Several Articles out in the wake of City of Heroes closure and it's finally appearing to hit bigtime in the media now that the election is over.
City of Heroes Goes Out With a Roar and a Bang - Kotaku
When Rejected the #SaveCOH Campaign Looks for Another - Article on Lorehound about how the Save City of Heroes movement is looking to Disney to buy the property and the organizers, including Mercedes Lackey, have put together a 31 page proposal detailing the strengths and advantages of doing so.
EuroGamer - The Final Hours of City Of Heroes
Watching the World End - New York Post
'Unethical' Game Closure - this one is very important - as it is the Korea Times! Right in NCsoft's own backyard!
All of these articles are very well written, but it is that last one that's the most significant - that's the Korea Times! That's right in NCsoft's backyard!
And now...
Breaking News: NCsoft Seattle offices undergoing “realignment”
Something major appears underway at the Seattle-based offices of Guild Wars 2 publisher NCsoft.
Now - one last thing - I want you to take a close look at this stock chart. Notice where it rises and falls? The first major fall in stock took place right after the weekend of the Unity Rally on September 7th. And the trend has been steadily downward ever since. And the most recent jump off the cliff came after that article in the Korea Times and the announcement of more layoffs at the NCWest offices.
While
I feel sorry for those losing their jobs in Seattle, I think this is
just indicative that NCSoft is nosediving faster and faster and there's
no way for them to pull up out of their deathdive. To which I can only say - "Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of idiots." (The home office in Korea I mean)I've
said it before, and I'll say it again - I have no hate for Arenanet (Guild Wars 2) or
Carbine (Wildstar) and I very much hope they can go independent or get bought by a
publisher who will actually respect them when all the dust settles. And
I hope that as NCSoft tanks, they'll be FORCED to finally loosen their
miserly grip on those IPs they've held onto. Including and most
especially City of Heroes.
You can't keep screwing over your customers and expect not to eventually have karma come and bite you on the ass.
City of Heroes Goes Out With a Roar and a Bang - Kotaku
When Rejected the #SaveCOH Campaign Looks for Another - Article on Lorehound about how the Save City of Heroes movement is looking to Disney to buy the property and the organizers, including Mercedes Lackey, have put together a 31 page proposal detailing the strengths and advantages of doing so.
EuroGamer - The Final Hours of City Of Heroes
Watching the World End - New York Post
'Unethical' Game Closure - this one is very important - as it is the Korea Times! Right in NCsoft's own backyard!
All of these articles are very well written, but it is that last one that's the most significant - that's the Korea Times! That's right in NCsoft's backyard!
And now...
Breaking News: NCsoft Seattle offices undergoing “realignment”
Something major appears underway at the Seattle-based offices of Guild Wars 2 publisher NCsoft.
Quote:Something major appears underway at the Seattle-based offices of GuildSound familiar?
Wars 2 publisher NCsoft. After a tip from an anonymous source, PC Gamer
contacted Public Relations Director Lincoln Davis who denied that the
Seattle studio had closed, but confirmed today that a “realignment” was
taking place.
“NCsoft is realigning internal publishing resources to better suit
the needs of our game development studios,” Davis told PC Gamer. “As a
result of the realignment, several employees and contract positions were
affected. This was a very tough decision to make and wish the best for
all NCsoft employees in their next ventures.” Davis didn’t elaborate on
the extent of the restructure nor of any possible effects to Guild Wars
2.
In October 2011, employees at NCsoft’s Seattle, Austin, and Brighton
studios were also hit with layoffs, and today’s news follows last
summer’s report of a nearly 12 percent reduction in revenue suffered by the South Korean publisher compared to the previous year.
We’ll update this post as more information becomes available from NCsoft.
Now - one last thing - I want you to take a close look at this stock chart. Notice where it rises and falls? The first major fall in stock took place right after the weekend of the Unity Rally on September 7th. And the trend has been steadily downward ever since. And the most recent jump off the cliff came after that article in the Korea Times and the announcement of more layoffs at the NCWest offices.
While
I feel sorry for those losing their jobs in Seattle, I think this is
just indicative that NCSoft is nosediving faster and faster and there's
no way for them to pull up out of their deathdive. To which I can only say - "Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of idiots." (The home office in Korea I mean)I've
said it before, and I'll say it again - I have no hate for Arenanet (Guild Wars 2) or
Carbine (Wildstar) and I very much hope they can go independent or get bought by a
publisher who will actually respect them when all the dust settles. And
I hope that as NCSoft tanks, they'll be FORCED to finally loosen their
miserly grip on those IPs they've held onto. Including and most
especially City of Heroes.
You can't keep screwing over your customers and expect not to eventually have karma come and bite you on the ass.