Post by Layla Littlenymph on Oct 2, 2015 22:53:27 GMT -5
Although slightly dated at this point, I came across this article by Mike Futter on the Game Informer website. Because of many of our members connection to Free Realms, and Clone Ward Adventures, I felt they would find it of particular interest.
Sometimes I tend to forget how recent the introduction of on-line game play is to the world. For younger players that grew up with it, it is something that was always there, but bear in mind that I watched the moon landing on black and white TV, which means the majority of my life was spent in a world without internet. Even to me it seems that Smedley was at the helm of SOE before Eve learned to make applesauce.
This article is a culmination of sorts of some rather tumultuous events in the life of John Smedley, so I can't say that his departure is much of a surprise at this point; yet it still feels odd in a way to see him go.
If I were to be honest I would have to admit that Mr. Smedley fell out of my favor when he seemed to cast blame on the demise of Free Realms at the feet of its Player based community. Enough on that for the moment, but it does open up some interesting speculation. Speculation not only concerning where Mr. Smedley will go from here, but where Daybreak will go now that Smedley is no longer at the helm. Will the EQ franchise that consists of four games, all centered on the same world remain the holy sacred cow of Daybreak's stable? Will it continue to get the lions share of development, even at the cost of other titles? Will some of those "sunset" titles enjoy a little speculation?
There will be interesting times ahead for both Smedley and Daybreak. Only time will tell where those stories will lead. The only thing we can know at this point is that Layla will be in the audience... with popcorn.
See ya at the show!
~LL
John Smedley has announced that he founded a new company this month, though details are not yet available. The former president of Daybreak (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) was supposed to be transitioning to a new role in the company after stepping down from his leadership position.
According to Smedley's Facebook profile, he is both CEO at the new company and president at Daybreak, though that could simply be because he hasn't updated his job information. Smedley vacated the president’s seat shortly after taking to Twitter about the conviction of someone associated with a group responsible for various service outages.
Smedley also said that Julius Kivimaki was responsible for the bomb threat and subsequent emergency landing of a plane on which the executive was flying. He closed the tirade, promising to go after Kivimaki and his parents.
The company said that Smedley would be taking some time off, but would be transitioning to an as yet undisclosed new role at Daybreak. Daybreak confirmed to us that Smedley has departed the company.
“On behalf of Daybreak, we wish Smed well in his new endeavors," a representative told us via email. Any questions regarding his new business should be directed to him.” We've reached out to Smedley for comment and will update should he respond.
Update: John Smedley responded to our request for comment. He indicated that he's not ready to announce anything right now, but news should be coming in the next few weeks.
[Source: John Smedley on Facebook via Trust in Play]
Our Take:
When Smedley stepped down so soon after the Twitter attack on Kivimaki, it seemed like the two were linked. Also, without a specific new role for him when the announcement was made, an exit isn't surprising at all. We'll share news about his next venture when we have more information.
Credits: Intro by Layla Littlenymph. Article by Mike Futter. Published at gameinformer.com
Sometimes I tend to forget how recent the introduction of on-line game play is to the world. For younger players that grew up with it, it is something that was always there, but bear in mind that I watched the moon landing on black and white TV, which means the majority of my life was spent in a world without internet. Even to me it seems that Smedley was at the helm of SOE before Eve learned to make applesauce.
This article is a culmination of sorts of some rather tumultuous events in the life of John Smedley, so I can't say that his departure is much of a surprise at this point; yet it still feels odd in a way to see him go.
If I were to be honest I would have to admit that Mr. Smedley fell out of my favor when he seemed to cast blame on the demise of Free Realms at the feet of its Player based community. Enough on that for the moment, but it does open up some interesting speculation. Speculation not only concerning where Mr. Smedley will go from here, but where Daybreak will go now that Smedley is no longer at the helm. Will the EQ franchise that consists of four games, all centered on the same world remain the holy sacred cow of Daybreak's stable? Will it continue to get the lions share of development, even at the cost of other titles? Will some of those "sunset" titles enjoy a little speculation?
There will be interesting times ahead for both Smedley and Daybreak. Only time will tell where those stories will lead. The only thing we can know at this point is that Layla will be in the audience... with popcorn.
See ya at the show!
~LL
John Smedley has announced that he founded a new company this month, though details are not yet available. The former president of Daybreak (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) was supposed to be transitioning to a new role in the company after stepping down from his leadership position.
According to Smedley's Facebook profile, he is both CEO at the new company and president at Daybreak, though that could simply be because he hasn't updated his job information. Smedley vacated the president’s seat shortly after taking to Twitter about the conviction of someone associated with a group responsible for various service outages.
Smedley also said that Julius Kivimaki was responsible for the bomb threat and subsequent emergency landing of a plane on which the executive was flying. He closed the tirade, promising to go after Kivimaki and his parents.
The company said that Smedley would be taking some time off, but would be transitioning to an as yet undisclosed new role at Daybreak. Daybreak confirmed to us that Smedley has departed the company.
“On behalf of Daybreak, we wish Smed well in his new endeavors," a representative told us via email. Any questions regarding his new business should be directed to him.” We've reached out to Smedley for comment and will update should he respond.
Update: John Smedley responded to our request for comment. He indicated that he's not ready to announce anything right now, but news should be coming in the next few weeks.
[Source: John Smedley on Facebook via Trust in Play]
Our Take:
When Smedley stepped down so soon after the Twitter attack on Kivimaki, it seemed like the two were linked. Also, without a specific new role for him when the announcement was made, an exit isn't surprising at all. We'll share news about his next venture when we have more information.
Credits: Intro by Layla Littlenymph. Article by Mike Futter. Published at gameinformer.com