Over the last few days things really have gotten ugly concerning EQ2 and the ProSiebenSat.1deal. There were forum bans, titter rage and so on, there was even a petition against this deal. But SOE is listening and trying to come up with a solution. I know many people would just be happy to see the deal go away but I think they deserve some credit for trying to come up with some type of solution. I'm really happy to see that they are working on some type of middle ground.
They could have just sent out bans and ignored players until they saw fit but they are trying to touch base and I think that is really a good start. I have had my issues with SOE here and there, as with any MMO I play, at some point, but I gotta say that they are a company who listens and hears players, more so than most. I'd say a lot more.
Raging and pulling out the pitchforks isn't going to help matters. I think this is one of those cases where feedback is important but it is also important to act like adults about the situation. There have been multiple forum, twitter and Facebook posts giving updates on how they are trying to come up with a solution and that they won't be dividing up the community which is something to give them credit for. Good news IMO.
I am as sure as I can be with absolutely no actual facts or information that this whole deal has been pushed through at a level above even Smedley. I don't imagine anyone at SoE had any say whatsoever in whether or not the deal went through. They will get all the hate, all the blame and have to do all the work to salvage what shreds of reputation and trust they can.
ReplyDeleteAs you might have seen from my own blog post when the news broke I was hopping mad. I am still very angry about the way the whole thing has been handled but God knows I should be used to SoE being their own worst enemies as far as PR is concerned. As usual they could have handled this whole thing so much better and come out at least with credit for having done their best in a difficult situation rather than appearing yet again as the pantomime villains.
My bet is that we will end up with some kind of compromise on IP blocks and with server transfers for US players off of EU servers. If so, about 75% of the hysteria and hatred could have been avoided. It was entirely predictable and these arrangements should have been in place before the doomsday FAQ was released.
The thought of a F2P company running EQ2 (or EQNext) doesn't cause the kneejerk reaction in me that it does in many. I play plenty of MMOs from companies like that. What I have never done and have no intention of doing, however, is giving any such company my credit card details. If Allaplaya sell game cards in the UK then I would consider buying them in shops with cash. Otherwise I will play whatever F2P option they have and that will be that. They won't be getting a penny from me, even if that means I never get to play EQNext.
I was quite shocked to begin with to hear the news, even a bit sarcastic about it but I do feel for the EQ2 team as they get the brunt of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad though that people have been heard, hate to see this whole fiasco happen to such a great game :(