Pirates of the Burning Sea: Flying Lab Inks Deal With SOE

Szark

Flying Lab Software has announced that they have signed a deal to publish Pirates of the Burning Sea in partnership with Sony Online Entertainment's Platform Publishing.

First of all, the Contract is signed. A joint press release will be going out tomorrow morning, but it's important to all of us here that our community hear it first and here it straight from us. So without further ado:

Pirates of the Burning Sea will be published in partnership with Sony Online Entertainment's Platform Publishing. This is an important deal for Flying Lab Software and we know how passionate our community is about this issue. So before you start posting your thoughts on our forums, let me share how this particular arrangement differs from publishing deals you may have read about in the past.

So what is "Platform Publishing"? It's a partnership program in which SOE and an independent developer work together to release a game. It's very different from SOE's main publishing efforts, where they develop the games internally (i.e. Everquest 2, Star Wars: Galaxies). Instead the developer makes the game, SOE publishes it, and together we divvy up the various responsibilities.

Here is the breakdown:

Flying Lab Software

• Game Development
• Community
• Customer Support
• Server Operations

Sony Online Entertainment

• Billing
• Launcher
• Retail Distribution
• Localization
• Marketing

Read the full announcement here.

Daffid011

Station pass within a year.

MaeEye

Oh great. . .here we go again.

apocalance

This is newz!!!!

Well, last night it was. Ok, so you're not that late. I'll cut ya some slack.

Tymora

We're heard something like this recently.  Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was to be published by SOE, but they've gotten the game and now control its fate.

I have been a long time fan of SOE and their games, so I have no problem with Flying Labs signing this contract with them, but I know for sure that there will be many replies to this thread, mostly stating distrust and animosity towards SOE (mostly due to their failure with SWG, I presume).

Its good to see that Flyine Labs landed this deal with such a high profile company.  SOE has many fans and just as many haters, but it cannot be argued that they haven't been successful, and I think that Pirates of the Burning Sea will be successful with SOE publishing it.

I can only wonder about the future, though, and I can't help but imagine the game being in SOE's hands at some point later down the line.

Sariah

Originally posted by Szark


Flying Labs Software has announced that they have signed a deal to publish Pirates of the Burning Sea in partnership with Sony Online Entertainment's Platform Publishing.

First of all, the Contract is signed. A joint press release will be going out tomorrow morning, but it's important to all of us here that our community hear it first and here it straight from us. So without further ado:
Pirates of the Burning Sea will be published in partnership with Sony Online Entertainment's Platform Publishing. This is an important deal for Flying Lab Software and we know how passionate our community is about this issue. So before you start posting your thoughts on our forums, let me share how this particular arrangement differs from publishing deals you may have read about in the past.
So what is "Platform Publishing"? It's a partnership program in which SOE and an independent developer work together to release a game. It's very different from SOE's main publishing efforts, where they develop the games internally (i.e. Everquest 2, Star Wars: Galaxies). Instead the developer makes the game, SOE publishes it, and together we divvy up the various responsibilities.
Here is the breakdown:
Flying Lab Software

Game Development
Community
Customer Support
Server Operations

Sony Online Entertainment

Billing
Launcher
Retail Distribution
Localization
Marketing

Read the full announcement here.

Anyone who is a fan of PoTBS needs to thank SOE . With the money they have accumulated over the years they will make sure PoTBS is a success. Plus you already know how they are about expansions. 3 Months is on time 6 Months the product is already dead 

m240gulf

Originally posted by Rhoklaw


 
Uhm, theres already 10 threads about this, one of which is 20+ posts long and frankly, it doesn't need any more /bumps as the subject has been beaten to death faster than man who slapped his dog with a fur coat in front a of a peta gathering.

It has been discussed to death already I will agree with you there, but that was just the Monday night croud, we still have a whole week to go on this subject.

kovah

Let's keep all the fanboi's and flamers contained to one thread, shall we?

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/136530

Sariah

Originally posted by kovah


Let's keep all the fanboi's and flamers contained to one thread, shall we?
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/136530

You going to do this on the 20 other posts about this topic or just felt like putting one post up for this thread ?

Mrbloodworth

 

Will Pirates be on Station Access Pass?

Yes. For one price you can play EQ, EQ2, Pirates, and everything else SOE has to offer.

 

 

Fantastic!!

Leucent

I don t post much but i do have to say i m getting sick of people moaning and groaning about SOE. I played SWG and yes it sucked what happened but it wasn t all SOE s doing , LA had alot to do with that. Also i played and still do play PS and EQ2 and i love both of them. POTBS being added to staton pass has now guarenteed that i will buy it as well as my wife and many in my EQ2 guild i truly don t see any problems with SOE in general hell they ve made the best PVE game out there IMO but we all have our opinions i m just sick of hearing about it

kovah

Originally posted by Sariah

Originally posted by kovah


Let's keep all the fanboi's and flamers contained to one thread, shall we?
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/136530

You going to do this on the 20 other posts about this topic or just felt like putting one post up for this thread ?

Just this one.  

I only read EVE, PotBS and News sections anyway.  Don't even know why I still read the EVE forums...  

LynxJSA

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth


 


Will Pirates be on Station Access Pass?

Yes. For one price you can play EQ, EQ2, Pirates, and everything else SOE has to offer.
 
 
Fantastic!!

That's what I likea bout it as well.Basically it will be a free MMOG for me.

Phoenixs

Looks like SOE is trying to get their hand in basically everything in the mmo market. Atleast on the publisher side. Looks like they may be trying to beat the competition this way.

Sinuous

Originally posted by Tymora


....SOE has many fans and just as many haters, but it cannot be argued that they haven't been successful, and I think that Pirates of the Burning Sea will be successful with SOE publishing it.
I can only wonder about the future, though, and I can't help but imagine the game being in SOE's hands at some point later down the line.

If by successful you mean taking a sure-fire hit like the Star Wars franchise and turning it into a steaming pile of subscriberless shit.........

Let me explain to you how SOE's Platform Publishing works.....

Do you think that SOE does it out of the kindness of their black hearts?  Don't bet on that shit.

Platform Publishing is a SCAM perpetrated by SOE to take control of independent franchises.  First they promise to do all your marketing and distribution, but the trick is.....they do it very poorly and as cheaply as possible to insure a crippled launch, because just as everyone else has learned, MMORPGs rarely succeed with a poor launch.

Of course it wasn't mentioned by Flying Labs that there is a clause in the contract that REQUIRES that certain projections be met.  These projections are very difficult to meet with SOEs paltry support, and why would SOE want them to be met?  Because of the money that SOE supposedly fronts for marketing, server support, publishing, and distribution on paper, Flying Labs MUST meet these projections or subsequently forfeit many rights to their own game.

Case in Point: Vanguard: SOH.  Examine the advertising that SOE did for that game.........if you could even call it that.  They would have generated more hype by making phone calls.  Granted I'm certain that Vanguard's contract was worse, but make no mistake......

SOE is in this shit to win this shit!

BOTTOM LINE!

 

JudithWilliams

I think this is great. The PotBS dev team is fantastic, and the game looks to be great! With a big company like SoE backing them, it is sure to be a success.

Xrux

sigh...tic tac toe..wish tehre were more worldwide publishers...with a good base in usa europe for these sort of games...

some of us just donot want Sony to gain any dollar for what they have done...

nice game.... hopes....lol.... See how it develops furtrher.

 

Reklaw

Originally posted by Leucent


I don t post much but i do have to say i m getting sick of people moaning and groaning about SOE. I played SWG and yes it sucked what happened but it wasn t all SOE s doing , LA had alot to do with that. Also i played and still do play PS and EQ2 and i love both of them. POTBS being added to staton pass has now guarenteed that i will buy it as well as my wife and many in my EQ2 guild i truly don t see any problems with SOE in general hell they ve made the best PVE game out there IMO but we all have our opinions i m just sick of hearing about it

I do post much but feel the same way cause  those who keep moaning about SOE don't even see its behaviour like how they react to some games will make this mmorpg scene never grow as its obvious it scares potential customers seeing how some people react on a game. Just look at the locked treaths or deleted post. I mean i wished we didn't have people that THINK they are game, they should simply get a life first then judge game, my  geusse if they finaly get a lifethey finaly ableto either have fun with a game or leave a game if they feel its no fun without looking back.

But fact remains to many people and unfortunaly even the new gen. of mmo gamers seem to rather life in the past. And i say fact cause well simply go over this forum or any other populair mmo site and you will see the same sort of peope complaining about stuff cause somehow they can't let go of the past. Instead they learn from the past they try to holdon to it. Well common sense sees what that does for them, ashame they don't see it themselfs

As for this game coming to SOE i already comment that in the other topic where it was showcased for E3 at the SOE booth which mmorpg.com posted last week. With only the comment that i didn't know it would be a SOE title and that we could expect to sse the reactions we already are seeing here. like the OH noESSSS not SOE.

Quite frankly i don't care if it was the fairy princes who put the game on their station acces pass, But knowing SOE is going to be involved should only be good as they have the resources for doing so. If only people would leave their heads out of the A** maybe they wouldn't be so blinded by that wall of the past blocking their way's.

Dreneth

I was so looking forward to Pirates of the Burning Sea... I was really really looking forward to it.  I have been pushing the title on everyone I know, trying to drum up a lot of interest in my circle of friends.

Now, I want nothing to do with the game.

Involving SOE with PoTBS was the worst possible thing they could have done.  I will now begin the process of convincing my friends that PoTBS is not worth it due to the affiliation with SOE.

This is damned dissapointing.  Damned frustrating.

DAMN DAMN DAMN.

WolfClaws

I am pretty saddened by this news.

The team at PoBTS stated years ago that they would develop, build and run the game on their own.  For gamers by gamers kind of thing....

 

Now this?

 

I am not going to compare the two games, Vanguard and PoBTS, as PoBTS is going to be polished and well made from the get go, but, from stuff I seen when EA took over Mythic... well, even though this contract has them with full control of the community, development and CSRs...

How can I put it without being deleted.  SWG was on the same boat.. Lucasarts made it required that all content upgrades go through them.. period.  The game was completely redesigned from ground up 4 times.

I truely hope they know what they are getting into...

Laserwolf

I hate posting in threads already so full, but I just wanted to say that in my opinion this is "Good News".

I have always had a love-hate relationship with Pirates because even though I loved every direction Flying Labs was taking their game in, I always knew they would never be able to pull off an MMORPG by themselves. Now I know that they have money behind them and I feel confident we get the same content, but with stable servers and a much larger population.

Dreneth

Originally posted by Laserwolf


I hate posting in threads already so full, but I just wanted to say that in my opinion this is "Good News".
I have always had a love-hate relationship with Pirates because even though I loved every direction Flying Labs was taking their game in, I always knew they would never be able to pull off an MMORPG by themselves. Now I know that they have money behind them and I feel confident we get the same content, but with stable servers and a much larger population.

SOE = bad customer service

SOE = billing issues

Flying Labs made a big bad mistake by going with the Walmart of MMO publishers.  I haven't been this pissed off about a game in a long time.  This really is unfortunate and horrible news.

You won't get larger populations with SOE.  Vanguard is a good example of that, and they started with a similar deal.  Then SOE up and bought the whole thing... developer and all.  Then you will see the wonder of horrid testing and rediculous downtime.  Oh, and the dishonesty with the player base... gotta love it.

Good luck with that.

Dyrtt

Well, forgive me for not jumping on the SOE-is-Satan bandwagon, but I think this might be a good move for both companies.   SOE gets some another great game to add to their station pass and Flying Labs gets access to some real financial muscle to help promote their game and bring it into the mainstream. 

 

 

 

Ironman2000

Originally posted by Sinuous


 
Originally posted by Tymora


....SOE has many fans and just as many haters, but it cannot be argued that they haven't been successful, and I think that Pirates of the Burning Sea will be successful with SOE publishing it.
I can only wonder about the future, though, and I can't help but imagine the game being in SOE's hands at some point later down the line.

If by successful you mean taking a sure-fire hit like the Star Wars franchise and turning it into a steaming pile of subscriberless shit.........

 

Let me explain to you how SOE's Platform Publishing works.....

Do you think that SOE does it out of the kindness of their black hearts?  Don't bet on that shit.

Platform Publishing is a SCAM perpetrated by SOE to take control of independent franchises.  First they promise to do all your marketing and distribution, but the trick is.....they do it very poorly and as cheaply as possible to insure a crippled launch, because just as everyone else has learned, MMORPGs rarely succeed with a poor launch.

Of course it wasn't mentioned by Flying Labs that there is a clause in the contract that REQUIRES that certain projections be met.  These projections are very difficult to meet with SOEs paltry support, and why would SOE want them to be met?  Because of the money that SOE supposedly fronts for marketing, server support, publishing, and distribution on paper, Flying Labs MUST meet these projections or subsequently forfeit many rights to their own game.

Case in Point: Vanguard: SOH.  Examine the advertising that SOE did for that game.........if you could even call it that.  They would have generated more hype by making phone calls.  Granted I'm certain that Vanguard's contract was worse, but make no mistake......

SOE is in this shit to win this shit!

BOTTOM LINE!

 

I only have one thing to say....YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!! (Standard operating protocol for SoE)

Uproar

Awesome news!   A great deal!

 

Thank you Flying Labs and SOE.

Dreneth

Originally posted by Dyrtt


Well, forgive me for not jumping on the SOE-is-Satan bandwagon, but I think this might be a good move for both companies.   SOE gets some another great game to add to their station pass and Flying Labs gets access to some real financial muscle to help promote their game and bring it into the mainstream.  

SOE doesn't have great games... it has shells of great ideas which people pay to wish they were playing something better.

I am a former SOE customer, and after some of the BS I went through... I will never buy another SOE product, or give my money to a company that affiliates with such a horrible company.

I don't care if it means I will never play another game... I would rather never game again than give SOE a wooden nickel.  I have stronger words for how I feel about this topic, but I don't feel like getting banned or suspended from the site.