The Matrix Online (MxO) will officially transition to Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), effective August 15, 2005. Beginning on the 15th, existing MxO subscribers, upon log-in, will be offered a direct link to the SOE Station account registration site to activate a Station account in order to continue their MxO service. In order to continue to play MxO as of this date, you will need to register with SOE by creating a Station account, submitting billing and other subscriber information, and agreeing to SOE's End User License Agreement, Terms of Service, and other rules and policies. You will only need to complete this full process of re-registration once.
Also, beginning August 15th, MxO players who have an existing Station account or Station Access? subscription can select their billing preference and then add The Matrix Online service to their existing account (game software is sold separately). Otherwise, MxO players will need to create a new Station account in order to continue their MxO subscription service. Any existing pre-paid MxO service time on a player's MxO account at the time of the August 15th transition will automatically be added to the new Station MxO account.
MxO players will have 45 days (until September 30th) to transfer their accounts to SOE. Any player who does not transfer their account to SOE by September 30th will have the unused portion of their pre-paid subscription automatically refunded to them by WBIE. Please allow up to 60 days after September 30th for any such refunds to be processed. If you have not re-registered with SOE and need billing support please contact WB Customer Support at 800-422-4514. Before calling, please check the Billing Transition FAQ located online at:
http://thematrixonline.warnerbros.com/web/live/news_display.jsp?id=TransitionFAQ
for answers to your questions. Also, once your existing MxO account is closed, should you decide to return to MxO your in-game assets will remain intact for a limited period of time.
After September 30th, if you have not re-registered your account with SOE, it will be closed by WBIE. Also, please be aware that you will need to transfer your account on or before September 30th in order to qualify for any relevant Transition Bonuses for which you may otherwise qualify as discussed below.
New players joining MxO for the first time must activate their service through the SOE Station registration site. For former players returning to MxO, a new account will need to be initiated through the Station service platform or the MxO service will need to be added to an existing Station or Station Access subscription account.
Once players have provided or updated their account information through the SOE Station site, they'll be able to log-in to The Matrix Online using their newly created or updated Station account.
In-Game Chat Changes
As part of the transition, the SOE in-game chat service linking the SOE game communities together will be integrated into MxO and the existing AIM chat network will be discontinued. As a result of this change, as of the August 15th transition, current AIM buddy lists will no longer exist within the game. You can use an external AIM client to save your buddy list if you want a copy for future reference. Steps for saving a buddy list as a text file will be included in the transition FAQ posted on the MxO web site.
The integration of the SOE in-game chat client for The Matrix Online is scheduled to occur at some point in the next few months. Once active, MxO players will be able to chat with players of other SOE games from within the MxO game world. There will be an announcement when this new functionality is live in-game.
Transition-Event Bonuses!
We recognize that transitions like this can be tedious, so we're providing some bonuses to help make the transition easier.
Additional 30 Days of Game-play
Every player that converts an existing MxO account to a Station MxO account between August 15, 2005 and September 30, 2005 will receive an additional 30 days of game time added to the end of their first SOE Station MxO billing cycle at no additional charge. This bonus time will be added to the end of the first paid month/period on the new SOE Station MxO account.
For example, if you convert your account between August 15th and September 30th as described above and choose a monthly billing cycle from the available Station MxO subscription service plans offered by SOE and pay for your first month, your Station MxO account subscription period will be paid through the next two months (the billed period plus the additional 30-days of bonus service at no additional charge).
In-Game Items
You'll also want to make sure to have an open slot in your Inventory on August 15th as we plan to offer players another token of our appreciation--an in-game item! The first time you log-in to the game on or after August 15th and before September 30th, and have converted your account to an SOE Station MxO account, there will be a special gift token in your Inventory. You can redeem the gift token at a special Vendor for an exclusive "Enhanced" gift item--a pair of sunglasses or a jacket (one gift item distributed per active character and the item is available for redemption until claimed).
Both the glasses and jacket are Enhanced items. Drop the item onto your hotbar and you'll be able to click on it to boost your Combat Tactics, Viral Transmission and Viral Deflection scores by 5 points for 10 seconds (just enough time to finish off an opponent or turn the tide in a close battle). These items have a 10-minute re-use timer on them, so use them judiciously!
We appreciate the community's support throughout this transition period. The team is settling in to our new home at SOE where there are a lot of other gamers who love online games as much as we do. There are a lot of exciting new projects in the works and we are looking forward to introducing a lot more intrigue and adventure into the world of The Matrix Online!
The Matrix Online Team
Posted by The Matrix Online Team
