So is COH finally dead?

[batqueen]

Yeah, but the Hobbits win!  Then again, I'm almost inclined to agree with Gollum: "Stupid, fat NCSoft.  We wants it, we needs it. Must have the CoH. They stole it from us. Sneaky little NCSoft. Wicked, tricksy, false!"

Oh, there we are, that's the sound of the voice in my head when i think about all this! My Precious!

[CoyoteSeven]

Yeah but I don't think we really need a Gollum. We need a Gandalf!

[JWBullfrog]

Dead? Dead?
 
Did Star Trek die when it was cancelled? No! Did Firefly die? No! Was it all over whrn the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
 
Germans?
 
Forget it, he's rolling...
 
It ain't over now!
 
"Cause when the going gets tough... the tough get going! Who's with me? Let's go! Come on!
 
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!
 
 
 
 

[downix]

Dead? Dead?
 
Did Star Trek die when it was cancelled? No! Did Firefly die? No! Was it all over whrn the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
 
Germans?
 
Forget it, he's rolling...
 
It ain't over now!
 
"Cause when the going gets tough... the tough get going! Who's with me? Let's go! Come on!
 
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7vtWB4owdE

[JWBullfrog]

love it when people get the reference.

[thunderforce]

Our biggest problem is the size of NCsoft relative to the value of CoH - it's basically loose change to them, so their financial situation would have to be be pretty much bankrupt before they'd be forced into selling it, as they'd have to be really desperate for cash before the few million they'd get for CoH would seem worth selling it.

As explained between the floods of guff from Jag, that's not really accurate; there's a difference between being forced to sell something (which they won't be) and it being worth selling something because the expected value is less than the purchase price. The forcing comes in not because the company needs the money, but because shareholders would like to know why it doesn't take the money; it doesn't work out for us because no-one else has any better assessment of the expected value, so they don't offer.

[Taceus Jiwede]

NCSoft would sell it if you offered them enough money for it.  But no one is willing to offer up that kind of money.  I am not talking about the 8 million or whatever the number is that went around as the asking price.  If you walked in with 100 million dollars, or even 50, or 20 million dollars.  They would sell.  But no one is willing to put up that kind of cash for CoH IP sadly.  Too bad Bill Gates isn't a die hard CoH fan.

Dear Mr.Gates  Plz buy CoH. 

[JanessaVR]

NCSoft would sell it if you offered them enough money for it.

Again, I sincerely doubt it.  For whatever reason, they'll keep in their vaults until the end of time, never doing anything with it (indeed, they'll never even publicly refer to it ever again), and ignore any offers to purchase it, at any price.  SCoRE is the only way we'll ever walk the streets of our City again.  Count on it.

I really, really wish this wasn't true, but at this point, I've seen nothing that even slightly persuades me this is not the case.

[JWBullfrog]

I really, really wish this wasn't true, but at this point, I've seen nothing that even slightly persuades me this is not the case.

Short of a massive corporate takeover by people sympathetic to our cause, I'm afraid I have to agree on this. I suspect that other than a few lines in an accounting sheet somewhere that show the final costs of the shutdown and how they were offset slightly by the reconversion of the servers to a new project, NCSoft doesn't even admit to the existence of CoH.
 
Ok, a slightly bitter assessment there but probably not far off the mark.

[thunderforce]

I really, really wish this wasn't true, but at this point, I've seen nothing that even slightly persuades me this is not the case.

The trivial case is that the entire company has a price. Last I looked, it was about 6 billion USD. Bill Gates could buy it tomorrow and release the City the day after that.

Of course, that's not going to happen. But, any asset it has, has its price. It's not that the City isn't for sale; it's that putting up the money for it is a tough proposition.

[JanessaVR]

If I won some sort of mega-lottery tomorrow and showed up at their HQ in SK the next day with a cashier's check for $6 billion, do you really think they would sell?  Somehow, I doubt it.

My whole point is, after all that I've seen of this saga so far - I don't think this is about the money with them.  They closed CoH for some other reason - a reason they still consider Top Secret.

[JaguarX]

I know titan network will never support my Plan ZIB, but... can I have.. please have permission to carry out plan ZIB if google = fail?

I'm not suggesting that google will say no, infact I'm suggesting they will say yes, but we can't be sure how stubborn NCSoft will be about it's descision to not sell, google might end up telling us "hey we tried, they said no, sorry we can't legally make them an offer they will accept"

PLEASE can I do my plan ZIB then TonyV? at least it will get the IP out of NCSoft's hands.. in a legal method. I.. I've been holding off cause I don't want to sabatoge TF Hail mary.

I have already talked to several lawyers concerning ZIB, they seemed hopeful. so.. yeah. just give me an opening titan network wont be mentioned as a conspirator, for your image's sake.

yeah, as TB said, go for it.

Plus what is the worse that could happen that is any worse than any other things that been tried?

[thunderforce]

If I won some sort of mega-lottery tomorrow and showed up at their HQ in SK the next day with a cashier's check for $6 billion, do you really think they would sell?

Assuming the last time I saw their market cap is accurate, yes, because you could buy the _entire company_ for that.

They closed CoH for some other reason - a reason they still consider Top Secret.

Occam's Razor suggests that's not accurate. Lots of MMOs have closed under quite similar circumstances. Why should the City be special?

[JanessaVR]

Assuming the last time I saw their market cap is accurate, yes, because you could buy the _entire company_ for that.

To clarify, I meant the entire company.   

Occam's Razor suggests that's not accurate. Lots of MMOs have closed under quite similar circumstances. Why should the City be special?

Because that's not how they've treated this.  CoH was in the black and they've resolutely refused to say just why they closed it, and then they refused multiple offers to sell it.  To me, that says it was not about the money.

[Taceus Jiwede]

Well they probably wouldn't sell you the company for that.  Maybe they would sell the IP for it.  But if you won 250 million, took the lump sum and gave them 120 million dollars.  They would sell the IP I am guessing.  Its hard to turn down 120 million dollars.  But that is very unlikely that someone would win Mega-Millions and spend every penny of it on the CoH IP.  As awesome as it would be.

[thunderforce]

To clarify, I meant the entire company.

Well, in that case, the answer is yes. If you had $6 billion or so, you could buy the company - not by turning up at their HQ and slapping down the cash, but you could buy up the stock.

Because that's not how they've treated this.  CoH was in the black and they've resolutely refused to say just why they closed it, and then they refused multiple offers to sell it.  To me, that says it was not about the money.

I really don't see it as atypical. Most closure announcements are bland and unspecific; most games are probably still in the black on a day to day basis when closed (it's just not worth doing more development, and "keep it ticking over" hasn't been seen as a viable option).

[XboxVillain1]

Anyone mind updating me on what SCoRE is exactly?  Thanks.

[Tacitala]

They closed CoH for some other reason - a reason they still consider Top Secret.

I vote "they're crazy" as the top secret reason.

Anyone mind updating me on what SCoRE is exactly?  Thanks.

It was the lighthearted nickname tossed out for the people who are working on creating an emulator- The Secret Cabal of Reverse Engineers.  We know an emulator is in the works but, due to the nature of things being slightly in a grey area, information other than "it's being worked on" isn't publicly available.  Personally, it's my best hope for the return of CoH.

[XboxVillain1]

I certainly hope someone is working on it, I truly miss it.  I would even settle for offline play or perhaps local network play.  No other super power MMO even competes, DC Universe had a few perks but overall was nothing in comparison.  So far I have yet to see a more in depth costume design, and the pool powers were excellent.

[CoyoteSeven]

They might be crazy in not wanting to sell it for it any reasonable offer, but we might be the only ones crazy enough to seriously consider offering six billion dollars to buy a video game.