I thought the best way to proceed for a takeover given the information that's been coming out this week, so as promised, I'm posting it now in as best detail as I can:
Step 1: Initiation of Contact
Send a "delivery confirmation" letter to NCSoft, copies to its board, CEO, and soon-to-be-discovered person responsible for IP and contracts. The letter will emphasize that we believe the City of Heroes franchise need to be utilized, and that this letter explains how it will be profitable for all parties involved.
In the same letter, we make an offer to take over operations of City of Heroes and Paragon Studios, in exchange for paying a negotiated one-time flat fee plus 10% of all net proceeds earned to NCSoft, on either a monthly or quarterly basis. NCSoft retains the trademarks and IP, but bears none of the costs.
We also offer, in the same letter, the option to purchase entirely the entire City of Heroes and Paragon Studios IP and all trademarks at a later date, with profits excluding the 10% that goes to NCSoft. So even if we buy the property next month, they still get the 10% on top of the purchase for that month (if we didn't include that, they would require it anyhow). This clause also opens the option for NCSoft to reject the first offer (the licensing) and accept the second (full purchase).
The reasons why I believe this option is best:
A) I have experience with negotiating licensing/operational agreements, and they're much simpler than IP transfer agreements (I'm not a lawyer, though).
B) If NCSoft axed City of Heroes with the intention of keeping the IP in case it chooses to release a City of Heroes 2 later on, they will be more likely to accept.
C) I believe this is the most effective way to raise money and make this happen.
D) If another party is currently making a cash purchase offer, our offer will not interfere with theirs; However, another company is unlikely to pursue a license/operating agreement, so they won't interfere with us either. In other words, this method is friendliest to anyone else attempting to purchase CoH right now.
Note, of course, that NCSoft could still reject both parts of the deal outright; or we could be beaten to the punch by someone else; or the letter could simply be returned, or vanish with no reply. Step 1 is by far the most fragile. In fact, the best case scenario right now is probably NCSoft asking for a much higher percentage.
Step 2: Fundraising
The second step is raising money. This can be as difficult as Step 1, and cannot be completed before Step 1 - because we don't know yet what the license fee will be, or what the purchase price will be if that situation arises. Step 1 is also not a sure thing, so if we raise money prematurely, we're stuck figuring out how to return it.
Once we know approximately how much we need, we will most likely have to pursue multiple avenues to get it. We might need anywhere from a few hundred thousand to several million dollars. At that scale, we're going to need to have enough margin built into that to pay an expert to manage that money, so we don't scare away anyone contributing/investing. Why? Because who would invest $100,000 if they don't think we're responsible? The less management we have, the less money people will be willing to invest.
We also need an expert to determine if we're going to have to pay any tax on the money raised, or what we can legally do to avoid that. Not just someone who does their brother's taxes, because once again, this is a confidence issue. We want anyone making a significant investment to feel that every dollar is safely accounted for.
Step 3: Restructuring
Quite a lot of City of Heroes is currently tied to NCSoft. If we're to be the new, independent operators, we're going to lose some very expensive pieces that NCSoft will no longer help with. We will have no Account Server, no Account Reps, and no Support Reps.
We also do not know how much NCSoft has been subsidizing Paragon Studios, so it's somewhat to very likely we will not be able to re-hire everyone. Tough decisions will have to be made both by current/former Paragon staff, at who stays and who goes. Tough decisions will have to be made by players as to how much hardship they're willing to accept as a result of more difficult Support and Account help.
More tough decisions will have to be made about how much a monthly subscription will be, and how the Paragon Store item prices will be restructured. It's very important that, at least initially, City of Heroes brings in as much profit as possible, without losing too many subscribers in the process.
That also means, of course, we need people who love numbers, and figuring things out.
As for technology, we will need help from people familiar with the pre-Launcher patch server, and web site designers to not only set up account management via the CoH web site, but also modify the CoH web site so it no longer relies on links to NCSoft. Additionally, this includes a new ticket support system not tied to NCSoft, and possibly volunteers to handle in-game GM duties until that structure is re-built and put in place.
Step 4: Moving Forward
City of Heroes operation will not succeed if it stays where it is. People will get bored and move on to other games, or cancel their monthly subscriptions and go free, and use CoH as a chat client to talk occasionally to friends. It's a law of the nature of gaming.
That means to remain profitable, the development schedule must move forward.
I would leave most of this in the hands of the people left at Paragon Studios because they're good at it; but I would suggest the release of Issue 24 quickly, on a skeleton crew if necessary, along with any Paragon Store items they can create rapidly. Because staffing will be a problem at first, the faster something comes out that generates more player interest, the better. It brings in more profit, and the chances more hiring, and the chances of further quick releases.
If we're going to follow this plan we have to do it quickly. I've been noticing that following the flurry of rallies and protests this weekend, players are starting to drift away and vanish, assuming there won't be a game around soon, and they may as well find something else. Since, if we take over the operation of CoH, we'll have to make do without outside help, and with 10% or so less profit, we can't lose a lot of players.
That's all I have for now, any questions or comments?