There has been some talk recently about Sony Online Entertainment workin on a new iteration of their MMOFPS, Planetside. Nothing official has been announced yet, but it looks like SOE boss John Smedley already has a working title in mind: Planetside Next.

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it has extended the deadline for online registrations for its upcoming Fan Faire 2008 event in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new deadline is available for viewing over in the full article,  along with some details on the event.

There's plenty of ways to celebrate the upcoming Valentine's Day event. Now, if you happen to game in one of Sony Online Entertainment's MMORPGs (ex. EverQuest), you may want to read over what the company has planned for your particular virtual world. Details are in the full article.

In order to provide players with new ways to keep up on their payments, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has come up with a short tutorial on how to use reloadable cards when paying for SOE MMORPGs.

These reloadable cards are offered by Visa and MasterCard. They can be used for pretty much any purchase where a regular Visa/MasterCard credit or debit card can be used. They're also easy to get, as they can be found just about anywhere in the U.S. Just check out the store gift cards section in a grocery or drug store and chances are you'll see one there.

These cards work fully with the SOE billing system, so you can use them to pay for any SOE MMORPG, be it EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies, Planetside, and others. It's a very easy and useful way to pay, really, so check out the full tutorial by clicking the Read link below.

Attention denizens of Sony Computer Entertainment (SOE) virtual worlds. Your favorite SOE MMO games (like Vanguard: Saga of Heroes) will be having an extended service downtime on September 25, as reported by the VGPlayers website.

According the announcement, "All SOE games, websites, message boards, Knowledge Base, Station store, and other services" will be down for maintenance for an entire day (more or less) this Tuesday. The report indicated that the maintenance is aimed at upgrading all SOE services' authentication systems, therefore the said services will be down since nobody will be able to log in. Technical or account problems will still be addressed, though the only way to reach them would be via phone.

PlanetSide, the first person shooter MMOG from Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has released a massive update in Advanced Engineering. What does that mean? More advanced weapons and tactical advantages.

PlanetSide engineers now have additional weapons and deployables at their disposal. New items will be awarded with merits and awards. Combat Engineering certified Soldiers would be able to advance to Fortifications or Assault Engineering or both.

Fortifications Engineering features increased deployable units, Shadow Turrets, Cerberus Turrets, Field Deployment Unit (FDU), Tactical Resonance Area Protection (TRAP), Upgrading Wall Turrets, and Upgrading Aegis Shield Generators. Assault on the other hand sports deploy Spitfires in Enemy SOI, Field Deployment Unit (FDU), Aegis Shield Generator, Upgrade Shield Generator with Ammunition, One-Manned Field Gun Turret, and Disrupter Mines.

Above is the video of engineers deploying - and using - the various cool additions like the Shadow and Cerberus Turrets. For the full list of Game Update 3.12.04 from PlanetSide, you can click away at the Read link below.

Sony Online Entertainment would like to inform its PlanetSide fan base that there will be a subscription fee increase, and it will take effect April 2, 2007. This will affect all players, including those with multi-month subscriptions. Sadly, the adjustment is automatic so current players can't do a thing.

The fee increase won't be very popular, but SOE reasoned:

We know that rate increases are never popular but over the course of the past several years we have invested in technology and resources to expand the game's service and support infrastructure. We have also incurred increases in operational and bandwidth costs – all without a corresponding rate increase for PlanetSide.

We listed the new subscription rate below so that you won't be shocked when you're next bill arrives. Please take note that these rates are recurring, meaning you will be billed continuously until you cancel your account. Fees, as always, are subject to tax and value-added tax.

• Monthly Subscription Plan: US$ 14.99 per month
• Multi-month Subscription Plans:
• $41.99 – 3 Month Subscription
• $77.99 – 6 Month Subscription
• $143.99 – 12 Month Subscription

Some have said that Planetside is an MMO that isn't very newbie friendly. Some of us here at QJ agree. It shouldn't be. The game is all about strategy, tactics, and the experience of being a small pawn in a massive large scale battle. If you don't really know what you're doing, you get shot in the head.

Just because it's all serious though, doesn't mean that players in Planetside don't know how to have silly fun. For Halloween the moderators of the game are offering several events for players to enjoy. There's Planetside's Chainblade Massacre 2006. No trick or treating here, just bloody mayhem Texas chainsaw -- er -- Chainblade style.

More details on the event after the Jump! Yes, they involve the pumpkins in the thumbs. Odd huh?

Planetside is a science fiction themed MMORPG, set against the backdrop of futuristic planetary warfare among three rival empires, published by Sony Online Entertainment. This year, Planetside observed its third anniversary online.

According to creator Thom Terrazas in an interview with MMORPG.COM, Planetside is unique in that there can be hundreds of players fighting in one area. Players can play in an FPS-style, and in-game content is regularly updated. The game has garnered hundreds of thousands of players since its launch, many of which have created ongoing fighting units (think "guilds," Terrazas says) with their own websites. Terrazas fully supports and works with these fan sites, saying  "The fan sites and most importantly to the players, we have all made the game what it is today."

Upcoming changes includes a new aircraft, called the "Wasp," which is a " variant of the Mosquito that has been built to suit a different role." There will also be improvements to existing vehicles, such as the "Sunderer" and the "Galaxy Gunship." When this project is finished, next on the agenda is the creation of "new toys" for the Combat Engineering class.

"There will be a new class of Combat Engineers and possibly some other classes that may have the ability to deploy tank traps to stop enemy vehicles from passing through specific choke points in the game," says Terrazas. In addition, there will be new variants for every weapon in the game," he adds.

One concern that Terrazas expressed was cheaters. "We’ll be working on some code to combat some of those unpleasant cheaters out there using hacks before we get back to some additional vehicle, weapon and combat engineering equipment," he stated.