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Smedley ION-izing ex-OGDC

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Jan 30, 2008 4:13 pm PT

SOE president to deliver keynote at this year's online-oriented developer conference in Seattle; event runs May 13-15.

With game developers running to and fro waxing technical about the game-making process at industry conventions and conferences, it's a wonder that any games ever actually make it to market. Be that as it may, the conference circuit rumbles on this week, with ION Game Conference organizers announcing Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley will deliver the keynote address at this year's event.

John Smedley, aka Smed.

Smedley's keynote will address past and present accomplishments for SOE and the massively multiplayer online game genre as a whole, as well as what the future may hold for the growing space. His talk will also address The Agency, an espionage-themed MMOG in development at SOE's Seattle studio and due on the PC and PlayStation 3 later this year.

Formerly known as the Online Game Developers Conference (OGDC), the ION Game Conference will occur May 13-15 in Seattle, Washington. Event organizers have stated the theme for this year's conference is "redefining online," with an emphasis placed on "console, wireless, virtual worlds, mash-ups, mobile, and casual games" that deal in more than just the fantasy MMOG genre. Registration and other information can be found on the conference's Web site.

17 Comments

  • JestorRodo

    Posted Feb 3, 2008 8:26 am PT

    Well the idea of Smedley being the keynote speaker of this developer conferences will really drag down its importance to the gaming community . I will be sharing my opinion of the Agency on the next Rodo Report Feb 21st. In the meantime check out and laugh at my first one. http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=26697507

  • WeWerePirates

    Posted Feb 1, 2008 10:47 am PT

    Check out the strange tale of Vanguard for more on how much of an idiot this guy is. On SWG I think Raph Koster deserves his fair share of the blame. Sony had the best experience in the industry, they should have done their analysis on the project and designed WoW a year before Blizzard did. That is a big claim so I'm going to back it up even though it is a bit of an aside.

    In terms of gameplay WoW does nothing new, it doesn't even do anything that Ever Quest didn't do really, it just does it better. Before it came out WoW actually split the veteran MMO community down the middle, half drooling at it for reasons the other half couldn't understand since they had seen it all before. The thing is the veteran MMO community wasn't very big so it didn't matter what they thought. SOE should have looked at the Star Wars franchise and realised they should make a content driven but conventional MMO geared towards what at the time was considered casual and taking the best elements of existing MMOs... which is exatly what WoW is. Instead they hired Raph Koster, some one who I have a lot of respect for but utterly the wrong person for the project.

    The thing is with SWG there are a lot of hings wrong with it but for player driven aspects, the economy, crafting, character ownership, player towns, everything unmistakably Koster it is peerless. The problem is that isn't what the Star Wars franchise needed. Along with that comes all the hallmark flaws of a Koster game: emphasis on repetition, free form development with well defined roles leads to dominant builds, all things exacerbated by the setting. Just look at the time line between first Jedi and a series of increasingly dramatic overhauls of the Jedi system for how bad a fit the style of game was to the setting. The thing is out of all my MMO gaming some of my fondest memories are of SWG because of the people I played with and how the game supported that. So with SWG I feel Koster handed over a good Raph Koster game but Smed hired the wrong person for the job.

    Lepuke:
    "Smedley is a douchebag. Many other MMO players share my sentiment."

    Personally I'd say smuck more than douche but I know where you are coming from.

  • killzone_gamer

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 1:12 pm PT

    Gimme The Agency and Home already!

  • marioracer24

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 8:26 am PT

    whoever writes the headlines for these news stories should be fired. I mean, "Smedley ION-izing ex-OGDC" that makes no sense at all unless you've already read the story. This is just an example; there are bad headlines written every day on this site.

  • Warghost2k

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 5:34 am PT

    This moronic trollop has destroyed MANY games. When not rushing out incomplete, subpar vaporware(Vanguard), he's been known to take AAA franchises, bleed them dry, slap the fans in the face, and ruin the most promising of titles(Galaxies). Unfortunately, SOE has pockets so deep that these abortions live on for years, which bars any better versions of the games from being made(like SWG 2).

    Seriously, any title that this guy is associated with will probably fail within the first year. Good luck with The Agency. I'll be playing Conan instead.

  • Snake6phw

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 4:32 am PT

    Screw you Smedley. You destroyed what could have been the greatest game ever created.

  • NandoSupes

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 4:25 am PT

    interesting I"ll be on the look out for this.The Agency is looking sharp, can wait to try it.

  • IIBlackknightII

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 8:08 pm PT

    Cool Online game.

  • Maersyndel

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:59 pm PT

    The Agency is looking the goods.....maybe he'll give us a concrete release date.

  • Dark_knight109

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:32 pm PT

    I hope people aren't paying too much for that conference. Smed can hold up a Star Wars Galaxies box and say "See this? Don't do anything we did with this game and you'll be good," and that's probably the best you're gonna get out of him.

    Seriously, what's he gonna talk about? How to screw up some of the best opportunities in the genre in an absolutely jaw-dropping fashion?

  • Dirt_knap

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 6:24 pm PT

    Seriously, what does Smedley being a douche bag have to do with anything............ it has nothing to do with whether or not The Agency is going to be good ( and it is looking pretty awesome!)

  • ctg867

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:58 pm PT

    Looking forward to the Agency. Could be very, very good.

  • Lepuke

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:56 pm PT

    Smedley is a douchebag. Many other MMO players share my sentiment.

  • sphinx-shadow

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 5:00 pm PT

    Can't wait to hear more on the The Agency.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 4:58 pm PT

    ok?? Thats cool???

  • V-Nine

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 4:51 pm PT

    ..I gotta keep an eye out for this one...hehehe.

  • swyg

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 4:46 pm PT

    interesting

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