So, here we are in the afterglow (cough) of shipping our expansion, The Shadow Odyssey™. I have to say thanks, not only to you, our players, for the inspiration, but also to all of the individual teams at SOE who pulled together and worked so hard to bring you this monumental achievement. Often, it’s the game team who gets to be in the limelight, and they certainly did an outstanding job, but there is a whole crew of other folks who support us in all sorts of ways and deserve praise as well. We couldn’t do the things we do if we weren’t part of a great big family.
 
But what lies ahead for EverQuest® II? We realize that there is a great diversity of games for you to choose from, with different play styles, rewards and even payment methods. Every day it seems existing online games are offering deeper, more robust commerce systems, and that, coupled with the players’ desires, led us down this exciting path.

Over the last several years, we’ve been asking you about what kinds of things you generally want from SOE and specifically from EverQuest II from different forums. At the last two Fan Faires, and other venues as well, we’ve seen an increasingly large number of players indicate that they want new methods for achieving convenience, customization and avenues for fun.  So, we’ve designed a system to satisfy that need. We’ve tried to tailor it so that you can choose to participate or not, as you prefer.
 
Our new system is called Station Cash™, which opens up new options and gameplay choices for players. We’ve developed three main categories for items – convenience, customization and fun – without significantly impacting the core gameplay experience. For convenience, we’re offering potions of various types, from health to experience boosts broken down into adventure, tradeskill and achievement.  For customization, we have several appearance packs in various armor types, and, for fun, a wide selection of pets for your house and out in the virtual world. Of course, one of our most important concerns when implementing this was to ensure that the game balance wasn’t impacted. These items, and any future offerings, are intended for convenience and fun, and shouldn’t be required equipment to achieve a goal in game.  
 
We’re really trying to target everyone by making these items available in a wide variety of sizes, uses, effects and costs. They should be useful for almost every player level, whether a new character/alt or an experienced raider. And, of course, we’ll be continuing to create new items, giving you an even wider variety to choose from in the future. We’re very excited by this new step forward and welcome your feedback to help us refine our offerings to meet your needs.

Thanks again for your support and feedback!
 
Sincerely,

Bruce A. Ferguson
Senior Producer, EverQuest II
Sony Online Entertainment