This response is alarming. Why? Because it is simply absurd using the word "atrocities" in reference to any action taken by SOE.
ATROCITY noun [C or U]
when someone does something extremely violent and shocking:
They're on trial for committing atrocities against the civilian population.
These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity (= cruelty). Cambridge Dictionaries
There are lots of definitions of atrocity. Most of them, if you go to dictionary.com, include the word "atrocious" as part of the definition. For example.
a·troc·i·ty [uh-tros-i-tee] –noun, plural -ties.
1. the quality or state of being atrocious.
2. an atrocious act, thing, or circumstance.
So now we have to look up atrocious and we find this:
a·tro·cious [uh-troh-shuhs] –adjective
1. extremely or shockingly wicked, cruel, or brutal: an atrocious crime.
2. shockingly bad or tasteless; dreadful; abominable: an atrocious painting; atrocious manners.
Note the 2nd definition, particularly the parts I bolded - this second meaning includes examples like an atrocious painting or atrocious manners. This meaning of atrocious is "in very poor taste". That is how most people are using "atrocious" when they describe SOE's treatment of the customers - bad manners, bad taste, dreadful behavior. NOT in the sense of "brutality" (the first definition).
You're picking on ONE of several meanings of the word and saying, "Nothing SOE does could fit that," but you're ignoring the other meanings.
I suggest that before you go quoting a single definition for a word that has 2 or more potential meanings, you make sure there aren't other meanings that people could be using. You need to check the context. If someone says, "SOE's treatment of customers is atrocious", clearly they do not mean "violent, cruel, brutal", but rather, "shockingly tasteless."
C
That's a helpful clarification Chessack. Nicely done. You know what I've noticed? Some of the posts that try to dismiss SOE's track record and how it has affected their customers seem to have in common a lot of manipulative elements. Like these for example:
-if you can't refute the evidence, try to discredit the author, (e.g. no one listens to your posts anyways etc.)
-if that doesn't work, try criticizing the author or shaming him/her into silence, (e.g. no one cares about your crying, you're a big baby etc.)
-if that doesn't work, try changing the subject (e.g. the servers are full and THAT's what matters etc.)
-if that doesn't work, find some kind of tangent to take off on (let's laugh at people for using a particular word in their post--oh ya that's back to shaming people into silence etc.)
Do these people get trained how to try to silence corrective feedback, or is it just natural for them to be so manipulative and dismissive of others' experiences? Makes me wonder sometimes.
Well all that aside, I still appreciate all of the responses to the original post. The votes are informative, and so are the comments from consumers who felt burned. Any company that wants to be healthy/successful should welcome corrective feedback from its consumer base. Maybe the folks that are trying to discredit our input would benefit from realizing that the goal is to have SOE change its ways, treat all players/consumers better, and improve their goods and services.
It would be nice if a current $OE employee like Thunderheart actually came on these boards to try and defend the company officially. Would be very entertaining to see what garbage they would try to spin.
Or Lucifer himself, Mr Smedders! That would be classic to know he actually reads these boards and knows the opinions and thoughts of thousands of former customers.
It would be nice if a current $OE employee like Thunderheart actually came on these boards to try and defend the company officially. Would be very entertaining to see what garbage they would try to spin. Or Lucifer himself, Mr Smedders! That would be classic to know he actually reads these boards and knows the opinions and thoughts of thousands of former customers.
I'd be surprised if Sony didn't have shills here. They seem to have them everywhere else. Some of the folks I run into on other sites should be ashamed if they're not getting paid to swing from Sony's nuts the way they do.
It's in their corporate blood - all I want for Christmas is a PSP, right?
Continual lying to the customers. John Smedley's pathological lying. Sociopathic disregard for long time players. SOE is DONE. They are a dead company walking. And I for one will celebrate like the new year when Smed gets fired. Which will happen within the year when their new games tank tanks to SOE's industry WORST reputation. Smed is the enemy to all MMO players. He is the one who broke trust for all time with the CUNGE. He is why SOE is done as a MMO company. MMOs require trust. That achievement will not be nullified. Everyone had that happen to them in SWG. Trust, like virginity, once lost is gone forever. SOE needs to exceed our expectations for trust and quality by at least 100X what they are doing for YEARS before they have any shot at regaining it. For starters we need our game reinstated. They won't do this. Which is why the NGE/SWG fiasco has to be addressed EVERY time SOE does anything... The Vanguard acquisition... POTBS becoming a SOE published game... Isn't it obvious by now that the NGE taint permeates ALL that SOE does? It's never even been apologized for by Smed to his victims (SWG players). The MMO industry will be better off when John Smedley is cashiered off to his career calling, that of a used car salesman.
LOL! Funniest post ever. Yeah, SOE is dead, huh? With The Agency and the DC Comics MMO coming soon? Not even close. I think SOE screwed up with SWG but this crazy hyperbole is too much. SOE IS a great company that has never let me down personally. I think if they reasonably could (either with LA or technical advances or whatever the problem is) they would take back the changes to SWG in a heartbeat.
Continual lying to the customers. John Smedley's pathological lying. Sociopathic disregard for long time players. SOE is DONE. They are a dead company walking. And I for one will celebrate like the new year when Smed gets fired. Which will happen within the year when their new games tank tanks to SOE's industry WORST reputation. Smed is the enemy to all MMO players. He is the one who broke trust for all time with the CUNGE. He is why SOE is done as a MMO company. MMOs require trust. That achievement will not be nullified. Everyone had that happen to them in SWG. Trust, like virginity, once lost is gone forever. SOE needs to exceed our expectations for trust and quality by at least 100X what they are doing for YEARS before they have any shot at regaining it. For starters we need our game reinstated. They won't do this. Which is why the NGE/SWG fiasco has to be addressed EVERY time SOE does anything... The Vanguard acquisition... POTBS becoming a SOE published game... Isn't it obvious by now that the NGE taint permeates ALL that SOE does? It's never even been apologized for by Smed to his victims (SWG players). The MMO industry will be better off when John Smedley is cashiered off to his career calling, that of a used car salesman.
LOL! Funniest post ever. Yeah, SOE is dead, huh? With The Agency and the DC Comics MMO coming soon? Not even close. I think SOE screwed up with SWG but this crazy hyperbole is too much. SOE IS a great company that has never let me down personally. I think if they reasonably could (either with LA or technical advances or whatever the problem is) they would take back the changes to SWG in a heartbeat.
What's reasonable? Recouping costs? That would happen pretty quickly, regardless of what they had to spend on it. Whether it took one month or three months (I highly doubt it'd take longer, there are too many people wanting this), they'd get their money back very fast. They have been asked kindly, they have been asked not-so-kindly, they have been petitioned, they have been contacted in every form imaginable, and have not relented. Consider yourself lucky that SOE has never let you down personally, but how long do you expect your luck to last? If you stick to EQ/EQ2, you'll probably be ok. Anything else is a crapshoot.
Edit: And keep an eye on those games you mentioned. The Agency may do well in Asia, depending on how well PvP is done. With microtransactions, the overseas business could support it, although Asia, ironically, hasn't done much for Sony so far. And DC Comics - let's wait and see what happens when PotBS comes out. Vanguard, being a very incomplete game and buried in politics before launch, wasn't a very good test. I'll give them a mulligan on that one.
I know everyone likes to blame SOE for this failure, and while certainly SOE is with fault, so is Lucas Arts. Lucas Arts screwed up this game just as much as SOE did. I do not think SOE is dead however, EQ still has a player base so does EQ2, on the other hand, if the NGE can not deliver, then in my opinion Galaxies is for the most part done. It can not afford another major change, if the NGE fails, then I would think it would be pretty much over for that particular game but hey I can be wrong.
Comments
There are lots of definitions of atrocity. Most of them, if you go to dictionary.com, include the word "atrocious" as part of the definition. For example.
a·troc·i·ty [uh-tros-i-tee] –noun, plural -ties.
1. the quality or state of being atrocious.
2. an atrocious act, thing, or circumstance.
So now we have to look up atrocious and we find this:
a·tro·cious [uh-troh-shuhs] –adjective
1. extremely or shockingly wicked, cruel, or brutal: an atrocious crime.
2. shockingly bad or tasteless; dreadful; abominable: an atrocious painting; atrocious manners.
Note the 2nd definition, particularly the parts I bolded - this second meaning includes examples like an atrocious painting or atrocious manners. This meaning of atrocious is "in very poor taste". That is how most people are using "atrocious" when they describe SOE's treatment of the customers - bad manners, bad taste, dreadful behavior. NOT in the sense of "brutality" (the first definition).
You're picking on ONE of several meanings of the word and saying, "Nothing SOE does could fit that," but you're ignoring the other meanings.
I suggest that before you go quoting a single definition for a word that has 2 or more potential meanings, you make sure there aren't other meanings that people could be using. You need to check the context. If someone says, "SOE's treatment of customers is atrocious", clearly they do not mean "violent, cruel, brutal", but rather, "shockingly tasteless."
C
That's a helpful clarification Chessack. Nicely done. You know what I've noticed? Some of the posts that try to dismiss SOE's track record and how it has affected their customers seem to have in common a lot of manipulative elements. Like these for example:
-if you can't refute the evidence, try to discredit the author, (e.g. no one listens to your posts anyways etc.)
-if that doesn't work, try criticizing the author or shaming him/her into silence, (e.g. no one cares about your crying, you're a big baby etc.)
-if that doesn't work, try changing the subject (e.g. the servers are full and THAT's what matters etc.)
-if that doesn't work, find some kind of tangent to take off on (let's laugh at people for using a particular word in their post--oh ya that's back to shaming people into silence etc.)
Do these people get trained how to try to silence corrective feedback, or is it just natural for them to be so manipulative and dismissive of others' experiences? Makes me wonder sometimes.
Well all that aside, I still appreciate all of the responses to the original post. The votes are informative, and so are the comments from consumers who felt burned. Any company that wants to be healthy/successful should welcome corrective feedback from its consumer base. Maybe the folks that are trying to discredit our input would benefit from realizing that the goal is to have SOE change its ways, treat all players/consumers better, and improve their goods and services.
Arc
It would be nice if a current $OE employee like Thunderheart actually came on these boards to try and defend the company officially. Would be very entertaining to see what garbage they would try to spin.
Or Lucifer himself, Mr Smedders!
That would be classic to know he actually reads these boards and knows the opinions and thoughts of thousands of former customers.
It's in their corporate blood - all I want for Christmas is a PSP, right?
LOL! Funniest post ever. Yeah, SOE is dead, huh? With The Agency and the DC Comics MMO coming soon? Not even close. I think SOE screwed up with SWG but this crazy hyperbole is too much. SOE IS a great company that has never let me down personally. I think if they reasonably could (either with LA or technical advances or whatever the problem is) they would take back the changes to SWG in a heartbeat.
LOL! Funniest post ever. Yeah, SOE is dead, huh? With The Agency and the DC Comics MMO coming soon? Not even close. I think SOE screwed up with SWG but this crazy hyperbole is too much. SOE IS a great company that has never let me down personally. I think if they reasonably could (either with LA or technical advances or whatever the problem is) they would take back the changes to SWG in a heartbeat.
What's reasonable? Recouping costs? That would happen pretty quickly, regardless of what they had to spend on it. Whether it took one month or three months (I highly doubt it'd take longer, there are too many people wanting this), they'd get their money back very fast. They have been asked kindly, they have been asked not-so-kindly, they have been petitioned, they have been contacted in every form imaginable, and have not relented. Consider yourself lucky that SOE has never let you down personally, but how long do you expect your luck to last? If you stick to EQ/EQ2, you'll probably be ok. Anything else is a crapshoot.
Edit: And keep an eye on those games you mentioned. The Agency may do well in Asia, depending on how well PvP is done. With microtransactions, the overseas business could support it, although Asia, ironically, hasn't done much for Sony so far. And DC Comics - let's wait and see what happens when PotBS comes out. Vanguard, being a very incomplete game and buried in politics before launch, wasn't a very good test. I'll give them a mulligan on that one.
There's a sucker born every minute. - P.T. Barnum
I know everyone likes to blame SOE for this failure, and while certainly SOE is with fault, so is Lucas Arts. Lucas Arts screwed up this game just as much as SOE did. I do not think SOE is dead however, EQ still has a player base so does EQ2, on the other hand, if the NGE can not deliver, then in my opinion Galaxies is for the most part done. It can not afford another major change, if the NGE fails, then I would think it would be pretty much over for that particular game but hey I can be wrong.