LEGACY OF EVERQUEST ® FRANCHISE CONTINUES WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF EverQuest ® AND EverQuest ® II EXPANSIONS AT FAN FAIRE

All attendees to Receive Both Expansions for Free as Part of Living Legacy Program!

LAS VEGAS , NEV. – Aug. 15, 2008 – Thousands of video game enthusiasts are in Las Vegas for the annual Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire where the upcoming expansions for the online role-playing games EverQuest® (EQ) and EverQuest® II (EQII) were just announced. EverQuest® Seeds of Destruction ™ is scheduled to be available on Oct.21, and EverQuest® II The Shadow Odyssey ™ is scheduled to be available on Nov.18. As part of SOE’s extensive Living Legacy program designed to entice new and past EQ and EQII players into the games and reward the existing loyal playerbase, all Fan Faire attendees will receive the software for both expansions for free, an unprecedented offering.

“It is such a privilege to announce the upcoming expansions for two of our most popular games, EverQuest and EverQuest II, in a venue like Fan Faire where we are joined by thousands of our loyal fans, and it seems more than appropriate to give those fans access to both of the expansions for free,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “Both of these expansions are rich in content and adventure, and will provide our players with hours of excitement as they explore the online world of Norrath.”

This morning I was privileged to have breakfast at the G.I.R.L. - Gamers in Real Life panel. With a group of about forty people, the women involved in the G.I.R.L. program discussed gaming, their personal experiences, and how the gaming industry involves and represents women.

Moderated by Dana Jongewaard, Editor-in-Chief, IGN.com, the panelists were:

• Torrie Dorrell, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, SOE-San Diego
• Laura Naviaux, Director, Global Brand Marketing, SOE-San Diego
• Lorien Gremore - Producer, The Agency(tm), SOE-San Diego
• Laralyn McWilliams - Lead Designer, Free Realms(tm), SOE-San Diego
• Julia Brasil, G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition Winner
  

Day 1.  Well, sort of.

It's 8am in Vegas, and kinda quiet, relatively. Everyone seems to be sleeping in. The kids have me too well trained, I woke at 7am.

I got here Wednesday afternoon, coordinated with my boss Draknorr and AutunmKiss from our news site. We indulged in some carboydrates and went to the Star Trek experience. If your're here, you should do this, as its closing its long run at the end of the month.

Then I came back to my room and went to bed early. I woke to text messages from several people sent last night from Quarks. I missed the party! I must be getting old, but getting up at 3am to fly half the day just takes it out of me.

EQII Players reports:

Even if you can't make it to Fan Faire, be sure to register for the live webcast of the 2nd Annual Community Address to see what's new at SOE! We will be broadcasting live from Fan Faire this Friday night, August 15th, at 6:00pm PDT.

To register for the webcast, please go to http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=50659 .

Read more at EQII Players !

I'm a little better prepared for Fan Faire this year. Mostly because I have an idea what to expect this time, while last year I was a total Fan Faire newb. This time I swear I'll be prepared. I sincerely believe that half of enjoying a convention, or any trip, is in how you prepare. And I'm a planning type person. I've been trying to work, but I keep jumping up because I think of one more thing I shouldn't forget.

My friend Rijacki, who has more con experience than I do, recommends the 6-2-1 rule. She tells me you need 6, 2, and 1 of these things to "function" at a con:

• showers
• hours of sleep
• meals

And she swears it actually does work in any combination. The recommended configuration is 6 hours of sleep, 2 meals, and 1 shower. But it's been done as 2 showers, 6 meals, and 1 hour of sleep. Sounds like great advice to me!