Sony Online Giving Away Everquest Trilogy Trials

mattwarden writes "With the release of EverQuest 2 slowly approaching, Sony Online has decided to provide a free PC download of EverQuest Trilogy that comes with 30 days of free gameplay. [EverQuest Trilogy is EverQuest Classic, plus two expansion packs, The Ruins of Kunark and The Scars of Velious.] However, you are restricted to one server, which seems to be designated as the freebie server (which somewhat brings up memories of eating at the kids' table). Cautionary note: EverQuest can be highly addictive. Consume in moderate dosages."

Comments

Surprised they haven't done this already...

[b0r0din]

Lots of MMORPGs are trying to save their subscription base and get an influx of new people, DAoC did this same thing but I don't think it worked all that well. I really think this should be the release model in general, anyway, ie. make the game free and then charge the monthly cost OR - and this is my personal favorite - make the game cost more and charge no monthly fee.

Still, not going to get me to play Everquest. I'm waiting for WoW, and if it doesn't rock my world, I'm giving up on MMORPGs for a while.

Hooray for the feeder bar.

[Inominate]

Press a button, get a food pellet.
Now do it several thousand times for another food pellet.

yay. Fun.

How about online games which offer actual fun, and don't operate on principles similar to a gambling addiction?

Originality

[hoferbr]

Sony will have to work hard to make Everquest2 successful. I know they're the kings of MMORPG, but I think that Everquest2 lacks something when compared to World of Warcraft or even City of Heroes. Those two games don't rely on graphics; they have original, imaginative design and art. Take a look at these screenshots. I think I have seem those scenes before.

Re:Originality

[deanj]

EQ2 isn't even out in beta yet, so I guess I'm wondering how you can compare all those. Are you saying that EQ2 will just be about graphics, and nothing else? Is that how you're drawing the comparisons? One could make a great argument that the Gothic II scene you cited is just a rip-off of EQ1.

I've played CoH, and it's OK for what it is, but I have to wonder how it'll do in the long term. I did like the "I want to screw around for about 20 minutes" factor that CoH has.

The real key here is the game play. Nethack and rogue had awful "graphics" (if you can even call what they had "graphics"), but the playability of those was just great.

Star Wars Galaxies was an original look and feel at least as original as WoW, if you look at it from the "already established genre" stance. Game looked great. The gameplay just bites in that game.

Bottom line, it can look as pretty as you want, but if the game play isn't there....who cares?

Nice...

[hookedup]

I've been really addicted to City Of Heroes, and trying to convice other friends to get it is tough. "So... I have to shell out 50 bucks for the game, then pay a monthly fee?"

Now.. if there were a single player aspect, and it was still possible to enjoy the game once you had enough of online play.. then maybe..

Re:Nice...

[deanj]

Well, if it's anything like EQ1 was for me, that monthly fee will SAVE you money in the long term, if that's the only game you end up playing.

Before EQ1, I'd buy five or six games a year. That's between $40 and $50 a pop per game. And most of those were really crappy games. A $40 game is about a three (almost four) month EQ subscription.

When I started EQ1, I stopped buying those other games, because I was too interested in EQ1. Over the long term, I bought all the expansions, but I know for a fact that I ended up saving money, even with the subscription fees.

That probably won't convince them either, but it might. I tried CoH for a while, but stopped playing because it just didn't hold my interest. Canned it before the subscription fee kicked in.

Failure was assured

[metamatic]

It seems as though Sony wanted EverQuest for the Mac to fail. They didn't bother creating a demo version or offering trial accounts, they charged $50 for the software, they restricted users to a special "Mac ghetto", and then after a couple of months they announced they wouldn't be doing any more work to fix bugs or add more content.

It's hard to see what else they could have done to ensure failure short of putting stickers on the box saying "Don't buy this".

The kids table

[servognome]

However, you are restricted to one server, which seems to be designated as the freebie server (which somewhat brings up memories of eating at the kids' table)
Imagine if you are a total newbie and log into a non-noob server and see a warrior in shiney armor. You might ask "Where did you get that great stuff," the reply "Grind it out for 1000 more hours and then you'll be able to camp this stuff." You also have issues with low and mid-level zones empty(since alot of people powerlevel past them). This creates a barrier to newbie advancement since there is nobody to group with and EQ is all about group play.