Could not agree more with that. Realistic expectations for the returns are a problem that cannot be avoided here. Nobody will spend a dime if there's not a reasonable expectation for more than just break even or good feels(tm) about their doing it.
This is where Steam or a service such as that is a better idea, IMO, than Disney, but... there are a lot of good eggs around here. I am confident that their passion and saavy will sway potential investors into doing this...
Now we just got to get NCSoft to be despera... I mean, business oriented enough to actually, you know, sell the game.
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For my part, if I were individually freakin' rich, I have mapped out how I'd save the game forever... frozen in it's I-23 state (NO beta... can't support that) and wholly owned by ME. Well, a trust anyway. I would buy the game for a non-ridiculous amount, find a place, buy an OC3 or 12 or 24 or whatever makes sense, and get it all up and running. Pay a couple of people who can hack the client to fix the IPs/Server names. Get it running client side. Then maybe after that's working, get I-24 fixed up... and all that jazz thereafter.
And it would never, ever, stop working. Because I'd be individually freakin' rich and would do that for me. You guys would be a side product of win.
You find that investor, you're golden... again, as long as NCSoft says "ok." Otherwise... The Phrase. That horrible Phrase...
/Go Team Wildcard! I believe!