EverQuest Next Teased for PS4

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

EverQuest Next Teased for PS4

Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley "can't wait to see" EverQuest Next on Sony's next-gen console.

EverQuest is one of the longest-running MMORPGs in gaming history, and Sony Online Entertainment is planning to continue its flagship series with EverQuest Next, dubbed GamerHubTV [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127368-EverQuest-Next-Is-the-Next-Generation-of-MMOs-PAX-2013], Smedley said that he "can't wait to see it on the PS4."

This isn't a confirmation, of course, as Smedley is quick to say. "We haven't announced, technically, that we're putting it on the PlayStation 4," he stated. "But it's fair to say that we're a Sony company, so I say that with a smile on my face." If EverQuest Next does come to the PlayStation 4, it will join DC Universe Online and eventually Planetside 2 in the console's MMO line-up.

EverQuest was the first MMORPG I ever played, and as such it will always have a special place in my heart. I'll never forget waiting 20 minutes for a new area to load on a dial-up modem, or getting kicked off every time my brother picked up the phone, or spending hours in front of the family computer eschewing school, homework, and any semblance of a personal life in order to get my EverQuest fix. I'm fine now, really. I'm not at all concerned that EverQuest Next being on the PS4 would make it much more accessible to me.

We'll let you know if and when EverQuest Next is confirmed for the PlayStation 4.

Source: Polygon [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpgShcI7uBI]

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[INVALIDUSERNAME]

Can anybody say dumbed down? Because I don't know how something as supposedly complex as EQN could work on a controller without butchering the damn thing.

But hey, maybe it'll be good...Right?



...Right?

 

[ohnoitsabear]

This is completely unexpected and unprecedented and I am in complete shock (sarcasm).

Seriously though, I have no issue with games being available on as many platforms as possible, as long as stuff isn't sacrificed to make it happen. Which is of course possible, but I kinda doubt that the game will be substantially altered for the worse because it eventually gets released on the PS4.

This isn't completely relevant, but I also want to point out that Sony makes more "hardcore" first party titles on pc than Microsoft does. And that's just sad.

 

[Therumancer]

To be honest, I also think this doesn't sound good. I think both "DC Universe Online" and "Freerealms" suffered badly from being designed for console use. I'm not a big believer in MMOs on consoles.

One big problem with MMOs on consoles is that even with the current problems with online communities, things are infinatly worse due to not having easy access to a keyboard, especially if your doing it "traditionally" in a "living room couch" gaming format. Voice chat is good for talking to a small group of people, or doing a raid or whatever, but when it comes to dealing with dozens or hundreds of people at once it doesn't work well. The heart and soul of a community usually comes from the general channels and such, as much as people mock things like "Barrens Chat" that is how most people wind up meeting each other, cracking jokes, and otherwise making an overall community worth having. In some games I might very well wind up on a number of different purpose-specific channels.

I've noticed that attempts to blend console and PC MMOs don't work well, and honestly MMOs that simply allow controller support on the PC tend to run into problems. Beyond simplicity, as soon as controllers enter the equasion you start running into more and more people who don't bother to type, read text, or anything else. They tend to wind up in your groups and running around willy nilly, and most importantly rolling on all the loot, whether they can use it or not. In a lot of those cases the guy that won't listen or won't respond to tells isn't some foreigner, he's someone with a controller, who is watching the screen and floating numbers, not paying attention to the chat window, and won't respond if he is, because that would involve putting down his controller to type, which can admittedly be inconvenient.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

This isn't completely relevant, but I also want to point out that Sony makes more "hardcore" first party titles on pc than Microsoft does. And that's just sad.

I wouldn't really say that. Microsoft seems with great terms with the hardcore crowd as they actively pushed esports and tournaments for the Halo games. Right now they are reaching out to plenty of esports organisations and veteran fighting game clans for Killer Instinct.

EDIT: Oh, you said PC, well then, I guess you are right about that but Sony is more active in the PC space than MS so that might be a tad bit unfair.

 

[jackpipsam]

I thought SOE said they wouldn't.

I dunno, as long as it comes out later and as long as it doesn't change the design on the PC version it should be okay.
I am thinking back to the way SOE ruining the PC of DCUO because of the PS3 version.

 

[Khymerion]

After trying a few of these console/pc MMOs... this ruined my taste for it. If FF14:RR and DCU are indications of what people are supposed to accept from these cross platform games, all my anticipation for this vanished into the ether.

 

[Riff Moonraker]

My first foray into the world of MMO's was EverQuest. It expanded into Star Wars: Galaxies, but as hard as I tried, that one just wound up missing the mark. But EverQuest was something special. I played on the Prexus server with my Necromancer, and absolutely adored it for three years, until I finally decided it was sapping up too much of my time, and quit. Not long after that, a friend wanted me to play a this little game with him, called Halo, on this thing called the xbox, and I never looked back. I havent played on the PC since, but always hoped that one day the consoles might get some honest to goodness MMOs, and it looks like those hopes are coming to fruition this coming gen. Elder Scrolls online? Yeah, I'm there, and I am really looking forward to it. But I still hoped that there would be a chance for EverQuest to make its way to consoles as well. That seemed more of a certainty with the release of ESO, but I had some concerns that since SOE puts out EQ, it might wind up only on the PS4. It looks like SOE is going to choose exclusivity over the fans, and while I get it, I think its a shame. I am sure there are alot of gamers on the xbox, a significant amount, that probably played EQ and would have purchased the game.

Oh well, if it doesnt come to the Xbox One, I will never get to bring my Necromancer back to the world of Norrath, it seems.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

*reads next generation of MMOs*

*sees no mention of a NerveGear*

LIIIIIIIEEES!

OK, SAO references aside, the whole spiel about this MMO being some kind of "revolutionary milestone" has been said before, and usually it disappoints. I know there's a lot of Everquest fans and, for their sake, I do hope that Everquest Next does turn out to be some kind of amazing new installment in the series, but quite frankly, I don't see MMOs adopting some kind of new formula that will hook me into them until they get the damned VR helmets out there.