So it has been settled that MMO video game title Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Sigil Games are now wholly-owned by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).

There have been reports that some employees were fired on the spot because their positions are quite redundant. The question now is what happens to those who were not fired? We know that former head Brad McQuaid was retained in an advisory role, how about the others?

Jeff Butler, on the other hand, is being transferred to SOE's San Diego office to lead a team of five developers and create a new prototype MMO. However, this project is not on a full scale basis and it's still uncertain if it will ever see the light of day.

Also, SOE Director of Corporate Communications and PR Courtney Simmons said that fans shouldn't be worried by the recent acquisition because SOE is going to take care of Vanguard. She explained,

People who purchased Vanguard knew what they were purchasing. There is no doubt that Vanguard is a hardcore game, for hardcore MMO fans and SOE is very much committed to that vision. They have no plans to dumb it down for a mass audience.

Well, this is actually the second time that it came to Sigil's rescue when it comes to Vanguard. Before all of these happened, Microsoft partnered itself with Sigil Games to published the product. However, that didn't push through and the reins were picked up by SOE May of last year.

It came to our attention that a new breed of outsourcing companies for World of Warcraft are sprouting left and right these days. We don't mean the game per se as everybody already knows that by now. Known as power-leveling companies, these "game consultants" take over players' accounts for a fee and take their characters where they want to be.

But where is "where" exactly? Why, at the top of the heap of course! According to some estimates, it would take a player 768 hours to reach level 70 of The Burning Crusade from scratch. If ever you've attained level 60 in the original WoW, the report mentioned that you will still need another 384 hours to get to the top level.

Now, the first service (from start to level 70) will cost players US$ 556 and the jump from level 60 to 70 is another US$ 239. The figures here are rather surprising, we know, but some players indeed go that far. If you're wondering what this practice implies, Blizzard Entertainment sent out an email last Monday regarding the matter.

Making use of a power-leveling service is a violation of our account-sharing policy. This policy is discussed in World of Warcraft's terms of use, which players agree to prior to playing.

It was reported as well that these power-leveling companies also have clients for other MMO titles such as EverQuest II. And like the former publisher, Sony Online Entertainment isn't too happy about the situation. EQ II's Head of Public Relations Courtney Simmons sent out a similar email.

Sony Online is aware that it happens, and we do not condone it. It is against our terms of service. You can not give anyone else access to your account. Players are responsible for the security of their own accounts. And players that use those types of services are at risk of having their accounts stolen or compromised.

Technically speaking, this can be viewed as having a skilled friend play for you. That's your account, you paid for it, and you can do with it whatever you want to do. But then again, don't expect to enjoy the game as much as those who worked their arse off to get to the highest level.

And lastly,and we're betting our lives on this, no other player will respect you if they ever found out that you paid for your level 70 character.