SOE challenges Joint Ops world record claim

Last month NovaLogic sent out a press release claiming that the recently released Joint Operations had set a new world record for the number of simultaneous players in an online first-person shooter. NovaLogic believed that the 160 gamers who simultaneously played Joint Operations on the iGames World Record server on June 26 had participated in the largest online FPS game ever, and the record was subsequently acknowledged by Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records. More Joint Operations world record attempts were planned for the summer, and then Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) got wind of what was going on.

Offered in the form of a correction to NovaLogic's press release, the statement released by SOE today points out that 160 simultaneous players in an online FPS server doesn't even amount to an average play session in its massively multiplayer FPS game PlanetSide. According to SOE, PlanetSide routinely hosts up to 500 players in a single zone and regularly reaches 2,000 players on a single server. The all-time record, as far as SOE is concerned, was set on May 25, 2003, at 10:35pm PST, when 3,600 PlanetSide players were simultaneously connected to the game's Emerald server during a massive battle.

[UPDATE] When contacted by GameSpot and made aware of PlanetSide's claim, Twin Galaxies' Walter Day offered the following statement:

"In the Milestones section of the forthcoming edition of Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, there are categories of world record that define the important breakthroughs in modern gaming evolution--as measured in terms of both technological and sociological progress. Twin Galaxies applauds both NovaLogic and Sony Online Entertainment for creating technology that stretches the gaming envelope, transcending historical limitations by designing gaming parameters that the future can build upon."

"The Editorial Board at Twin Galaxies takes this category of excellence very seriously and will be examining all claims submitted by Sony Online, NovaLogic--or any additional manufacturers--who believe they have developed any aspect of gaming technology that lifts the bar even higher. Since there are still many months of editing before the book is sent out for printing, I feel confident that we have adequate time to evaluate all evidence and identify the legitimate record holder."