Sony Preps EverQuest II Beta Test

Sony is following up the stunning commercial success of EverQuest -- a massively multiplayer fantasy roleplaying game played online -- with a much-anticipated sequel. Come May 3, 2004 at 10 AM PDT, Sony will throw open the gates around a world of dwarves, ogres, trolls, rangers, wizards, and rogues to a select group of beta testers.

EverQuest spawned the spin off Lords of EverQuest, and even found its way from being a title found exclusively on the Microsoft Windows platform to a Mac OS X port. In anticipation of EverQuest II, thousands of enthusiasts have flocked to the Web to catch a sneak peak at several teaser trailers that have made their way online.

While many EverQuest fans will certainly view the trailers and other pre-production media, Sony has set the bar high for the game's recommended hardware requirements.  Customers are suggested to have a processor running at a clock speed of 2 Ghz or greater with 1 GB of RAM.

In addition, a near state-of-the-art video card is required capable of supporting DirectX 9 Pixel and Vertex shaders with 128 MB of texture memory.  The payoff is what Sony describes as, "breathtaking cinematic-quality graphics."

To enroll in EverQuest II test, customers can visit the beta Web site after sign up applications go live.