It never ceases to amaze me how people will interpret something that's pretty clear.
No - we aren't putting in any special software to prevent people from copying the game. It's totally unneccessary in a subscription based game. This is exactly why the online gaming industry is a very viable option in China right now.. piracy just isn't an issue.
John Smedley
President, Sony Online Entertainment
jsmedley@soe.sony.com
In respectful defense of our colleagues at Blizzard, I think it's safe to say there's virtually no way to have predicted the kind of volume they saw. My hat's off to them for having 88 servers ready to go around launch time. Despite all of the servers, and the huge open beta they ran.. the problems they are seeing simply don't surface until you see scale on the order of what they're seeing.
In my opinion they are doing right by their customers and are being respectful their players downtime by adding free time.
In this business, you can spend a lot of time planning.. and even a lot of time in beta only to find some crucial piece of technology doesn't scale as well as advertised.
I for one appreciate and respect the way they're dealing with this situation. I realize the frustration of their customers.. but I think it's safe to say that the Blizzard team is filled with stand-up people that are just focused on fixing the problems as quickly as possible.
John Smedley
President, Sony Online Entertainment
Slashdot Mirror
It never ceases to amaze me how people will interpret something that's pretty clear. No - we aren't putting in any special software to prevent people from copying the game. It's totally unneccessary in a subscription based game. This is exactly why the online gaming industry is a very viable option in China right now.. piracy just isn't an issue. John Smedley President, Sony Online Entertainment jsmedley@soe.sony.com
actually I did. feel free to email me at jsmedley@soe.sony.com and I'm happy to reply. John
In respectful defense of our colleagues at Blizzard, I think it's safe to say there's virtually no way to have predicted the kind of volume they saw. My hat's off to them for having 88 servers ready to go around launch time. Despite all of the servers, and the huge open beta they ran.. the problems they are seeing simply don't surface until you see scale on the order of what they're seeing. In my opinion they are doing right by their customers and are being respectful their players downtime by adding free time. In this business, you can spend a lot of time planning.. and even a lot of time in beta only to find some crucial piece of technology doesn't scale as well as advertised. I for one appreciate and respect the way they're dealing with this situation. I realize the frustration of their customers.. but I think it's safe to say that the Blizzard team is filled with stand-up people that are just focused on fixing the problems as quickly as possible. John Smedley President, Sony Online Entertainment