Obviously they must have planned it from the start, insisting that Nate keep things quiet while knowing that the people he trusted could never keep a lid on something like that.
/ncsoft plot
/mustache twirl
NCSoft exec Alex: So I've been thinking about the publicity problem we have with City of Heroes.
NCSoft exec Bob: What publicity problem? I thought we shut that game down a couple years ago.
NCSoft exec Alex: Exactly.
NCSoft exec Bob: Exactly what?
NCSoft exec Alex: So what I was thinking was, we could solve our problem by reaching out to the community.
NCSoft exec Bob: What community? What are we talking about again?
NCSoft exec Alex: See, I think we should approach someone about buying the City of Heroes property.
NCSoft exec Bob: Is it for sale?
NCSoft exec Alex: Nope.
NCSoft exec Bob: I'm going to lunch now Alex.
NCSoft exec Alex: No wait, stay with me. We don't need to actually sell it, we just need to pretend to sell it, and that will generate all kinds of good publicity for us.
NCSoft exec Bob: But won't that backfire when people find out we're not really serious about selling?
NCSoft exec Alex: That's the beauty of my plan. No one will find out we're not serious, because we're going to force the buyers to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
NCSoft exec Bob: So they can't say anything about the negotiations.
NCSoft exec Alex: Right! So no matter how much we string them along, no one will ever find out about it, so we can't get any blowback.
NCSoft exec Bob: You do see a flaw with this plan, right?
NCSoft exec Alex: I know what you're going to say. If no one can talk about the negotiations, how are we going to get any good publicity from them? Am I right?
NCSoft exec Bob: It does seem rather challenging.
NCSoft exec Alex: That's the brilliant part. We'll make sure to pick unreliable people to negotiate with, and they'll leak news of the negotiations.
NCSoft exec Bob: I see.
NCSoft exec Alex: And then we sit back and let the good publicity roll on in.
NCSoft exec Bob: I see.
NCSoft exec Alex: What do you think?
NCSoft exec Chuck: Hey Bob, ready for lunch?
NCSoft exec Bob: Almost. Hey you ever see the movie Robocop?
NCSoft exec Chuck: Original or remake?
NCSoft exec Bob: Original.
NCSoft exec Chuck: Sure.
NCSoft exec Bob: You remember that scene where they were introducing ED-209 to the executives in the board room?
NCSoft exec Chuck: How could I forget.
NCSoft exec Bob: We don't have a development group working on one of those do we?
NCSoft exec Chuck: Don't think so, why do you ask?
NCSoft exec Bob: No reason. Alex, you should present that idea of yours to the higher-ups. Let me know how that goes.