For everyone getting antsy at "August at the earliest", the actual estimate was "two more months of negotiations, minimum" in early July. Which might mean we get a vague "done with competence testing, back to negotiations" kind of statement some time this month if everything goes smoothly (which would be great news if we did! That's a big hurdle to be over if & when they do, because NCSoft's concerns about whether the buying team can run a good game and run it profitably has always been a huge part of their reticence to sell). But probably late this month - like, last week of the month late - and it could just as easily be early September before we hear anything from the negotiation team. The only way we'd have news this fast is if the negotiations suddenly bombed - which might happen if the testing fouls up and tempers start sparking, but is definitely not what we want.
I know it hurts, I've been lurking this thread for months & just found my old login for this. But there's a while of "no news is good news" territory yet.
