Sony Online Entertainment's (SOE) PlanetSide is touted by some fans, even industry folk as "the best MMO ever" and "the only true MMOFPS to date" (Borderlands will likely be a contender soon, however). Never heard of it? That's because it wasn't very well maintained in its early days, and didn't receive much in the way of promotion. But for the fans that did get into it, you should be happy to hear SOE is currently working on a new patch, as well as a sequel.
Regarding the patch, this will bring full Windows Vista compatibility (which will be good news for the similarly architectured 7), anti-hacks, bug fixes, and other items.
As for the sequel, which we'll refer tentatively to as PlanetSide 2, this was unofficially confirmed by SOE in a recent e-mail to players, asking for their input on a second game:
That's right, you heard what we said! We plan to expand the PlanetSide universe with another game and we need your help with the design. After all, who knows the game better than you, our customers, the people who actually play it! Don't worry about the original PlanetSide, it isn't going anywhere.
We want to hear your opinion and to do so we have put together a short survey. The information you provide will play a critical role into helping guide the development and direction of the next hit Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter. As a loyal player and experienced shooter fan, we value your input and look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Questions include "How many Factions should there be?", "What do you think of micro transactions?", and thoughts on similar titles like Tribes, Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2.
The news has been further fueled by SOE's registration of the planetside2.com domain (currently a redirect to the first game's site), and a couple of posts on SOE CEO John Smedley's Twitter which read "PlanetSide Next...you will like." Will this be the title of the next game? You'll just have to wait and see.
Smedley also spoke to fansite PlanetSide Universe -- not confirming the game himself, he did say, "PlanetSide fans will be happy We have big things planned in the next 12 months. We're working on something new that's really cool."
Mass Effect saved games will significantly alter things in sequelMichael Jackson ‘This Is It’ Movie Opens October 28