John Smedley, the president of Sony Online Entertainment, recently spoke about the upcoming PlayStation 3 MMO The Agency and how it will be one of the selling points of the console in the future. To find out what he had to say, head on over to the full article.

Sony Online Entertainment, the studio behind the EverQuest franchise and Star Wars Galaxies, has released the details for this year's Fan Faire. In this year's event, SOE will be bringing along demos of upcoming titles such as The Agency, the upcoming MMO shooter for the PlayStation 3. Details in the full article.

To cross-platform, or not to cross-platform, that is the question for Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming MMO shooter, The Agency. The game will appear on both the PlayStation 3 and the PC. Unfortunately, SOE CEO John Smedley remarks that the chances of cross-platform play for the MMO are slim. Read the full story in the full article.

The 2008 ION Game Conference looks to be building up quite a line-up of keynote speakers. It was recently revealed that the first keynote speech will be delivered by none other than president of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley.

Check out the full article for more information.

It seems that Sony Online Entertainment might soon belong to Zapak Digital Entertainment. The price for this acquisition: US$ 300 million. According to some sources, this deal has been in the works for some time now and is being finalized.

UPDATE: John Smedley, SOE's CEO,  has released a statement on this issue. He pointed out that Sony Online Entertainment has never been on sale and talks with Zapak Entertainment about selling the company never happened. Learn more about the supposed deal after the jump!

In a discussion entitled "Subscriptions vs. Micro-Transactions," Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) president John Smedley said that the upcoming pseudo-MMO action game The Agency (PC, PlayStation 3) would fuse different business models to create a balancing act between attracting players and optimizing profit sources.

 

Free online play with in-game advertisements, some content accessible via microtransaction, and exclusive areas unlocked through subscriptions will all play a part in The Agency. Of course, in order to sit comfortably between avid MMO gamers from the East and core gamers from the West, the "velvet rope" approach will probably take precedence over the rest. Smedley said:

We also see this game going a similar style to that of Free Realms, although I think that the velvet rope model in this case, we're also going to be bringing that in quite a bit because this is also appealing to a more hardcore gamer.

Free Realms, another MMO game by SOE, will also lean toward a similar business model when it gets released next year. The big difference between the two, however, is that The Agency would be primarily aimed at adults, while Free Realms would be targeting a younger audience.

Get a lowdown of Sony Online Entertainment's views of subscriptions and microtransactions at the full article.

Rumors of a PS3 outing for the EverQuest II expansion Echoes of Faydwer have been shot down by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). According to IGN, the official word from EQ2 senior producer Scott Hartsman is that "it isn't happening."

"At this time, there aren't any plans to bring Echoes of Faydwer to consoles of any kind at," said Hartsman. SOE Public Relations Manager Michael Shelling also added, "There are no plans right now, but EverQuest Online Adventures is still available for PS2 and a dedicated community of players."

As for the pictures, Jason (Unregistered) commented on our previous post on the subject that they looked like they were from the new Neriak content update. A quick check revealed that the screenshots were indeed from a recently-released batch of screenshots for the new content update. The screenshots focused on the new Arasai race.

MMORPG fans who are hoping for a PS3 MMO can look forward to a couple of possibilities mentioned by SOE President John Smedley. According to IGN, aside from the DC Universe MMO expected to come out next year, a "spy-themed MMO and a 'whimsical' MMO are in the works for the PC and PS3".