SOE’s John Smedley talks Vanguard, admits to “screwing up” Star Wars Galaxies

We’ve previously reported that Sony Online Entertainment has acquired Sigil Games, the company responsible for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Vanguard.

We’ve previously reported that SOE has reassured that they won’t dumb down Vanguard for its fans. Well, here’s a bit more from Sony regarding Vanguard. This time, the reassurance comes from Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley.

Speaking to Shack news, John Smedley says that the reality of the situation when it comes to Sony’s acquisition of Sigil Games is that they “stepped in at the last second when Sigil couldn’t get funding.”

He reassured that they see Vanguard as a very strong game, and that they’ll do their best not to make a repeat of Star Wars Galaxies. Yes, Sony admits that they screwed up Star Wars Galaxies. Here’s Smedley’s words:

Absolutely, you know, performance improvements, bugs, definitely at the top of our list. We’re not going to go in and make some broad-sweeping changes. We tried that with Star Wars Galaxies, we screwed it up, and we’re not going to do it again. [laughs] It really is as simple as that. We try to learn from our mistakes. Maybe we’re not always perfect, but in this particular case let’s fix the things that are broken, not the things that aren’t.

While Smedley is a bit mum on the specifics of their plans for the game, he does note that they have performance and bug issues on the top of their list. He also notes that they have a content plan that they’re currently outlining, and that subscribers to the game should expect a lot of free updates.

As for an expansion pack, he hints that they have that in mind. However, he does say that they’re “not even really discussing that part yet”.

Feel free to head to the complete interview via our “read” link below.

We’ve previously reported that Sony Online Entertainment has acquired Sigil Games, the company responsible for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Vanguard.

We’ve previously reported that SOE has reassured that they won’t dumb down Vanguard for its fans. Well, here’s a bit more from Sony regarding Vanguard. This time, the reassurance comes from Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley.

Speaking to Shack news, John Smedley says that the reality of the situation when it comes to Sony’s acquisition of Sigil Games is that they “stepped in at the last second when Sigil couldn’t get funding.”

He reassured that they see Vanguard as a very strong game, and that they’ll do their best not to make a repeat of Star Wars Galaxies. Yes, Sony admits that they screwed up Star Wars Galaxies. Here’s Smedley’s words:

Absolutely, you know, performance improvements, bugs, definitely at the top of our list. We’re not going to go in and make some broad-sweeping changes. We tried that with Star Wars Galaxies, we screwed it up, and we’re not going to do it again. [laughs] It really is as simple as that. We try to learn from our mistakes. Maybe we’re not always perfect, but in this particular case let’s fix the things that are broken, not the things that aren’t.

While Smedley is a bit mum on the specifics of their plans for the game, he does note that they have performance and bug issues on the top of their list. He also notes that they have a content plan that they’re currently outlining, and that subscribers to the game should expect a lot of free updates.

As for an expansion pack, he hints that they have that in mind. However, he does say that they’re “not even really discussing that part yet”.

Feel free to head to the complete interview via our “read” link below.