Call to Action: Write to NCsoft

[Technerdoc]

I'm sure that writing letters will not have much effect. I mean... this is not the first game they closed, so they know how the fans will react. On one lonley PC is sitting a citizen and they tell him: "Dude, we are closing City of Heroes so there is longer any support for this game. You will get a lot of letters now untill November, just delete every mail that is coming in..." and the same will happen to the letters, right into the trash with them...

I'm also sure that every other puplisher get the news that City of Heroes is shutting down by NC-Soft and when anyone is intressted into the game then they will do something to get the IP from NC-Soft.

Maybe we can't do much, but when something can be done then I think the best way is the press. I think it's much easier to get in contact with them then the publishers. Let them know what's going on here. Bad publicity is something that is never good for anyone. Even when this is a game with not a big community I'm sure the people are very intressted what NC-Soft is doing with his older games. I mean they still want to sell Wildstar soon...

[dwturducken]

This is not a dying game with dwindling population. We were making our game show a profit. One way or another, peaceably and politely, we can show them that we are not numbers on a balance sheet to be crassly discarded.

[Gilliam]

Please don't, I don't want NCsoft to think we're barraging them with form letters.  Sometime this week or next, we might set up some sort of "Send X just as a show of unity," but for this stage of the operation, I really want you to come up with your own words to express what the game means to you.

Ok Tony ,i'll be more orginal or wait

[JustJane]

I'm sure that writing letters will not have much effect. I mean... this is not the first game they closed, so they know how the fans will react. On one lonley PC is sitting a citizen and they tell him: "Dude, we are closing City of Heroes so there is longer any support for this game. You will get a lot of letters now untill November, just delete every mail that is coming in..." and the same will happen to the letters, right into the trash with them...

I'm also sure that every other puplisher get the news that City of Heroes is shutting down by NC-Soft and when anyone is intressted into the game then they will do something to get the IP from NC-Soft.

Maybe we can't do much, but when something can be done then I think the best way is the press. I think it's much easier to get in contact with them then the publishers. Let them know what's going on here. Bad publicity is something that is never good for anyone. Even when this is a game with not a big community I'm sure the people are very intressted what NC-Soft is doing with his older games. I mean they still want to sell Wildstar soon...

Why so negative? Fan letters and persistence has worked on things in the past, and it will continue to work in the future. While there is no guarantee that we will see results, there is also no guarantee that we won't. We have to try. Without trying, there is 100% chance of failure. That is unacceptable to many of us.

[Heraclea]

For what it's worth.....

Dear Mr. Kim:

I am writing to appeal to you to keep City of Heroes alive in some form.  I  subscribed to the game in December 2004 and my subscription has not ever lapsed.  No other game has given me as much creative pleasure to play, because no other game features its character creator, large number of character slots, and fast pace of gameplay. 

If NCsoft no longer desires the game as a part of its product roster in light of its financial situation, please allow someone to purchase Paragon Studios or the game's IP for further development. 

[Soundtrack]

I'm sure that writing letters will not have much effect. I mean... this is not the first game they closed, so they know how the fans will react. On one lonley PC is sitting a citizen and they tell him: "Dude, we are closing City of Heroes so there is longer any support for this game. You will get a lot of letters now untill November, just delete every mail that is coming in..." and the same will happen to the letters, right into the trash with them...

You simply don't know this.

If even half of the alleged 700,000 players write a letter, that would be 350,000 letters they'd have to discard.

Heck, even if if one out of every four players wrote a letter...that's 175,000 letters.

How many trash bins would be needed for those?

That would be noticed.

Also, many waves of change have occurred due to letter-writing campaigns.

I love this game so much that I'm willing to be optimistic over pessimistic.

[emu265]

All right guys, I finally finished mine.  Please let me know what you think:

Dear Sir,
     I am a City of Heroes player of over seven years and I am writing to ask you to reconsider your decision to shut the game down.  I have met some very dear friends through CoH and its amazing community continues to inspire me in ways not even my friends or family can.  Over the past eight and a half years, this game has become something beautiful.  It has given birth to a family.  I may not know each member of the community, but I sincerely believe our common experience, your 'game', has created a bond that goes far beyond staring at a screen and mashing keys.  As I write this, an entire league of heroes stands together to save our community and its game.  We are not bonding over task forces and incarnate trials this time.  We stand together to fight for something much bigger.  I cannot pretend to know, or even guess at, the reasons you chose to shut down the game.  What I do know is that I would do anything to save it.  I feel like my family is being torn apart.  That is why I am asking, BEGGING, you to reconsider.  We are not ready for this.  I have been playing this game since I was fourteen years old, I am twenty-one now.  CoH has taught me things I could have never learned on my own.  I am not ready to stop learning, I cannot simply let these memories fade.  Thank you for your consideration.  I hope for the best.

Sincerely,
Allen S. Aho

Nitpicking is encouraged, I'll rewrite it a dozen times if I have to!

[Crymsin Lilly]

In the event that some of you are not aware, there is a standard format for letters written to businesses.  Using correct format can go a long way to showing how serious you are taking your communication and the CEO's time and effort needed to read your letter.

Here is an excellent example: 
http://www.mybusinessprocess.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Business-Letter-Format-001.jpg

Tony, I love your idea of hand writing the letter on the bond paper (we just have to pay attention and keep our handwriting neat and not sloping up the page).  I have a fountain pen that will be ideal for this project.  Thank goodness I had my carpal tunnel surgery done a couple of months ago! :D

[USCI]

Here's the letter I wrote today.  Going in the mail tomorrow...

______________________________________________________

September 4th, 2012

Mr. Taek Jin Kim, Chief Executive Officer
NCsoft Corporation
1501 4th Avenue, Suite 2050
Seattle, WA 98101

RE: Termination of "City of Heroes"

Dear Mr. Kim,

My name is Rob and I am a seven-year veteran of the online MMO "City of Heroes". I was shocked and dismayed by the
sudden announcement on August 31st that the NCSoft Corporation is going to terminate operations at Paragon Studios
in a realignment of your company. I cannot more strongly urge you and your staff to reconsider this decision.

When I first heard of "City of Heroes" through some friends, I resisted their repeated attempts to get me to purchase
the game. I had felt that once I purchased a video game, I shouldn't have to continue paying for the game over and over
on a monthly basis. I finally relented and I couldn't be more pleased to say that I purchased an additional copy because
one just wasn't enough.

I remember with vivid clarity the first time I logged into the game and created my character. I had so much fun using
the character creation tool that I almost forgot there was a game to play. It was when I clicked that little button that
transferred my new hero into the game, being greeted with beautiful (and heroic sounding) French horns, that I knew
my life was going to change.

Over the years, I've created a group of heroes that have become as real to me as could possibly be. They managed to
spark my imagination, creating a vivid movie filled with action, romance, suspense and drama that plays in my mind as I
play the game. I have even spent countless hours writing background profiles of each of my super heroes to bring more
life to their digital adventures.

This game has not only helped me evolve on a personal level, it has also helped me socially. I've made friends all over
the country and have even met a few in real life, connections that would not have been made had it not been for this
game. We've laughed, we've cried, we've shared and we've even lost. "City of Heroes" has affected my life in so many
positive ways and for that, I thank NCSoft but most especially the beautiful minds at Paragon Studios.

"City of Heroes" has gained an extremely loyal fan base, mostly for the same reasons that I've outlined above. We came
to this game expecting action and adventure playing the part of a super hero. What we didn't expect was to find a
family.

Mr. Kim, please be our super hero. Please rescind your decision to close Paragon Studios and keep "City of Heroes"
alive.

Sincerely,

Rob

[4thirty5]

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you after the news that the game City of Heroes is scheduled to be shut down later this year reached me, and I am hoping you and your staff may reconsider this action.  I have been a paid member of the community since the game's launch, and a member of the beta testing program prior to that.  For over eight and a half years, I have considered Paragon City to be my second home, and the cancellation of the game has come as a horrible shock.

In the time since I first received an invitation to join the game, I have moved four times, held six different professions, had two friends and two beloved relatives pass away, and restarted and completed college.  During hardships, I knew I could turn to those people I had made friends with within City of Heroes, and to the game itself as an escape from the pain and fatigue.  I created countless characters, each unique with life of their own, whose problems I could create, and solve, giving me power to tackle my own hardships.

City of Heroes has been there for me for a quarter of my natural existence now, and much of my life has been touched by its influence.  When I went to college, I chose to go into game design because I held the dream of one day helping to craft the characters and stories I had become attached to within Paragon City.  I've connected with friends long lost through the game, been there for proposals, weddings, and births of children for friends I've met.

I have suffered serious physical injury at the Penny-Arcade Expo in Seattle during my stint as an Expo Hall volunteer assigned to NCsoft, in order to make sure those who had helped make the game I loved had no problems while the event went on.

My subscription to this game will lapse for the first time upon cancellation of the game.  I have purchased every expansion, every booster, every costume piece and power set that the wonderful team at Paragon Studios has ever produced.  I would have continued to do so until they gave up...  But they were going strong.  Issue 24 and the future of the game looked brighter than ever.  I do not know what sway my words may have, if any, but know that this action has killed a little piece of my soul.  So many of my hopes and dreams were wrapped up with this game.

Please, give it another chance.  If not, I would hope you and your staff might consider allowing the team at Paragon Studios the chance to own the IP themselves and continue their legacy.  Let us soar into the clouds again.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Michael T. Eastham


This will be going out Friday.

[TonyV]

Un-stickying.  Not that it's not still important, if you haven't sent a letter to NCsoft, PLEASE do!  But I don't want the other action items cluttered up.

[laufeyjarson]

Another player I know mentioned that he'd sent letters out today, certified mail, just as described.  He wasn't comfortable coming over here and crowing about it, instead just quietly did it.

Hopefully there's a quiet person out there for every one of us shameless loudmouths posting our letters to the forum.  Or two, or three.  =)

Here's a big "Thank you!" to all of those quiet, dependable people who did what was needed without a fuss, and without coming and posting it.  Your letters are just as important, and your work just as appreciated, even if we didn't know about it.

[Myrmydon]

Let me think about what I want to write and I'll definitely send something out.

[Taki]

What I wrote went to the effect of...

In 2005 I was introduced to City of Heroes, and despite the warning of a friend that it would suck me in... I still ended up playing it, and it didn't take long to do just that!

I made my first character a couple of times because I didn't know what the heck I was doing, and because I loved the variety of costume options!

I made my first toon a female because quite frankly if I was going to have to stare at someone's butt in spandex, I'd rather it not be a guys! Her name is Taki Hakata.

I made her the tiniest build I could because of my mom being a little over four feet tall, and the name "Taki" because as I understand it, that means "tiny". I wanted her to have a last name, and Hakata is a dish I was introduced to that contains venom that if it doesn't kill you, it gives you enlightenment. So her name literally means "A tiny dish that could kill or enlighten you"

It didn't take long for me to get hooked on playing with her costumes and for a while I mostly played her in missions just enough to finance my costume addiction at icon!

Taki has been a part of my life for a very long time now, and yes... I pretty much think of her like you would think of your family. She's a part of me, not just a character on the screen.

My wife started playing COH, and it didn't take long for her to pass me in skill, she's all about hardcore playing while I've been working on exploration and story building. Later on when I started playing with her, I made a persona of my real self into the game under the name of DrX.

There is so much that I've found appealing about the game that it's hard to nail it to just one thing, but I'd have to say that for the game appeal, it's how fully customizable everything is! How two people can have the same power sets and have two completely different builds... and that's okay!

While I can't speak for all of the other servers, my home is Liberty, and we have one of the best online communities that I have ever had the honor to be a part of!

I have made real life friends here... people who have touched my life! When one of my COH friends flew out to our house, he introduced me to a guitar game, and I incorporated his love for City of Villains into the controller as the "Lord Recluse Guitar"... which set me on the path to making more guitars, and exploring my art... and now I own my own business making custom decals based off of video games as a result!

Loosing City of Heroes is like killing a very important part of my life out, it's taking away so much that I fail to be able to fully express into words, its cutting the thread that binds a family.

When an employee makes a suggestion, it may look great on paper, but sometimes it's hard to see the impact that decision will make. I beg for you to please reconsider your decision to end City of Heroes!

Sincerely
Eric Livesay
Aka "@Taki" and "@DrX"

I made custom stationary to write it on, and I wrote it on the best linen paper I have, I also enclosed a pencil drawing the character I modeled after myself, DrX.

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=nerdfitti.com%2Fimages%2Fcoh%2Fletters.png

I'll be mailing it out in a few hours when the post office opens

[Taki]

I just remembered that I know a guy at Gamestop corporate, he scribbled his cell on an XBL points card he gave me as thanks for a big promotion I ran for them on my last build project.

In the morning (when he gets to the office) I'm going to give him a call to see if I can maybe remove my ads from the two locations that sponsor my art and instead put up notices about COH and how to sign the petition.

[Crymsin Lilly]

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=nerdfitti.com%2Fimages%2Fcoh%2Fletters.png

I'll be mailing it out in a few hours when the post office opens

Sacred  bovine!  I love your letterhead/paper!  I wish I'd thought of going into such detail but I wanted to get it out quickly so just used some fancy paper.  My printer is glitching and I can't get a decent pic of Jord to come out and I can't draw for dookie so I couldn't include a pic.  :(

I really hope that folks keep making an effort.  I had a friend tell me last night that he didn't think that writing letters would do any good but like Soundtrack said:

If even half of the alleged 700,000 players write a letter, that would be 350,000 letters they'd have to discard.

Heck, even if if one out of every four players wrote a letter...that's 175,000 letters.

How many trash bins would be needed for those?

That would be noticed.

Also, many waves of change have occurred due to letter-writing campaigns.

I love this game so much that I'm willing to be optimistic over pessimistic.

I cannot justify not writing the letters to try to save a game and community that I love.

Beautiful work, Taki!

Crymsin Lilly

[JustJane]

Another player I know mentioned that he'd sent letters out today, certified mail, just as described.  He wasn't comfortable coming over here and crowing about it, instead just quietly did it.

Hopefully there's a quiet person out there for every one of us shameless loudmouths posting our letters to the forum.  Or two, or three.  =)

Here's a big "Thank you!" to all of those quiet, dependable people who did what was needed without a fuss, and without coming and posting it.  Your letters are just as important, and your work just as appreciated, even if we didn't know about it.

*big thumbs up*

[Flashtoo]

My letter - drafted, but not yet penned as I need to find some decent paper:

Dear Mr. Kim,

Reading that City of Heroes was being shut down was a shock to me on par with losing a family member. City of Heroes is the reason I can have friends, with my life constantly moving me around by hundreds and even thousands of miles cross-country because of school and my fiance's job. He is also a devoted City of Heroes player and it is through this game that we are able to connect with each other and have something to do together when he is in Austin, Texas and I am 1,900 miles away in Providence, Rhode Island. The shutdown date of November 30th is right when I need to leave him again and return to school, and without City of Heroes, we will be two very sad and lonely people. This is not just a game to me. It is a part of my life - not my whole life, but a part as dearly loved as a real city or town that I could call home, and the only online game I have ever loved enough to pay a monthly subscription.

However, City of Heroes goes beyond individual players who will mourn its passing. This game, like any work of fiction, is an entire world of stories and characters created by both the players and developers. The same could be said for other intellectual properties - Star Wars, Pokemon, and the Marvel Universe spring to mind immediately - but all of those properties exist in the form of movies, comic books, tabletop games, and single-player, replayable video games in addition to any multiplayer online video games. If the game servers for, as an example, Star Wars: The Old Republic are shut off, then the entire universe of Star Wars will still exist in the form of the many books, movies, and offline games based in it, that we would still be able to read, watch, and play. City of Heroes, on the other hand, is only an online game - when its servers shut down, its whole world disappears, and the loss of that world and its stories is a tragedy.

I implore you, if NCSoft truly cannot sustain even one City of Heroes server, then please sell the intellectual property to someone who would be able to keep the world alive - even to someone who would only keep it alive in a form other than an online game. I understand if it can never be an online game, developed by Paragon Studios, again: that would be the most wonderful thing for the people who still love it, but I acknowledge it might not be possible. But if City of Heroes lives on as a series of comic books, or as a tabletop game played with dice similar to Dungeons&Dragons, even that would save the world and the stories it contains from oblivion.


Sincerely,



Hilary Lockhart
@FlashToo - Virtue server

[Dryfter]

The letters will be written this weekend, by both myself and my 11 year old son, who also loves the game. Pictures will also be sent.

And TonyV, I don't know if you remember me, but I am Dryfter, leader of the Celestial Outsiders on Infinity. I Remember you, and the Taxibots, well. Small world, a?

[Vulpy]

Here's my first draft. If I can, I'd like for you all to read over it and let me know if I need to change anything; I meant for it to be read with NCsoft's Vision and Goals in mind: http://global.ncsoft.com/global/aboutus/visiongoals.aspx

-----

September 4th, 2012

Mr. Taek Jin Kim, Chief Executive Officer
NCsoft Corporation
1501 4th Avenue, Suite 2050
Seattle, WA 98101

Mr. Kim,

First of all, I'd like to apologize in advance if anything I say should, in any way, bring offense. Please understand that doing so is the farthest possible thing from my intent. The company that you now lead has, on many occasions, brought my friends and I great joy and I do not wish to disrespect that.

However, I am writing to you with sorrow and anxiety in my heart. My name is [redacted], and I subscribed to the MMORPG City of Heroes for more than seven years before it was announced that the game no longer fit in NCsoft's corporate strategy. While I readily admit that I know nothing of NCsoft's business plans or how City of Heroes may have fit into them, I feel that this may prove to be a tragic mistake.

First of all, there is no other product on the market today quite like City of Heroes. I know of no other massively-multiplayer online game that allows for nearly this level of customization, from personal avatar appearances to player-built personal spaces to user-created content, the game has been a haven for the creatively inclined virtually since its inception all those years ago. City of Heroes fills a niche among consumers. It is, simply, the best super-powered MMO and a wonderful value for creatively-inclined players.

But the game is also more than just a game. It has become a community. The City of Heroes fandom has been cited, time and time again, as among the most mature, responsible, and personable fandoms in all of video games. Player-led initiatives like the charitable Real World Hero initiative only underscore this impression. There is little friction between players, and almost no barriers between players and developers.

This community and these creative tools have been of great personal worth to me. The friends I have made in this game will last a lifetime, with or without the hobbies we share. I have gathered appreciations for other ways of life by talking with people who live far from my own home. I have gathered courage in myself by advancing, socially, in the game. I have gathered a deeper understanding of myself by reflecting on the world provided by the developers and my own interpretation of the same. In short, having this game in my life has made me a happier person.

Mr. Kim, your company's format is small, strong, and substantive. City of Heroes is a product that lived and breathed those values from day 1: it was never the biggest MMO, but it was consistently thought of as one of the best that only got better with time. It was a community that was tight, with no barriers to communications. Your company's mission was to make the people of the world happier. If the stories were mine to tell, I could tell you dozens of stores of lives made better by the game—and a few stories of lives made and lives saved.

Now, I'd like to take a moment to respectfully ask that NCsoft try to live up to its spirit, and be brave enough to carry out what it believes. I understand and acknowledge that sometimes projects have to be cut from a company of any size, and I respect the bravery that it takes to have to make that choice. Even if NCsoft chooses the sort of bravery that necessitates hard decisions over the sort of bravery that leads one to stand by beloved products and ideas, I would like to challenge the company to exhibit the bravery to let go and let others keep the City of Heroes intellectual property and code alive.

Sincerely,



[redacted]
@Vulpy
Protector Server