Thanks for posting this Khep!
Well, sorry to be the discouraging realist, but do keep in mind the following facts:
1. Thor's Assassin is not an official; he's a blogger. There is a move in the professional gaming community to save CoH, but as far as we know that could be just within Paragon, what's left of it. We already knew that Paragon is trying to scrape together something; we just don't know what.
2. We know what some of those key elements are going to be: first, this movement needs money to pay NCSoft for whatever NCSoft is willing to part with. Second, it will need cooperation on NCSoft's part - we still don't know what plans NCSoft had, or how CoH didn't fit into them. If NCSoft is planning on releasing another MMO or something and doesn't want CoH to compete with it, then they will do what they can to kill any attempt to revive it. Last, keeping CoH up and running, or raising it from the dead, will require staff to maintain it. I'm sure all of these things are currently on the negotiating table.
Point 1 - It's true I am a blogger but it's also true that I am as invested in the saving of this game as anyone. What is also true is that I went to the community dinner as a supporter of Paragon Studios, the community and the SaveCoh campaign. I return as a messenger who cannot reveal everything I learned due to protecting the employees and former employees of Paragon Studios.
What I CAN safely say is that it's not
just Paragon and the community here, hell it's not even
just the professional gaming community. Some of the people involved that could affect change and make a difference aren't in the gaming industry, don't even know why there is even an uproar over it. They see it as
just a game and it's our job as the ones invested in the game and community to adequately relay just what this game and community mean to us. They need to know why it is something worth saving in the first place. They have no idea what it's like to be in a virtual community. So go out there and yell it from the rooftops to make them understand that.
Point 2 - This is the part where I cannot say a lot about. Though it's more than money needed, it's the process it would take to separate Coh from NCSoft and all the complications that go with that. They are in constant negotiation though and are actively trying to find a way to make it happen. Wish I could say more on this because it was inspiring what is taking place behind the scenes.