Why EverQuest house SOE went all-in with free-to-play games

SOE isn’t as high profile as in its EverQuest heyday, but it’s settled in as one of the biggest players in free-to-play triple-A games. President John Smedley discusses why he thinks SOE’s headed in the right direction.

Most company presidents spent E3 locked in meeting rooms, only getting a few sparse moments to explore the show floor. Not Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley. He actively spent time in the thick of things — though he rarely strayed far from his own booth.

Smedley’s a heavy FPS fan — and he’s especially enamored with SOE’s upcoming action MMO Planetside 2. That professed dedication isn’t unusual when an executive has a product to sell, but few of those executives arrive to E3 2.5 hours early so they can sneak in a couple hours of gameplay, and lob trash talk at other players.

Read more at Gamasutra

Sony Online Entertainment issues pink slips

With costs rising and competition increasing, Sony has laid off one-third of its Sony Online Entertainment division.

205 of the roughly 700 SOE employees received pink slips Thursday as the company shut down three development studios in Denver, Seattle and Tucson. One long-in-development title was also cancelled.

Read more at Daily Variety

Sony Online Entertainment Cuts More Than 200 Workers

Sony Online Entertainment, the one-time leader in the online gaming space, has been scaled back significantly.

The company has closed three development studios and laid off 205 of its roughly 700 employees amid growing competition in the space and the increasing number of alternate gaming platforms, such as the iPhone and Facebook.

Read more at CNBC.com