NCSoft acquires "City of" Franchise!
By
2Negative,
Posted on: 2007-11-06 13:34 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
I have no idea what this means in corperate terms and won't even speculate. As it seems that everyone involved is happy about it, we haven't lost any staff and should be getting new ones and assuming that we see the same sort of development we have seen in the past year well into the future, then I'm happy enough.
My one guess is that this might mean plans for another expanalone (or maybe even standalone game!) like City Of Villains.
Possiblities include
City of Pulp (which one of the Devs mentioned ages ago as something they might like to do, I think): Hardbitten detectives in sort of Sin City Online.
City of Fantasy: This would be the marketting dream project. A whole city, stolen away to the red caps realm, where they summon creatures from various fantasy settings and pit them against each other.
Heck, Maybe even CoH2!
Its an unknown quanity, so is both slightly scary and exciting. But, I trust our team (heck, without them i would never have got to play my favourite computer game) so this news gets a 
from me.
Always remember, we were Heroes.
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I hope this doesn't sound pessimistic (I have no reason to think this will negatively impact the game), but what do the following parties have to gain from this deal?
NC Soft
Cryptic
The Players
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Ok I'm completely guessing here, but here are my theories:
NC Soft - More control over one of their most succesful properties in the US. Less complication over royalties if they decide to offer multi-game pricing.
Cryptic - Money, more time to focus on their other projects (MUO)
The Players - Hopefully more development resources and better pricing
Hmmmm ...
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In the coming months well be looking to add literally dozens more employees.
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I wonder if this means City of III? The currently dev team is up to the task of new zones, animations, and sets ... but dozens of hires?
Unless they mean secretaries and janitors for the new digs
Hmmm ... I also wonder what happens to Statesman's "vision guy" role? I think his vision was frequently flawed (distance as genuine, bona fide damage mitigation [*cough*ForceBubbleandRepulsionField*cough*]), but it was also mostly right.
Interesting news, to say the least.
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Cryptic Studios is able to fully focus on their current project.
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.... Which is or is not CO*? Just wondering because I'm sort of confused about this. Just wonderin.
..... God I wish I had programming experience 
Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed
Hmmm... cautiously optimistic here...
Hopefully things will carry on as normal from us players standpoint. Obviously NCSoft are happy with the way the game is going if they hired the entire current Dev team, so I doubt we'll need to worry about content or vision being muddled.
Although, I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with in game advertising now...
I just hope NCSoft continue to invest in this game (and they should, considering they'll be getting more money by owning CoX)
okay Ex since your fielding questions, does this mean that the ENTIRE City of Heroes and Villans staff is staying on? like say...Jlove, Warwitch, and all the rest?
And this is kind of wishful thinking but since you guys are now officially with NCsoft...does this mean we can have CuppaJo back?
"You, dear sir, are a legend. "- nelly. "PIE DOESN'T HAVE TENTACLES!"
Bladewing Draconian lvl 30 KAT/SR scrapper
DarkNinjutsu lvl 50 DM/REG scrapper
Dajoji Hino lvl 50 elm/ela scrapper
Bloody Byakko lvl 20 claws/sr scrapper
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Cryptic Studios is able to fully focus on their current project.
[/ QUOTE ]
.... Which is or is not CO*? Just wondering because I'm sort of confused about this. Just wonderin.
..... God I wish I had programming experience
[/ QUOTE ]
That would be MUO.
Heroes
Dysmal
Lumynous
Sam Steele
Pluck
Wile
Slagheap
Pressure Wave
Rhiannon Bel
Verified
Stellaric
Syd Mallorn
Villains
Jotunheim Skald
Saer Maen
Jen Corbae
Illuminance
Venator Arawn
Taiga Dryad
Tarranos
[ QUOTE ]
Hey, nice.
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Special Thanks to Our Players
Now back to you, the players. You are the lifeblood of our game. In celebration of our new studio and our exciting plans, and in order to thank you for the fantastic community that you have built, we are pleased to announce the following.
Full Access to City of Heroes and City of Villains®
All players with City of Heroes retail* accounts will now have access to City of Villains, and all City of Villains retail* accounts will now have access to City of Heroes. Players that didn't previously have access to "the other side" will find that they do now. Just log in to check it out!
Debt Wipe
After the launch of Issue 11: A Stitch in Time this Fall, we are removing Debt from all characters and giving you a fresh start. Actual date will be announced shortly. Have fun in the mean time.
20,000 Prestige
Also after the launch of Issue 11, all Supergroups will receive an additional 20,000 Prestige per Supergroup member, meaning SGs could acquire up to 3 million Prestige based upon their Supergroup membership roster! Actual date will be announced shortly.
In the near future we will begin to share more information about our development plans. With this major reinvestment and effort ahead of us, we will take City of Heroes to new heights!
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We wub you too, devs *hug*
Not that it affects me personally, but does this mean that people who used to only have CoH access will now be able to enter SG bases?
From http://www.plaync.com/us/news/2007/1...nounce_23.html
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NCsoft will soon be announcing formal plans for the City of Heroes IP, which will include expansions and sequels to the popular comic-book inspired massively multiplayer online (MMO) game.
[/ QUOTE ]
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Hey, nice.
[ QUOTE ]
Special Thanks to Our Players
Now back to you, the players. You are the lifeblood of our game. In celebration of our new studio and our exciting plans, and in order to thank you for the fantastic community that you have built, we are pleased to announce the following.
Full Access to City of Heroes and City of Villains®
All players with City of Heroes retail* accounts will now have access to City of Villains, and all City of Villains retail* accounts will now have access to City of Heroes. Players that didn't previously have access to "the other side" will find that they do now. Just log in to check it out!
Debt Wipe
After the launch of Issue 11: A Stitch in Time this Fall, we are removing Debt from all characters and giving you a fresh start. Actual date will be announced shortly. Have fun in the mean time.
20,000 Prestige
Also after the launch of Issue 11, all Supergroups will receive an additional 20,000 Prestige per Supergroup member, meaning SGs could acquire up to 3 million Prestige based upon their Supergroup membership roster! Actual date will be announced shortly.
In the near future we will begin to share more information about our development plans. With this major reinvestment and effort ahead of us, we will take City of Heroes to new heights!
[/ QUOTE ]
[/ QUOTE ]
We wub you too, devs *hug*
Not that it affects me personally, but does this mean that people who used to only have CoH access will now be able to enter SG bases?
[/ QUOTE ]
Since bases are a feature of CoV, and you require CoV to enter one, it certainly should.
Heroes
Dysmal
Lumynous
Sam Steele
Pluck
Wile
Slagheap
Pressure Wave
Rhiannon Bel
Verified
Stellaric
Syd Mallorn
Villains
Jotunheim Skald
Saer Maen
Jen Corbae
Illuminance
Venator Arawn
Taiga Dryad
Tarranos
[ QUOTE ]
From http://www.plaync.com/us/news/2007/1...nounce_23.html
[ QUOTE ]
NCsoft will soon be announcing formal plans for the City of Heroes IP, which will include expansions and sequels to the popular comic-book inspired massively multiplayer online (MMO) game.
[/ QUOTE ]
[/ QUOTE ]
Right: NC owns that. What's CRYPTIC doing? Muo I realize, though I now worry that .... well, never mind. Publishers are publishers, I suppose.
Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Cryptic Studios is able to fully focus on their current project.
[/ QUOTE ]
.... Which is or is not CO*? Just wondering because I'm sort of confused about this. Just wonderin.
..... God I wish I had programming experience
[/ QUOTE ]
Im pretty sure this means Marvel Online.
[ QUOTE ]
20,000 Prestige
Also after the launch of Issue 11, all Supergroups will receive an additional 20,000 Prestige per Supergroup member, meaning SGs could acquire up to 3 million Prestige based upon their Supergroup membership roster! Actual date will be announced shortly.
[/ QUOTE ]
Now there's something I can sink my fangs into.
The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.
My City Was Gone
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Since bases are a feature of CoV, and you require CoV to enter one, it certainly should.
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, right. Just asking for the sake of confirmation
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Cryptic Studios is able to fully focus on their current project.
[/ QUOTE ]
.... Which is or is not CO*? Just wondering because I'm sort of confused about this. Just wonderin.
..... God I wish I had programming experience
[/ QUOTE ]
Im pretty sure this means Marvel Online.
[/ QUOTE ]
Aren't they also on a couple of other 'secret' projects too?
[ QUOTE ]
Hey, nice.
[ QUOTE ]
Special Thanks to Our Players
Now back to you, the players. You are the lifeblood of our game. In celebration of our new studio and our exciting plans, and in order to thank you for the fantastic community that you have built, we are pleased to announce the following.
Full Access to City of Heroes and City of Villains®
All players with City of Heroes retail* accounts will now have access to City of Villains, and all City of Villains retail* accounts will now have access to City of Heroes. Players that didn't previously have access to "the other side" will find that they do now. Just log in to check it out!
Debt Wipe
After the launch of Issue 11: A Stitch in Time this Fall, we are removing Debt from all characters and giving you a fresh start. Actual date will be announced shortly. Have fun in the mean time.
20,000 Prestige
Also after the launch of Issue 11, all Supergroups will receive an additional 20,000 Prestige per Supergroup member, meaning SGs could acquire up to 3 million Prestige based upon their Supergroup membership roster! Actual date will be announced shortly.
In the near future we will begin to share more information about our development plans. With this major reinvestment and effort ahead of us, we will take City of Heroes to new heights!
[/ QUOTE ]
[/ QUOTE ]
WOW. Guess I'll try to fill up our SG roster as soon as possible!
Hopefully the prestige roll out will happen a week or two after I11 hits, to give groups time to take advantage of the doubled SG roster limit.
Heroes
Dysmal
Lumynous
Sam Steele
Pluck
Wile
Slagheap
Pressure Wave
Rhiannon Bel
Verified
Stellaric
Syd Mallorn
Villains
Jotunheim Skald
Saer Maen
Jen Corbae
Illuminance
Venator Arawn
Taiga Dryad
Tarranos
[ QUOTE ]
Hey, nice.
[ QUOTE ]
Special Thanks to Our Players
Now back to you, the players. You are the lifeblood of our game. In celebration of our new studio and our exciting plans, and in order to thank you for the fantastic community that you have built, we are pleased to announce the following.
Full Access to City of Heroes and City of Villains®
All players with City of Heroes retail* accounts will now have access to City of Villains, and all City of Villains retail* accounts will now have access to City of Heroes. Players that didn't previously have access to "the other side" will find that they do now. Just log in to check it out!
Debt Wipe
After the launch of Issue 11: A Stitch in Time this Fall, we are removing Debt from all characters and giving you a fresh start. Actual date will be announced shortly. Have fun in the mean time.
20,000 Prestige
Also after the launch of Issue 11, all Supergroups will receive an additional 20,000 Prestige per Supergroup member, meaning SGs could acquire up to 3 million Prestige based upon their Supergroup membership roster! Actual date will be announced shortly.
In the near future we will begin to share more information about our development plans. With this major reinvestment and effort ahead of us, we will take City of Heroes to new heights!
[/ QUOTE ]
[/ QUOTE ]
AWESOME! Even though I already have both CoH and CoV, at least everyone can share in it now 
*hugs the new NCSoft overlords* Don't let our hopes suffer!
This space is intentionally left blank.
OK.
So who is still here?
I'm assuming from what I'm reading that it's Matt Miller on down. Is Jack staying with Cryptic or ? I'm assuming he is to work on his pet project.
I have a strong hunch that the person (people?) who mentioned,a bove, that it was to prevent a conflict of interest with MUO probably have it. Not that it's a bad thing - but if MUO does decently, I think Cryptic is going to go the way of Bungie and get gobbled up by MS as a "development house."
Oddball side question - can we get DVD ISO images now to make backups?
Finance related question (for lack of a better term) - for those of us who bought both, not as GVE but "Had one, then bought the other," any chance of an extra month or something? (I doubt it, and it really won't bother me if not, even if I bought both the COH DVD and COV CE, it's just curiosity.)
Other side questions:
Will this make some of the requests players have had "more possible," such as the purchase of server slots, since everything's internal to NCSoft now? Or "Same account holder inter-account transfers?"
What does this do for some of the "in limbo" merchandise, such as the COH RPG? More pressure, new development house to start over with, ?
Will we get swag in the store?
Will we have things such as the Hero Gear kit able to be re-created and able to be purchased again?
Full Access to City of Heroes and City of Villains®
All players with City of Heroes retail* accounts will now have access to City of Villains, and all City of Villains retail* accounts will now have access to City of Heroes. Players that didn't previously have access to "the other side" will find that they do now. Just log in to check it out!
So for the people that bought CoH and CoV what do we get.
My first thought was "DOOOOM!"
My second thought was "Wait, now MUO and CoH are actually in competition. NCSoft has a vested interest in making sure that CoH competes handily with MUO. This isn't the sign of a game being sidelines (like MxO was when it was pawned off onto Sony)"
Maybe I'm being to optimistic, but I certainly see some cause for celebration...
[ QUOTE ]
okay Ex since your fielding questions, does this mean that the ENTIRE City of Heroes and Villans staff is staying on? like say...Jlove, Warwitch, and all the rest?
And this is kind of wishful thinking but since you guys are now officially with NCsoft...does this mean we can have CuppaJo back?
[/ QUOTE ]
Everyone from the current team signed on with NCsoft, this includes.
Sexy Jay
Ghost Widow
War Witch
BAB's
Castle
Positron
all the programmers and other design staff that are not currently under signature names.
CuppaJo is working on Tabula Rasa and that is a project that she has been on for over a year and is very dedicated and excited about. Not to say she didn't love COH/COV but she made the choice to move to that project and I don't foresee that changing in the near future, especially since they just launched last week.
Ex
[ QUOTE ]
So for the people that bought CoH and CoV what do we get.
[/ QUOTE ]
Asked the same thing.
My *gut* feeling is nothing, as GVE has been out for... what, a year? Longer? so seperate COH/COV purchases have long been ... eh, not sure what the word would be, but "evened out" or "melted together" works.
[ QUOTE ]
My first thought was "DOOOOM!"
My second thought was "Wait, now MUO and CoH are actually in competition. NCSoft has a vested interest in making sure that CoH competes handily with MUO. This isn't the sign of a game being sidelines (like MxO was when it was pawned off onto Sony)"
Maybe I'm being to optimistic, but I certainly see some cause for celebration...
[/ QUOTE ]
Good point! I hadn't thought about that. Now that they are going to compete, CoH/CoV will get even better then it already is
This space is intentionally left blank.
Hey, nice.
[ QUOTE ]
Special Thanks to Our Players
Now back to you, the players. You are the lifeblood of our game. In celebration of our new studio and our exciting plans, and in order to thank you for the fantastic community that you have built, we are pleased to announce the following.
Full Access to City of Heroes and City of Villains®
All players with City of Heroes retail* accounts will now have access to City of Villains, and all City of Villains retail* accounts will now have access to City of Heroes. Players that didn't previously have access to "the other side" will find that they do now. Just log in to check it out!
Debt Wipe
After the launch of Issue 11: A Stitch in Time this Fall, we are removing Debt from all characters and giving you a fresh start. Actual date will be announced shortly. Have fun in the mean time.
20,000 Prestige
Also after the launch of Issue 11, all Supergroups will receive an additional 20,000 Prestige per Supergroup member, meaning SGs could acquire up to 3 million Prestige based upon their Supergroup membership roster! Actual date will be announced shortly.
In the near future we will begin to share more information about our development plans. With this major reinvestment and effort ahead of us, we will take City of Heroes to new heights!
[/ QUOTE ]
Heroes
Dysmal
Lumynous
Sam Steele
Pluck
Wile
Slagheap
Pressure Wave
Rhiannon Bel
Verified
Stellaric
Syd Mallorn
Villains
Jotunheim Skald
Saer Maen
Jen Corbae
Illuminance
Venator Arawn
Taiga Dryad
Tarranos