Features

John Smedley is the President and CEO of Sony Online Entertainment. We had a chance to talk to him by phone last week about his company, the games they make and where they're going. Here's a sample:

"We are very focused on taking the grind out of our next round of games," he said simply. "Our next generation is not trying to do what we did in this generation." He cited The Agency, with its more mature theme, FPS elements and cinematic-storytelling as an example.

It's been a turbulent path for Smedley and SOE. The online game division of Sony began when the company purchased Verant, the studio behind EverQuest of which Smedley was a co-founder. That blossomed into "The Station", a game hub that has since been the model for the entire industry. It included EQ and a host of smaller games, like Tanarus, an online tank-combat game, whose mechanics were a forerunner to games like Battlefield.

Read more after the jump.

This is the latest from Perpetual Entertainment's Gods and Heroes. This action shot reminds me of an old master's mythological battle scene. It's a great sequence and shot of it.

WarCry spoke to Perpetual Entertainment Co-Founder earlier today as news broke that the company had laid off 30 to 40 members of the Gods and Heroes team. Others were re-assigned to Star Trek Online. The company had hoped to launch Gods and Heroes this fall, but based on Beta feedback, opted to give the game more time and move its launch to early 2008.

"We've never set an official launch date for Gods and Heroes," Co-Founder Chris McKibbin told us. "Driving to the fall, that's been our goal."

For the last several weeks, Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising had been in Closed Beta testing. While it is, according to Perpetual, content complete, they felt it needed more polish before it goes to market. "Our feeling was driving hard to make a fall launch would lead to less than high quality results and we've seen that in other launches," he said. "We've made the decision to give the game more time. What we really want to do is to deliver a polished and high-quality game."

For our interview with Chris McKibbin, click below.

In week eleven, we take a peek at a group of characters engaged with an elephant in one of those pretty images only Gods and Heroes can provide. Set for launch this winter, Gods and Heroes is a window into the world of Roman mythology and the debut product of Perpetual Entertainment.

In week eleven, we take a peek at a group of characters engaged with an elephant in one of those pretty images only Gods and Heroes can provide. Set for launch this winter, Gods and Heroes is a window into the world of Roman mythology and the debut product of Perpetual Entertainment.

It's Tuesday and that means Gods and Heroes screenshots. The self-published Perpetual Entertainment MMO puts players in a world where myth is fact and the gods of Ancient Rome are locked in a mortal struggle. As the half-sons and daughters of the gods, it is up to the players to decide the future.

This week's screenshot is from the center of town in the Alban zone. This image shows a couple characters in front of a monument, surrounded by volcanoes.

This week we bring you yet another exclusive screenshot of Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising. This Perpetual Entertainment MMORPG sets players as demi-gods in a mythological version of Rome. There, they battle enemies to defend Rome and its gods from a hostile takeover.

The seventh week of Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising screenshots flies your way this morning with this intense, particle-filled offering from Perpetual Entertainment.

This week's video development diary asks Design Director Stieg Hedlund his favorite experience during the development of Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising. Every Friday we have a new video from Stieg on a specific aspect of the game.

Click below to see the video on Gods and Heroes on WarCry.