A response to NCsoft

[Sol Eternal]

I pray they will somehow find a way to save our City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5lE2uETMdI

[JaguarX]

Perhaps to pull this back on track a bit -- I want to whole-heartedly save CoH -- and have gnashed my teeth a bit about how to go about it.  Ultimately though, I think we need to continue to move forward reasonably, operating under the assumption that the only feasible way to save it is if NCsoft continues to operate it.   Why?  Well, NCsoft won't (or can't) sell.

 Please consider the following scenario, without having numbers --
If the CoH IP is worth 10 million US and it only makes:
----- about 1 million US per year in profit, then it would take 10 years to recoup the initial investment, assuming a straight line return.
----- about 2 million US per year in profit, then it would take 5 years to recoup the initial investment, assuming a straight line return.
----- about 500,000 US per year in profit, then it would take 20 years to recoup the initial investment, assuming a straight line return.

We can play with the numbers for the valuation and the profit all you want, but when we start talking scenarios like this, a few things become clear.  When considering the time-value of money, waiting 5+ years to begin making a profit isn't necessarily a good use of money, expecially for an out of the blue company that wants this to be its first/flagship game.  Also, someone raising money to make that purchase will need additional money to get it up and running. If we consider someone like SOE or EA though, flush with cash ant not necessarily looking to make a direct profit from the game, adding a game like CoH could make a "station pass" offering much more palatable to its consumer base.  Note:at one time NCsoft was considering this for its stable of games.

At this point then, if big players are not interested, then I doubt smaller players will be able to afford it, unless the numbers are much more optimistic (as noted, the example numbers are made up).  That isn't NCsoft's fault, and could explain the "exhausting all resources" statement at such an early date.  For us, that means the only savior is NCsoft (especialy if they still receive some amount of profit), and that means we need to convince them it is worthwhile to do it -- for continued profit and reputation.  Gazing at the I24 patch notes, I can envision a spike in sales much like when Freedom first hit.  I also think there's a lot of upside that was being built into the gamein I24, especially the LUA scripting, to make content a lot faster and more efficient.  I'm sure the Paragon leaders have done their best to convince NCsoft of this, and that's their job alone.  Our job is to show NCsoft our passion -- that lots of us want it and lots of us will pay for it.

hmm a random thought just came across my mind after reading this and might be playing a bit of devil's advocate here but dont shoot me.

I wonder if this was NCSoft plan all along? To keep the game long enough to recoup what it paid for it and little more and then dump it and keep the IP?

I mean it would make sense to not let anyone outside the decision akers know about it, i.e Paragon studios as saying "hey we'll hire you but you will put in all this work and we'll kick you out in 8 years and keep everything."

Lol. You know what, I'm tripping. I'm still high on two cans of Rockstar. Pay me no mind right now.

[Tannim222]

Then we're all done here?  No, I didn't think so.  I can't and won't speculate on the whispers about attempted purchases of the game that have been repeated and twisted, ad nauseum -- there's nothing to verify it and therefore not a whole lot of use debating it.  What's left to do is continue making it clear to NCsoft that it is in their better interest to keep the gaming running and make some money from it -- to quote the popular Fry meme, "Shut up and take my money", NCsoft.

I'm not trying to sound like a nay-sayer. I was only pointing out what has already occured (paragon's attempt), dounix's own article stating that two of his trusted sources made an attempt and were ignored, and one person on these forums stated her company tried to contact the company. I've seen other people post on the game forums another small studio made an attempt but I've nothing to verify those statements whatsoever.

With regards to convincing NCSoft to keep the game running, they've already made up their minds on that matter. Everyone has been laid off, on severance, you could even hear the cubicles being broken down on the coffee talk today. They've publically given the players "their statement". Hoping to convince NCSoft to turn that all around - even in a diminished capacity - is foolish. Going back on their words simply isn't in the Korean culture, especially publically, doubly so when you're a wealthy corporation. Hoping to convince them to actually become open to actually listening to offers is quite another thing, and that being an extreme long shot, is our best bet.

[Ionmatrix]

Anyone know of that song by Volbeat called (Still Counting)? lol send it to them in Korean. Anyway my little spit ball of advice is this.
Just like the Japanese, S Koreans HATE losing face period. Shame is the WORST and if word gets out NC Soft has done this shameful act maybe they may be willing to SAVE face by selling the game.

Remember, Music with Video will touch the hearts of the Korean people. Let us as Americans SIDE with the Asian community that WE are ONE as gamers and to help us anyway they can. WE are a family of true believers and TOGETHER we can accomplish anything. Peace and God Speed Tony and to all who read this.

[johnrobey]

I pray they will somehow find a way to save our City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5lE2uETMdI

Thanks!!  I enjoyed your video very much!!

[Rotten Luck]

I'm wondering about the timing.

GW2 Launches... CoH terminated ... Blade and souls Launches.  Is it me or does it seem it was set so news of CoH would be lost in the GW2 and B&S News?

As I heard they might want to keep the IP for possible relaunch (CoH2) later, but don't want to uses it now.  Still this makes no logic why deactivate CoH one fully and not put it in Maintenance and have the Paragon team work on CoH2, or other products.

[Harermuir]

So did Bruce Wayne's sidekick, Bleep Grayson. 

And yeah, it actually replaced the word with "bleep", not with asterisks. I nearly busted a gut laughing when I saw it, hehe.

Profanity filter was indeed filtering npc name in french language. One of the striker in a ile du requin mission.

[pewlagon]

Three things went on the Weekend this all went down;

1) It was Labor Day weekend

2) It was the first full weekend for GW2 (prior weekend was pre-orders only.)

3) PAX

By the time the three day weekend was over the news was buried. I doubt, very much, NcSoft didn't understand the ramifications of the timing. As it stands we had an uphill battle because everyone was talking about everything not CoH. Even sources that report the news via websites (Gamespot) and Vloggers on YouTube didn't seem to catch onto the news or let it slide. The sad fact is development studio closures has become commonplace and City of Heroes became old news very quickly. My problem is NcSoft closing yet another game should have been bigger news than it was. Someone should have done an analytical articale the day of the announcements, but again look at the timing. NcSoft, whether planned or not, picked the perfect day to make their decision.

[Segev]

To announce their decision. This smacks of something they've been planning for a while.

[emu265]

Firstly, sorry I have been quiet the past couple days.  Midterms have really taken their toll and I've been dealing with a host of life issues as well. 

Anyway.

To announce their decision. This smacks of something they've been planning for a while.

I think it's silly to assume anything but the fact that NCSoft had been planning this for a while.  Mostly because it is safe to assume that they made this decision based on some form of logic (that is admittedly impossible to understand).  This is mostly because we can't assume the contrary, which is that they made the decision to kill the game willy-nilly.  As cathartic as it might be to think and act on that assumption, it doesn't make sense for a corporation to do something like that.

[Minotaur]

To announce their decision. This smacks of something they've been planning for a while.

They planned it for a while and sold a lot more GW2 boxes than they would have done if they'd announced it a couple of weeks earlier.

[avelworldcreator]

I'm not trying to sound like a nay-sayer. I was only pointing out what has already occured (paragon's attempt), dounix's own article stating that two of his trusted sources made an attempt and were ignored, and one person on these forums stated her company tried to contact the company. I've seen other people post on the game forums another small studio made an attempt but I've nothing to verify those statements whatsoever.

If you are referring to me, I'm a "he", thank you very much. 

With regards to convincing NCSoft to keep the game running, they've already made up their minds on that matter. Everyone has been laid off, on severance, you could even hear the cubicles being broken down on the coffee talk today. They've publically given the players "their statement". Hoping to convince NCSoft to turn that all around - even in a diminished capacity - is foolish. Going back on their words simply isn't in the Korean culture, especially publically, doubly so when you're a wealthy corporation. Hoping to convince them to actually become open to actually listening to offers is quite another thing, and that being an extreme long shot, is our best bet.

[thothboi]

If I may make my debut onto this site with an observation, to both the naysayers and their more positive counterparts, that observation is this.

While it may seem unlikely that a community can force any company into an action they do not wish to take, I remind people of Stargate SG1, when the character Daniel Jackson was axed (season 8 I believe), the fan community's response was so great that the studio could not believe it.  Fans even went so far as to put a full page ad in Variety magazine demanding the return of their favourite character.  The studio, MGM, capitulated.

Whilst it may seem unlikely, there is actual modern precedent for a company to give in to the pressure of the fan base or community that flourishes around 'their' product.  What keeps hope alive are the actions of the very communities that enjoy the intellectual property, be it a computer game or television show.

In this day and age, where technology is more prevalent than not, how can a community of like minded individuals not bring to bear great pressure if they were motivated to do so?  From what I've seen, and what I feel, despite being a largely solo player of CoH, there is a great deal of motivation within the community.  It doesn't matter what form the pressure takes, so long as it is coordinated and a large section of the CoH community is represented.  Yes, there is a credit crunch worldwide and Asia seems to be among the least affected, but remember that you're talking about only one hemisphere of a planet the rest of the world also has its say and represents a substantial amount of money.  After all, that's what business is about, making money.

What must be done is demonstrate how much money the company stands to lose versus how much it could accumulate by closing down the game.  Do not reserve your mathematical prowess to statements of CoH profit, but use the fan numbers and boycott declarations to calculate how much they will lose in comparison due to their bad decision.  Everything is about being cost effective in the business world, therefore it should be demonstrated how much this move will cost. 

We live in a consumer driven market economy.  The company that puts out the most reliable product, for the least amount of money, whilst making an insane profit walks away the winner.  You have the buying power to make NCSoft winners or losers in the great game of finance.  Show them how you effect their bottom line.  How the bad press effects their bottom line.  How far you are willing to go to make this game not only a success, but a continuously viable option for the company.

To naysay and surmise that all is lost is easy.  To fight and demonstrate through consumerism and irrefutable profit/loss margins is hard, but ultimately the only thing that will really make a difference.  If not in saving it now, then in reviving it at a later date.

That's it for my first post....sorry for the length 

[Mindscythe]

If I may make my debut onto this site with an observation, to both the naysayers and their more positive counterparts, that observation is this.

While it may seem unlikely that a community can force any company into an action they do not wish to take, I remind people of Stargate SG1, when the character Daniel Jackson was axed (season 8 I believe), the fan community's response was so great that the studio could not believe it.  Fans even went so far as to put a full page ad in Variety magazine demanding the return of their favourite character.  The studio, MGM, capitulated.

This makes me wonder... did the idea of taking out advertisements in South Korean newspapers ever get any traction? I thought that was a great idea, and would get the message out to potential NCsoft stakeholders that aren't a part of these forums, or the official CoH forums.

[Moonfyire101]

This makes me wonder... did the idea of taking out advertisements in South Korean newspapers ever get any traction? I thought that was a great idea, and would get the message out to potential NCsoft stakeholders that aren't a part of these forums, or the official CoH forums.

I think what halted it was that none of us can read and type Korean to do it. We don't know where to start or how to get from point a to b. It's a great idea though. I asked my Japanese friend to help but shes so busy with school she hasn't had time to ask her Korean (also in school) friend to translate. They are in college to become Doctors so very busy. Basically we need someone who is a part of our cause who can read and write/type Korean.

[Clave Dark 5]

You know, we could take up a collection to hire a professional translation service.  That won't get us anywhere closer to being able to send a Korean newspaper an emailed version of the and a check/cc# (one assumes this can be done on-line), but one step at a time, right?

[TimtheEnchanter]

I think what halted it was that none of us can read and type Korean to do it. We don't know where to start or how to get from point a to b. It's a great idea though. I asked my Japanese friend to help but shes so busy with school she hasn't had time to ask her Korean (also in school) friend to translate. They are in college to become Doctors so very busy. Basically we need someone who is a part of our cause who can read and write/type Korean.

Is Starranger4 still out and about here? Pretty sure he said he was Korean.

[Atlantea]

No - Star Ranger is not Korean. He just did a very thorough research job on the culture.

Star Ranger lives in L.A. California.

[Rotten Luck]

Still having someone know about the culture can help us Aim our Internet weaponry where it hurts better.  I think we are gearing up for full on glove are off mode.

[GDawgz]

Hey guys, been monitoring the site for a while now but registered to offer my help with this. I speak/type/write Korean and could translate something for you if you need. Don't know if Korean itself is all that useful for the cause, but just know I'm around.