| Type | Division of Sony Computer Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Industry | Interactive entertainment Computer and video games |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California, USA |
| Products | Video games |
| Owner(s) | Sony Corporation |
| Parent | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Website | www.soe.com |
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is a game development and game publishing division of Sony that is best known for creating massively multiplayer online games, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, Free Realms, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe Online and other smaller games in development.
In 2008 Sony Online Entertainment’s game Everquest was honored (along with Neverwinter Nights and World of Warcraft) at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for advancing the art form of MMORPG games.
In 2011, the service was brought offline after it was determined that its user accounts were compromised in attacks related to the ones that brought the PlayStation Network offline.[1]
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Sony Online Entertainment's history can be seen as starting with Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA), an internal game development studio of Sony that formed around 1995. In 1996, John Smedley was put in charge of SISA's development of an online role-playing video game that would evolve into the MMORPG EverQuest. Smedley hired programmers Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover who had come to Smedley's attention through their work on the singleplayer RPG Warwizard.
In April 1998, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) was formed by merging parts of Sony Online Ventures with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Within a matter of months after this change, Sony Interactive Studios America was renamed 989 Studios.
Towards the end of 1998, 989 Studios shifted its strategy to making PlayStation console games only. The company's computer game/online development branch spun off, initially calling itself RedEye Interactive and then soon after Verant Interactive.
EverQuest launched with modest expectations from Sony on March 16, 1999 under its Verant Interactive brand and quickly became successful. Numbers continued rising at a steady rate until mid-2001 when growth slowed. As of 2004, Sony reported subscription numbers close to 450,000. In March 2000, Verant released EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark, the first in a long list of expansions for EverQuest.
In April 2000, Verant hired former Ultima Online developers Raph Koster and Rich Vogel forming its office in Austin, Texas to develop Star Wars Galaxies for LucasArts. SOE acquired Verant in June 2000 and eventually promoted Brad McQuaid to be its Chief Creative Officer.[2] In October 2001, McQuaid resigned and went on to found Sigil Games Online, drawing many of the original developers of EverQuest from SOE to develop Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, an MMORPG that was released in January 2007.
Developed by Sony Online Entertainment, LucasArts released Star Wars Galaxies in 2003, which saw rapid growth as expected. Bruce Woodcock estimates that SWG reached nearly 300,000 subscribers within the year before trailing off. LucasArts has released three expansions for Star Wars Galaxies, Jump to Lightspeed October 2004, Rage of the Wookies May 2005 and Trials Of Obi-Wan November 2005.
In 2003, the company also explored relatively untouched MMO territory with the MMOFPS PlanetSide and the PlayStation 2 MMORPG EverQuest Online Adventures. PlanetSide enjoyed a reasonably successful launch, however the product never attracted wide popularity. SOE has released two expansions for PlanetSide, one a retail product called Core Combat, and a second free expansion titled Aftershock. EverQuest Online Adventures was not as successful but spawned an expansion EverQuest Online Adventures Frontiers, which is still maintained by SOE as of 2007.
The company continued the EverQuest universe through a sequel set hundreds of years after the original with the release of EverQuest II on November 9, 2004, which has seen similar success to the original phenomenon. Similar to its strategy with EverQuest, SOE has released several adventure packs and expansion packs for EverQuest II, starting with The Bloodline Chronicles in March 2005.
In November 2005, SOE added the New Game Enhancements to Star Wars Galaxies, changing many of the game's core mechanics. This upset players and critics alike, with the level of concurrent players reduced to around 10,000; relatively few for the MMO industry.[3][4]
In January 2005, Sony Online Entertainment announced the creation of Station Publishing, a new label for distributing titles made by external developers.
SOE has produced numerous EverQuest expansions and spin-off video games, including Champions of Norrath (for PlayStation 2) and Lords of EverQuest (Windows). They published the sequel to Champions of Norrath, called Champions: Return to Arms, in February 2005.
In August 2005 SOE entered a deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment which saw the acquisition and transition of The Matrix Online to the existing line up of Station games.
In April 2006, Sony Online Entertainment, Inc. became Sony Online Entertainment LLC, owned by Sony Pictures Digital and Sony Computer Entertainment America.
In May 2006, it was announced that SOE would be co-publisher of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. However, Sigil retains full development rights, and SOE's role is only that of marketing, distribution, technical support and hosting the game servers. SOE also announced the release of Field Commander, its third game for the PlayStation Portable System.
In August 2006, SOE announced the acquisition of developer Worlds Apart Productions, renaming the studio SOE-Denver. The studio has since released an online version of the WizKids Pirates Constructible Strategy Game.
In November 2006, SOE released its first PlayStation 3 title, Untold Legends Dark Kingdom, within the launch window of the PlayStation 3 system, which was released in North America on November 17, 2006. SOE also released Pirates Online Constructible Strategy Game, which is the online version of the WizKids Pirates Constructible Strategy Game.
In January 2007, SOE announced that it has licensed rights from Midway Home Entertainment to develop and release six classic Midway games for PlayStation 3 Digital Download, including Mortal Kombat II, Gauntlet II, Joust, Rampage World Tour, Rampart, and Championship Sprint, which will be available from the PlayStation store. The announcement came shortly after SOE released its second PlayStation 3 digital download GripShift.
On May 15, 2007, Sony Online Entertainment announced that they had completed a transaction to purchase key assets from Sigil Games Online, including Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (described as Sigil's "tentpole property").
On March 13, 2008, Sony Online Entertainment announced that Sony Computer Entertainment will have direct control over SOE.
On January 16, 2009, the company joined Steam, selling EverQuest, EverQuest II and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Also on this day, the company purchased a massively multiplayer online turn based strategy game called Pox Nora.
On August 1, 2009, SOE shut down The Matrix Online after 4 years of operation. Players were treated to about 2 months of gaming despite some initial setbacks that left many veteran players unable to access the game for about a week after the official announcement was made. A memory book was developed and has been made available for download on the game's official site.
As of May 2010[update], John Smedley is the CEO of Sony Online Entertainment. SOE is headquartered in San Diego, California, with additional game development studios located in Austin, Texas, Denver, Colorado and Seattle, Washington.
On July 15, 2010, SOE eliminated 35 full-time positions and an undisclosed number of temporary positions to "...better align the company's resources..."[5]
August 8, 2010, SOE announced that EverQuest Next was in the early stages of Development.
On January 7, 2011, the company and Fastpoint Games announced the alpha launch of the Facebook game Fortune League. Fortune League integrates real-time performance data such as damages, deaths and healings directly from the MMO environment and uses them to form Hero Stats that drive the game. Therefore, player actions inside EverQuest II will affect what happens in Fortune League and prizes from Fortune League will help users advance back in the EverQuest II environment. Fastpoint Games CEO, Kelly Perdew, positions Fortune League as a new category of snackable data-driven games that will help MMO franchises acquire users and tap new revenue streams.[6][7]
On February 1, 2011, SOE unveiled its new PlayStation Network games to be released throughout the year 2011. These include Acceleration of Suguri X Edition, Akimi Village, Plants vs. Zombies, Rochard, Sideway and Slam Bolt Scrappers.[8]
On March 31, 2011, SOE has confirmed that "it will eliminate 205 positions and close its Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios." Production of The Agency has also been discontinued.[9]
On April 27, 2011, Sony, the parent company of SOE, released statements regarding an intrusion, on or about April 18th, into the PlayStation Network, and the potential theft of up to 77 Million subscribers personal data. Sony maintains that PSN and SOE are hosted and run on completely separate subsystems and that the PlayStation Network intrusion had no major affect on SOE's online services.[10][11]
On December 15, 2011, Star Wars Galaxies closed down[12]. SOE maintains a Memory Book[13] for former players.
On May 2, 2011, SOE completely interrupted their online services. Over the previous month several intrusions of PSN have caused the developers to post messages of concern and apology, but also assurances the SOE servers and systems were not compromised. This most recent development has shut the service down entirely with the message: "We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today (Monday)."[14]
It was disclosed that "the latest attack accessed personal information for a staggering 24.6 million accounts. Such info includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, gender, date of birth, login ID, and hashed passwords"[15][16]
The following Press Release was sent to all customers of SOE:
SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES THEFT OF DATA FROM ITS SYSTEMS
Breach Believed to Stem From Initial Criminal Hack of SOE
Tokyo, May 3, 2011 - Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment announced today that their ongoing investigation of illegal intrusions into Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE, the company) systems revealed yesterday morning (May 2, Tokyo time) that hackers may have stolen SOE customer information on April 16th and 17th, 2011 (PDT). SOE is based in San Diego, California, U.S.A.
This information, which was discovered by engineers and security consultants reviewing SOE systems, showed that personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts may have been stolen, as well as certain information from an outdated database from 2007. The information from the outdated database that may have been stolen includes approximately 12,700 non-U.S. credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates (but not credit card security codes), and about 10,700 direct debit records of certain customers in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Spain.
With the current outage of the PlayStation® Network and Qriocity™ services and the ongoing investigation into the recent attacks, SOE had also undertaken an intensive investigation into its system. Upon discovery of this additional information, the company promptly shut down all servers related to SOE services while continuing to review and upgrade all of its online security systems in the face of these unprecedented cyber-attacks.
On May 1, Sony apologized to its customers for the inconvenience caused by its network services outages. The company is working with the FBI and continuing its own full investigation while working to restore all services.
Sony is making this disclosure as quickly as possible after the discovery of the theft, and the company has posted information on its website and will send e-mails to all consumers whose data may have been stolen.
The personal information of the approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts that was illegally obtained, to the extent it had been provided to SOE, is as follows:In addition to the information above, the 10,700 direct debit records from accounts in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Spain, include:
- name
- address
- e-mail address
- birthdate
- gender
- phone number
- login name
- hashed password
SOE will grant customers 30 days of additional time on their subscriptions, in addition to compensating them one day for each day the system is down. It is also in the process of outlining a "make good" plan for its PlayStation®3 MMOs (DC Universe Online and Free Realms). More information will be released this week.
- bank account number
- customer name
- account name
- customer address
Additionally, the company is committed to helping its customers protect their personal data and will provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs. The implementation will be at a local level and further details will be made available shortly in each region.
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) has been a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games since 1999. Best known for its blockbuster hits and franchises, including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, PlanetSide®, Free Realms®, Clone Wars Adventures™, and DC Universe Online™, SOE creates, develops and provides compelling online entertainment for virtually all platforms, including the PlayStation®3 Computer Entertainment System, Personal Computer, mobile and social networks. SOE is building on its proven legacy and pioneering the future of the interactive entertainment space through creative development and inspired gameplay design for audiences of all ages. To learn more, visit www.soe.com.
For more information and update about the SOE services, please visit www.soe.com/securityupdate.
| Game Title | US Release Date | Platform | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlanetSide 2 | Under development | PC | Planetside Next is an Interim title | |
| EverQuest Next | Under development | PC | EverQuest Next is an Interim title | |
| Payday: The Heist | October 4, 2011 | PC, PlayStation 3 | Developed with Overkill Software | |
| Magic: The Gathering – Tactics | January 18, 2011 | PC, PlayStation Home | ||
| DC Universe Online | January 11, 2011 | PC, PlayStation 3 | ||
| Fortune League | January 7, 2011 | Developed with Fastpoint Games | ||
| Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures | September 15, 2010 | PC | ||
| Peggle and Peggle Nights | November 19, 2009 | PlayStation Network | Handled the port with PopCap Games | |
| Free Realms | April 28, 2009 for PC | PC, PlayStation 3 | Released March 29, 2011[17] for PS3 | |
| Bejeweled 2 | January 29, 2009 | PlayStation Network | Handled the port with PopCap Games | |
| Pirates of the Burning Sea | January 22, 2008 | PC | ||
| Vanguard: Saga of Heroes | January 30, 2007 | PC | Co-Published with Sigil Games | |
| Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom | November 19, 2006 | PlayStation 3 | ||
| Cash Guns Chaos | November 17, 2006 | PlayStation Network | ||
| PoxNora | August 1, 2006 | PC | ||
| Field Commander | May 23, 2006 | PSP | ||
| Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code | March 28, 2006 | PSP | ||
| The Matrix Online | August 9, 2005 | PC | Warner Bros. and Sega officially released The Matrix Online on March 22, 2005 in the USA. SOE assumed operation on August 9, 2005. The servers for the game were shut down in July 2009. | |
| Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade | March 22, 2005 | PSP | ||
| Champions: Return to Arms | February 7, 2005 | PlayStation 2 | ||
| EverQuest II | November 8, 2004 | PC | ||
| Champions of Norrath | February 10, 2004 | PlayStation 2 | ||
| Lords of EverQuest | December 12, 2003 | PC | Developed by Rapid Eye Entertainment | |
| Zuma | December 12, 2003 | PlayStation Network | Made with PopCap Games Frameworks. | |
| Star Chamber: The Harbinger Saga | November 2003 | PC | ||
| EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers | November 17, 2003 | PlayStation 2 | ||
| Star Wars Galaxies | June 26, 2003 | PC | Published by LucasArts. To be closed December 2011 after licensing with LucasArts is to cease. | |
| PlanetSide | May 20, 2003 | PC | ||
| EverQuest Online Adventures | February 11, 2003 | PlayStation 2 | ||
| Cosmic Rift | April 17, 2001 | PC | ||
| Infantry | October 1999 | PC | ||
| EverQuest | April 16, 1999 | PC | ||
| Tanarus | November 30, 1997 | PC | ||
| The Agency | Cancelled | PC, PlayStation 3 |
SOE's Station.com is a portal to its PC, console, casual and mobile games. Players can access and download games such as EverQuest, EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix Online and PlanetSide. Station.com also provides sneak previews to new games for Sony PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PSP, including Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom[18] November 2006. In August 2006, Station.com added several games by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment.
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