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A chum of mine received the following letter and posthaste sent it to me...

"My name is Erasmus -- I am the manager of Guild Relations for Sony Online Entertainment. Our EverQuest II team has been doing some really great things in the world of Norrath, and we are inviting a few select guilds to play and give us some feedback on the improvements that they have made.

Making EverQuest II the best MMO game in the world has been our passion - and we are constantly tweaking the game to make it better and more fun. In the past, we've received great input from gamers like you on how and where to improve. Now, it's your turn -- we want your guild's feedback and opinions.

If your guild would like to participate in our focus testing, please let me know. You and your guild mates can drop me an email at [email protected] -- include your email, and the name of your guild. Give me a day or so to process the email, and I'll send you and your guild mates the link to download the client, plus a key that will give you 30 days of free play. Once the 30 days are up, you are welcome to continue playing, at your cost. You and your guild mates are welcome to drop me an email with your comments, insight, and feedback -- we want to hear from you.

We appreciate your consideration, and hope to see you in EverQuest II in the near future!

Erasmus
Manager,Guild Relations
Sony Online Entertainment
[email protected]
http://www.station.sony.com"

On the surface this seems like a nice thing to do. Fire off a letter to some EverQuest or Star Wars Galaxies guilds and ask them to try out EQ2 for free for 30 days to give comment on what could be improved. Bravo Sony! Of course, if that was the case you wouldn't be reading this in Loading... Sony didn't actually mail these guild leaders, they went to Guild Portal (a site that competes directly with their own "Players" guild product) and spammed the guild leaders via Guild Portal's internal messaging system.

It gets better...

They didn't spam customers of their own games. They spammed World of Warcraft guild leaders. People who would otherwise not have any exposure to the "Players" guild system at Sony.

This move deserves an award. SoE wins and becomes the the current title holder to the "Putting the "Ass" in Massively Multiplayer" award.
We still love you SoE and your current crop of Gods and Heroes media are simply stunning. Don't get me wrong. We like SoE in these parts and we are foaming at the mouth waiting for Gods and Heroes and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes to launch. Heck, I'm even going to fire up a character on the EverQuest progression servers and relive my favourite game. Still, bad form on the mass mailing. It makes you look like snakes. Snakes on a plane... or as Coyote so eloquently put it, Snakes On A Plane Of Fear.

Make your mark. Mark your territory. Post a comment. If you are shy you can E-Mail me.
Every good guild needs a home. A home free of gold ads, secondary market farmers. Look no further than GuildPortal.com.


Exclusive new TenTonHammer.com Content!
Let us entertain you or at the very least waste some of your time at work.08.11.2006 Exclusive Content
  • EverQuest 2: Snakes On A Plane Of Fear
    "There are snakes on the Plane of Fear! Samuel L. Jackson said it, so stop questioning it because he's been known to slap people. Coyote brings us a terrifying tale of men wanting to destroy Qeynos. "
  • Gods And Heroes - Screenshots And Videos
    "SOE made a number of Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising screenshots and videos available to the press earlier this week, and now Ten Ton Hammer has the most complete selection of this original media found anywhere on the internet. It's easy to see why they went public with these; the art and animation in Gods & Heroes is unlike anything you've seen before. Take a look for yourself!"
  • Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes - Is Your Rig Ready For Vanguard?
    "It's said that if ya can't run with the big dogs, you should stay on the porch. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is one of the big dogs among upcoming MMOs. Is your PC up to the challenge? Although Vanguard's minimum specs won't likely be released for months, Medeor, using his credit card as a tool, is tuning up his gaming rig. Will you be doing some advanced tweaking in anticipation of Vanguard? We want to know! Vote in our weekly poll."
  • World Of Warcraft: Paladin Guide
    "When WoW was first released, my first character was a Paladin. Since then it has been a love / hate relationship. There are definitely some good things about a pally, and some things I would like to see changed. Then again most classes feel that way. Since the beginning days of WoW and running WC I have progressed all the way through to exploring the Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, and Ahn'Qiraj. This guide goes through everything you need to know about being a Paladin in the World of Warcraft based on what I have learned playing the class."
  • World of Warcraft: Guide To Temple of Ahn'Qiraj (AQ40)
    "We present an exciting new guide that walks you through The Temple of Ahn'Qiraj (AQ40). We explain how to slay every boss in this bug infested zone. Ranging in difficulty from Molten Core style bosses all the way to Naxxramas, AQ40 presents an interesting challenge for any guild out there. Many of the encounters require coordination and teamwork to overcome the challenges AQ40 presents. Our guide assists in providing a wealth of information and tactics on every encounter within this fierce instance."

Vin Diesel Fact of the Day - Vin Diesel was originally cast as the star of Snakes On A Plane. Unfortunately, the snakes wouldn't get on the plane and Samuel L. Jackson was brought in to the starring role.
Now on to the real world. You can't make this stuff up. [Thanks Matt for the story links]

As always, thanks for visiting TenTonHammer.com,
-- John "Boomjack" Hoskin

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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Dissecting and distilling the game industry since 1994. Lover of family time, youth hockey, eSports, and the game industry in general.

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