NEWS FLASH: New Publisher for VSoH

[Aredhel]

Some of you may already know this, but if not, you will sooner or later.

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 http://www.vanguardsoh.com.

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In a nutshell, Sigil is going to have SoE be the new co-publisher for Saga of Heroes. But, please, read everything and listen to Brad before you jump to conclusions, ok? We owe this to Brad and the gang!

[Twyla]

Originally Posted by VANGUARD: SAGA OF HEROES FINDS A NEW HOME

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.

Thats all I need to know.

later all ~ hope you enjoy the game for a long time

I am going to stick with Ncsoft and Arenanet. At least I know what I am paying for with them.

damn you SOE to hell I will play your competition out of pure spite!

[Greymain]

/Kneejerk reaction.

Odd timing, obviously there are issues between Sigil and MS which will come to light in time. The choice of SOE is unfortunate to say the least and will upset a large section of the existing fan base. Will it stop me playing? I dont think so but it will be with reservations. SOE has shown that it puts profit before everything else, in one way this is a good indicator that Vanguard is looking good.

A big question is over Sigils control over release and expansion policy. SOE has a reputation for releasing early then charging for missing content.

[Sins]

In the end, it's all about money. Even though Brad has maintained they can't touch the gameplay, it's still a tainted situation over time. It's like going to hell and saying I have my paradise there and the devil agreed not to burn it down.

Sony is good at marketing and maybe Sigil will take advantage of the good parts of it. Rest assured though, if I see a /pizza or a server setup to buy in game items with money in Vanguard that's it for me. I'll stick with Blizzard.

[Greymain]

More considered view having waded through 1000+ thread.

Not a good marketing decision. Sigil will have to fund Vanguard so it better have a wonderful launch and a prosperous first year... Humm ...

As an EX-AC2 player I never liked Microsoft as a publisher they almost strangled that game at birth.

Providing Sigil does not run out of cash and has to sell the game to SOE. Then
SOE's slick, tried and tested, publicity and marketing departments should ensure Vanguard gets proper exposure.

I have always contended that Beta is the most dangerous stage in a games life and I suspect this deal has improved Vanguards chances of getting launched.

[Pirotess]

Hrmm. Heh the dev tracker put up over 6 pages of new posts over night. Wish I had fixed my parsing bug before that happened.

[Coinspinner]

I get the feeling Microsoft may have already been pushing for the kind of changes to Vanguard that people fear from SOE. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, ya dig? It sucks, but "Oh well."

[Aredhel]

Personally, I trust SoE about as far as I can throw them, however, ya have to admit they have some of the best marketing around! They're just really lousey with customer support of all types. Unfortunately, this agreement gives them the tech and billing jobs....both things they're NOT totally good at. They'll need to work on their people skills and beef up their tech group. And their accounting dept. is great at getting the money in...it's remembering who's money it really is to begin with (and that when they say STOP billing me, they do!) that is paying their salary that they have problems with.

...not that they care...

However,

1) CS is NOT in SoE's hands, so the players should get some good support there!

2) Development is NOT in SoE's hands, so Brad can still see his vision (and SoE can see what EQ should have been!).

3) The probability of a "too-early" realease is out of MicroSoft's hands...thank goodness for that!

At this point, I'm saying what I tell my co-workers: Let people go with their strengths!

1) SoE can market like crazy!

2) Brad has a wonderful vision and heart, and a great staff to help him realize it

3) MS has the edge on the OS market

So, until I see any reason not to, I'm putting my trust in Brad and Company. In the business world, it's probably a smart move! All-Access passes have just gone up in value, and who knows? Sigil might show SoE that you can be honest with your customer base and still win!

ok, so I can dream! Dreams are what the good stuff is made of!

Hold on, guys....let's give it a good chance!

[Pirotess]

Everything SOE is responsible for in this agreement is exactly the stuff they've been criticized for doing poorly in the past with the exception of the marketing point. Im still not buying into this being a good thing but rather a necessary thing.

[Aredhel]

Be really nice if it was both, wouldn't it?

And yes, I've been called the "infernal optimist" for years. Can't help it!

/grin