NCSoft at it again...

[Coolio_Wolfus]

http://www.mmorpg.com/newsroom.cfm/read/32834/General-NCSoft-Western-Operations-Layoffs-Confirmed.html

General : NCSoft Western Operations Layoffs Confirmed
NCSoft has confirmed that it is 'restructuring key operations" within the company that will include a round of layoffs across all Western propertiess, including Carbine Studios, developers of WildStar. This does not, however, include ArenaNet, developers of Guild Wars 2.

While decisions like this are always hard, they are necessary as we begin the implementation of a new strategy designed to strengthen our footing as a leader in global entertainment.
Moving forward, we will continue to focus on our core development capabilities and the intellectual properties (WildStar, Aion, Lineage, and Guild Wars franchises) that have made NCSOFT what it is today. However, we are looking to move into new business segments like mobile and tablet games as well as explore emerging technologies.
Again, the decision to reduce staff was not an easy one, and we sincerely wish everyone well in their next endeavors.

We'll keep you posted as the story develops.

Also

http://arcadesushi.com/wildstar-developer-hit-with-layoffs-as-ncsoft-restructures/

Carbine Studios, known for its work on the MMORPG WildStar, has been issued over 60 layoffs as NCSoft restructures its operations in the west.

[Matt Bold]

And this is why I didn't try WildStar.

[Power Gamer]

Exactly Matt Bold.

[JennSpace]

I have a strange impression of déjà-vu...  ;D XD

[Power Gamer]

You know I remember how excited Paragon Studios was to promote their sister game, Wildstar.

And b4 the announcement of the CoX shut down I thought it might be fun to play a bit of sci-fantasy.
After the announcement and looking back at Tabula Rasa, grumblings about GW and GW2, I backed off.

I get that it was, at the time, a necessary business decision.

Yet IMHO watching from the outside as an interested bystander, it appeared to me that NCSoft was bumbling around in its own china shop crushing valuable merchandise hoping to make room for something new.

Business realignment must happen from time to time.

Yet there are smart ways to go about it and there are not-so-smart ways.

[Burnt Toast]

Sorry but I blame Carbine for a lot of this... you create an inferior game and well... not a lot of people want to play. As stated previously I had some friends who did play and regretted it and talked me out of it... because the game is (and was released) full of pretty bad bugs. it is truly an under-performing title and this decision is not at all shocking me. I'm not an NCSoft apologist, but I am a realist and understand a truly acceptable business decision when I see one.


Carbine as a studio has been around for 9 years and their ONLY release is WildStar... really 9 years? In other words it took them longer to create and release WildStar than CoH was even open.


I won't be jumping on the NCSucks bandwagon for this one... go ahead and create a substandard product and then wonder why no one wants it and be shocked when your financial backers take action.

[Jorge Firebomb]

Well I think you can blame NCSoft at least a little bit for funding a game that was built to only appeal to the "hardcore raider" type mentality. That audience simply isn't large enough to be worth the time of an entity like NCSoft. They should have known better than to get involved in a project like that, even 9 years ago that sort of audience was fairly slim.

[Drauger9]

Not an NCSoft appoligist either but, when every company is looking for WOW numbers. Then you have a game created by ex-WOW devs. Then you have every gaming magazine claiming it's a WOW killer (like they do every MMO, example GW2, TOR ect.. ).

Who wouldn't jump on that?

I played Wildstar up to about level 20, I didn't notice any major bugs but it just didn't keep me hooked.


Honestly, nothing against NCSoft. I've tried a few of there titles as well as many other MMOs from other companies. None of them have been able to keep me hooked like COH did. :(

[Taceus Jiwede]

Sorry but I blame Carbine for a lot of this... you create an inferior game and well... not a lot of people want to play. As stated previously I had some friends who did play and regretted it and talked me out of it... because the game is (and was released) full of pretty bad bugs. it is truly an under-performing title and this decision is not at all shocking me. I'm not an NCSoft apologist, but I am a realist and understand a truly acceptable business decision when I see one.


Carbine as a studio has been around for 9 years and their ONLY release is WildStar... really 9 years? In other words it took them longer to create and release WildStar than CoH was even open.


I won't be jumping on the NCSucks bandwagon for this one... go ahead and create a substandard product and then wonder why no one wants it and be shocked when your financial backers take action.

I agree completely.  They dropped the ball hard.

Well I think you can blame NCSoft at least a little bit for funding a game that was built to only appeal to the "hardcore raider" type mentality. That audience simply isn't large enough to be worth the time of an entity like NCSoft. They should have known better than to get involved in a project like that, even 9 years ago that sort of audience was fairly slim.

I keep seeing this idea that Wildstar was somehow a game focused on "hardcore raiding"  or endgame material in general is what caused to fail.  You would be surprised at how many people would love a game that focuses on end game content.  That is not why Wildstar failed at all.  Wildstar failed because it was full of bugs and had almost no content in release.  Sure it had big zones.  But it had 3 dungeons, a handful of awful instance missions, and 1 raid.  That is not a game focused on "hard-core" players at all.  They failed because they promised people who like end game content and team content such as dungeons lots of content and stuff to do.  Then they released it with almost none of that in the game.  WoW is successful for a reason so it is obviously not failing because it tried appealing to raiders.

I know everyone loves to look for a reason to hate people who enjoy raiding for some reason but this isn't why Wildstar failed.

[ryuplaneswalker]

Yeah No blame on NCsoft for this, Wildstar had everything set up to be an absolute failure.

A vast majority of the game to me was "World of Warcraft..version 1.0 IN SPACE! With action RPG elements!"

[Aggelakis]

http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,10413.0.html