Yep but at the same time though, I doubt even if they did sell the IP that all of a sudden their western reputation will go back to normal and they probably know this.
Right now they can decide to whether to try to invest and rebuild their western reputation or focus on their home market and hope for the best. With loss of revenue and stock prices dropping, I think the first casualties will be their western gaming market and any game they release here will be merely a ported version of what is hot in Asia so that if the title do not pick up steam here, they can simply cut it off in the west while still making tons off of it at home.
I just thought, if I was an international corporation and realized that a large portion of a market when down the toilet over decision, a stupid decision it seems, then would I try to spend millions trying to rebuild that reputation or would I cut my losses here and try to make it up in an area that is profitable, on the home front?
Even if they turned COX back on as if nothing happened, I think the damage is done and COX probably would be even less profitable if profitable at all under them and the rest of their western game will suffer and their stocks probably will continue to slide downward. Whoever made the shutdown decision really put NCSoft between a rock and a hardplace in their western market. If they do nothing, their reputation will surely remain ruined. If they dump millions into trying to improve that reputation, it still will remain just as tarnished. As many has said, they wouldnt go back to COX if it remained under NCSoft hands. So what is it that they are supposed to do? My view may be too simplistic, given that I'm not the leader of a corporation of that size.
And layoffs, given their past actions, I mean even prior to COX closing, when money gets tight or they lose money, NCSoft have been known here and in Asia to do layoffs, usually starting with their overseas operations first aka Europe and America. While I too want NCSoft to see the effects of their error, I dont want it to be the cause of other people losing their jobs anymore than I liked the fact that 80 people tied to Paragon Studios and COX was laid off.