SOE president confirms EverQuest Next headed to PS4, more in AMA

Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley confirmed that EverQuest Next will come to the PlayStation 4 and that SOE is aiming to release the PS4 version of PlanetSide 2 in the first half of 2014.

"We will absolutely be bringing EQN to the Playstation 4!" Smedley responded to a question on the Ask Me Anything (AMA) session he held on Reddit last night.

While producer David Georgeson said in August that SOE is focused principally on the PC version of EverQuest Next, Smedley has teased the PS4 version of the game pretty blatantly in the past.

When asked about the release date for the PS4 version of PlanetSide 2, he said that it's taking time, but that the game is coming along great and that SOE is shooting for a release in the first half of this year.

Smedley had some other interesting things to say that were unrelated to EverQuest Next and PlaneSide 2. For example, he said that if he could, he would relaunch Star Wars: Galaxies and do everything differently. He added that SOE's next, yet to be announced game is dedicated to Star Wars: Galaxies players, though it will be based on a completely new IP.

We can say for sure that it will not be a Stargate MMO, as Smedley also revealed that the idea was pitched to and passed on by SOE. "I think it will make a great universe for an MMO. We've jut got our hands full," he said.

On the matter of pricing, Smedley said that SOE is still looking at PlaneSide 2, that it might reduce the price on some things, and that it will take the EverQuest Next Landmark community's input into account before finalizing prices there.

EverQuest Next Landmark will apparently also support Oculus Rift "in some way shape or form," he said. "Probably for no other reason than it's really damn cool and programmers love that stuff."

Smedley held the AMA shortly after SOE announced it plans to sunset four of its MMOs: Free Realms, Wizardry Online, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures.

Two of the canceled games, Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars, were aimed specifically at a younger audience, something Smedley said SOE isn't planning on trying again. "Kids don't spend well and it's very difficult to run a kids game," he said. "Turns out kids do mean stuff to each other a lot."