Hero's Journey Your Our Only Hope

Ravensong

Two games  I have watched and waited for have now been taken down to only 1 game and its Hero's Journey for the win.  Dont make a foolish move like Vanguard.

Press Release

VANGUARD: SAGA OF HEROES FINDS A NEW HOME
- Sigil Games Online and Sony Online Entertainment In Talks To Co-Publish Sigil’s Ground-Breaking New Game -

May 5, 2006 – Carlsbad & San Diego, CA – Sigil Games Online and Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), a global leader in the online games industry, today announced that Sigil is working with Microsoft Game Studios on an arrangement to acquire the rights to its highly anticipated massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.  These efforts have resulted in a tentative agreement for Vanguard to be co-published by both Sigil Games Online and SOE. All three companies will be showing the game at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) as they work closely together for a successful transition. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is scheduled to launch this winter.

“As the development process is ongoing and constantly shifting, it became clear that MGS and Sigil had varying visions and direction for the title’s development,” said Brad McQuaid, CEO of Sigil Games Online.  “In the best interest of Vanguard, it was decided that we would buy back the publishing rights from Microsoft.”

As co-publisher of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Sigil assumes greater control of marketing and PR, while maintaining responsibility for game development, community relations, media relations, customer support, and quality assurance. Under the terms of the agreement, SOE will provide distribution, marketing, hosting and back-end support -- including billing and technical support -- for the game. Additionally, SOE is tentatively planning on adding Vanguard, upon its release,to SOE’s Station Access™ subscription plan. Station Access allows players to enjoy all of SOE’s MMO titles for one low monthly price.

“We are very excited to be working with so many old friends at Sigil,” said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. “Vanguard looks beautiful and has an incredibly rich game world. It’s the type of game that will appeal directly to SOE’s hundreds of thousands of players and should fit in perfectly with the current line-up of games available in Station Access.”

”This decision was made mutually by Sigil and Microsoft, in the best interest of the long-term goals for the title,” said Phil Spencer, General Manager at Microsoft Game Studios.  “As a key Windows development partner, we will continue to work with Sigil to ensure Vanguard’s ongoing success.”

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is the next generation of massively multiplayer online games. The journey takes place in the fantasy setting of Telon, a vast and ancient world of magic, intrigue and adventure. Facing the challenges of a war torn world, the diverse people here struggle to rebuild their once great civilizations. A fragile alliance has been struck, with the lands set upon by invading forces, the races must band together to survive.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is currently in a closed beta phase. The game will remain available via Fileplanet for existing beta testers during the transition to SOE. New information will be sent out to testers as the changeover occurs.

For more information about Vanguard: Saga of Heroes please visit www.vanguardsoh.com.

About Sigil Games Online
Based in Carlsbad, California, Sigil Games Online is a studio dedicated to creating massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. Founded in 2002 by Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler, key figures in the development of award-winning EverQuest, the company plans to be a driving force in the continued evolution of this unique genre. Sigil Games Online is comprised of an all-star team of experienced developers with an impressive pedigree of commercially successful and critically acclaimed online games. For more information, visit www.sigilgames.com.

About Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises and hit titles including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, Untold Legends™, and PlanetSide®,as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies™, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, and Taiwan, SOE has an array of cutting-edge games in development. SOE is owned by Sony Pictures Digital and Sony Computer Entertainment America.

SOE, the SOE logo, EverQuest and PlanetSide are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. Untold Legends is a trademark of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Sigil Games Online are  trademarks of Sigil Games Online, Inc. (registration pending).  All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

_Shadowmage

So if we read between the line and Microsoft are dumping Vanguard one wonders how they get back the money they have put into the game.

phosphoros

Brad stated earlier today that he "bought" the rights back from MS and it was an amicable deal.
He also made sure to point out that SOE was NOT the company that loaned him the money to buy the rights back.

As for MS dumping them. I'm not to sure that was the case. I think it was a divergent "vision" of what the game should be. Perhaps MS was getting mildly paniced that this V:SOH was turning out to be EQ3 complete with horrendous grind and evil corpse runs. Who knows though. No way of ever truely knowing.

SpiritofGame

After reading all the hysterical posts over on the Vanguard board about their relationship with SOE, I have come to a conclusion of this matter.

1) I don't give a crap and I'm not a drama queen.

2) I will actually purchase and try HJ and VG (and probably AoConan and Huxley, for that matter) for the first month.

3) The game or games I like best will get my subscription dollars, regardless of their particular financial arrangements.

Morneblade

I can understand the uproar with the Vanguard crowd actually, and this coming from someone that wouldn't have touched anything Sigil made with someone elses 10 foot pole. SOE has made a well deserved rep of getting games and then gradually (or not so gradually) making a new game out of it. I saw Vanguard as basically a EQ1pre Velious game, one which I think is pretty horid, but some people seem to think was a good thing. Different strokes for different folks and all that. But with SOE coming in, I'd bet than in a year or 2, the game that will be released will be so different that you won't even recognize it.And that is the reason for the uproar, most MMO players would prefer to spend more than a couple months or so in a game, Vanguard players being no exception, and possibly more so than more causual crowds. They are seeing a game that will not be what it started out as, and don't want to invest time and money into a game that almsot certainly will NOT be what they want a year of so from now. And I can certainly understand that, why waste time and money like that?

Miztress1

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Originally posted by Ravensong
Two games  I have watched and waited for have now been taken down to only 1 game and its Hero's Journey for the win.  Dont make a foolish move like Vanguard.


I too have been watching both VG anf HJ and must say that because of my extensive play of EQ/EQ2 I was rather leaning towards VG because many of my old guildies were planning to play it also. Now, it appears I don't have that choice since about 98% of them will now NOT be trying VG and neither shall I.

That is a shame since it was forming up to be something special but many feel that even *IF* SOE never touches gameplay, they will be handling such things as billing and that is a hell all of it's own.

The folks at Sigil also knew that the vast majority of their perspective playerbase, the people that were promoting VG as the next best MMORPG, were refugees from SOE's bad CS and Dev. ect yet this did not sway them in the least to "sign a deal with the devil" so to speak. This makes it appear as if they too, like SOE, have no interest in their prospective customers and that it also well may bode ill for the future in that dept.

Regardless, I and many others, have now come full circle and will be devoting our previous VG time to HJ and our wishes for it to be the game many of us have been hoping for. At least I guess now I will only have to buy & play 1 MMORPG (HJ) instead of both 

Cheers! 

Theper

Regardless of who Vanguard publishes with, I still have some interest in it.  EQ in its early days certainly had alot of fun and interesting times.  Pre-velious tho might be pushing it.  I probably had the most fun in Kunark.. That aside, I doubt this will change the game that Sigil is creating.  I intend to keep tabs on it and perhaps play it after release, but I'm no diehard fan either.  I absolutely remember how terrible it felt grinding hard to catch up to my friends.  It really seemed like and endless struggle of killing a chain of mobs for experience.  Perhaps this is why I have such a vested interest in HJ.  It seems to be a game based around the adventure.