NCsoft Seattle offices undergoing “realignment”

[Tiberian Fiend]

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/12/04/ncsoft-undergoing-realignment/
Good news or bad?  If they cut and run from the Western market, they might not care what results from CoH fallout.

[TimtheEnchanter]

Can't believe the word "realignment" got used again.

If we assume "realignment" means what it did the last time, then yeah, NCsoft West is closing.  8)

[Menrva Channel]

They keep using that word... I do not think it means what they think it means....

So... Good? Bad? Karma anyone?

[Surelle]

Even though this is tragic and does not portend well for those left in Seattle, I am glad this topic was given its own thread.  It is another piece of the puzzle which can be added to the ones like NCSoft selling off Aion EU and Lineage 2 EU to other publishers there, and of course all the NA/EU MMO closures over the years.  Personally I've felt for over a year that NCSoft has been pulling out of the west, I just didn't think they'd do it so brutally with CoH.

What defies logic is how they can still think they'll be la-dee-da fine launching new grind fests like Blade & Soul and Wildstar here.  Do they really think we can't see through their "quick money grab for the box fees they can't get in Asia" schtick?  Do they really think anyone will expect anything after that other than lag, a permanent infestation of gold farmers, buggy, untested patches, an overpriced cash shop, then a closure when gamers least expect it?

[TimtheEnchanter]

Too bad this didn't happen sooner too. Maybe all the naysayers who were saying "CoH closed because it failed" would shut up about it. There's obviously more going on here. Sounds like they're just going to keep cutting things until they (hopefully) see black ink again.

[Codewalker]

Frankly, I've been expecting this since I heard that Paragon was being shut down.

Sucks for the employees in Seattle, but I really believe that NCSoft's strategy that they're "realigning" into involves shutting down all development and support outside of the corporate office. NC Interactive and its subsidiaries are the first target, maybe because of internal politics, maybe not. Any branches will be either closed or turned into skeleton publishing arms to support titles developed in Seoul. I'd expect Carbine to be next on the chopping block, probably in a year once Wildstar is out the door.

The only possible exception is ArenaNet, but I don't believe even they are completely safe.

[Treees]

Too bad this didn't happen sooner too. Maybe all the naysayers who were saying "CoH closed because it failed" would shut up about it. There's obviously more going on here. Sounds like they're just going to keep cutting things until they (hopefully) see black ink again.

This. And: I honestly think the realignment is code for pulling out of the west, just as TimtheEnchanter said.

[houtex]

NCSoft isn't through 'realigning' that office.  The realignment will likely continue with it's closure.  They are exiting the American market, post haste.  Those in that office left need to think seriously about what they're fighting for, as it's not their jobs, those are lost.  Just a matter of when.

Were I working there, knowing what I know?  I'd be bailing unless I was getting a very nice, up front bonus to stick around to the bitter end.  Better to have a job hunting egg if I had to stick around to shut it down.  Otherwise, I'm looking/leaving now.

Were I working there.  I don't so...

/I'm serious... that ship is the Titanic, it's just a matter of when now.

[DrakeGrimm]

Where's one of our artists? We need an editorial-style comic of a ship labelled "NCSOFT" and an iceberg labeled "COH Closure" with the CEO going "ALL AHEAD FULL!"

[TimtheEnchanter]

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i.qkme.me%2F7c3w.jpg

[dwturducken]

Go home, Tim. You're drunk.  8)

[TimtheEnchanter]

Go home, Tim. You're drunk.  8)

Am not! *falls off bar stool*

[Samuraiko]

Arenanet, from what I can remember of Samuraiko/Dark Respite posting on the official boards before they were closed down, are far safer than we think. From what she said (and if i remember correctly), they have the ability to buy back the GW IP and go it themselves if NCsoft do try to shut them down...

ArenaNet owns the IP to Guild Wars, NCsoft handles the production side of things - or vice versa. But if NCsoft decided to shut down the game, ArenaNet has first crack at buying it back themselves.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[Xieveral]

Just to point out that Beastyle still has a job in that office (for now at least) according to @AbiterFabulous

Surprised that no one asked about how he was doing on these boards though.

I had no idea he was still with NCsoft. I thought he had left for something different altogether.

Then again, I was not a close follower of the devs. I just knew him as the red ligerbearbull guy that hung out with the classy robot spreading cheer and talking in red text.

[Adrenalin]

Am not! *falls off bar stool*

*Picks Tim up and drapes him across the bar*
Tim??? Are you the same Tim that used to hang out on the planning boards for CoH?

[Axonius]

Sounds to me like they are trying to dump America-based workers. They might bethinking that programmers and developers are a lot cheaper in Asia than here in the US.

[Tommy2Toes]

Sounds to me like they are trying to dump America-based workers. They might bethinking that programmers and developers are a lot cheaper in Asia than here in the US.

They and everyone else that needs tech talent.

Even Disney Interactive, the current pitch target for the ashes of COH, is starting to outsource, and not just drone skills.  Creative talent, which was once considered "safe" from outsourcing.

http://blog.makingsense.com/2012/11/disney-outsourcing-latin-america/

I'd expect as Free to Play becomes the dominant model for gaming, the pressure for cheaper tech labor only intensifies.

[Twisted Toon]

I really need to win the lottery.

Then I could show (or at least attempt to) these two-bit wanna-bes that Integrity actually DOES mean something.

[MishaFox]

Realignment means fire the western workers who get paid a lot.

[Omega Mark V]

Yeah, just saw this update on Gamespot.com...

First thought: "Realignment doesn't mean what we know it means."

Gotta love companies outside the US firing people here! /sarcasm