Brillig
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:How do you know Aion was bleeding money?Originally Posted by mercykilling
CoX may have been marginal, but it wasn't bleeding money like Aion. Nor as poorly managed. -
Quote:I would not. CoH has been marginal for quite a while now.Originally Posted by RemusShepherd
Are you sure? A week ago, I think we both would have said that CoH would still be running in a year.
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Quote:They stopped online sales of GW2 to try to avoid the SW:TOR effect (having to increase the number of servers at launch, followed by low population six months down the line.)Originally Posted by RemusShepherd
I'm not suggesting that people boycott NCSoft. But I *am* suggesting that people avoid it.
Why? Because look at their stated goals: They plan to outsource all game development, and standardize on their source's games. Any game that doesn't meet that standard is going to get the axe, if not immediately then someday and soon.
Did GW2 conform to this standard? We don't know. Did Aion? Doubtful. We don't even know what the source developer for NCSoft is going to be, so we can't say what games in their stable might or might not survive.
Right now I am skeptical that ANY of the current NCSoft games will survive another year.
With that uncertainty in the air, I can't recommend trying or buying any NCSoft game. I was curious about GW2 but I'm going to give it a pass now. (The fact that you can't even buy it online is another worrisome data point -- if they were serious about supporting the game you'd think they'd get their online store right.)
NCSoft is no longer a reliable game publisher. Maybe it will be someday, after they've replaced all their games with their new standard engine. But for right now it's a publisher that just put out a big blinking light that reads, 'Stay Away!'
AION will still be running in a year. Lineage I and II will still be running in a year. GW2 will still be running in a year. -
Quote:SW:TOR is run by EA, who cancelled Earth and Beyond.Originally Posted by JoeKent
Well I've got arkham city, mass effect, red dead , sw:tor and a bunch more games to play . So I don't think I'm missing out.
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Quote:On behalf of those who can't be there, thanks for the summaries, Obsidius.Originally Posted by Obsidius
Quick notes:
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Quote:In that case, thanks, I recently threw a couple of hundred dollars your way by way of updating my Shadowrun books.Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
Work for? No. Own. Catalyst Game Labs. I'm not a majority stakeholder, but I am one of the owners.
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Quote:I personally have 9 accounts...Originally Posted by Kitsune Knight
I think 9 million accounts is most likely, since they can't really know for sure if it's distinct people or just one person playing multiple accounts. It, likely, also includes trials (which means I'd be counted 3+ times, 4+ if it was post-Freedom numbers).
And, yeah, none of my friends cared enough to not get GW2, even ones that had liked CoH. -
Quote:Ok, first of all, as has already been pointed out, it's 43 million characters and not 54 million.Originally Posted by St_Angelius
An estimated 9 million players is a small number? And 54 million poeple is still a small number???
scource? Well, before you ask... Here
Second, that link has absolutely no basis for the 9 million players.
Look at the numbers. According to MMOdata, back in 2008-2009, CoH/V was holding steady at around 125,000 subscribers, and pulling in ~5-6 billion Won/quarter. Now CoH/V is pulling in half that amount.
It's an open question how much people were spending post Freedom, so let's assume for the moment that it's about the same. That means right now that CoH/V has around 60,000 paying individuals.
Now you also have to realize that not all of them are going to be outraged by this. There are going to be a lot of disappointed people and a lot of angry people, but go-all-over-and-boycott-ncsoft levels of rage are the exception, not the rule. Even if each of those individuals tell 6 other people, I'd really be surprised if it reaches 60,000 people who get the "news".
Compared with GW2 and Aion where there actually *are* millions of players, this is a drop in the bucket. -
Quote:Not at all. I believe the difference lies here: I don't for a second think that somewhere in NCSoft HQ there is some mustache-twirling executive gleefully cackling about how he's sticking it to the CoH community. However, we have multiple instances of users actively wishing harm on NCSoft.Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
I suspect your replies read this way because you are trying to be "the objective one" in the group. However, I feel that in your quest for objectivity you've simply become contrarian. You imply that businesses can make self-interested investment decisions but individuals cannot. I'm tempted to start replying to you by replacing "players" with "sole proprietor businesses" to see if you pick up on the inconsistency.
If you've lost trust in NCSoft, that's fine.
If you don't want to buy NCSoft products in the future, that's also fine (although you should have a realistic appraisal of how much difference that is likely to make for NCSoft.)
When you start making statements about "wanting to see NCSoft burn," you've gone over the edge, and should probably start heading back to shore. -
Quote:Six times the number of angry CoH customers is still a very small number - otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to shut it down.Originally Posted by shadow35
NCSoft seems to have forgotten the golden rule of customer communcations: Angry customers will tell six times' more people about their dissatisfaction than those who are happy will.
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Quote:The counter-point to that is to look at the profit numbers for the last 5 quarters. That graph is pretty damn discouraging.Originally Posted by Gangrel_EU
Considering the in the Q2 reports there are no financials for Blade and Soul and Guild Wars 2, it was most likely a one quarter blip. Did this introduce a knee jerk reaction from someone up high in NCsoft?
Possibly... but from *my* interpretations of the financial quarterly loss is that it was simply that... a single quarterly loss. IF they dropped any of the other titles, it would make the *rest* of their financials look a lot worse next quarter (because in my mind, dropping Aion/Lineage/Lineage 2 would just drop them all that much closer to being permanently in the red, and nothing that CoX could do would save them in that state, because CoX *doesnt* make enough money to cover that loss in income). -
Quote:In other words, you don't actually care if a company treats their customers with sensitivity, you care how they treat you.Originally Posted by Bad_Influence
NCSoft tossed this game and that one out the window; I was willing to ignore as long as they didn't touch one of their foundation cash-cows: CoX.
BTW, CoX was far from a cash-cow. It was profitable (at least according to general consensus), but it didn't contribute hugely to NCSoft's bottom line. -
Quote:Since Bad_Influence was alleging that he tries to spend money with companies that treat their customers with more sensitivity, I was inviting him to explain why he continued to spend money with NCSoft after they shut down TR.Originally Posted by Coyote_Seven
Re: NCSoft: Straw. Camel. Back.
I'm not sure anymore if you're actually being serious, or just trolling around.
His assertions don't line up with his actions. -
Quote:If that were true, what were you doing here in the first place? What they did to TR was way worse, relatively speaking.Originally Posted by Bad_Influence
Me, I tend to spend mine with companies which are a tidge more sensitive to the consumer's feelings.
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Quote:I'm not making an argument. No one on the rage-side of the Force is going to reconsider because of anything I say, and so I post merely to highlight how ridiculous sentiments like thisOriginally Posted by Coyote_Seven
HERE we go!
EDIT: Also: Using silly terms meant to diminish and/or offhandedly dismiss your opponents' points of view with intentions toward sarcasm and humor, when your main argument is presumably that we should not be demonizing a game publisher by making sweeping generalizations of them, is perhaps a bit both counterproductive and ironic.
are. Mainly because it amuses me and probably some others who are at least a little more level-headed about this whole mess.Quote:Originally Posted by Nethergoat
**** those ********, I hope their company dies a horrible death from corporate Ebola and they find themselves evicted from their HQ with a cheery "Sucks to be you!" -
Quote:And I'm not going to use the stuff in my garage either. I still haven't put it up on Craigslist though.Originally Posted by DarkBlaster_NA
They won't. Seriously.
Unless they are somehow planning to merge CoH, Auto Assault, Tabula Rasa and *insert game here* It isn't going to happen, Stop thinking it's going to happen.
And even then, Could they not sell the game but keep the rights? CoH could be left alone and NCsoft will just kinda be able to make a spin off/whatever the hell they feel like doing.
I don't actually think they're going to ever use the IP, I'm just telling you one possible reason why they wouldn't unload it (much less give it away.) -
Quote:Perfect.Originally Posted by Light_Petting_EU
I just have visions of him saying "What? They're STILL blaming me for stuff over there?"
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Quote:The same as the logic for my not selling the crap in my garage.Originally Posted by DarkBlaster_NA
Correct me if I'm wrong, But
It's been made clear that NCsoft has no intention to keep the CoH franchise going, Even if they do, It won't be the same without Paragon.
Since they aren't going to make money by keeping it in a flash drive in the corner, or by keeping the license contract/whatever in the attic. What the hell is making them so hellbent on NOT MAKING MONEY!?
I mean, was this not done due to financial reasons, You know, MONEY? I mean, Apparently When NCsoft puts two and two together, it gets "WE NEED TO LOSE MONEY, NOW!"
Am i stupid for thinking this? Selling the goddamned IP is the most logical way to handle this.
And i might have to add, Competition? City of Heroes has a different playstyle compared to ALL other MMOs, If there is competition, The audience wasn't interested in "LolAion" anyways.
Someone please tell me I'm just an idiot and this somehow makes total sense in Korea.
I might use it again some day. -
Quote:I thought that was a potentially interesting angle, until I found out they don't even have a seat on NCSoft's BoD. I think their influence has been greatly overestimated.Originally Posted by shadow35
The Asian company Nexon bought 15% (controlling shares) of NCSoft in June.
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Quote:Well, speaking for the silent majority, we are sick and tired of the moronic scorched earth policy that some people are taking. We are hereby declaring our intent to continue to support NCSoft and buy even more NCSoft products.*Originally Posted by Angry_Citizen
Judging from the rest of the thread, I'm not alone in my sheer disbelief regarding this feeble (and rather narcissistic) attempt to persuade CoH players not to be angry at NCSoft.
I literally felt less clean having read it.
(*Not really speaking for anyone. But the NCSOFT EBIL chorus is, in fact, moronic.) -
Quote:I doubt PWE was hurt very much. Just like I doubt the NCSoft boycott is going to have a noticeable impact.Originally Posted by that_darn_lurker
Thanks for posting this. In the wake of the news, and given that emotions were running high, it seemed like a plausible rumor. Cooler heads should have prevailed, but we're only human. I hope Cryptic/PWE wasn't hurt by this and that people give their games a chance if this rumor was holding them back.
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Quote:I don't even need to see the letter to know how it goes. Right into the circular file.Originally Posted by Not_Rhino
I think you need to read this.
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"Wait" is a strange word. I would definitely try it when it launched, but I'm not going to stop gaming until then.
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Thanks for relaying that. More for the quashing of the licensing thing, I don't think any CoH2 is going to see the light of day.
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Quote:More sense to shutter Aion? Your opinion is completely lacking in business acumen.Originally Posted by Steele_Magnolia
My opinion:
NCSoft retained unprofitable Aion because it's an eastern hemisphere game with eastern hemisphere jobs at the expensve of profitable COH because it's a western hemisphere game with western hemisphere jobs and . It would have made more sense to shutter Aion. They didn't.
Edit: Your dumb sig graphic has put you on the ignore list. Enjoy!