The survival MMO H1Z1 is one of the major topics at SOE Live in Las Vegas and was also part of the opening panel. It will definitely come to PlayStation 4.
H1Z1 will definitely come to PlayStation 4. This was made clear by Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley during the opening panel of the in-house convention SOE Live last night. There had recently been quite a bit of speculation in German online magazines, as a game designer stated that they are currently fully focused on the PC version of H1Z1 and that no one is working on the PlayStation 4 version. Some magazines misinterpreted this as “Not coming for PS 4”.
MMOs no longer just a PC affair, H1Z1 and Planetside 2 planned for PlayStation 4
The port of the games to as many platforms as possible is, according to Smedley, part of the new SOE philosophy. As an example that MMOs are no longer just a PC matter, Smedley mentioned Blizzard’s free card game Hearthstone. Another part of the philosophy is to showcase the games as often as possible on Twitch and to allow as many streamers as possible access to the games. According to Smedley, Twitch is becoming increasingly important. He himself no longer buys a game without first checking it out thoroughly on Twitch. Accordingly, several well-known streamers like Angry Joe or Rhinocrunch were guests in Las Vegas, to whom Smedley expressed his gratitude for their efforts.
Minutes later, Smedley introduced the producer of H1Z1, Steve George, and gave him a somewhat teasing welcome with the sentence: “Steve, if you want to announce the early access date for H1Z1 now: go ahead, buddy!” Then Smedley made his escape from the stage.
The release date for the early access is a sensitive topic among fans, as it had already been announced some time ago and then postponed.
H1Z1 marketing consisted of “opening the doors”
Steve George briefly explained to the present SOE fans the basic principles of H1Z1: open world, zombie MMO, a lot of crafting, large landmass, and players should have made a few new friends and new enemies after each game session. According to George, fans, including those of the Everquest or Planetside 2 franchises, should take the opportunity to talk to the developers here to learn everything about H1Z1: “Just approach them, and if they don’t tell you enough, buy them a few drinks.”
At H1Z1, according to George, you can see the success of SOE’s new policy. Instead of relying on marketing, they simply opened the doors and let as many players in as possible, allowing them to participate in the development of the game and play it. This led to many going out and promoting the game on their own. “We have something very special here,” said George.
In the coming days, various events related to H1Z1 are planned at SOE Live. Some are rather humorous in nature (Zombie Prom and “Zombies can’t swim” pool party), others are significantly more informative. Tonight our time, the probably most important H1Z1 event will take place with the keynote panel.
Additionally, the new key art for H1Z1 was presented (see above, title image of the article). The entire opening ceremony of SOE Live can be found here in this Twitch video, H1Z1 will be discussed approximately after 80 minutes.
