How to get NCSoft to let go of the IP

[Valjean]

.....
Seriously, do you think if someone came out, today, and made NCSoft an offer on their old junk, like Exteel, they wouldn't jump on it?

I don't think they would.

We know they're sitting on a lot of cash. They're not concerned about profits from selling the game.

But you've got to wonder just how nervous the other NCsoft studios are, especially considering they just shut down one of their most popular games. And what do you think those studios have been thinking about doing?

[Guardia]

Wasn't one of the issues with kibun that if NCsoft sold the IP, and it did well, that would be seen as a failure on NCSoft's part, and also as lost future revenue in terms of both "that could have been OUR profitable game" and as competition?

As much as I don't like NCSoft retaining ownership, getting a licensing deal where they keep the IP may be more palatable to them. If the game does well under a licenced agreement, they get continued profits in terms of licensing fees, and they get to claim part of the glory of that success as the owners. If the game fails, they get to push the blame on the licensee while still retaining ownership.



-np

[Mantic]

Licensing would be a pretty great solution, solving some of the biggest problems NCSoft has had with Western studios. The purchaser of a license would not be beholden to top down management, nor would their performance be the responsibility of company execs. The licensor would know clearly what profit goals are needed to cover expenses and satisfy NCSoft month-to-month, and have the freedom to pursue their own means of meeting that goal.

But a plan that so cleanly eliminates bureaucracy? Seems a hard sell. ;/

[downix]

Licensing would be a pretty great solution, solving some of the biggest problems NCSoft has had with Western studios. The purchaser of a license would not be beholden to top down management, nor would their performance be the responsibility of company execs. The licensor would know clearly what profit goals are needed to cover expenses and satisfy NCSoft month-to-month, and have the freedom to pursue their own means of meeting that goal.

But a plan that so cleanly eliminates bureaucracy? Seems a hard sell. ;/

Pondering this some. Perhaps this is what the letter itself meant in the first place. They specifically said selling, nothing about licensing.

This is an angle which may work.

[Sajaana]

Wasn't one of the issues with kibun that if NCsoft sold the IP, and it did well, that would be seen as a failure on NCSoft's part, and also as lost future revenue in terms of both "that could have been OUR profitable game" and as competition?

As much as I don't like NCSoft retaining ownership, getting a licensing deal where they keep the IP may be more palatable to them. If the game does well under a licenced agreement, they get continued profits in terms of licensing fees, and they get to claim part of the glory of that success as the owners. If the game fails, they get to push the blame on the licensee while still retaining ownership.



-np

I honestly don't think that NCSoft looks at it that way, with the "losing face" and the "risk of competition."  Even in a business like professional sports, which is far more tied to escoteric concerns like "saving face" and "public relations" than game publishing is, owners and general managers have no problem trading players around if the deal is right.  But even if NCSoft do look at things in the way that's been batted around, a lot of these concerns go away with time.

Why do I stress time so much?  Well, to be quite honest, I think its the big 800lb gorilla in the room that we in the "Save CoH Movement" aren't talking about.  Because I see a lot of desparation here, like if the future of the game isn't secured by November 30th, the game is gone forever and there's no hope for it ever coming back.

And that's just simply not accurate.  Who knows what things will look like in a few years?  Perhaps NCSoft will go bankrupt, and the game will fall under receivership at fire sale prices.  Perhaps SoE would be able to get this game on the cheap in two years time (Just because they say they aren't interested doesn't mean that they aren't interested, or won't be interested in the future).  Perhaps one of us will get into the publishing business and will have the plan and the backing to secure this service and make it available.

And those who are aware of these possibilities, and plan for them, will be in a much better position to take advantage of them than those who are acting out of desparation in the moment.

But I'll tell you this much.  If the game is going to close, I'd much rather have it close under an NCSoft than by a fly-by-night ad hoc company who might not store it well, or ruin it, or make it unsellable because of blunders.  Because, when I think about it more and more, I'm starting to consider that perhaps NCSoft really does love this game, and isn't going to sell it to just anyone, but to the person or group who has a sound plan and the financial strength to act as good stewards of it.

[healix]

But I'll tell you this much.  If the game is going to close, I'd much rather have it close under an NCSoft than by a fly-by-night ad hoc company who might not store it well, or ruin it, or make it unsellable because of blunders.  Because, when I think about it more and more, I'm starting to consider that perhaps NCSoft really does love this game, and isn't going to sell it to just anyone, but to the person or group who has a sound plan and the financial strength to act as good stewards of it.

That is a very interesting take. It's good to see things through new eyes to expand your ideas/opinions.

[Flamazing Sally]

I do NOT see how murdering a game and its community can be considered to be 'good stewards'.  Not my idea of good stewardship at all.

[Sajaana]

I do NOT see how murdering a game and its community can be considered to be 'good stewards'.  Not my idea of good stewardship at all.

And you know, there are times--even now--when I feel the same way.

And when I do, I think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWYel8WkZJ4

That was the game I played before CoH.  Its name was Seed.

See, I was there in the last days.  The game was beyond alpha bad as far as quality control, the result of overbearing VCs and investors wanting to push it out before its time.  Yet we still played--and paid--because we believed in each other and the game.  See, the development crew were by far the most intelligent, friendly, and player-centric devs I've ever met.  We also had the best community: no unicorns, no jerks, and everybody got along.

And, one day, the message came out that Runestone was bankrupt and the game would close in a week.  Within days, the entire project was chopped up, sold piecemeal to whoever would pay, never to rise again.

You talk about murder?  Seed was butchered by VCs.

You see, I may have liked Seed, and I may have had high hopes for what could happen with it.  But there's really no use hoping, because the way matters went down pretty much assured that Seed's concept and game would never rise again.  And that is something that still--to this day--hurts me inside.

Not that CoH's closing doesn't hurt as well.  It does.  But at least the way this game and IP has positioned itself over the years gives me hope in what is possible after it closes.  The fundamentals are strong.  It's got good technology.  It's stable.  It's got a compelling IP.  It has exposure.  A robust fan base.  Critical acclaim.  It may be a used car from 2004, but if you kick the tires and take it for a spin, it's rock solid.

With Seed, however, there is no hope...it is truly dead. And the reason it died have more to do with the matters I discussed earlier: a solid business plan.  Financial strength.  Without any of that, whatever was good about it just ended up on the chop shop auction block and sold to the squatters or the rinky-dink setups who will fold in three months, never to be seen again.

And the most tragic thing that could happen is if the publisher gets duped with the lure of quick money to someone who doesn't know what they are doing, like a Farlan (Dark and Light) or a Limitless Horizons Entertainment (Age of Mourning).  Because, if they do, there will be no hope.

[Victoria Victrix]

I don't think they would.

We know they're sitting on a lot of cash. They're not concerned about profits from selling the game.

Actually this is a misapprehension.   They are not sitting on a lot of cash, in fact, they posted a $7 million loss last quarter.  All the assertions that NCSoft are sitting on a lot of cash are based on a report someone dug up elsewhere that was dated 2009.  That was when games were still robust and "recession-proof."  As we know, a lot of those things that were touted to be "recession-proof"...weren't.

NCSoft has been extremely secretive about their actual worth and how much money they are sitting on (if any) but it is more than fair to say that 2009 report is probably nowhere near reflective of their current state of affairs after selling only 2 million copies of GW2 when they expected to sell 6.

[Codewalker]

Actually, we have a fairly good idea, since as a publicly held company, they are required to disclose that information.

The NCSoft parent company, at the end of 2011, had 599,726,837,623 KRW of quick assets (assets that are cash or can be easily converted to cash, including accounts receivable but excluding inventory). At today's exchange rate, that's $540 million USD.

They also had 139,898,990,450 KRW ($126 million) in current liabilities, and 40,593,027,020 KRW ($36 million) of long-term liabilities.

That makes around $373 million in cash if they were to pay off all their outstanding debt, which is something that companies never do, since it's more efficient to keep some debt and invest the cash to make money.

That may have changed somewhat since Janurary, but that number is $46m lower than 2010, but $96m higher than 2009, so I doubt it's dropped dramatically, even with their posted loss. $7 million barely touches that.

From an accounting point of view, that's a really, really high current ratio. Were I an investor, I'd be asking why they have so much free cash on hand that isn't invested in projects to generate more revenue. That is a lot to be sitting on.

Source: http://global.ncsoft.com/global/ir/financial02.aspx

[Valjean]

NCsoft does have a lot of cash, particularly in Korea. Even if COH was unprofitable (which we know it wasn't), they have more than enough in the bank to fund new projects such as Blade & Soul. The COH operational costs were a drop in the bucket for them.

[Moonfyire101]

I got it! I have the solution! We dress up as CoH and CoV characters and storm into their office and demand justice! Or immanat destruction if they don't comply!

[VyoletRose]

For the cause -
   

[Moonfyire101]

For the cause -
   

nice, you have a link to this for download?

[VyoletRose]

It's just a rough draft. The pngs here are pretty much it, until I can re-create it in Illustrator at work and make vector and bigger.

But here's links anyhow
Heroes http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/VyoletRose/Free_the_IP_Heroes.png
Villains http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/VyoletRose/Free_the_IP_Villains.png

[Lily Barclay]

Small critique, you might try to make the I and the P a little more distinct from each other. I had a hard time understanding it at first, and it might be harder for someone not familiar with SaveCoH. At first glance it looks like a fat P. Or it did to me anyway. Maybe just make the blue and red lines a little fatter. /pickydesigner

[VyoletRose]

Gotcha gotcha - good critique, got my gears turning. I'll mess with it some more this weekend

[Mantic]

Why do I stress time so much?  Well, to be quite honest, I think its the big 800lb gorilla in the room that we in the "Save CoH Movement" aren't talking about.  Because I see a lot of desparation here, like if the future of the game isn't secured by November 30th, the game is gone forever and there's no hope for it ever coming back.

And that's just simply not accurate.

I hope that message gets around. It is so disheartening to see this in the community. If the game is not sold by Nov. 30... If there is no emulated server by Nov. 30... If there is no word whatsoever by Nov. 30...

So what? Are you pacing yourselves and looking at that night as the end of your marathon? Yes, there are some things that are only possibe before November 30, but they're mostly related to preservation efforts of the community (and any like-minded individuals still working in the Paragon Studios building(s)).

The only way the game stops being salable or license-able is if NCSoft destroy it (accidentally or otherwise). So there is no reason pressure should let up at all after November 30. As Sajaana suggests, barring anything like that happens, our hope of making such deals are only likely to improve farther down the road.

[Segev]

Mantic makes a good point. Nov. 30 is the last day we can hope for a Hail Mary that keeps the game running without major interruption. That does not mean this community nor this effort are over! And I hope Mantic and others will join with me in encouraging everybody involved to, on Dec. 1, if the servers have gone dark the day before, to stay involved. It may not be worthwhile to make a specific event for Dec. 1, but I think by Nov. 15 we should have some ideas for IRL and virtual events to span over the first six months of 2013. Keeping up the pressure on NCSoft, showing them that what they've done is never going away unless and until they find a solution we find acceptable.

Stay focused on plans as we know them for now, and hope that Nov. 30 is NOT the final day that CoH runs. But if it is, remember that the changes involved in the situation are not necessarily all bad, and that the IP begins to drop in value. If the pressure keeps up and NCSoft gains more and more bad PR even as the IP gets older and colder in their pockets, it may be that whatever circumstances guiding their stubbornness at this stage will be sufficiently changed that they will feel less intransigent.

[Segev]

Thanks! Edited mine, too.