MMOKiller/GameKiller meme images

[HEATSTROKE]

that was awesome..

[LadyShin]

But, that begs the question..

Where are they now?

I found Tyrant, he's gotten a wonderful day job...

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F538241_540534202645597_503194674_n.jpg

[Rotten Luck]

Where are they now?.... Statesman

Sitting in heaven with Uncle Ben playing chess.... No one else about because for some reason only they never got a chance to return!

[Colette]

Blondeshell... I am humbled. :: Salutes! ::

[eabrace]

I found Tyrant, he's gotten a wonderful day job...

Know what would make that even better?  Sub "Old Spice" out and "Enriche" in it's place.  :)

[johnrobey]

Although...

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.dorktower.com%2Ffiles%2F2001%2F12%2Fdorktower141.jpg

LOL, @srmalloy; i'd remembered the first two of those Dork Tower panels but forgotten the last two.  Dork Tower forever, along with /em holdtorch!   ;D

[johnrobey]

But, that begs the question..

Where are they now?

I found Tyrant, he's gotten a wonderful day job...

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F538241_540534202645597_503194674_n.jpg

Hello again, LadyShin; great photo of Marcus as Praetorian "Statesman."  Of course any dude on a horse winds up smelling of horse perspiration.  Do ladies dig the smell of horse cologne that much?  If so, I should buy a bottle!   ;)   (note: i don't need the Enriche model with all it's chemical additives that likely include formaldehyde and other toxins - but then ladies are hip to what's toxic in their own cosmetics, perfumes and such, just as we men are - right guys?)   New big word for the day: Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, formerly called Environmental Illness.  Kermit the Frog on Being Green:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpiIWMWWVco

[johnrobey]

This one is a much-expanded version of a couple that appeared earlier in the thread. I think it pretty much covers all the bases, and I was surprised at how well it fit the tone and rhythmic cadence of the original material.

Note: Please don't include the images if you quote this post so it doesn't kill my hosting bandwidth.

Absolutely BRILLIANT!!!  Thank you, Blondeshell!!!! 

[Blondeshell]

I tweaked some of the dialogue in my meme/comic to use a few more phrases that we've been so fond of abusing referencing.

Also, for the benefit of those people who may be coming to this for the first time, or revisiting it at some point in the future after familiarity of the source material has passed, here are links to the press releases, news articles, and other official messages from which many of the entries in this thread have been derived, presented in a convenient time-line format. (Excerpted text in red was included in my contribution.)



June 8, 2012
Original Source

Free-to-play specialist Nexon has acquired a 14.7% interest in Guild Wars 2 publisher NCsoft, becoming the company's largest shareholder. Nexon purchased 3,218,091 shares from NCsoft CEO Taek Jin Kim for W804,522,750,000, around $686.8 million. [...] "By creating this strategic relationship, both Nexon and NCsoft strengthen their commitment to deliver unrivalled gaming experiences to users around the world."

August 31, 2012
Original Source

This morning we announced that Paragon Studios will be taking to the skies of City of Heroes for the last time.

In a realignment of company focus and publishing support, NCsoft has made the decision to close Paragon Studios. Effective immediately, all development on City of Heroes will cease and we will begin preparations to sunset the world's first, and best, Super Hero MMORPG before the end of the year[...]

September 13, 2012
Original Source

NCsoft, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), today confirms its Western expansion plans for Blade & Soul, the wildly successful Asian martial arts fantasy MMO developed by Team Bloodlust, an in-house studio based in NCsoft's headquarters in Seoul[...]

Exact release timing for Blade & Soul has not been confirmed, but NCsoft is already aggressively tailoring the title for Western players, working closely with Team Bloodlust to ensure the rich Asian martial arts theme stays intact.

October 2, 2012
Original Source

City of Heroes Players and Fans,

We wanted to let you know that your voices have been heard and your concerns have been taken into serious consideration[...] It has not been an easy decision for us to close Paragon Studios and prepare to shut down City of Heroes. We've exhausted all options including the selling of the studio and the rights to the City of Heroes intellectual property, but in the end, efforts to do so were not successful. City of Heroes has a special place in all of our hearts, and we want to ensure its reputation and the memories we share for the game end on a high note.

October 25, 2012
Original Source

Dear NCSOFT Facebook Fan,

We feel immense gratitude towards your love and enthusiasm of 'City of Heroes'. It has been quite the privilege and we would like to thank you all. 'City of Heroes' is the world's first and best Super Heroes MMORPG. It has received unconditional love for more than 8 years and it is like a family member of this company.

However, to provide a better game and service in the future, we have made the tough decision to discontinue the game. It was very hard on all of us here at NCSOFT.

NCSOFT will strive for a better game and superior service and anticipates the day that we will meet again. We are confident that we will not look back towards today's choice with regret.

January 4, 2013
Original Source

[...]Both NCsoft and Paragon Studios were incredibly proud of the transition of City of Heroes to a Free to Play business model, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to support the studio's needs. We made the difficult decision to close Paragon Studios and sunset City of Heroes because the franchise no longer aligned with the long term profitability goals for the company.

[eabrace]

I tweaked some of the dialogue in my meme/comic to use a few more phrases that we've been so fond of abusing referencing.

That "superior service" quip gets me every time.   ;D

[Cendwar]

"We are confident that we will not look back towards today's choice with regret."
There's something about that...

"However, to provide a better game and service in the future"
And this. What is this - I don't even?

It's like they don't even watch what they say as a company. They are virtually slapping us across the face.

[LadyShin]

Let's not forget their mission statement - it's a really simple one. (grammar issues belong solely to NCSoft  :P)

Mission:

"To make people in this world happier - The ultimate mission of NCSoft is to make each and every one on earth happier. That is, to make people's lives more enjoyable."

Format:

Small: "Our organization is built on trust and tight enough that there is no communication barrier."
Strong: "Our product and service are excellent that we are proud of being the best. Our company is firm and resilient."
Substantive: "We create real value to make progress and deliver the best to our customers. We always try to be excellent at what we are doing."

Spirit:

Do the right thing!
"Do not hesitate doing what is right. Be brave at carrying out what we believe is right into practice."

To this, I quote a wise man: "Do, or do not. There is no try."

[Rotten Luck]

Let's not forget their mission statement - it's a really simple one. (grammar issues belong solely to NCSoft  :P)

Mission:

"To make people in this world happier - The ultimate mission of NCSoft is to make each and every one on earth happier. That is, to make people's lives more enjoyable."

Format:

Small: "Our organization is built on trust and tight enough that there is no communication barrier."
Strong: "Our product and service are excellent that we are proud of being the best. Our company is firm and resilient."
Substantive: "We create real value to make progress and deliver the best to our customers. We always try to be excellent at what we are doing."

Spirit:

Do the right thing!
"Do not hesitate doing what is right. Be brave at carrying out what we believe is right into practice."

My take on that....

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=images2.fanpop.com%2Fimage%2Fphotos%2F14000000%2Fwhy-so-serious-team-batman-and-team-joker-14058609-1024-768.jpg

[johnrobey]

Well, they had all the right words in their Vision/Mission statement(s), only this isn't the first time I've noticed divergence between what's said and what's done...   ;)

[healix]

...Don't listen to what people say, watch what they do.

[General Idiot]

At the risk of sounding cliched... actions speak louder than words. And NCSoft's actions over the years have proven they don't care about customers - current, past, potential or otherwise.

[FatherXmas]

And NCSoft's actions over the years have proven they don't care about customers - current, past, potential or otherwise.

Ignoring the closure of CoH for now, what else had they done to prove they don't care about customers? 

Auto Assault and Tabula Rasa were financial failures.  Period.  Dungeon Runners was a tiny, quirky, MMO and it simply wasn't making enough money to keep it open.  Exteel was closed world wide since it didn't have a steady income in the west or the east anymore and the income it did have simply was just too small.

So why is closing games that aren't making enough money to be profitable is now not caring about the customer?  Again I'm subtracting CoH out of the conversation here.

[JaguarX]

Ignoring the closure of CoH for now, what else had they done to prove they don't care about customers? 

Auto Assault and Tabula Rasa were financial failures.  Period.  Dungeon Runners was a tiny, quirky, MMO and it simply wasn't making enough money to keep it open.  Exteel was closed world wide since it didn't have a steady income in the west or the east anymore and the income it did have simply was just too small.

So why is closing games that aren't making enough money to be profitable is now not caring about the customer?  Again I'm subtracting CoH out of the conversation here.

And that is what I'm confused about really. On one hand, those 4-5 games that NCSoft closed is said to have good reason to close those games.  On the other hand it's being used a evidence that NCsoft have/had a bad track record in caring for it's customers and wanton habits closing of games. I wondering which is it. If they had this track record for this long why outrage now and not a care in the world for those other closed games when it happened to them nor bad feelings towards NCSoft and their business practices then at those moments.  But if they had good reason as stated by multiple people now, and evident by lack of outrage when it happened because they had good reason for closign those other games, then their track record was clean until now and thus nullfying the statements  that they had history of closing down games in a wanton fashion. Just curious and confused about which one is it.

[Minotaur]

Ignoring the closure of CoH for now, what else had they done to prove they don't care about customers? 

Auto Assault and Tabula Rasa were financial failures. 

So why is closing games that aren't making enough money to be profitable is now not caring about the customer?  Again I'm subtracting CoH out of the conversation here.

IIRC Tabula Rasa was wrecked by NCSoft before release. It was almost ready to go when NCSoft decided it wasn't "Korean grindy" enough. They forced through some changes which made it too Korean for the west and not Korean enough for the east so it failed.

[TonyV]

Auto Assault and Tabula Rasa were financial failures.  Period.  Dungeon Runners was a tiny, quirky, MMO and it simply wasn't making enough money to keep it open.  Exteel was closed world wide since it didn't have a steady income in the west or the east anymore and the income it did have simply was just too small.

I don't think that NCsoft isn't totally blameless in any of these games.  I'm going off of memory here, so take it for what it's worth, but as I recall, NCsoft laid off a bunch of people including some of the founders from Auto Assault, cutting it to the bone, before the game turned into a financial failure.  Tabula Rasa was just kind of a SNAFU all around, especially on NCsoft's part.  I mean, I can understand them being upset about Richard Garriott going on his space adventure (and make no mistake, if I had some means to do so, I'd do the exact same thing), but their reaction to it was like shooting themselves in the nose to spite their face.  It was just handled VERY badly.  Also as I recall (it's been a few months since I researched all of this), there was actually some other company successfully running Exteel in Asia that was paying licensing fees to NCsoft, and NCsoft chose to cancel the arrangement and deliberately kill off the game in markets in which it was doing okay.  I can't really speak much to Dungeon Runners as I never played it, but I do think it's a sad day when tiny quirky MMOs are canceled.

City of Heroes was just the most egregious mistake they made, but make no mistake, mistakes were made with the other games.  The biggest one is that NCsoft seems to pick and choose not just winners that they will hype and market the hell out of, but losers that they systematically cut off from any support or marketing, then supposedly look justified in killing later due to lack of interest and/or subscriber base.  And not to put too fine a point on it, but marketing and support are the primary functions of a game publisher, which makes them pretty damn bad at the very thing they're supposed to be doing best as a company.