NCSoft Stockwatch

[Victoria Victrix]

It would be supremely ironic if Nexxon pressured NCSoft to release the IP to them, then re-launched it...

[Lionors]

If they did so, so help me, I'd go out and buy every one of their products, whether I intended to play them or not.

But I would laugh like a fiend [edit: at NCSoft's expense] if they [Nexon] got the IP, then turned around and profited from it.

~Elizabeth (who needs to go to bed, since both her composing and editing skills have hit the skids as the brain cells have faded)

[TimtheEnchanter]

Would that be good or bad? Maybe I've got this all wrong, but isn't Maple Story one of those MMO's where you play a bunch of metagames that are all cheap knockoffs of popular board games and/or oldschool video games a few thousand times to acquire points which you can then use to buy a new costume piece for your avatar? If so, I'd hate to see what they'd have in mind for CoX.

[Lionors]

Edited to make what I was saying more clear.  Wasn't thinking of them changing CoX, just picking it up and running the game as is.

~Elizabeth

[golemjoe]

Having played a nexon game (Atlantica Online) for a couple of years alongside COH, I would cringe about the idea of nexon running COH.  It would be better than being shutdown but not by leaps and bounds.  Nexon support (at least for AO) is incredibly painful and has driven friends from the game.  Not something I'd like to see mirrored in COH. 

Not trying to be negative.. just wanted to share the experience.

[Victoria Victrix]

Well it would be marginally better than a shutdown (and give us more time to code our own game and the means to port our toons into it.)  What I had in mind is that Maple Story's success is due to melding gameplay, roleplay, storytelling and social networking.  Some, at least, of CoH's success--and I suspect what brings ALL of us to the table here--was due to melding gameplay, roleplay, storytelling and social networking.  CoH obviously did it in a much more palatable way.  If we could squeeze another two years out of CoH, I think Codewalker and the others might have a new ship to jump to.

[QuantumHero]

Well it would be marginally better than a shutdown (and give us more time to code our own game and the means to port our toons into it.)  What I had in mind is that Maple Story's success is due to melding gameplay, roleplay, storytelling and social networking.  Some, at least, of CoH's success--and I suspect what brings ALL of us to the table here--was due to melding gameplay, roleplay, storytelling and social networking.  CoH obviously did it in a much more palatable way.  If we could squeeze another two years out of CoH, I think Codewalker and the others might have a new ship to jump to.

This is becoming *very* interesting.  Almost anything is marginally better then a shutdown.  We have no idea what role (if any) nexxon played in decisions to sign our death warrant but either way yet another opportunity for Nexxon and/or NcSoft to place everyone back in a win-win situation.

I am going to start researching Nexxon products...one never knows what will need to be fully supported...or boycotted, in the near future.  One never, never knows...but NCsoft is sinking so nicely...its almost TITANic.   

[Osborn]

Well it would be marginally better than a shutdown (and give us more time to code our own game and the means to port our toons into it.)  What I had in mind is that Maple Story's success is due to melding gameplay, roleplay, storytelling and social networking.  Some, at least, of CoH's success--and I suspect what brings ALL of us to the table here--was due to melding gameplay, roleplay, storytelling and social networking.  CoH obviously did it in a much more palatable way.  If we could squeeze another two years out of CoH, I think Codewalker and the others might have a new ship to jump to.

Talking about "squeezing a year out of CoH" so we have longer to backwards engineer the game and start a competing firm isn't necessarily a good way to ensure potential CoH investors the IP and the aging engine is a good long term investment. If they take the IP for say 20 million US Dollars you're looking at a 10-20 year span needed at current sales to recover that cost. Even if its 2 million for the IP it'll take almost 2 years before the game turns a profit.

So unless NCSoft charities the IP to somebody we're going to need to show we'll support this game for the long run, not just make our own. Even if they use the IP to make CoX-2 they're going to need to see our support for that too rather than "Thanks I got your code, see you suckers later!", as our message.

[QuantumHero]

Talking about "squeezing a year out of CoH" so we have longer to backwards engineer the game and start a competing firm isn't necessarily a good way to ensure potential CoH investors the IP and the aging engine is a good long term investment. If they take the IP for say 20 million US Dollars you're looking at a 10-20 year span needed at current sales to recover that cost. Even if its 2 million for the IP it'll take almost 2 years before the game turns a profit.

So unless NCSoft charities the IP to somebody we're going to need to show we'll support this game for the long run, not just make our own. Even if they use the IP to make CoX-2 they're going to need to see our support for that too rather than "Thanks I got your code, see you suckers later!", as our message.

Good point osborn,

By the same token, we need guarentees not to get utterly screwed ever again.   The smart company would save the IP an then partner with the community to deveop a COH2 that we would migrate to enmass.

[DrakeGrimm]

Good point osborn,

By the same token, we need guarentees not to get utterly screwed ever again.   The smart company would save the IP an then partner with the community to deveop a COH2 that we would migrate to enmass.

This. Dear sweet $Deity, THIS.

[downix]

Talking about "squeezing a year out of CoH" so we have longer to backwards engineer the game and start a competing firm isn't necessarily a good way to ensure potential CoH investors the IP and the aging engine is a good long term investment. If they take the IP for say 20 million US Dollars you're looking at a 10-20 year span needed at current sales to recover that cost. Even if its 2 million for the IP it'll take almost 2 years before the game turns a profit.

Save CoH has revenues of ~$10 million a year. In the $800/month revenue thread we discussed what was needed to run CoH, and it came to under $2 million a year, which means it would take 5 quarters to turn a profit if it is $10 million, or 10 quarters if $20. Alternatively, forgoing immediate profits to instead use Paragon as a self-funding development studio would mean a much higher return at the 2 year mark, as a new title such as CoH2 comes out.

[Lucretia MacEvil]

NCsoft is sinking so nicely...its almost TITANic.

So what IS their stock doing?  How can I check?  Where do I go to check? 
Thanks in advance for the info.

[Segev]

Save CoH has revenues of ~$10 million a year. In the $800/month revenue thread we discussed what was needed to run CoH, and it came to under $2 million a year, which means it would take 5 quarters to turn a profit if it is $10 million, or 10 quarters if $20. Alternatively, forgoing immediate profits to instead use Paragon as a self-funding development studio would mean a much higher return at the 2 year mark, as a new title such as CoH2 comes out.

Given my own personal interest in this whole project, I do hope to see it become a self-sustaining development environment. I want to develop and test something for which an MMO is the ideal initial environment...

...which is why I am eager to get in contact with those who are involved in the ongoing process. I want to help them get their legs moving, and speak with them about opportunities after things are running smoothly once more. (Also, I'm really really enjoying brainstorming ideas in the in-game-ads thread, I admit. But that's unrelated to my initial interest in this.)

[Flying Code Monkey]

CoX hit that market perfectly, but I never did think they actually realized just how many sub-markets they could appeal to, nor did they really try.

I've never seen so many people be all "oh we are so ollld!" as in City.  I don't mean that in a bad way, though.  I've also never seen another game with so many couples and people who blend playing with their other responsibilities, and/or team with their kids.  I've been pretty convinced for a while that the strength of the City community reflects its success in attracting and retaining that audience.

[DamianoV]

So what IS their stock doing?  How can I check?  Where do I go to check?
Thanks in advance for the info.

Do a quick google search for NCSoft stock ticker... on Bloomberg Businessweek, the link is

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=036570:KS

[emu265]

I've never seen so many people be all "oh we are so ollld!" as in City.  I don't mean that in a bad way, though.  I've also never seen another game with so many couples and people who blend playing with their other responsibilities, and/or team with their kids.  I've been pretty convinced for a while that the strength of the City community reflects its success in attracting and retaining that audience.

Yeah.

I'm not going to start outlining theories as to why this is, but Cities is certainly unique.  It breaks the MMO stereotype not because of it's gameplay, but because of its community.

[Segev]

It helps that many of us grew up with superheroes and wishing we could be them, and that the superhero is not something that is a one-generational thing. CoH was the first superhero MMO.

I don't know that it did anything, design-wise, that made it have a better community than CO or other competing superhero MMOs, but it has the community and feel it has.

I am, as an outsider who's just wandered in for his own interests, very impressed by what you guys have done here, and I sincerely hope to be able to help find ways to make it even better after we get CoH to continue working.

[Lucretia MacEvil]

Do a quick google search for NCSoft stock ticker... on Bloomberg Businessweek, the link is

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=036570:KS

Thank you.

[Chaos Ex Machina]

Personally I consider a potential goal of the intellectual property only a non-goal.  The IP has little relation to why the game is fun or why it attracted the audience it did.

If it was a choice of buy the game and rent the IP, versus IP, I say the game is a greater priority by far.

[Segev]

Personally I consider a potential goal of the intellectual property only a non-goal.  The IP has little relation to why the game is fun or why it attracted the audience it did.

If it was a choice of buy the game and rent the IP, versus IP, I say the game is a greater priority by far.

The goal in "buying the IP" is generally to keep the game running more or less as-is. That is, same general mechanics and such. It will obviously change as it has over the years to date, but this is a "preferred" option because it's basically continuing the game onwards.

If they do a CoH2 (because it IS an 8-year-old game), the IP would be useful, and hopefully experience for whoever works on 2 would stem from having worked on 1.