More changes with NCSoft

[Chiller Beam]

Seems more is happening with NCSoft, namely the seattle offices.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/12/04/ncsoft-undergoing-realignment/

[Megajoule]

We all remember what happened the last time they "realigned resources" to better suit their needs, yes?

Three months later, another quarter, and another group gets the chop.

[Chiller Beam]

We all remember what happened the last time they "realigned resources" to better suit their needs, yes?

Which makes you think how many more times they're going to be realigning their resources. Business most be going bad?

[Nos482]

This was a very tough decision to make

Uh-huh...somehow I doubt that.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Sounds to me like they're preparing to shut down their operations outside Asia.

[Chiller Beam]

Sounds to me like they're preparing to shut down their operations outside Asia.

Was thinking something simillar, but it seems a bit drastic to be isolating themselves exclusivly to asia. In the end they would probably just loose money from reducing their customer market.

[Jetfire99]

Looks like they are chomping their own Blueberries. Seriously I feel terrible for their employees firing them during the Christmas season that's just damn low. I heard of companies holding off layoffs before Christmas if they can? This is just makes me sick. I pray every laid off person is able to find a job quickly. If their  plans are to go back to being Korean only I just hope some how some of their IPs aside from COH can be rescused as well. (Seriously I hope Arenanet can surive on it's own with the rights to it's game somehow)

[Megajoule]

Everything I've seen since this all started suggests that they make the vast majority of their money in Asia, from games aimed at/made for Asian players' tastes in art style, gameplay, etc.
Their presence and history in the NA/EU market is relatively minuscule and troubled. 
I would not be surprised if there is a sizable segment of NCsoft management that doesn't really want to be involved in the overseas market(s), at all.

[Starsman]

Everything I've seen since this all started suggests that they make the vast majority of their money in Asia, from games aimed at/made for Asian players' tastes in art style, gameplay, etc.
Their presence and history in the NA/EU market is relatively minuscule and troubled. 
I would not be surprised if there is a sizable segment of NCsoft management that doesn't really want to be involved in the overseas market(s), at all.

I think they want to be in the US market without having to deal with any american dev teams.

I expect them to pull out eventually, just remotely servicing the games. It IS possible. Square Enix  has been doing that with Final Fantasy XI and XIV for years now (although mind you: they have a LOT more passion for their games than NCSoft does)

[pyber]

Sounds to me like they're preparing to shut down their operations outside Asia.

Which would be right in line with what is mentioned in an employee review of NCSoft here:
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-NCsoft-RVW1922137.htm

Specifically this portion:  "NDA: NCSoft is going to be insourcing more so than outsourcing. You can expect the full shutdown of all NCSoft Western-Run/European Run Offices with in the next two years."

[asuffield]

Was thinking something simillar, but it seems a bit drastic to be isolating themselves exclusivly to asia. In the end they would probably just loose money from reducing their customer market.

You're thinking too long term. NCSoft just had a bad year (revenues down sharply) and they want a better one next year.

GW2 has very little recurring revenue. It sells once in a big bang at the start and then money trickles in. Keeping the studio open is a risky investment: it's betting that after X years more development, an expansion will bring in a sales burst that pays for those years of operation.

If company management desires low-risk, steady income over the coming 5 years, closing the studio is obviously a good option. Selling it is a better one if they can find a buyer. The bottom line is that they've already got your money for GW2.

Obviously it's not what ArenaNet wants to do. But I think we all know that NCSoft does not care about that.

[Chiller Beam]

Which would be right in line with what is mentioned in an employee review of NCSoft here:
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-NCsoft-RVW1922137.htm

Specifically this portion:  "NDA: NCSoft is going to be insourcing more so than outsourcing. You can expect the full shutdown of all NCSoft Western-Run/European Run Offices with in the next two years."

Guess it wasn't completley absurd that they would be closing their international branches, however how credible can this source be? Can't anyone review on that site?

[pyber]

That might not mean the closure of Arena.net/Carbine studios  though (to be honest, Carbine Studios would be under more risk of closure than Arenanet to be honest). But I can see NC Interactive and NC Europe being shuttered completely, with all responsibilities for running a game (marketing, customer support, server maintenance) being the development studios complete responsibility instead of NCSoft helping out in a few area (although some people could say that NCsoft were more of a hinderance than anything else for marketing!)

I believe that Samuraiko/Dark Respite asked Arenanet a question along the lines of "could what happened to Paragon Studios happen to you?" To be fair, I cannot remember the answer at the moment, but I hope that she is able to pop in answer it for us....

I do know that she posted it up on the official boards though before they closed down.

True enough, though while perhaps not likely, it is still quite possible considering the way NCSoft management seems to be behaving of late.  That review is far from the first time I've run across mention of such closures, or that NCSoft as a whole is planning on focusing their operations primarily on Korea and East Asia in the future.  Their current stable of games (besides GW2, sort of) seems to indicate that they're catering more to the Asian gamer, and the closure of CoH just serves to reinforce that in my opinion.  Really the only game they have left that really has any appeal to Western and European gamers is GW2, and if they're starting to ditch people at Arenanet, it doesn't bode well for that franchise.  And I must admit I feel for them.  Some of the guys that started Arenanet were former Blizzard employees that left that company over a difference of vision for the Warcraft franchise, and now its possible, however slim the possibility, that their current overlord may be going with a different vision as well.

Anyways, I honestly won't be surprised if they do shutdown pretty much everything non-Korean.  By many accounts, the way they see NCSoft and its games evolving in the future just isn't compatible with what Western and European gamers and developers want, which means its just a matter of time.

Guess it wasn't completley absurd that they would be closing their international branches, however how credible can this source be? Can't anyone review on that site?

Anyone can yes, though that's far from the only review from a supposed NCSoft employee, most of whom are based in North America.  So I'd be inclined to believe it, with a small grain of salt just in case.

[chaparralshrub]

I'm going to wonder if they're going to try to turn American gaming communities against each-other. "Those CoH miscreants are making business so bad that we've got to cut you, too. Now, go and stop them before we have to do anything worse!"

[houtex]

And hopefully...  they'll say... 'No.'

And then add "You probably need to do something about letting that CoH IP and it's code get sold and used." 

If they were, y'know, savvy.

[Aggelakis]

Was thinking something simillar, but it seems a bit drastic to be isolating themselves exclusivly to asia. In the end they would probably just loose money from reducing their customer market.

They would only lose about 4% of their yearly gross. (About half of that now that City is closed - City was about 40% of their non-Asian market in recent years.)

I would hazard a guess that removing the cost of employee pay and benefits, and dropping marketing in non-Asian areas, would more than make up for that.





Please note I don't think they're going to do that, just that it's not infeasible or even a terrible idea. They are failing out here, and are rockin' socks over there.

[FatherXmas]

Well now that Paragon is gone, you aren't going to need as large of a support staff in Seattle anymore.  Couple that with the decreasing playerbase of Aion and L2 in NA and Europe.

I'm wondering if they are running across conversion problems with B&S?  Maybe a ratings problem?  Label it an M and it limits places that will sell it.  Edit it and get a T and it'll be like DieHard 4, just wrong.  Plus you will be alienating all the potential customers who are waiting for their virtual locked in closet girl collectors.

Stupid American MMO player.

Edit:  Also as someone has pointed out, it looks as if their stock is back on a downward decline after seemingly finding it's support level around 155,000.  I wonder if this article in The Korea Times money section has anything to do with it.

[Hotaru]

I know someone who used to work for NCsoft Japan, and I met and talked with him about two weeks after the closure notice. Though he now works for another gaming company, he said the Nexon connection had those still at NCsoft Japan worried about their jobs. When I see him again later this month, I wonder how things will have changed...

[corvus1970]

Feel free to let us know when you find out.

[Xieveral]

Please note I don't think they're going to do that, just that it's not infeasible or even a terrible idea. They are failing out here, and are rockin' socks over there.

I don't think they're doing so great on home turf. Their customers may still love them, but the investors are losing faith.

Even if they have countless loyal fans in Korea, they won't bring in as much money as investors. If they lose investors, they lose the funds to produce games, content and events. If they have nothing to offer their customers, they will lose them. If investors see they are losing customers, they will continue to sell off their shares and leave as well.