Don't give up on this yet = it's not time to get out of the Bunkers yet!

[BryanSnowden]

I meant to post this before & may have somewhere?
But for those folks whose morale is dropping you should read this & know that while we're "remaining civil" = we need to stay in the "Civil Defense Shelters" at least as long as they do (=they being NCsoft), seems they give out a "How-to" - like this one = On how to screw people over while minimizing backlash - aka A "Bad PR" Excrement Storm

Take a look at it, we need everyone on our team to read it & see just how this type of battle works!
http://www.hkstrategies.com/When_To_Hide_Vs_When_To_Come_Out_Of_The_Bunker

It's an article written (or at least distributed) by a Hill+Knowles senior vice president in NCsoft's PR firm ("George Shelton is a senior vice president at Hill+Knowlton Strategies and head of the reputation management and corporate practice in the Austin office.")  :D =  It's all about how to wait until - either A. we give up, OR B. they realize we ain't giving up for nothing!
It's about who's more stubborn & who's got more "invested" in it (well, not just money, that's part of it...) But emotionally & personally invested in it.
The game, the characters, the community, the stories, everything = And I know what it's worth to me, they don't want to end this badly (not trying to be/talk 'hostile about it' = But reading that article we & (Presuming people involved on their side have read it as well (other than the guy who wrote it).

We Need for them to be able to see "The Score", we've shown them we have a fair number of "Malcolm Glaswell's "Connectors" among us = I think we're doing good on leveraging that front with Facebook & Twitter, Email, the Petition, Word of Mouth - Do you know how many blogs the story has been up on? ???
Seriously IDK, I freaking lost count!  8)  Everywhere you could think of, plenty of places/sites - that have almost nothing to do with gaming = EXCEPT the People (both Heroes & Villains) that play them!

We've got Plenty of Heroes = But they BEST NOT FORGET = We've also got a small army of Villains, Rogues, & Vigilantes among us that are (for the most part) - being nice and waiting, watching, some hidden, some rude, ALL - *looking after our own*!

And the "Fallout" from this (figuratively) 'blowing up in there faces' could make that "Bunker" of theirs a little bit cramped...
As For Us, That's what we've got resistances & healing abilities and Revive/Restore/Rez's/(etc.) for...
If they kill-off "The City of CoH/CoV" = (fixing) "Rez'ing" NCsoft's Reputation on the other hand = Especially among "Western" gamers, and our friends, and our family members, and potentially Everyone on or Facebook Friends List's - THAT, could cost WAY more than letting us have our "City"/Community/Devs-GMs/Friends/Hobby/Virtual World back!!  (assuming they could recover from it once the shiny begins wearing off "GW2" - not that a many of us are gonna be playing it = as of 'NOW' = I'm gonna be refusing on principle, if nothing else... but trust me there is plenty of else!)

[Rae]

I needed this today. Thanks, Bryan :)

[B_L_Angel]

We have the personal and emotional investment down pat What we need is leverage, someway to make our concerns NCsoft's.

[The-Hunter-JLJ]

Figure it this way, BLA. They've been approached not once but a couple of times by a NYT best selling author. Lots of big names in the internet blogosphere and twitocracy have picked up the cause. CNN has picked up the story on their online site at least. We show little sign of going away, though sadly I think the login numbers in game are starting to drop. TonyV has made 'em blink on the subject of email access, and I rather suspect their policy on refunds was a lot more reasonable than they originally intended as an effort to appease the anger.

We got their attention. Now we just have to hang in there and show 'em we ain't going away. Guarantee they are checking out this forum and anywhere else they think we may be gathering. (waves to the nice corporate types) So keep your spirits up, and keep yer eye on the prize. This ain't a sprint, it's a marathon, and it may well run way past the servers going dark if it comes to that.

[Gilliam]

I'm finding it so hard to Log into coh, but i understand what needs to be done.i will spend more time in coh

[Segev]

If absolutely nothing else, I want to thank the OP for introducing me to the concept of "Gladwell's 'Connectors'." I know I am not very sociable. I am working to change that, but it's not easy. Because honestly? Connectors -do- get things done.

[jeangray]

That is a great read, thanks for posting it! 

[StarRanger4]

hang on...  For some reason I'm thinking that at least one point NC Soft had these guys working for or advising them.  Or someone who's name was similar and I've corrupted my memory indix.

SO, with the caveat of I might be wrong... if this IS company they hired to help strategizse, whatever... WHY ARNT THEY LISTENING?  Cause unless I am wrong it seems like they are ignoring the advise of the persons they should be listening too.

Rather like hiring a guide to take you big game hunting and then ignoring the safety rules he gives you to keep you alive.

[DrakeGrimm]

Dig in, boys and gals. Siege mode is far from over, and I ain't about to wave no white flags.

[QuantumHero]

This was a wonderful and educational read...personally I'm more the inpiration vender at the local hospital for connectors..free greens, blues, and purples available to all....and I also have a less advertised supply of yellows, reds and inventions waiting.   Psst combine three of anything to make a rez.  :P

[Aggelakis]

hang on...  For some reason I'm thinking that at least one point NC Soft had these guys working for or advising them.  Or someone who's name was similar and I've corrupted my memory indix.

SO, with the caveat of I might be wrong... if this IS company they hired to help strategizse, whatever... WHY ARNT THEY LISTENING?  Cause unless I am wrong it seems like they are ignoring the advise of the persons they should be listening too.

Rather like hiring a guide to take you big game hunting and then ignoring the safety rules he gives you to keep you alive.

H+K was hired to do the massive marketing push surrounding Guild Wars 2. NC subsequently hired them as their general marketing 'people' soon before GW went live and City got booted. The likelihood that they had any input at all to City's closure is pretty low. In all honesty, the decision was probably made months ago and it took until Aug 31 to get through the hoops and red tape.

[Medika]

The chief point is to make NCSoft understand what they are giving up by closing CoH.
The way to do that is: (1) to boycott other NCSoft products, (2) tell your friends not to play GW or any other NCSoft product - 'cause what's happening to us could happen to them, and (3) tell NCSoft that is what we're doing.  A bonus (4) would be to play CoH lots these last months AND get new players to play it.  It would be amazing if the numbers CoH sports upon closing exceeded the numbers it had before the announcement.  If NCSoft is really intent on redefining their focus - that is, if they want to emphasize their Asian market at the expense of their American market - we should work at slamming the door behind them and making them know that is what we've done. 

[Victoria Victrix]

Bryan thank you for posting this.

This is excellent strategy for us. 

We need, I think to refine our focus to this:

NCSoft must release the IP to someone else who will support it, and (ideally) support the transition to the new owner.   We must make it clear to them that if they do not do this, they will never be able to come out of the bunker, and the wave of negativity we are going to generate is going to persist to taint all their products.

I know that if there is no good resolution to this, I have every intention of putting a permanent "why would ANYONE buy an NCSoft product" section on my webpage.  Anyone that searches on me is going to find and see that, and the effect will permeate far beyond gamers.

Are you listening, Hill+Knowles?

[Luna Eclypse]

My Morale has never waned. My stance on NCsoft as a consumer and slighted customer is as follows and this is as civil as I can be:

Regardless if they try to save face and sell the IP to an interested party, my negative view of them will not change. A single person CAN make a difference, ANY one of us. I will NOT buy any future NCsoft products, something I am fully committed to because one of the best ways to make a company listen is with your bank account. Their ineptitude at conducting business in the Western Market has struck a nerve with all of us for years and this horrible mishandling of City of Heroes and it's developers is the straw that broke the camel's back.

And if their PR people do indeed read over these forums then I hope they hear this: You reputation was already in the dumps for past transgressions and other over-budget, underachieving MMO IP's that you abruptly shut down. I will tell anyone and everyone I know that expresses interest in your products how quick you are to resort to bait & switch tactics the minute your micromanaged, out-of-touch plans start to disintegrate. You, a South Korean publisher, abruptly laid off 80+ good, hard-working Americans IN THIS COUNTRY who were working on a profitable, self-sustaining IP just because they didn't fit into your Masterplan. You, in turn, earned the scorn and outrage of said IP's extremely loyal and proactive community numbering in the tens of thousands. Your unwillingness to also understand the archetype of the American Superhero and the virtues and morals it instills in our culture is what empowers us to fight for what we hold dear. It's more than a game, it's a living, breathing community; A community that your actions have threatened to tear apart but have only made stronger. To be clear we don't WANT you reverse your decision and keep our game running, you don't want it anyway. We want you to sell it for one more financial gain to a studio that actually CARES about it and us. And if your internal realignment means you will cease major operations in our market, so much the better. If you're unwilling to adapt to foreign markets, stick to what you know and spare us anymore deception and headache.

[Colette]

We have been, by and large courteous and restrained. We have held the reins tight. This was wise.

Is it time to start attacking? I mean... really start bad-mouthing NC-Soft as killjoys and greedy stuffed suits who only want to exploit their customers? I personally would eagerly vent my spleen, oh mercy yes! But if we do so collectively, we could seriously damage their reputation in the west and in Korea. They would be very angry and it would poison their opinion of City of Heroes. It could drive down their stock, it might even put a lot of innocent people out of work.

It might also give other companies pause before doing something similar.

I do not have the perspective to advise or discourage this. I leave it up to Tony, V.V. and the other strategists.

If they do decide the time's right to throw the excrement into the fan, we'll need a platform to be heard from, and ideally a Korean-translation version of our tirades.

[Vulpy]

The difficulty comes from where it's easy. To wit, it's easy to go from "persuasion" to "intimidation," but almost impossible to go back. If we go on the offensive, we need to be sure--it'll be a Rubicon moment.

[Heavy Ion]

While negotiations are ongoing, we should be restrained and respectful. If they refuse to sell the IP, then it will move on to the next stage. No company wants (former) customer grievances aired repeatedly in public, and this community has the kind of impassioned people who would be determined enough to raise the money for a real media battle. Newspapers may be old media, but they still carry the weight of authority that a blog or tweet won't (not that those aren't extremely beneficial too - it's just a quality over quantity thing when you're talking about the old guard in the business world). A few well-placed ads in some prominent publications could be seen as a liability to NCsoft's future business dealings.

A business decision is a business decision, and we won't change anyone's mind in the money arena, regardless of the fact that COH was profitable. But a refusal to sell the IP would seem unnecessarily mean-spirited and financially...dumb. We'd really have the underdog element at that point, but we'd need to commit ourselves to keeping the pressure on so they understand we aren't going away, that we intend to dig in for a seige, and they'd better get extra comfy in that bunker.

Again, I don't think we're at that point quite yet, but I feel confident we could make it happen if the worst comes to pass. As with all things in this campaign, I look to TonyV to tell us when that time is here. Until then, I trust the leadership. The last thing we want to do is make it harder for our advocates. Sometimes diplomacy is a very delicate thing that takes time. And when our diplomat tells us all options are exhausted, we'll take it to the next level. To paraphrase what Vulpy said, we have to know when it is time to walk across this bridge because we probably won't be able to go back. When they set the bridge on fire is another thing altogether though...

[Golden Girl]

I think that the amount of covereage that we've been getting, plus the way we're still making a noise, could help to show them that theor CoH "problem" won't just go away, even after the planned shutdown sate.

[Segev]

Remember that, when one has nothing to lose, one has no reason to do anything for those who have taken all you could have kept or gained.

One must always have a carrot with the stick.

[emu265]

What this says to me is that they are going to try and wear us out.  We can't let that happen.