"...a realignment of company focus"

[TimtheEnchanter]

Not only that, but you have had an effect on the *entire* Korean stock index....

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/KOSPI:IND

Doth I detecteth sarcasmeth?

[Moonfyire101]

........................................................

[V-Mink]

Maybe B&S is going to be NC's version of TORtanic. Perhaps Karma will come to NC in the form of liquidation. Let's see how much longer they feel like they've exhausted all options for a sale.

It's entirely possible that market forecasters -- either in NCsoft or Nexon -- saw this plummet coming and are attempting to minimize operating costs (shut down CoH) consolidate holdings (fire all of Paragon) and sweeten their IP holdings (refuse to sell CoH) to make NCsoft attractive to potential buyers.  Said buyers may not ever DO anything with the CoH IP, it's just there in the vault, adding some value to the liquidation of NCsoft so the executives can get their golden parachutes.  No, I don't get the logic of sitting on IP, either.

[TimtheEnchanter]

Yep, and as always, I will just bring out Apple as an example, who are currently trading down almost $70 from their high of just 1 month ago.

You might as well bring out Yahweh if you're going to compare any of this to Apple.

Take a look at the trending in the past couple of months.

NC announces the closure of CoH. Stocks immediately begin to rebound from what was a steady decline.

The highest point of that rebound was right before the Unity Rally. The very next day, stocks start diving again.

If you want to say it was all coincidental then fine, but that's a heck of a big coincidence. And I was never a fan of Scooby Dooing everything.

[gypsyav]

You might as well bring out Yahweh if you're going to compare any of this to Apple.

Take a look at the trending in the past couple of months.

NC announces the closure of CoH. Stocks immediately begin to rebound from what was a steady decline.

The highest point of that rebound was right before the Unity Rally. The very next day, stocks start diving again.

If you want to say it was all coincidental then fine, but that's a heck of a big coincidence. And I was never a fan of Scooby Dooing everything.

Also stocks started climbing again when NCSoft put out their "We've exhausted all options" message then started dropping again when we continued to make a fuss.

[Kheprera]

I started looking back at NCSoft's stock over the past years.

Currently it is still quite high compared to 2008-2009.  They aren't in the least worried right now.  I doubt the closing of CoH has anything to do with money.  More like they saw (2004) and decided it was getting long in the tooth.

Nexon is focusing on mobile platform games.

Rumors are circulating that desktop PCs will be obsolete in a few years.

Even Richard Garriott is focusing on mobile platforms.

Rumors are that classic MMOs will be going away... a thing of the past.

Yes, there is still big money to be made in Fantasy Grinders.  They're grabbing money while it's still there to grab.  Older games are getting the axe.

As the customer base we need to keep up the noise.  There *is* still a fanbase for MMOs, for social games like CoH that aren't PvP grindfests of pain.  Keep talking.  Keep posting, tweeting, facebooking... ignore the horned equines.  They're going to be everywhere.


As for the PR, don't go too far overboard or we risk harming our image.  We don't want to become the Westboro's of the MMO world.

[P51mus]

Rumors are that classic MMOs will be going away... a thing of the past

There are still MUDs that are running, and people playing them. (For those unfamilar, MUDs are basically the precursor the modern MMOs, they're similar in that you have a bunch of people on a single server and you adventure around on a character that can level, for most of them, but they're text based, not graphical)

[TimtheEnchanter]

Well if MMO's make a total transition to frigging cellphones and consoles, guaranteed I won't be playing them anymore. It's possible CoH will be my last one anyway, but THAT will seal the deal. And if PC's disappear.... I don't even know what to think of that. Is that just an "Apple will take over everything" theory, or ALL forms of non-professional desktop computing?

[gypsyav]

Well if MMO's make a total transition to frigging cellphones and consoles, guaranteed I won't be playing them anymore. It's possible CoH will be my last one anyway, but THAT will seal the deal. And if PC's disappear.... I don't even know what to think of that. Is that just an "Apple will take over everything" theory, or ALL forms of non-professional desktop computing?

It's going around smartphones and tablets will replace PCs for general computing needs. I for one couldn't imagine doing everything I do on desktop on a small phone or even tablet screen.

[Segev]

They're going to have to improve user interface tech to match the utility, ease, and accuracy of keyboard+mouse before mobile devices will 100% take over.

[V-Mink]

It's going around smartphones and tablets will replace PCs for general computing needs. I for one couldn't imagine doing everything I do on desktop on a small phone or even tablet screen.

General office work, maybe.  But I doubt The Duty Calls III: The Coming Storm: Special Operations IV: Under Assault (Digital Deluxe Steam Edition) is going to be made for the iPhone.  There's only so much power you can squeeze into a tablet, and higher-end gaming platforms (that aren't stuck in walled gardens) are going to be around for a long time.

[Kheprera]

It's going around smartphones and tablets will replace PCs for general computing needs. I for one couldn't imagine doing everything I do on desktop on a small phone or even tablet screen.

Exactly.  Tablets and smartphones are getting more complex.  Right now I'm entering this post on my smartphone while attending an online conference call (*snoozefest*).

There are components you can buy for your tablets and smartphones; keyboards and docking stations... they're getting more complex even if they don't quite have the computing power of desktops.

Ebooks are taking over for laptops.  Sans hard disks, these computers work off "The Cloud", external peripherals, and usb drives for storage.

IMO, I don't like it.  I feel like technology is taking a few steps back.  It will be a while before mobile tech reaches the capabilities of high end desktop tech.

But companies look at future trends and this is what they're seeing.  Nexon just bought Gloop, a mobile platform game company.

That is where NCSoft is heading.  There is the realignment of company focus.

What we need to do is try and convince NCSoft and other game companies that it's far better to sell/recycle the stuff they don't want anymore. :D

[Segev]

There was a fair bit of social media and even some augmented reality discussion in the "in game advertisements" thread. The latter would require a hefty mobile device compatibility.

[Colette]

Finally looked over the videos of Blade and Soul.

Good God...!

That isn't a videogame, that's City of Inflatable Dolls.

Okay I admit, I found a way for my bird-woman in CoH to wear a thong. I'm not innocent. But this... this... degrading fap-fest is what plays in Korea?!

Every once in a great while people from other lands and cultures do something to make me feel xenophobia. It almost always revolves around how they treat women.

The nice tech and pretty graphics just makes me want CoH 2 all the more. But if NC-Softcore got involved in the design, maybe it's just as well.

[TimtheEnchanter]

There was a fair bit of social media and even some augmented reality discussion in the "in game advertisements" thread. The latter would require a hefty mobile device compatibility.

Augmented reality is definitely an interesting concept. There was a portable game back when Tron Legacy came out that allowed you to drive around a city against other players with mobiles and use the path of your vehicle to trap the others. IRL lightcycle match, essentially.

And then there was something else I saw that completely blew me away. NASA demo'd this during the Curiosity landing. Just watch what it does. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAghZ0A44s

Now imagine advancing that tech 10 years. You put on a pair of glasses, run around your house, and fend off aliens with a ray gun. Or fight against your friends, who put these reference markers on their bodies, and the computer overlays some epic looking armor. The possibilities are nearly endless.

Of course, even that wouldn't replace everyday gaming, since we can't do ANYTHING through augmented reality (like bash through a wall, or fly). But it's still a very cool concept and I can't wait to see what developers do with it.

It may also be as close to Star Wars holography as nature will allow.

[Dollhouse]

NC-Softcore

Oh, God, my sides!  /applause

[Segev]

Can't bash through walls? We can if the walls exist only in the augmented reality...

Of course, safety concerns regarding REAL walls... so many considerations.

[Profit]

There are still MUDs that are running, and people playing them. (For those unfamilar, MUDs are basically the precursor the modern MMOs, they're similar in that you have a bunch of people on a single server and you adventure around on a character that can level, for most of them, but they're text based, not graphical)

I'm logged into a MUD right now actually. :D

[TimtheEnchanter]

Can't bash through walls? We can if the walls exist only in the augmented reality...

Of course, safety concerns regarding REAL walls... so many considerations.

Yeah that's what I mean. The physical environment you're playing in won't bend to the will of the augmented reality. I guess a developer could do that for fun, but only if you want to see a kid pull a Wile E Coyote and crash into a solid wall with a painted hole in it because he saw that the digital Road Runner was able to go through it.

[Turjan]

IMO what you're seeing in NCSoft's current share prices is another example of the extreme volatility they've been subject to ever since the massive climb the company's shares had in late 2008. 4 of their 5 MMO closures have happened since then, but you'd be hard pushed to find their whereabouts on the stock graph if you're looking for simple cause and effect.

As far as I can see, the biggest single kick their shares had came from the launch of Aion - the definitive NCSoft grinder. But times have changed since then - the Korean domestic market is beginning to burn out on a the vast glut of hi-tech they've been swamped with. Not so long ago, mobile phone internet in Korea was sneered at as a joke - why should a customer use an i-device when they have lightning fast cable both at home, and in practically every shop they wander into on the high street?

And yet, here we are just a few years later and 2/3 of Koreans have just such an i-device, and are already burning out to the point where news stories are popping up about people rediscovering a desire for analogue and things they can actually hold in their hands instead of simply see on a screen. Remember too that NCSoft CEO Kim's wife is somewhat of a tech egghead and was pioneering mobile communication technology in Korea before she joined NCSoft and married Kim in 2007.

Life and culture and technology in Korea is changing rapidly - and that is reflected in the country's stockmarket, and especially in tech companies like NCSoft. It's very tempting to wonder if the high they enjoyed in October 2011 (the highest peak in the company's history) may well be their last.

Guild Wars 2 gave the shares a decent hike, but now the share price is back to what it was at the beginning of August, way before GW2 came out. Will the launch of Blade and Soul in the west kick the shares up? I very much doubt it...even if they got a rush from the 'one-handed playstyle' neckbeard community rushing out to buy it, the whole game is just too...Korean for the western market. Even if it wasn't full of grotesque women, the underlying feel is too culturally adrift to bridge the gap. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it failed in exactly the same way and for the same reasons that "City of Hero" failed in Korea.

Which is ironic really - I swear that man never learns from mistakes. I'm coming to believe Kim's entire motivation for the company is Teh Shiny!!!1. And once something's lost its shiny, he just doesn't give a stuff.

Trouble is for him, there may not be many shinies left. He can only realign the focus of his company so far before it either ends up back where it started, or he just breaks the focusing knob entirely.

Sure, they may want to focus on mobile platforms, especially since the government in Korea has actually started passing laws to curb the time children are allowed to play online games, but who's to say Korea's insanely fast consumption of technology isn't already predicting a decline in i-device games and a move back towards people actually...god forbid...talking to each other - in person! And reading...books! And listening to vinyl!

(apologies for WALL OF TEXT CRITS FOR 500!" - I'm old, I tend to ramble a lot ;) )

NC-Softcore

LOL!! Quote of the Month! Dare I incorporate that into my next cartoon panel I wonder? ;D