... I'm not sure whether to sigh or rage.

Started by Thunder Glove, May 21, 2013, 04:33:36 PM

Thunder Glove

http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/17/arenanet-ceases-guild-wars-live-development-automates-game/

Didn't NCSoft have another game that we would much prefer had stayed up in maintenance mode instead of just being shut down forever?  Wasn't that game also making more money than Guild Wars 1?

I just... bleah *head explode*

FatherXmas

Except that studio is still open and has a game that is bringing in muchos dinero.

Also one of the biggest, at least most vocal complaints about GW2 is it's not GW1.  And since that game, GW1, is no longer reported and that there isn't a way to even estimate the number of people still playing it.  That game's cash shop was fairly limited and nothing new on it for quite a while.  I imagine if the last numbers we had is any indication, it's probably has sales of less than $1 million a quarter now.

Don't forget, ArenaNet seems to have a more independent relationship with NCSOFT.  The seem to have no problem releasing product on their schedule and have publicly "corrected" NCSOFT's Investor's Conference Call at least twice since I've been looking at them.  I think ArenaNet got some really nice terms when they were sold including a big fat escape button.  And right now the only "growth" the NCSOFT has YoY is GW2.  They got to keep them happy.
Tempus unum hominem manet

Twitter - AtomicSamuraiRobot@NukeSamuraiBot

Thunder Glove

#2
... don't cloud my internal sigh/rage debate with financial quibbling.

The only facts I care about is the one where my favorite game of all time is gone, shut down by the same company that allowed one of a hundred generic elves-and-wizards game (one that has already been superceded by its own sequel) to live on.

Dollhouse

Quote from: Thunder Glove on May 21, 2013, 05:55:54 PM
... don't cloud my internal sigh/rage debate with financial quibbling.

The only facts I care about is the one where my favorite game of all time is gone, shut down by the same company that allowed one of a hundred generic elves-and-wizards game (one that has already been superceded by its own sequel) to live on.

I can definitely see where you're coming from...but I also don't think I'm alone in saying GW1 > GW2 (and by a big damn margin). I can't say it happens very often, but I still log on to GW1 now and then, a game with a rich, beautiful world and a crap-ton of content. It's really the only high fantasy game I play (the genre interests me as a reader, but not as a gamer). It has its significant quirks, but it's a legitimate classic. Best part? I've already got all the expansions and since nothing in the cash shop really matters to me, I don't have to give NC Soft another dime in order to enjoy the game. That makes me happy...

TimtheEnchanter

I never played it, but Guild Wars, based on the chatter I heard about it, always seemed to be WoW's little brother that could never get out of its shadow.

If GW2 has been unable to hold a candle to GW1, sounds like someone is preparing to try forcing a transition. I wonder if it'll work?

FlyingCarcass

I think ArenaNet owns the Guild Wars IP, so NCSoft can't unilaterally shut it down.

Excuse me, I need to go flip a table while sighing.

JaguarX

Sounds like ncsoft may be changing their methods. Or its just like Father Xmas said. Or mixture of both.

Little David

I see there are Guild Wars fans in the comments getting smug and laughing it up at the City of Heroes playerbase over this story.

Maybe someone should remind them that Paragon Studios was "a signature away" from breaking off from NCSoft, according to Matt Miller.

Someone should remind them about Auto Assault and Exteel. And maybe Dungeon Runners.

And someone should also remind them of what NCSoft did to kill Tabula Rasa. Specifically, why Richard Garriott sued NCSoft after it was over--and won. Repeatedly.


FatherXmas

The complaints from the GW1 crowd about GW2 is many.  From lack of available armor and weapon skins for direct sale to the lack of the traditional MMO triad to the simplification of abilities and builds over GW1.

What GW2 has is GW1 backstory.  It's ST:TOS just like fans complaining about the first few episodes of NextGen.  100+ years have passed, former enemies are now allies and new races have sprung up (I think you could only play human before).

There's a fairly vocal group of GW1 fans who wanted GW2 to simply be a bigger, prettier, GW1.  But ANet shot for a more inclusive game where traditional barriers to cooperation found in MMOs are absent.  It's very much NOT like WoW or most other MMOs built in that style.  It's very different and since it's B2P, those critics will haunt those boards until the game closes.
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Twitter - AtomicSamuraiRobot@NukeSamuraiBot

FatherXmas

Quote from: Little David on May 21, 2013, 07:15:07 PM
I see there are Guild Wars fans in the comments getting smug and laughing it up at the City of Heroes playerbase over this story.

Last night I got a very nice whisper from someone seeing the name of the guild I belong to (Heroes of Paragon [COH]) and was happy to see that we are still being "heroes".

Lately there's a lot of WoW players showing up in the game, looking to kill time until the next WoW expansion.  They tend to be a negative lot.
Tempus unum hominem manet

Twitter - AtomicSamuraiRobot@NukeSamuraiBot

silvers1

From playing GW1 and GW2, I'd have to say GW1 was much better.

I loved the graphics and artistry of GW1.  Can't tell you how many times I had to stop in a zone and just say .... WOW.  That's beautiful.
Played a toon to max level in GW2 - never had that experience in any zone.  The graphics seemed to be a pale imitation of Skyrim.

The combat system in GW2 just doesnt impress me - at all.  And the way they've structured the game makes PUGing almost non-existant.

If they hadnt stopped releasing expansions to GW1 - I'd still be playing.

--- Hercules - Freedom Server ---

dwturducken

Quote from: FatherXmas on May 21, 2013, 09:24:37 PM
What GW2 has is GW1 backstory.  It's ST:TOS just like fans complaining about the first few episodes of NextGen.  100+ years have passed, former enemies are now allies and new races have sprung up (I think you could only play human before).

[nitpick]80 years.[/nitpick] ;)
I wouldn't use the word "replace," but there's no word for "take over for you and make everything better almost immediately," so we just say "replace."

FatherXmas

Quote from: dwturducken on May 22, 2013, 05:04:37 AM
[nitpick]80 years.[/nitpick] ;)

TOS to NG, 94 years

From ST 7 to NG, 71 years

From GW1:Nightfall to GW2, 250 years.
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Twitter - AtomicSamuraiRobot@NukeSamuraiBot

Taceus Jiwede

At the very least we can maybe assume that with the outcry of the shutdown of city heroes NCSoft is deciding to not be complete A-holes about the way they shut down games.  And we wanted to make a change.

Or maybe Arenanet just had a whiz do their contract with NCSoft so NCSoft can't just shut it off.

I dunno, the former will make me sleep better.

Nos482

Quote from: Taceus Jiwede on May 22, 2013, 09:35:54 AMNCSoft is deciding to not be complete A-holes about the way they shut down games.
Too late for that. >:(
I'm bad and that's good.
I'll never be good and that's not bad.
There's no one I'd rather be than me.

...unless I could be Batman, of course. Everybody wants to be Batman.

Taceus Jiwede

Quote from: Nos482 on May 22, 2013, 01:36:40 PM
Too late for that. >:(

Ya, for us.  I don't know the scenario, but if we did have something to do with this.  Then at least we have achieved part of what we set out to do, which is not be completely neglected by our gaming companies.  But then again this could be purely Arenanets doing.