Discussion: NCsoft Acquires City of Heroes!
By
AaronH,
Posted on: 2007-11-06 13:55 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
excellent!
Whoa. I'm a bit surprised Cryptic sold the rights....
Does this have a significant impact for us users? Will we still keep the same dev team?
Bump and Grind Bane/SoA
Kenja No Ishi Earth/Empathy Controller
Legendary Sannin Ninja/Pain Mastermind
Entoxicated Ninja/PSN Mastermind
Ninja Ryukenden Kat/WP Scrapper
Hellish Thoughts Fire/PSI Dominator
Thank You Devs for Merits!!!!
I'm looking forward to what's ahead.
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Full Access to City of Heroes and City of Villains
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^^ Oh, and lookie there. I wonder if everyone gets the extra server slots too.
Phantom Rose: Ill / Kin / Psi
Soleau: Ice / Icy / Ice / Core: Ice / Fire / Pyre / Wind / Eclipse / Flare / Corona
---------------
Solo Space
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Does this have a significant impact for us users? Will we still keep the same dev team?
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I don't think I can stand to lose any of the devs.
I'm still not quite over the loss of Cuppa
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Does this have a significant impact for us users? Will we still keep the same dev team?
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The entire current team of COH/COV has signed on with NCsoft and we will be continuing our schedule of 3 free issues per year, as well as some other great goodies as we grow the team and IP.
-Ex Libris
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So yeah, we is keeping teh Devs
Global - @El D
Servers - Protector
I am actually excited to see this. I think this will be a good thing provided the game gets a plus up of live GMs to handle issues and deal with bugs. 
View the story of W.A.R.F.A.C.E. and Septimus Bane here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6785073/1/Meus_Profiteor#
my email chrismfears99@yahoo.com
May I be the first to say "DOOOOOOOOMMM!!!11!!1!"
j/k. I hope it will still be the same great game we love. Just don't start making sweeping changes for the sake of change itself.
I don't really like the debt wipe. I've had so many characters hiit debt caps at so many different levels, and always manage to pay it off eventually. Just that much closer to my debt badges. They're stealing my hard-earned debt!
Extra prestige is nice, although it kinda feels like a new step parent... they want to give us some candy to win us over quick.
"Don't unravel them-- your ears were meant to be that way."
-Steve Aylett
I think that I speak for a lot of folks out there when I say that I have little real understanding of the larger implications of this change, but I intend to jump to immediate conclusions about the effects it will have on the game.
Could someone please cut and paste the statement (unless it's too big)? I can get to the boards, but my work's web filter blocks out stuff on the main CoH site.
The SOLUS Foundation - a Liberty and Pinnacle SG
"The Consequences of War" - Arcs # 227331 and 241496
So does this mean that Cryptic will no longer be supporting the game?
Oh boy. no wonder the Cryptic crew would never commit to anything. They were planning on bailin'
/em worried
"Sorry bucko, but CoH and CoV are the same game." -BackAlleyBrawler
"Silly villain, CoX is for Heroes!" -Saicho
totally with ya Warface, maybe the PvP and base raids that the NC community guys want to push will get some time on the Dev schedule now.
November, 6, 2007
To all current and former City of Heroes players,
Today we announced the acquisition of City of Heroes from Cryptic Studios and the formation of our new Northern California studio which we are informally calling NCsoft® NorCal (click here to read the press release). Nearly the entire City of Heroes team from Cryptic Studios has joined the NCsoft team and together we have formed the core of our new studio.
The City of Heroes franchise has been a tremendous success for both NCsoft and Cryptic. More than three years after the City of Heroes launch, our community is strong and thriving. There are so many great ideas and plans, both from our development team and from the players, and we cant wait to make them a reality. Our team is 100% dedicated to City of Heroes and we are extremely excited about the present and the future!
Click here to read the Dev Corner chat with General Manager Brian Clayton and learn more details.
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!
Sincerely,
The City of Heroes Team
LvL 50's Inv/Em Tank, Katana/Regen Scrapper, Merc/Traps MM, Ninja/Dark MM, Crab
@Torell Guardian, Liberty & Freedom
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Could someone please cut and paste the statement (unless it's too big)? I can get to the boards, but my work's web filter blocks out stuff on the main CoH site.
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Tuesday, November 6, 2007Dev Corner: NCsoft acquires City of Heroes Franchise
The future of City of Heroes® is Now!
This has been an exciting week for NCsoft®! On the heels of the major new release of Richard Garriotts Tabula Rasa®, we are happy to announce the full acquisition of the City of Heroes intellectual property (IP) and formation of a new studio in northern California dedicated to the ongoing development of the City of Heroes Franchise! This is the first step in a major reinvestment back into City of Heroes and City of Villains®. Over the coming years, we plan to aggressively develop and expand the franchise. Im sure this raises questions about what this means for our awesome community of players and what the future means for their favorite heroes and villains. Rest assured, the future is indeed bright!
While weve acquired the full rights to the City of Heroes IP, weve also brought on board the solid core team of developers from Cryptic Studios: Matt Positron Miller (lead designer), Aaron Brady (lead engineer), and Ken Morse (lead artist). The management of City of Heroes will transition fully to NCsoft. I will still be the executive producer, my production team along with Ross Borden the director of business and marketing will also remain. Weve been with the game since the early days and are committed to its long term success. Our community team, which has always been part of NCsoft, will also continue to be an integral part of the new studio. In the coming months well be looking to add literally dozens more employees. Well have a full-fledged development studio to achieve our goals and well be undergoing substantial, but careful, growth to get there.
Im sure that youre also asking, What will happen to City of Heroes? In the short term, youll see our major content expansions, the Issues, continue. Issue #11 is due out shortly and plans for Issue #12 and beyond are already underway. The recent twelve months have been great for the game and if you arent familiar with all the changes that have been introduced, follow the links below to read about how the game has evolved:
Issue 8: To Protect and Serve
Issue 9: Breakthrough
Issue 10: Invasion
Issue 11: A Stitch In Time
We dont expect the transition to the new studio to make a noticeable dent in our free Issue scheduling. As a player you shouldnt see any ill-effects of this transition from a development or customer support perspective. In fact, you should see a significant positive impact on your game experience within the few months and beyond. Cryptic Studios is giving us all of the support weve asked for and has been tremendously helpful in this transitional process. All parties involved want whats best for the franchise.
At this time, were not quite ready to disclose longer term plans. Well have the usual slate of announcements when were ready to reveal our plans. But, what I can say is that were building this new studio not just to maintain the status quo. Were looking beyond the normal slate of free Issues for City of Heroes. We want to use City of Heroes as a focal point and really build on this franchise. We absolutely value the City of Heroes IP with its unique focus on the superhero genre, were really thrilled at the opportunities that full ownership brings to the table, and we cant wait for the City of community to see all that we have in store for them. Now is the right time to get started on the next chapter!
Brian Clayton, City of Heroes executive producer and NCsoft NorCal Studio general manager
Brian Clayton is a veteran game developer with over fifteen years of management experience specializing in online game development. He has produced over ten titles (thirty SKUs) for the PC, console and handheld formats. Brian has built and managed several teams for companies such as Accolade, 3DO, and NCsoft in the following disciplines: product development, network operations, QA, community relations, and technical support.
In his current role as executive producer and general manager of NCsoft NorCal, Brian oversees the development and business initiatives for the awarding winning City of Heroes and City of Villains MMORPGs.
"Sorry bucko, but CoH and CoV are the same game." -BackAlleyBrawler
"Silly villain, CoX is for Heroes!" -Saicho
Im not surprised at all..The writing on the wall was there..I couldnt be happier!
My only question is..... 
WHO GETS CUSTODY OF CASTLE AND GHOST WIDOW?? 
We'll fight ya for em Cryptic! 
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The entire current team of COH/COV has signed on with NCsoft and we will be continuing our schedule of 3 free issues per year, as well as some other great goodies as we grow the team and IP.
-Ex Libris
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EDITED....Your lucky States! I was ready to get rowdy!
I see this as a positive thing.. and the "Thank You's" are nice also.
Their are a few friends that have wanted to check out the other side of the game now they can with out any issue. Couse their wil be a few of us old timers that had to buy both clients kinda grumble.. I wonder how this will be re-packaged for store shelves?
LvL 50's Inv/Em Tank, Katana/Regen Scrapper, Merc/Traps MM, Ninja/Dark MM, Crab
@Torell Guardian, Liberty & Freedom
QR
... I don't really know how to feel about this.
Global: @Pandemonia
We're sorry. Due to the lack of adequate marketing, user patience has died 90+ days ago. Please try again sans "Soon."
So what happens to Ex and LightHouse?
Do they stay or go?
"Sorry bucko, but CoH and CoV are the same game." -BackAlleyBrawler
"Silly villain, CoX is for Heroes!" -Saicho
i would like to know some of the longer term plans, even though they said they werent ready to disclose them.
Also, im betting this means Cryptic is focussing all of its attention on the marvel MMO. Very interesting. I guess this means no more statesman around these parts?
Can we get a Dev list of who's around and who stayed with Cryptic?
QR
Ex, and LH are NCsoft employees, so I'll bet they stay.
Global: @Pandemonia
We're sorry. Due to the lack of adequate marketing, user patience has died 90+ days ago. Please try again sans "Soon."
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So what happens to Ex and LightHouse?
Do they stay or go?
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Ex and Lighthouse already work for NCSOFT. They are NCSofts Board Reps here. So, they stay put.
Ex and LH are NC Soft..
This is nothing but good for coh players..
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So does this mean that Cryptic will no longer be supporting the game?
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Well, yeah. The new NCSoft internal studio, staffed by current Cryptic Devs is going to take over, from my reading of the news.
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
So basically, Cryptic released their CoH department to NcSoft. What of jack?
Please use this thread to discuss the below announcement:
A New Age Dawns!
NCsoft® Corp, the worlds leading developer and publisher of online computer games, today announced the formation of a new development studio in Mountain View, California. The announcement comes as the company begins a renewed push to further develop the City of Heroes® property, which is now 100 percent owned by NCsoft. Previous to today, ownership of the intellectual property (IP) was split between NCsoft and Cryptic Studios, the original developer of the project.
Click here to read the full player announcement, including the coming special Thank You changes to the game for all customers!
Click here to read the Official Press Release!
Click here to read NCsoft® North Americas, executive producer and NorCal Studio general manager, Brian Clayton, discusses the acquisition of the intellectual property rights to City of Heroes® and City of Villains® and the formation of the new NCsoft NorCal Studio to support it.
Lighthouse
Community Relations Manager
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