Yes, but ArenaNet was working on GW2. Why shut down GW1 since at the very least it's advertising for GW2 and you don't tick off potential customers for it's sequel. Plus GW1 still outsold CoH over it's lifespan, they had the cash to do the development work.
Chart of cumulative sales over lifetime, CoH (blue) Vs GW1 (orange/red).
Why am I getting the feeling that those decision makers merely looked at these charts and made decisions?
While numbers dont lie, I think it dont account for potential and many other factors like player satisfaction, and realization the super hero MMO market is about as bare as the EL Paso/New Mexico desert. They had the run of the market to themselves to grow without much competition, if any depending on who is asked. While many probably wouldnt have switched to GW2 as quick as GW1 players, we were still there. They think many of us will switch to GW2 now? I highly doubt most of us will and I hope they didnt it would work like that. Looks like quantity over quality. But hey, that is how buisness sometimes works I understand. COX had the potential to go further with a little bit of cash. There was nothing like it on the market.
But looking at these charts being presented to the board, and if something had to be cut, it would be the something from the lower lines. Since GW2 was coming, GW1 got a pass so the playerbase of the GW franchise wont be pissed and try to ensure success of GW2.
Like a 1980s Saab. Quirky, different and wouldnt be mistaken for anything else. It was a Saab. Then GM got ahold of them, they sold more but it was a Chevy with a Saab emblem. Lost alot of hardcore Saab fans that wouldnt have otherwise bought any other brand. In the end, Saab ended up defuct and non-production. But mention a Saab, many times first thing that comes to mind is the 80s version although the 2000s and up are way newer and should be the one in memory when someone think of Saab.