There's a lot of commotion about the hype surrounding Everquest Next, but is SOE concerned about the negatives? No, it's all about the positives from here and they're not letting up.
When you hold the title of "The Godfather of 3D MMOs," it's like being the heavyweight contender in the Massive Multiplayer Online industry similar to Nintendo and their position on console gaming. Sony Online Entertainment has set grounds for themselves since 1999 as the first, 3D MMO paving the way for developers across the world; including Blizzard, who have credited their success to Everquest and its foundation in which they built their World of Warcraft idea from.
However, like most title belt holders, it's very difficult to maintain your status over the years as you continue to pump out more and more games. SOE has relished somewhat of a rough reputation throughout the years with their games in an attempt to hold their ground as the king of the hill. When Dark Ages of Camelot released back in 2001, SOE's answer to the new competition was Shadows of Luclin rehashing all their content with new graphics, a new race, deeper lore and more. However, their strength in the generation of MMOs would be short lived with Blizzard's MMO giant World of Warcraft in 2004 taking every concept that made these MMOs great and pushing it to new heights becoming the "King of the Frozen Throne." Over the years, SOE has managed to keep the legacy alive for their core niche of fans with 20 expansions over a 14 year span, a sequel to the legendary Everquest series and now a revamped title of the legend itself: EverQuest Next Platinum. It was a great day when it was announced last year and it's been a hot topic since across the web breathing new life into gamers both old a new.
Although we can assure ourselves that the development team behind the Everquest saga may not have been the cause of demise over many of their other titles, SOE hasn't exactly been the "Golden" name in the industry since its release. Planetside, Everquest Online Adventures, Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix Online, PoxNora, Vanguard are some names to be mentioned in the rough-sketch, niche market they've tried to place themselves in over the years and have failed miserably.
However, with that being said, SOE still has held grounds over the years with several titles to keep them a, somewhat, feasible level of competition in the western market with Planetside 2, DC Universe Online and their Everquest franchises. With developers from the original Everquest team with the likes of Bill Trost heading to Trion to create Rift, there were cause for concern for EQ fans as to whether or not the veterans of the development team would be enough to keep their attention for long on this tall order they've made with Everquest Next.