Sony Online Entertainment has managed to create a veritable bonanza out of the Everquest franchise. While hardly the first in the massively multiplayer online RPG category, the release of the initial title four years ago turned the risk of a subscription-based game into a boom- and it's since seen hundreds of thousands of players (read: paying subscribers generating thousands of dollars monthly for SOE) regularly jump into the virtual land of Norrath for some role-playing, fantasy action and chat with other gamers around the world.