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Sony Online Entertainment ('''SOE''') is a Game Development and Game Publishing division of Sony that is best known for creating Massively Multiplayer Online Game s, including '' EverQuest '', '' EverQuest II '', '' PlanetSide '', and '' Star Wars Galaxies '', which have gained hundreds of thousands of paid subscribers link . HISTORY Sony Online Entertainment and Verant's history can be seen as starting with Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA), an internal game development studio of Sony that formed around 1995 . In 1996 , John Smedley (known to the gaming community as "Smed") was put in charge of SISA's development of an online Computer Role-playing Game , or MMORPG that would evolve into ''EverQuest''. Smed hired programmers Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover who had come to Smedley's attention through their work on the singleplayer RPG '' Warwizard ''. In April 1998 , Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) was formed by merging parts of ''Sony Online Ventures'' with ''Sony Pictures Entertainment'''. Within a matter of months after this change, ''Sony Interactive Studios America'' was renamed 989 Studios . Towards the end of 1998 , 989 Studios shifted its strategy to making PlayStation Console games only. The company's computer game/online development branch spun off, initially calling itself RedEye Interactive and then soon after Verant Interactive . '' EverQuest '' launched with modest expectations from Sony on March 16 , 1999 under its Verant Interactive brand and quickly became successful. Numbers continued rising at a steady rate until mid-2001 when growth slowed. As of 2004 , Sony reported subscription numbers close to 450,000. In '' MMORPG, released January 2007 . Developed by Sony Online Entertainment, LucasArts released '' Star Wars Galaxies '' in 2003 , which saw rapid growth as expected. Bruce Woodcock estimates that ''SWG'' reached nearly 300,000 subscribers within the year before trailing off. LucasArts has released three expansions for ''Star Wars Galaxies'', ''Jump to Lightspeed'' October 2004 , ''Rage of the Wookies'' May 2005 and ''Trials Of Obi-Wan'' November 2005 . In 2003 , the company also explored relatively untouched MMO territory with the MMOFPS '' PlanetSide '' and the PlayStation 2 MMORPG '' EverQuest Online Adventures ''. ''PlanetSide'' enjoyed a reasonably successful launch, however the product never attracted wide popularity. SOE has released two expansions for ''PlanetSide'', one a retail product called ''Core Combat'', and a second free expansion titled ''Aftershock''. ''PlanetSide'' can be played for free under a "Reserves" program, that limits character advancement, but otherwise grants full access to the game. EverQuest Online Adventures was not as successful but spawned an expansion ''EverQuest Online Adventures Frontiers'', which is stilled maintained by SOE as of 2007 . The company continued the EverQuest universe through a sequel set hundreds of years after the original with the release of '' EverQuest II '' on November 9 , 2004 , which has seen similar success to the original phenomenon. SOE has released several adventure packs and expansion packs for EverQuest II, including ''The Bloodline Chronicles'' March 2005 , ''The Splitpaw Saga'' June 2005 , ''Desert of Flames'' September 2005 , ''Kingdom of Sky'' February 2006 , ''The Fallen Dynasty'' June 2006 , and ''Echoes of Faydwer'' November 2006 . Recent History Currently, John Smedley is the CEO of Sony Online Entertainment. SOE is headquartered in San Diego, California , with additional game development studios located in Austin, Texas , Denver, Colorado and Seattle, Washington . In '' expansions. SOE has produced numerous ''EverQuest'' expansions and spin-off '', in February 2005 . In August 2005 SOE entered a deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment which saw the acquisition and transition of '' The Matrix Online '' to the existing line up of Station games. In April 2006 , Sony Online Entertainment, Inc. became Sony Online Entertainment LLC, owned by Sony Pictures Digital and Sony Computer Entertainment America . In ''. However, Sigil retains full development rights, and SOE's role is only that of marketing, distribution, technical support and hosting the game servers. SOE also announced the release of '' Field Commander '', its third game for the PlayStation Portable System. In August 2006 , SOE announced the acquisition of developer Worlds Apart Productions , renaming the studio SOE-Denver. The studio has since released an online version of the '' Wizkids '' Pirates Constructible Strategy Game. In '', within the launch window of the PlayStation 3 system, which was released in North America on November 17 2006 . SOE also released ''Pirates Online Constructible Strategy Game'', which is the online version of the '' Wizkids '' Pirates Constructible Strategy Game. In January 2007 , SOE announced that it has licensed rights from Midway Home Entertainment to develop and release six classic Midway games for PlayStation 3 Digital Download, including '' Mortal Kombat II '', '' Gauntlet II '', '' Joust '', '' Rampage World Tour '', '' Rampart And Championship Sprint '', which will be available off of the PlayStation Store . The announcement came shortly after SOE released its second PlayStation 3 digital download '' GripShift ''. On On '' (described as Sigil's "tentpole property"). On to create a MMO based on the popular Indian-Mythology inspired Ramayan 3392 A.D. graphical novel. On June 11 , 2007 , Sony Online Entertainment announced that The Agency (video Game) was currently under development. TITLES
STATION.COM SOE's . In August 2006 , Station.com added several games by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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