Sony Online Entertainment Opens Usability Lab to Public

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announced its ability to provide in-house Usability Lab services to outside companies. The Usability Lab provides a disciplined approach to product development that incorporates user centric feedback throughout the process.

"New product development lends itself to a host of potential obstacles, many of which could be overcome with preemptive testing," said Paul Venuti, Director, Development Services, Sony Online Entertainment. "By opening the doors to the Usability Lab we are able to share our industry expertise with other development companies, while offering a cost effective way to test their products and services prior to launch."

The Usability Lab was created to test video games in development at SOE. The first game to benefit from the Usability Lab testing was Free Realms, which launched on April 28th and has since acquired more than five million registered users. During the development process all aspects of Free Realms were tested in the lab including the tutorial, user interface and gameplay mechanics allowing the development team to make necessary changes to the game prior to launch.

The SOE Usability Lab consists of top of the line PCs and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems, and is able to accommodate projects varied in size and scope. The services offered are:

  --  Usability Testing
  --  Heuristic Evaluations
  --  Focus Groups

  --  Product Evaluations


  For more information about the Usability Lab visit www.soedevservices.com

  About Sony Online Entertainment

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games which have entertained millions of players around the globe. SOE creates and delivers compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchise EverQuest®, its successful online trading card game Legends of Norrath®, as well as the recent kids' phenomenon Free Realms™, SOE continues to raise the bar for online gaming and players worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, with additional studios in Austin, Seattle, Denver, Tucson, and Taiwan, SOE has a slate of engaging, high-quality games currently in development across new genres for all platforms and audiences.

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SOURCE: Sony Online Entertainment LLC

CONTACT: Jordan Fraser of Sony Online Entertainment, +1-858-577-3268,
JFraser@soe.sony.com

Web Site: http://www.soedevservices.com/