CatMan
-
Posts
308 -
Joined
-
Quote:Aw man, could you make it harder? That exercise was easy.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
The rest is left as an exercise for the reader.
So yahoo can ban you because they got their friends and other free accounts to petition you because you didn't do X or because you said something that hurt their feelings.
lovely. -
Quote:Quite trueOriginally Posted by LittleDavid
That's the same chart I saw before from the Investor's Report, yeah. Revenue is strictly the money that's coming in, not the net gain after expenses. Without knowing what the expenses are, we can't say for sure if City of Heroes was operating at a loss.
There is a link to the NCSoft global earnings. What is interesting are the sales figures by region followed by game. North America as a sales region is pathetic - Europe more so. CoH/V and GW1 are at the bottom of the sales pool. Overall, if you like betting, the odds are against us in seeing NCSoft change their minds. I am actually surprised they continue to bother with a western market given how weak it is. -
Quote:lol... quite true.Originally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
Ya know what else? I'm gonna choice to make sure that I proofread anything else I post tonight because choicing otherwise sounds like a bad idea.
-
Quote:I read through this link earlier today as was provided in another thread. The guy displays a definite downward trend, but what I failed to see on the report is any indication that the expenses are higher than income. Is it a net loss or no?Originally Posted by LittleDavid
Did we ever find out how much revenue City of Heroes + Paragon Studios brings in after expenses, if any? I know CoH was still bringing in several million bucks. All the expenses incurred from supporting the studio and the game couldn't be more than that, could it?
Unfortunately, the UnSub guy doesn't say, but it is safer to presume a yes to the Net loss than otherwise. There are a lot of assumptions that can be made and it is mostly futile to indulge in them too much. The end result has not changed:
They killed CoH/V
They did it abruptly and with little notice.
The plus side are reports they are talking to Paragon Studios and that they are helping the now unemployed in finding new employment (unless I read that wrong).
Maybe if Paragon Studios relocated to a less expensive area of the USA instead of being In California and near San Francisco they could lower their operating costs and further demonstrate to NCSoft that it is a viable product. Then again, if the employees of Paragon Studios bought homes in California between 2002 and 2008, they may have serious issues selling them without going in the red personally. -
Quote:I was only mentioning hate as some others were including it in the discussion. I also agree with you 100%: I see no reason to support NCSoft anymore (actually, that support started to die with Tabula Rasa and Exteel's closure). Why should I trust them with an investment of my time, money, and emotions when they treat said investment in this way.Originally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
A corporation, as you state, is a legal concept. It was a person or group of persons that choice to lay off everyone at Paragon and kill this game. I see no reason to continue supporting that person or those people financially.
-
Quote:Ironically, their actions indicate they don't care about our money spent on CoH/V. If CoX is a losing proposition financially then removing the game from their plate, regardless of the loss of our money we were willing to spend on the game comes out as a positive for them. If the net of money spent by players and the cost to keep the game running is a loss, and a loss possibly not made up by income from other games, then it boils down to cutting losses to preserve the greater whole.Originally Posted by LittleDavid
We might not affect NCSoft's profits significantly since we're a financial drop in the bucket compared to their current star titles, but we might have a more signifcant impact in our efforts to save the game. Other people might look at this situation and think twice before giving NCSoft their money.
But the most important thing is, our money is going to other things we feel more comfortable supporting.
Corporations are nothing in and of themselves. What makes them anything are the people that run them. Paragon is a company made up of people we like, NC Soft is made up of people we have come to not like given how they have treated us as customers. The distinction between a company and the people that run the company is merely legal and on paper. I know for some that is hard to accept, but it is the way it is.
While hating NCSoft may be a feel good it is essentially hating the people the people that run the corporation, but that hate is meaningless either way: ones emotions are better directed somewhere else and for better purposes than to hate people trying to make money. -
Quote:Not really. CoH/V's death penalty is laughable (it was at launch and is more so even now).Originally Posted by matixzon
The thing about enemies refilling when you die, that's because there are no penalties at all for dying, only bonuses for staying alive, so if the enemies didn't refill then any player would be able to solo any mission in game, including lairs or group mission, just zerging them until the enemies are all defeated
What I am talking about is when you are standing there - dead or alive and a new group appears right on top of you. In CoH/V it was nice to be able to clear out a space where you would have some peace until you jumped into the fray again. The instant health recovery is annoying in CO - in CoH/V it was gradual and took time, just as a player's natural health bar took time to replenish - throw in an NPC buffer and they quickly got back to health.
By the way: you cannot solo and zerg at the same time. Solo means one. Zerging, thank you StarCraft, is overwhelming your enemy with inferior forces.
-
Quote:oh... scratch my last post. I don't think I will be re-installing. I hated it when NPCs respawn on top of you and the inclusion of this in CoH/V was also off-putting - definitely kept me from playing as often as I might have and had it been live back in 2004 I might not have continued playing then.Originally Posted by Ironik
I totally forgot about that! Yeah, the game has the single worst game mechanic ever created: open world quests. Stand in line to kill something and instant re-spawns and health re-fills. I wouldn't be surprised that adding those to CoH is what kept people away.
Thanks for reminding me of this failure mechanic. -
Thank you for the invite.
I purchased the lifetime subscription when the game was released. However I don't play the game anymore. The animations are too ... annoying. The obvious parallelism with CoH was slightly off putting.
HOWEVER, I most likely will be reinstalling and checking it out to get my Super Hero fix. -
Quote:Quite true. I think calling NCSoft an enemy is overboard. But as to what they are: they not our friends or even, as many of the CoH/V community and staff view themselves, family. In the pecking order of NCSoft games, we are obviously on the low end.Originally Posted by Kenji_Naginata
...
As of this moment, we've had neither of those... so NCsoft may not be your enemy, but I can assure you, there are a number of posters that feel differently.
edit to add: If they were an enemy, this conversation would not be taking place on these forums and all our access to CoH/V would have ceased to exist last week. An enemy seeks to destroy. Words are powerful, but the misuse of them diminishes their truth and impact. -
Despite my name, I have never been nor will be a furry.
I should note that I mean the more sexualized meaning of furry. -
Quote:That is the only reason I reasoned that way: it fits their current pattern. Trust me, I would love it if NCSoft sold the rights to Paragon or someone else, but it does not mesh with their prior history.Originally Posted by NightshadeLegree
No.
Put like that I can agree with your reasoning, even if it does seem pointlessly petty and even cruel. It's nice to think that if they're serious about refocusing on asian markets they'd be willing to consider selling off a property that has been proven to have no impact there... but... well, we shall see. -
Quote:Can you think of one example of a game they closed which they have sold off?Originally Posted by NightshadeLegree
Leaving aside my doubts about the source for a moment, I just don't buy into this reasoning. If NCsoft had any concern about retaining CoH players as customers they'd have went about this differently. If they do think that they're going to lure people over to GW2 or (lol) Aion by killing the game, wiping out Paragon Studio in a day and sitting on the IP then they're even more out of touch than I'd have thought.
Indeed, I think the anger we've seen directed at NCsoft so far will get even worse if and when they start offering players 'rewards' to go to their other games.
Having worked for corporations, this mentality is not surprising and if you plan to stay in business, it sometimes makes sense. Consider the nature of the people running NCSoft and the investors, they are individuals and don't necessarily think of CoH/V like you or I.
Most gamers and game designers make lousy business men. Most business men make lousy game supporters.
Apple kills Samsung's products through a legal tactic, not to win supporters but to remove competition. NCSoft most likely won't sell CoH/V, not to win more subscriptions but to prevent further competition to their existing and future games. -
An interesting idea. I would chalk it up to maybe. It would have to retain everything currently in the game. It would have to allow Multi-player. The installed game would be huge - all the content and coding to get things to run.
But the missing content would be the other players. -
Is the game.
The whole of it. I don't want little parts, I want it all. -
I had pre-ordered months back so I am an owner of the game.
No sub to deal with.
No more money to be given after the news of CoH/V closing - barring a change of mind on their part.
The gameplay is good.
But...
I can't fly. -
For myself, I have a certain emotional investment in the characters I have created and played in CoH/V. But the continued existence of those characters was dependent on two factors: my continued patronage and/or the continuance of this game. The former is completely dependent on me. The latter completely dependent on a variety of people: from developers to the owners.
For those of us with a vested interest in this game, the method of closure was most unkind. It was sudden and those likening it to a back stab are not far off.
Would a different investor and owner have handled the closure better? Who knows. Given NCSoft's history with closing Western MMOs and retaining the IP, we should not be terribly surprised by their action nor should we expect that they will sell the IP to anyone. While some people fault UnSub for whatever their reasons, his analysis of what we can expect from NCSoft is most likely accurate: They won't sell the IP if it means losing what remains of the CoH/V customers who may buy in to other NCSoft games to a competitor.
NCSoft is a company - and all companies are run by people. These people have certain interests and none of them is losing their shirt. But they are also susceptible to human failings such as prejudice and pride. That a Korean company shows preference to Korean made and supported games is no surprise - especially when it comes to which "failing" product to toss out the door.
The method of closure and lack of information from them whatsoever is what really grates at me, however. I do not think I will be involved in any future games from NCSoft so that the only way they could possibly continue to see my money is if they change their minds about CoH/V - I have to much invested in that game to not give it another chance if they do so as well. -
Much thanks to the developers for this game. This is the MMO that got me to subscribe to MMOs. I would like to remember it on a positive note:
Cause the song and video make me smile
A few memories I would like to share:
- Flight. Flight was incredible. Going to the top of the 'ceiling', turning it off, and then watching the ground come up to kiss me off to the hospital was an amazing sensation. Eventually I learned to time turning flight back on before impact.
- Perez Park and people pulling every mob they could to the Atlas Park gate. Seeing the rolling wave of angry baddies overrun the overtaxed police bots and any Hero foolish enough to stand in their way was quite fun. Visits to the hospital not withstanding.
- Teleporting and then 'bouncing' off the target location.
- Getting my kids to co-operate and work as a team. Hearing one or both say "sorry dad" when an inevitable goof was made. Quite fun.
- Seeing some of my fellow Heroes and the Devs at the first Hero Con and completely blowing my first attempt at Karaoke with "Dirty Laundry". oi ve.
The escape this game provided from real life stress on occasion was worth every penny. While I don't play everyday like I used to, I kept a 12 month subscription simply because the game was that much fun. Hopefully it won't simply die the death of Tabula Rasa and buried in a dark corner of a code vault. Hopefully something more will come out of this for the developers and players.
In any event, thank you all for the good times.
Cheers
The Cat Man -
Great to know. Thanks Zwillinger!
-
Quote:On the other hand, for those of us who have 12 month subs which expire after Nov 30th's server closure, I would love to know what is to become of that "loyalty". :/Originally Posted by Ground_Fault
Pretty pissed here, i have paid for about 5 years of monthly subs plus a bunch of points and bonus packs. My sub ran out right before the cut off and now I have to go out like a chump, no way to go back to VIP.
-
Thank you again, Posi. I will certainly be missing this game.
-
The forum moderators, all past and present, have always done a great job here. Many thanks and I hope you guys find improved employment.
-
Doubtful given people trying to resurrect Tabula Rasa and having no joy there.
-
Quote:This is most disappointing news. What point is there in being a VIP if you cannot treat freebee-ers like College Freshmen New Pledge members?Originally Posted by Zwillinger
We've already established that you won't be able to ride free players.
-
Curious. Who manufactured the card?