EverQuest
EverQuest
Developer(s) Sony Online Entertainment
Publisher(s) Sony Online Entertainment
Platform(s) Windows, Mac OS X
Release
date(s)
16 March 1999
Genre(s)
Fantasy MMORPG
Mode(s)
Multiplayer Online
Rating(s)
ESRB: T (Teen)
Media
CD-ROM,DVD-ROM, Digital
Download
Input
methods
Keyboard, Mouse
EverQuest, often shortened to EQ, is a 3D
fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online
role-playing game (MMORPG) that was re-
leased on the 16th of March, 1999. The ori-
ginal design is credited to Brad McQuaid,
Steve Clover, and Bill Trost. It was developed
by Sony’s 989 Studios and its early-1999
spin-off Verant Interactive.[1] It was pub-
lished by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).
Since its acquisition of Verant in late 1999,
SOE develops, runs and distributes Ever-
Quest.[2]
EverQuest has earned numerous awards,
including 1999 GameSpot Game of the Year
and a 2008 Technology & Engineering Emmy
Award.
EverQuest II was released in late 2004.[3]
Set in an alternate universe similar to that of
the original EverQuest, this "sequel" takes
place 500 years after the awakening of The
Sleeper. The game has also inspired a num-
ber of other spinoffs.
Business Model
The game’s business model includes:
• Sale of an account key which allows a new
account to be created, or a trial account to
be made permanent.
• Sale of keys which allow accounts to be
upgraded to access the content in
expansions. Some keys allow access to
only an individual expansion, others to all
expansions up to a certain point in time.
The newest expansion, Seeds of
Destruction, includes access to all current
content including the original game.
• Subscription (by the month, quarter,
single year, or 2-years) that allow a
specific account to be active.
A software package is installed (by download
or from CD/DVD) on the player’s computer
which allows any player with an active mem-
bership to connect to the game content and
other players on the game servers of SOE.
As of December 2007, SOE offers free
14-day trial accounts which do not require a
credit card.
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