It’s been quite a long wait, but finally PlanetSide 2‘s arrival on PlayStation 4 is nearly at hand.

The closed beta testing phase for the free-to-play MMO first-person shooter is scheduled to begin in North America on January 20th. No end date has been set, but the full game launch is expected later this year.

To sign up for the closed beta visit www.planetside2.com/ps2onps4 and submit your email address. A few thousand invites will be issued at beta launch, with additional invites to be sent out in waves throughout the testing period. Invites will be sent in chronological order, so if you’re just signing up today chances are you won’t be among the launch day beta testers.

Learn more about the PS4 version of PlanetSide 2 by reading the official FAQ at www.planetside2.com/faq.

One of the unfortunate drawbacks to upgrading from the PlayStation 3 to PlayStation 4 is the additional requirement of needing to have a PlayStation Plus membership to play online multiplayer. This is a killer for someone like me who isn’t an everyday multiplayer gamer but likes to dabble with online play and will occasionally get hooked into a particular title’s competitive offerings, because I simply don’t have the interest or extra cash to pay for a regular subscription.

Luckily, there are free-to-play games like Sony Online Entertainment’s massively multiplayer online fist-person shooter PlanetSide 2 that truly are free, as in free to download and free to play without requiring a PS+ account. A launch date for the PS4 version still has yet to be locked in, but the game is expected to be out by end of this year. PS4 demo stations will showcase the first playable console build at E3 next week, but until then kick back and enjoy the new PlanetSide 2 gameplay trailer.

Source: Planetside 2 PS4 Update [PlayStation.Blog]

Over the weekend at its SOE Live fan gathering, Sony Online Entertainment lifted the veil on the next EverQuest entitled — get this — EverQuest Next!

In development for four years now, EverQuest Next will mark the beginning of “The Emergent Era” for MMORPGs, an era in which players will work together to help build the game alongside SOE’s developers. This cooperative effort will all be possible through the “collaborative building hub” known as EverQuest Next Landmark, a mix of social MMO interaction with the design tools being used to create the game. Landmark will be available this winter as a “Free To Play. Your Way.” product that will allow players to collaborate with each other to design structures and environments, all of which will be considered for inclusion in the full release of EverQuest Next.

SOE doesn’t have a launch date targeted yet for EverQuest Next proper, but like Landmark the game will be a free-to-play offering. I suppose release timing will all depend on how the community embraces Landmark and how quickly content comes together. That stuff will be sorted out in due time. For now, continue reading for more early game info and media SOE has provided for the next generation of EverQuest. Additional updates can be found at www.everquestnext.com.

EverQuest Next Features:

Multi-Classing – EQN will offer players the ability to explore and interact with the world according to their individual style of play. There are no levels in EQN, but there will be more than 40 distinct classes (or professions) at launch, with multi-tiered abilities and specialized weapon skills to collect and master. Players will even mix and match abilities from each class, creating truly custom characters that feel distinct and powerful.

Destructible Environments – No modern MMO has successfully implemented destructible environments that stretch across an entire seamless game world – this changes forever with EQN. Every piece of the world is fully destructible and players will have the ability to manipulate almost all of it. They will interact with and explore the world in amazing ways; venturing down into the deep bedrock beneath the surface and using powerful combat abilities to blow gaping holes into the ground. The EQN world will extend far into the heavens and deep into the procedurally-generated earth through 10,000 years of known lore and history.

Permanent Change – Players will also have the ability to cause the world to change around them, permanently, in dramatic ways. Through the concerted effort of the world’s inhabitants, including players, creatures, and non-player characters (NPCs), city walls will be built and destroyed, large-scale wars will be fought and won, and epic stories will unfold over months and years.

Emergent AI – In EQN, NPCs will have specific motivations and preferences that direct behavior in nuanced and unpredictable ways. Players will find themselves in a world where NPC decisions are based on core values, not dictated by static spawn points. For example, Orcs may attack opportunistically because they want an adventurer’s gold, not simply because a careless hero wanders into an attack radius.

A Life of Consequence – Finally, each character in EQN will have a unique story; they will not follow a predetermined path. Instead, they will seek out adventure, fame and fortune in a constantly changing sandbox world. The game will remember every choice and action that players make and will organically deliver increasing opportunities to do more of the things players like to do … from crafting armor and exploring the wilderness to purging goblins from the forests.

Introducing EverQuest Next Landmark

This winter, SOE will introduce EverQuest Next Landmark (Landmark). Essentially, Landmark will combine the powerful and intuitive building tools SOE is using to create the fully destructible world of EQN with all of the social functionality expected from a modern MMO.

The game will feature huge persistent worlds that each support thousands of other players and varied terrain inspired by the environments of EQN. Most importantly, Landmark will provide anyone who wants to participate with the opportunity to actually build structures, and eventually create other types of content, to be considered for inclusion in EQN. Landmark will enable players to:

Create Amazing Things

– Build highly detailed structures with powerful and intuitive tools.
– Quickly design complex projects or collaborate with friends to undertake massive shared builds.
– Lay claim to and control specific areas of huge persistent worlds.

Share Your Imagination with Friends

– Landmark’s persistent servers will enable players to interact with and experience the collective imagination of thousands of players in a unique shared world.
– Players will have compelling reasons to explore and interact with others. They will congregate at crafting hubs, build design templates to share and trade, and journey across the world to collect the resources required to build and craft.

Build EQN with SOE — Using the Same Tools

– Landmark players will gain increasing access to many of the same tools that SOE is using to construct the game world of EQN.
– Not only will Landmark give players access to these world building tools, SOE will provide specific guidance on what we want help building.
– Through this collaborative approach, EQN may eventually represent the largest overall collaborative development effort in the history of online games. For anyone who has ever thought about becoming a game developer, here is your chance. Together we will build extraordinary things!

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Sony just loaded two more bullets into its PlayStation 4 launch arsenal.

Later this year, Sony Online Entertainment’s free-to-play MMO titles DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 will be available for digital download on the fourth PlayStation console gaming system. Not much of a surprise for DC Universe Online, which has already established a console audience on the PS3. But it will be nice to see PlanetSide 2, previously released only for Windows PC, playable on a home console. (Now how about a new PS4 EverQuest, SOE?)

More info is likely to come next week from E3. For now, here are the first PS4 trailers for DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2!

Sony got its nation of fans into a gamer frenzy with this week’s exciting (albeit completely expected) announcement of its PS3 mascot fighting game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. So, that’s where we’ll kick things off with this weekend’s edition of Screenshot Saturday. Not a whole lot to see from the game yet, but the first screenshots sure stir up plenty of hype and anticipation for what other characters and stages will be announced once E3 rolls around.

New pics are also in this week for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition, Battlefield 3: Close Quarters DLC, PlanetSide 2, Krater, Hitman: Absolution, Forza 4‘s Top Gear Pack, Cyanide’s Game of Thrones RPG, Gungnir and Mercenary Ops.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (PS3):
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Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PS3, Xbox 360):
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Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Nintendo 3DS):
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Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition (PS3, Xbox 360):
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Battlefield 3: Close Quarters DLC (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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PlanetSide 2 (PC):
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Krater (PC):
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Hitman: Absolution (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Forza Motorsport 4 – Top Gear Pack (Xbox 360):
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Game of Thrones (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Gungnir (PSP):
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Mercenary Ops (PC):
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Check Out These Links:

• Sony Confirms PS3 Mascot Brawler PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
• Harley Quinn Seeks Revenge in Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition
• Hitman: Absolution’s Special Edition is for Professionals Only
• Get Ready for Square Enix’s Nintendo 3DS Summer of Fun
• Grimlock Makes Transformers: Fall of Cybertron a Must Play

An epic battle of superhero MMOs is brewing. On one side we have Champions Online, the next game from City of Heroes creators Cryptic Studios coming to PC and Xbox 360 courtesy of 2K Games. Then on the other side is DC Universe Online for PC and PS3, an MMO from leading MMO provider Sony Online Entertainment that’ll bring players together with all their favorite heroes and villains from the DC comic book universe. PC gamers will get their chance to try out both, but on consoles potential consumers may have a tough choice on their hands in deciding whether to buy a PS3 for DC Universe or an Xbox 360 for Champions. Right now I’d have to give the edge to DC Universe Online myself simply based on the fact that it has the DC brand and characters. To me it just looks a whole lot better, too. On the jump you’ll find trailers for both titles. Check them out and see which one strikes your fancy.

Champions Online:
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DC Universe Online:
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“Oathbreaker has played a significant role in the sequence of Legends of Norrath development both internally and with the player community,” said Scott Martins, director of development, SOE Denver. “With over 250 new cards to enhance your strategies, Oathbreaker is a perfect point to jump into the game, just in time for the monthly Legends of Norrath Championship Series, which is set to culminate in August in Indianapolis at Gen Con Indy 2008. At that event, 32 players will compete for a total prize pool of $100,000!”

Currently slated to launch on June 19th, Oathbreaker promises to complete the main Inquisitor storyline that all started in Oathbound, Legend of Norrath‘s first card set. Below is the complete list of new features to look forward to:

New Cards – More than 250 new cards for your online arsenal! Collect all 210 base set cards, four starter decks featuring 16 new quests and three random rares, 10 scenario rewards, fantastic new loot cards for EverQuest and EverQuest II and lots of new promotional cards.

Play For Free – SOE is providing all registered LoN users even more complimentary content and bonus features in the game client, including ten new scenarios that tell the tale of Oathbreaker and a brand new raid. Go to www.legendsofnorrath.com for complete details.

New Raid Play – In the Antechamber of Fate, up to four players can face off against the powerful island guardian Chel’Drak, the dragon turtle!

New Gameplay – “Charge” is a new keyword that provides additional bonuses to cards while players have, or get rid of, their charge tokens. Re-linkable navigation offers greater flexibility in play by allowing linked cards to be linked again to a new target.

New Faces – Explore new unit types, legends, keywords and abilities for your favorite EverQuest and EverQuest II classes, with the introduction of “unarmed” Monks, Coercers, Templars and Beastlords (with their warder pets)!