New efforts!

[Kaos Arcanna]

If I had $500 million to blow like that I'd just hire Cryptic to make another version of COX that NCSoft had no claim to. With their modern engine, they could do a much better job. I could live without the lore attached to COX so long as I got similar powers and roles.

[Brigadine]

If I had $500 million to blow like that I'd just hire Cryptic to make another version of COX that NCSoft had no claim to. With their modern engine, they could do a much better job. I could live without the lore attached to COX so long as I got similar powers and roles.

I doubt it would take $500 million

[LadyVamp]

If I had $500 million to blow like that I'd just hire Cryptic to make another version of COX that NCSoft had no claim to. With their modern engine, they could do a much better job. I could live without the lore attached to COX so long as I got similar powers and roles.

With 5$00 Mil, you could probably buy all the outstanding stock in NCSoft, re-assemble the dev team, and get the real game back online.

[LateNights]

As I recall, that quote was from when negotiations were still actually ongoing.  And fairly early on too. It was a statement of commitment, not a suggestion that the negotiations had already fallen through.

Actually it wasn't that quote alone - Nate spoke several times about the negotiations and how both parties had differing desires they wanted filled, and since then I've not seen much - 2+2 and all that seemingly points to the talks having become stagnant.

The good news being the commitment of the team as you said, so again, I hope it was poor timing due to internal issues at NC rather than simple greed, and hope soon an agreement can be reached that all parties are happy with...

[Biz]

Actually it wasn't that quote alone - Nate spoke several times about the negotiations and how both parties had differing desires they wanted filled

Is this your interpretation of something Nate said, or did he say that? I ask because I don't recall anything near that specific being discussed period, much less on multiple occasions.

[Harpospoke]

Relatedly, one thing I heard was that one potential sticking point connected with the Paragon buyout attempt had to do with the specifics of assuming the lease of the studio which was substantial.  However I had conflicting information on whether that was a deal breaker or not.  I don't think the high rent in that area was a major factor in the shutdown.  Regardless, while I believe the game was still profitable at shutdown, the question of how to define "profitable" was itself something that was subject to political dispute.  In that case, the costs of operating the studio itself would have been indirectly relevant.  But I believe they were ammunition, not the trigger.

In other words, I believe if their rent was zero, City of Heroes would have still been shut down.  But that's not the same thing as saying the subject didn't come up in discussions of why the studio was being shut down.

Oh I didn't say it was a deal breaker, a major factor, or the trigger.   I said "Anything that negatively affected the bottom line couldn't have helped matters.   Another one of the nails in the coffin I guess."

Just another negative that didn't help the cause.

[Sinistar]

If I had $500 million to blow like that I'd just hire Cryptic to make another version of COX that NCSoft had no claim to. With their modern engine, they could do a much better job. I could live without the lore attached to COX so long as I got similar powers and roles.

Just get controlling interest in NCSoft, reform the Dev Team and relaunch the game if you have that much money

[Paragon Avenger]

Just get controlling interest in NCSoft, reform the Dev Team and relaunch the game if you have that much money

What if you had only $215 million then what?

[LateNights]

Is this your interpretation of something Nate said, or did he say that? I ask because I don't recall anything near that specific being discussed period, much less on multiple occasions.

Check his post history...

[LadyVamp]

What if you had only $215 million then what?

pretty sure it would take way less than $215 Mil.  You just need enough to get the CEO's attention.  Probably only need to buy maybe 10% of the company.  Maybe even as little as 5% would be enough to motivate him.

[ukaserex]

Don't most nda's have an expiration date? If talks have stagnated, it'd be nice to definitively know, instead of just making the assumption based on the very overwhelming, empirical evidence that NCSoft manipulated them into hushing all of us up.

[Arcana]

Oh I didn't say it was a deal breaker, a major factor, or the trigger.

I don't think I implied you did.  I only said I heard conflicting information about it myself at the time.  At least one person I discussed it with referred to it as a kind of poison pill tossed into the works.  But I couldn't get anyone else to confirm that.

[Arcana]

Don't most nda's have an expiration date? If talks have stagnated, it'd be nice to definitively know, instead of just making the assumption based on the very overwhelming, empirical evidence that NCSoft manipulated them into hushing all of us up.

For some things yes, for other things no.  I've signed NDAs in which certain parts of the non-disclosure are agreed to indefinitely, such as for the protection of trade secrets.  In at least one case I signed an NDA regarding sensitive work where I agreed to never disclose the details of that project, ever.

In some cases NDA terms have a circumstantial limit rather than a time limit.  For example, some NDAs bar people from disclosing certain facts until they become publicly known.  So for example hypothetically speaking I might agree to an NDA while working on the design for some commercial product and I agree to not discuss any element of that product I worked on until that product is released whereupon those details become publicly known.  In that circumstance, if the company kills the product and never releases it, I could be bound to that NDA forever.

[Taceus Jiwede]

I doubt it would take $500 million

It would probably take way less.  Short of an obtuse number, even if mine was rather hyperbolic, there doesn't seem to be much else that makes them motivated to sell.

With 5$00 Mil, you could probably buy all the outstanding stock in NCSoft, re-assemble the dev team, and get the real game back online.

Sounds like a plan to me, considering $500 mil was about half their equity in 2012 you certainly would have a large stake in the company.  Then again you might start thinking more like NCSoft once you basically own half of it and you invested half a billion dollars in it.

[psquared007]

Don't most nda's have an expiration date? If talks have stagnated, it'd be nice to definitively know, instead of just making the assumption based on the very overwhelming, empirical evidence that NCSoft manipulated them into hushing all of us up.

In my experience yes, most B2B NDA's do expire at some point or under specific circumstances relating to the subject of the NDA becoming public knowledge.  Arcana points to some specific cases where the NDA would never expire.  Those tend to relate to knowledge of IP that is trade secret. 

I've not seen an NDA that precludes the parties from never disclosing that negotiations have ended, but I've also not dealt with a Korean software company.  They may have a different take on business negotiations and NDAs.

Also, I could imagine that the NDA might include a relatively short cooling off period (e.g. 6 mos. to a year) prior to a party disclosing that negotiations have broken down.  That would allow one or both of the parties to come back to the table before any announcement that the negotiations have ended.

[Vedas17]

Perhaps a shiny new update when we hit page 1337 since that would be 1337!?!?!? =P

[Nyx Nought Nothing]

Perhaps a shiny new update when we hit page 1337 since that would be 1337!?!?!? =P

Since we're currently on page 534 that might be a little while.

[Taceus Jiwede]

Since we're currently on page 534 that might be a little while.

Only 3 pages away if you view it at 20 posts per page. And I agree, that would be quite l337.  Quite l337 indeed d00d and d00dettes.

[Paragon Avenger]

I've got a plan.
I win millions in the lottery.
Buy controlling rights to NC Soft.
Take a close look at the books.
Decide that City of Heroes doesn't have a short enough ROI.
 

[Tubbius]

Tubbius still misses his game.