VANGUARD: SAGA OF HEROES FINDS A NEW HOME
- Sigil Games Online and Sony Online Entertainment In Talks To Co-Publish Sigil’s Ground-Breaking New Game -

May 5, 2006 – Carlsbad & San Diego, CA – Sigil Games Online and Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), a global leader in the online games industry, today announced that Sigil is working with Microsoft Game Studios on an arrangement to acquire the rights to its highly anticipated massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. These efforts have resulted in a tentative agreement for Vanguard to be co-published by both Sigil Games Online and SOE. All three companies will be showing the game at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) as they work closely together for a successful transition. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is scheduled to launch this winter.

“As the development process is ongoing and constantly shifting, it became clear that MGS and Sigil had varying visions and direction for the title’s development,” said Brad McQuaid, CEO of Sigil Games Online. “In the best interest of Vanguard, it was decided that we would buy back the publishing rights from Microsoft.”

As co-publisher of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Sigil assumes greater control of marketing and PR, while maintaining responsibility for game development, community relations, media relations, customer support, and quality assurance. Under the terms of the agreement, SOE will provide distribution, marketing, hosting and back-end support -- including billing and technical support -- for the game. Additionally, SOE is tentatively planning on adding Vanguard, upon its release,to SOE’s Station Access™ subscription plan. Station Access allows players to enjoy all of SOE’s MMO titles for one low monthly price.

“We are very excited to be working with so many old friends at Sigil,” said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. “Vanguard looks beautiful and has an incredibly rich game world. It’s the type of game that will appeal directly to SOE’s hundreds of thousands of players and should fit in perfectly with the current line-up of games available in Station Access.”

”This decision was made mutually by Sigil and Microsoft, in the best interest of the long-term goals for the title,” said Phil Spencer, General Manager at Microsoft Game Studios. “As a key Windows development partner, we will continue to work with Sigil to ensure Vanguard’s ongoing success.”

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is the next generation of massively multiplayer online games. The journey takes place in the fantasy setting of Telon, a vast and ancient world of magic, intrigue and adventure. Facing the challenges of a war torn world, the diverse people here struggle to rebuild their once great civilizations. A fragile alliance has been struck, with the lands set upon by invading forces, the races must band together to survive.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is currently in a closed beta phase. The game will remain available via Fileplanet for existing beta testers during the transition to SOE. New information will be sent out to testers as the changeover occurs.

For more information about Vanguard: Saga of Heroes please visit www.vanguardsoh.com.

About Sigil Games Online
Based in Carlsbad, California, Sigil Games Online is a studio dedicated to creating massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. Founded in 2002 by Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler, key figures in the development of award-winning EverQuest, the company plans to be a driving force in the continued evolution of this unique genre. Sigil Games Online is comprised of an all-star team of experienced developers with an impressive pedigree of commercially successful and critically acclaimed online games. For more information, visit www.sigilgames.com.

About Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises and hit titles including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, Untold Legends™, and PlanetSide®,as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies™, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, and Taiwan, SOE has an array of cutting-edge games in development. SOE is owned by Sony Pictures Digital and Sony Computer Entertainment America.

SOE, the SOE logo, EverQuest and PlanetSide are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. Untold Legends is a trademark of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Sigil Games Online are trademarks of Sigil Games Online, Inc. (registration pending). All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/e...message.id=236

I really don't know what to think about this...
On one hand, Sigil will be able to have more power on their game by being the co-publisher...
But SOE handling billing and tech-support? OMG what were they thinking?

P.S. : Btw first post here, long time Gu reader. ^^ Hi everyone!

Edit : Brad on the matter :

SoE cannot touch the gameplay.

What we have done is become the publishers of our own game. We now have even more control and authority over Vanguard, how it is made, how it is designed, and how it is marketed than we ever had with Microsoft.

I realize there are lots of different feelings about SOE and their games. But whatever those feelings, the fact of the matter is that they know operations and distribution. They will make sure our beta runs the way it needs to, that our game is widely marketed, and that our game is available all over, in all channels.

That is SOE's role in this new partnership with them. Sigil remains Sigil, able to focus now moreso on what we do best -- design, implement, conduct betas, build community, and market.
__________________
Brad McQuaid
CEO, Sigil Games Online, Inc.
Exec. Producer, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.

It's a good move from Sigil's PoV. Many, if not most, EQ players know who the developers of Vanguard are. And while many of those old EQ players no longer play EQ1, quite a few of them are currently playing EQ2. The fact that Vanguard allows a Station Access Pass means that people can try out Vanguard without having to pay the full subscription rate for two games while they decide which, if any, games they are going to quit playing.

And here I thought this week couldn't get any weirder.

The Station Access deal only sweetens the pot.

I just got off the phone with Brad. I IMed him to confirm the information and he gave me a call to talk to me about this change.

SOE will be co-publishing Vanguard with Sigil. Microsoft was focussed on the 360, so Sigil raised the money to buy back publishing rights. And, since Brad and Smed are old friends and SOE has the framework in place to properly co-publish Vanguard, it was a logical move. Now, because I know someone will either ask or make assumptions about this, SOE did not provide Sigil with the funds to break away from Microsoft. Sigil raised the capital themselves.

And for those of you that are concerned for whatever reason, Brad assured me that Sigil will maintain control of the IP, meaning they will control content, updates, the community, tech support, customer service, etc. SOE will be responsible marketing the game, getting the game boxes on shelves, establishing and maintaining the game's server farm, etc. Vanguard will be made available via the All Access pass, but they will not be part of the Station Exchange.

As it was related to me, SOE needed a title for next year, and with Sigil making the move from Microsoft Games, it was the perfect match. The monetary infusion from SOE also means that Sigil will have more development time to insure the quality of the game. It also means an extended beta time with one or two large final stages of beta playing host to 30-40 thousand gamers.

No worries about Sigil's relationship to Microsoft, the split was amicable. Sigil is still working closely with them to make sure that Vanguard is a premier title on the upcoming Vista OS.

---

Personal opinion here, I've never known Brad to be anything but genuine. So, I'm kinda excited by the news.

Every time you say MMO, the game that comes to mind is EverQuest. If you find yourself talking to some one that does not know what an MMORPG is, you usually just have to tell them "it’s like EverQuest" and they will say "AAAAH"

The reason for this was not pure greatness of the game. Nor was it the game wide success or larger than anyone else player base, because it was (by many opinions) not the best game around, and it was not even close to be the one with the largest player base (that title belonged until recently to Lineage), nor was it the first MMO, not even the first 3D MMO.

The reason we all think MMO and think EverQuest-Like is because of SOE amazing marketing. They managed to make people think of MMORPG and EverQuest-Like as exchangeable terms.

My point is, SOE KNOWS how to market. This is a very smart move in behalf of Sigil. Additionally, many know very well the reason Asheron's Call was/is not a hugely populated game is precisely due to Microsoft's poor marketing for the game.

Adding Vanguard to the All Access plan is also an amazing thing, and it actually insures me buying it eventually (I was planning to entirely pass on it precisely because of way too many MMOs on my playing list). If you ask me, I think Asheron's Call 2 would have survived had it managed to link with the All Access plan instead of just publishing trough SOE.

Originally Posted by Woody:

I just got off the phone with Brad. I IMed him to confirm the information and he gave me a call to talk to me about this change.

SOE will be co-publishing Vanguard with Sigil. Microsoft was focussed on the 360, so Sigil raised the money to buy back publishing rights. And, since Brad and Smed are old friends and SOE has the framework in place to properly co-publish Vanguard, it was a logical move. Now, because I know someone will either ask or make assumptions about this, SOE did not provide Sigil with the funds to break away from Microsoft. Sigil raised the capital themselves.


And for those of you that are concerned for whatever reason, Brad assured me that Sigil will maintain control of the IP, meaning they will control content, updates, the community, tech support, customer service, etc. SOE will be responsible marketing the game, getting the game boxes on shelves, establishing and maintaining the game's server farm, etc. Vanguard will be made available via the All Access pass, but they will not be part of the Station Exchange.

As it was related to me, SOE needed a title for next year, and with Sigil making the move from Microsoft Games, it was the perfect match. The monetary infusion from SOE also means that Sigil will have more development time to insure the quality of the game. It also means an extended beta time with one or two large final stages of beta playing host to 30-40 thousand gamers.

No worries about Sigil's relationship to Microsoft, the split was amicable. Sigil is still working closely with them to make sure that Vanguard is a premier title on the upcoming Vista OS.

---

Personal opinion here, I've never known Brad to be anything but genuine. So, I'm kinda excited by the news.

Thanks a lot Woody to share this info with us.

I also thought it was a great move, but the only thing that worried me was SOE handling customer/tech-support. Having the confirmation that Sigil would keep power on those things is truely a relief.

Now I'm really glad about this news.

Originally Posted by BorusWintersong:

Adding Vanguard to the All Access plan is also an amazing thing, and it actually insures me buying it eventually (I was planning to entirely pass on it precisely because of way too many MMOs on my playing list).

Yup. The chances of me buying the Vanguard box just went up tenfold. That's a smart deal on Sigil's part, so long as they get enough from SOE to keep development going. =)


Powers &8^]

This made me laugh a lot. Not because I think it's bad or anything. Brad will do what he wants with his game and SOE doesn't get much say in that. What I think is funny is the effect on all the people on the EQ2 forums who constantly threaten to defect to Vanguard if change X doesn't get made immediately. The irony is just delicious.

It's always great to see more games added to the All Access pass, especcially since a few EQ friends of mine were planning on going there. At least there I can keep in touch with them. ^_^


I look forward to trying out the game when I can afford it. This was a great move IMO.

Dare I wonder what The Vision's role in all this... To Be set free by sigil only to be pulled back to SoE in the long run..

But yes, definetely a smart move by Sigil. in the ever-increasing sea of MMOgs, Working out a deal with a very well known name in the MMO industry will set itself even higher in the spotlights.