Sony Online Debuts All Access Service

Sony Online Entertainment has announced an all-in-one monthly subscription option called All Access. The $21.99 monthly fee for All Access will include subscriptions to all the online games that Sony Online publishes, including EverQuest, PlanetSide, EverQuest Online Adventures, the Station Pass, and the upcoming EverQuest II, which is scheduled for release this fall. Sony Online's premium games normally have subscription fees of $12.99 or $9.99 each. Once the All Access offer begins next week, it will let participating players to have one account for all the games.

"We have grown our business to the point where our fans have several different types of gaming options available to them and we want players to be able to experience everything we have to offer," said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. "The SOE All Access subscription provides an easy, cost-effective way for an SOE fan to play all of our games. Once again, Sony Online is setting a precedent that will affect the online gaming entertainment industry on a global scale."

All Access service will not include games not directly published by Sony Online, like LucasArts' Star Wars Galaxies, or versions of Sony Online games published outside of North America.