A source inside the source has spoken out yet asked to remain anonymous but fear not for I can give you my truth and word that this is quite credible but the decisions are not to fall on just NCSoft alone.
An anonymous source that Fansy believes is credible says that NCsoft are not the
sole decision makers in closing City of Heroes. Or at least, the responsibility is not theirs alone, but may have been forced on them somehow.
Instead, the source explains that there truly ARE legal repercussions at the moment that are being dealt with behind the scenes and there is rumor that a possible ditch effort has been done so not to lose anymore money from quoted, '' current profitable projects currently in popular demand. '' This has also been backed by another source, a publisher, for a magazine I have inquired with. So what does this mean?
There are some legal wranglings ongoing that can't be spoken of whilst they are ongoing? The source says there is a
rumour that there is a
possible effort to ditch something (Paragon, City of Heroes?) so as not to lose any further money.
This sounds rather like a possible appeal against an earlier ruling by Marvel, or some other lawsuit, might have resulted in NCsoft being found to have infringed someone's copyrights or otherwise now be in a position where they need to shut down to prevent further additions to damages/claims. It certainly sounds as if the closure is to prevent further damages that NCsoft will be liable to pay for. But bear in mind that this is my
speculation on a
rumour of a
possible effort
reported as
hearsay by an
anonymous sourceThere is, as the source says, a possibility that once CoH shuts down completely without further action by any Staff then the game IP can be sold at the lowest bid given that all legal ties are severed by its shut down. This also will take care of any >PARTNERS< who may have financial control or gain over the game to be severed as well for they will no longer receive or invest in a dead project. All contracts (unless elongated behind closed doors before the shut down occurred) will by law be no more and as the source explains NCsoft can freely move to do with the IP as they like.
Since contracts for a subsidiary company often die with that legally separated subdivision, and do not transfer upwards to a parent company, once Paragon Studios, or some higher level of individual sub-company, are gone and exist no more as legal entities, the IP
could be sold cheaply.
Without any attachments on the IP there is a high possibility, if it does sell, that the price will be reduced substantially for their interest in the game and title in and of itself is mostly depleted except by enthusiasts who are on their last leg in the company, sad to report, or are ready to retire. A lot of effort from next generation studios are now being bought into as the era of old games are being left as they were without any care for what is coming next, the source boasted, will more than likely sway customers in swaths as the new technology implemented will take gaming to and beyond the next level. What does this mean for us, Good Team? I haven't the slightest.
The 'change/shift in focus' at NCsoft, as in many other studios at the moment is the fundamental shift hinted at across the industry.
Subscription based MMOs are believed to have had their day, and the games companies are finally coming to believe, as we have always surmised, that the success of WoW is an anomaly that is a freak occurrence that none will equal, or even come close to. Finally they see that WoW is the exception, not the rule, and that the rule for MMO games is a lot less sparkly, and the market a lot more competitive, once you eliminate the exception from the average expectations. That does not mean they won't have high expectations for GW2 or Blade and Soul, but it would probably mean those are the last classic MMOs the company will invest in. They believe GW2 and Blade and Soul can still do well today - just not in the future.
Current shifts in gaming are heavily leaning towards mobile gaming, especially when a tablet or iPad now has about as much connectivity as any gaming console, and we are increasingly closing on the point where the smartphones will be able to connect with smart TVs to display HD quality graphics on a large screen.
Given the strength and focus of Nexon in the mobile and java-game technology, and that so many of their recent moves have been strengthening that position, one can surmise that the shift in focus is in tht direction, as is not about how mobile gaming is today, but rather is a shift now to dominate the mobile gaming of tomorrow with 4G, smartphones with 1080p graphics, able to display to large screens.