http://eq.castersrealm.com/viewarticle.asp?Article=4219

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Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Inc., a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming, announced today that it will develop and publish EverQuest® Online Adventures™ for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. In addition, SOE is now an official PlayStation 2 developer, specializing in massively multiplayer online games, an entirely new genre for the console player. EverQuest Online Adventures will be the world’s premier online only console game, bringing the player interaction and community that made the original EverQuest so popular to a whole new audience of console gamers. The game is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2003.

“We have seen phenomenal success with the original EverQuest. The look, feel and functionality of the game provided the foundation on which we built a truly unique console-focused game,” said John Smedley, chief operating officer, Sony Online Entertainment. “Relying on the many insights we have gained from EverQuest over the past three years, we strongly believe that EverQuest Online Adventures has what it takes to be a major success on the PlayStation 2.”

EverQuest Online Adventures is a completely new game, designed to take full advantage of the PlayStation 2 system’s capabilities. But like the original EverQuest, it will feature intricate character development, continuous player interaction and a strong sense of community, which is sure to create a phenomenon that PlayStation 2 gamers have never experienced before. With an installed base of more than 8.8 million units in the U.S., the PlayStation 2 represents an opportunity to expand the massively multiplayer online role-playing game onto new platforms, delivering a whole new genre to the console gamer.

“Quite simply, there is no other console game like this,” said Don Vercelli, vice president of sales and marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. “The dedicated team at SOE has put in countless hours making sure that no other game would rival the level of character customization and atmospheric detail in EverQuest Online Adventures. This is truly a new experience for the console gamer.”

Using the PlayStation 2 system’s network adaptor, available in stores this August, EverQuest Online Adventures will connect seamlessly to the Internet, directing players to dedicated EverQuest Online Adventures servers. By connecting directly to dedicated servers, SOE can help to ensure low latency gameplay and fast connection times. Gamers simply insert the disc and the world of Norrath is just a few button pushes away.

Taking the best elements from the world’s largest, massively multi-player role-playing game for the PC, EverQuest Adventures brings role-playing, community interaction and player collaboration to the PlayStation2. The first-ever online-only console game is set in the world of Norrath, 500 years earlier than the PC game. EverQuest Adventures brings wondrous cities to explore, mythical lands to discover and endless enemies to defeat. With such a high level of unique player interaction, a cast of new characters to play and grow, you’ll find thousands of quests to lead you through a world so vast it could take months to travel across the eight terrain types rendered in amazing detail. There is, quite simply, no other game for the PS2 like EverQuest Adventures.

Millions of possible character combinations:

Nine playable races
13 classes of character
Customizable sex, face, hair and more
A huge world to discover:

More than 360 square miles to explore
Seamless environment (no load times and no rails)
Nine cities
Eight terrains
Unique quests promote player interaction
24/7 Evolving world – no required upgrades or additional software
Online only on the PlayStation2:

Completely “plug and play”
First ever online only console game
Dedicated EverQuest Adventures servers
Low latency over a 56K modem
Interact with thousands of different characters each time you log on
A different experience every time you play.

I personnally do not think it will work well on a console. Plus, consoles are (well, were) aimed at a younger audience which does not always have a credit card so would not be able to pay to play.

Also wondering how they would intend to handle the servers and such... it would be weird playing with people who cant chat and just use canned text...

They should instead make a MMORPG for the Ps2 instead of trying to capitalize some more on Everquest

why would it have to be canned text? They could write it so that you plug in a USB keyboard and there you go.

Plus, it would be nice to have it heavily optimized for the PS2. No more "making sure it works on everyone's different rig" stuff.