Asheron's Call Producers Respond to SOE Deal

Both Asheron's Call executive producer Jessica Mulligan and Asheron's Call 2 senior producer Argus have addressed yesterday's announcement of Turbine's publishing deal with Sony Online Entertainment. Here's a bit from what Jessica had to say:
That's right; come the spring of this year, the developer and publisher of EverQuest, Star Wars Galaxies and Planetside will be putting the ACTD expansion pack on a retailer's shelf near you and will be helping us market the game. At first glance, this probably looks like we've lost our minds. I can hear the comments now: "Why would you have a competitor distribute the expansion pack? Are you mad? And can I have some of whatever you're smoking?"

And a snip from what Argus had to say:
First of all, it's important to note that Turbine is a developer and publisher. We make games. When it comes to putting these games into boxes and getting them on store shelves, it is better for us to partner with a well established distributor than to grow in a direction that is not in line with our focus: making games. If what we want is a distribution partner that has succeeded with the marketing and retail launch of expansion packs, SOE starts to make good sense. Sony's sales force is one of the best in the games industry, and we're more than happy to have them working on our behalf.