"One of the lessons we've learned as a massively multiplayer gaming company is that players do not want any hassle involved in playing online," said Scott McDaniel, vice president, marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "Since we are not relying on third-party software to match players together, our gamers will never have to shut down or leave their game in order to find a multiplayer game."
SOEGames.net will allow gamers to seamlessly connect with other players (using their own Internet connection) and will provide multiple levels of service. For the basic service, there are no additional subscription fees required (players must provide their own internet connection for online gameplay modes). The SOEGames.net service will be built-in to both Lords of EverQuest and Champions of Norrath so that gamers will not have to leave the game environment to find opponents and allies.
Champions of Norrath, an Action/Role-Playing Game (RPG) for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, will use SOEGames.net to connect up to four players who can then adventure together through the game's deadly dungeons and fantastic environments. Players with Lords of EverQuest, a PC Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game, will find a number of options available online, including multiplayer matches of up to 12 players.