EverQuest Next Q&A

At this point, all we know for sure is that there will be another EverQuest title, but what exactly it will look and play like is an absolute mystery. However, that didn’t stop GameSpot from chatting up SOE’s John Smedley about the forthcoming reimagination, their plans for PlanetSide 2, or the future of DC Universe Online:

GS: When did you realize in EverQuest’s development that this could last for 13 years?

JS: Probably around the two year mark or so. We realized what we had then. Early on, we didn’t realize it because there had been no precedent. Ultima Online had only been out a little while before us, so we really didn’t see the future that well.

GS: So the phase EverQuest is in right now. I don’t know if you want to call it “The Golden Years” or what.

JS: I look at EverQuest the way I look at Dungeons & Dragons. We’re on version 4 of D&D and people are still playing in droves. Look at Magic: The Gathering…15 years I think of an awesome game. So we are big believers that this franchise is going to be there for a very long time, and we’re investing in it a lot.

GS: Ultimately, what do you think EverQuest’s legacy will be?

JS: I think it’s going to go down as one of the big MMOs, as one of the pillars of online gaming in general. Our task now is to take the game and evolve it and make it into something new for today’s fans. And I would liken that to the brilliant job J.J. Abrams did with Star Trek…the reimagining of it. That’s what we’re doing, and we’ve got some cool new things in store for players with the next one. We’re hard at work on it, and we don’t have anything to say about it yet, but I will say we’re very stoked about it and putting our best people on it.