Sony Online Entertainment Interview

WarCry had the chance to sit down with SOE president and CEO John Smedley for a three-page interview about their growing list of massively multiplayer titles, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, the upcoming DC Comics MMORPG, and more.
After EverQuest II, Smedley directed SOE as they built up a hefty portfolio of games, most of which are available for one price under the SOE Station Pass. Among them were high profile failures in The Matrix Online and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. With The Matrix, they brought it in not only to broaden their portfolio, but also with an eye to the future.

"We partnered up with Warner Brothers on a couple games, we partnered with them on Matrix and DC," he revealed. "It wasn't as much a condition as when we did the deal, it was a part of it."

More recently, they purchased Vanguard's developer Sigil and all of their assets. The deal saw a lot of people lose their jobs, but as publishers of the game, Smedley believed the move was necessary for their fans.

"We felt like we needed to take control of the situation," he told us. "They had run out of money and were about to go out of business."