cell phone and connect with fellow guild members. SOE anticipates adding additional features including voicemail, broadcast messages, SMS text messaging and an initial offering of six high-quality voice fonts that replace a player’s actual voice with something completely different.

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John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment, to Deliver First Keynote for Seattle’s 2008 ION Game Conference

SEATTLE, Washington, January 28, 2008 – The 2008 ION Game Conference solidified its credentials as a premier online game industry event with the announcement that John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), is scheduled to deliver the Wednesday, May 13th keynote address at the conference. Mr. Smedley intends to focus on the accomplishments – past, present and future – of the renowned and successful online gaming company and of the MMO category in general. He will also highlight SOE’s Seattle studio, the powerhouse behind the development of the highly-anticipated online adventure/shooter currently in development for the PC and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, The Agency.

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Codemasters Online today revealed that their next MMORPG set for release in 2008, Jumpgate will be fully playable at their forthcoming 2-day community event, Codemasters Online Connect.

Available to play across 400+ machines this will be the first chance players have to get hands on with Codemasters Online’s latest blockbuster MMORPG set for release in Winter 2008. Lucky attendees to Connect will also walk away with an exclusive BETA key for Jumpgate as part of the gift pack being distributed to all attendees at the show.

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Codemasters Online Partners with NetDevil to Bring

New MMO for 2008!

Codemasters Online set to release NetDevil’s all-new space based MMORPG Jumpgate Evolution for North America /

SEATTLE, Washington, January 2, 2008 – With the start of a fresh new year, Evergreen Events announces the new ION Game Conference identity for the game industry conference formerly known as “OGDC”. Empowered with a new name, logo and website, the identity and schedule for ION is not only on track but infused with an even stronger focus. The ION Game Conference will take place at the well-appointed Seattle Waterfront Marriott Hotel in the picturesque waterfront district, from May 13 to May 15, 2008. The ION Game Conference will feature a broad array of expert-level lectures and panels, networking events and an expo area exhibiting cutting-edge technology and games for 2008 and beyond.The new ION Game Conference identity and logo reinforces the global reach of a game industry event that remains focused on top-quality networking and online game development. Last year, the conference drew nearly 20% of attendees outside the United States, such as from Korea, Germany, Japan and Australia.

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The Game Developers Conference is the world’s largest industry-only event dedicated to the advancement of interactive entertainment. More than 16,000 game industry professionals will convene in San Francisco in 2008 for learning, networking, and inspiration with their peers, discussing the most current and relevant issues facing game development today.

Visit their website for more information. Click Here

World of Kung Fu Launches Final Closed Beta

VestGame Entertainment, the North American Publisher of the Chinese hit MMORPG “World of Kung Fu” has announced that it will begin its final closed beta test on Wednesday, December 19th. The final closed beta of the game will incorporate many new elements and enhanced features. In addition to new NPCs and new items, the highly anticipated Item Mall will make its debut. Certain gameplay features have also been improved. Beta testers active in the previous beta test will be rewarded with game gold that can be used however they choose within the World of Kung Fu. Participants in the final closed beta will be able to roll their characters over into the open beta when it begins in January. Everyone is encouraged to sign up for the final closed beta test at the World of Kung Fu website (www.worldofkungfu.com).

BBC News reports the merger of Blizzard and Activision, a transaction with a price tag of $18.8 billion. The article explains the two business’s strengths; Blizzard and its incredible global strength in the MMORPG market, and Activision, renouned for their quality console games which release to most popular consoles such as the Xbox, Sony’s Playstation III, and the Nintendo Wii. These two companies have forged a deal and are coming out of the other end with a new name: Activision Blizzard.

So where is Vivendi, the company who prior to the launch of World of Warcraft, had seriously been contemplating selling everything over to Microsoft Gaming Studios, in on all of this? They are being reported as “the largest” Activision Blizzard shareholders.

Press released attached –> ( read more… )

Rumors are abound the MMO community right now as to whether or not EQ2’s Senior Producer, Scott Hartsman aka Gallenite, is leaving SoE.

A surprising rumor regarding EQ2’s Senior Producer, Scott Hartsman aka Gallenite, is spreading across various MMOG forums claiming that he has parted ways with SOE. What makes this rumor noteworthy and more than likely veritable is that it originates from the administrator who runs EQ2 Flames, one of the more popular EQ2 fan forums.

The above article was posted at massively.com and can be read in full here.

Scott has been with SoE for 6 years now, starting out on EverQuest: Shadows of Luclin (Dec 2001). If the rumours are true he will be missed greatly by the Everquest community.

Inbabble is reporting an interview with Matt Turetzky regarding the various games being released on their incredible success with mobile gaming. First notable mention brings local OGR amusement due to it’s name, Luxor 2. It is a shame that our very own Luxx doesn’t even use a cellphone, so he’s not even able to get in on the fun of playing a game which is so close to his own name.

So what’s new at RealNetworks as far as games go?
Turetzky: We are very excited about our three new mobile games launches this Q4. Coming first, in October, was Luxor 2, our second game based on one of the best selling PC games of all time. The Luxor brand has been downloaded over 60 million times on the PC and we are very pleased to be able to bring it to mobile gamers. We launched the first Luxor mobile game last year and it was our best selling game of 2006. The new version features all new levels and power-ups and much sharper design and effects, thanks to the capabilities of the newer handsets.

The interview is quite informative and interesting regardless of their website fubars. You should seriously check it out and see what they have to say regarding the mobile gaming industry. Click Here to read the full Q&A.