EverQuest II set for 8 November release

Game industry giant Sony Computer Entertainment has confirmed 8 November as the ship date for the highly anticipated sequel to its monster online PC hit EverQuest.

With support for thousands of players at a time, EverQuest has a solid hold on the number one spot of the MMORPG market.

The sequel has been in development for more than four years, and is both a response to criticisms from existing EverQuest players, and breakthroughs in graphics technology.

EverQuest 2 will also feature richer content, taking advantage of the upsurge in broadband penetration. More than 70,000 lines of character speech and 130 hours of dialogue are built into the initial release of the new game.

EverQuest II will ship in several versions: a base CD and DVD version at US$49.95, which includes an in-box item and in-game item. A premium US$89.95 EverQuest II Collector's Edition (DVD) will include a number of in-box items, including paintings and collectible items, an art book and collector's coin plus a unique player's "pet dragon" in the game world.

All include a free 30-day subscription to the game, with ongoing rates set at US$14.95 for access to the game world.