NCSoft Closing Paragon Studios
By
Abhorrent,
Posted on: 2012-08-31 11:36 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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You'd think they'd at least look into making some kind of offline mode for the game and re-selling this to us for extra money. You'd be surprised how many people would buy that, though I've heard the City of Heroes server structure is too complicated. That's coming from people trying to host a "private server."
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
I would guess Paragon Studios was only just told about this today. It's not the first time I've seen corporate stooges do a ninja shutdown. There was a company in my hometown a couple years ago that shut down it's offices over the weekend and shipped everything to Mexico. When the employees came back Monday they found an empty office building.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Wow. It's... over. I knew Freedom was their Hail Mary, but I thought it'd work. It usually does. /speechless.
WHAT..... WHAT - no hint of this to us...
Are any of you able to stay with the company elsewhere? Help out with Aion and Guild Wars 2 and such?
I don't suppose the server code will be made available for the thousands of fans?
Issue 24: fix all the things... won't even be released?!
WHAT
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
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The game is healthy. NCSoft's cutting us because of losses in their other games.
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Originally Posted by Tutelary
This SUCKS, SUCKS, SUCKS!!!!
 Damnit, where are all those posters that said the game was healthy and would last for years whenever a complaint about population came up. I want to have a word with all of you.  |
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I want to make a joke about how you're cursed, but my heart isn't in it.|
Originally Posted by Gangrel_EU
Not just Tabula Rasa, but also Auto Assault as well...
The difference between those two games and CoX is that at least CoX had the opportunity to run in F2P mode. *shrugs* Looks like I was the bad touch for NCsoft MMO's  |
Auto Assault was broken, and Tabula Rasa sold poorly despite being in ship shape in her twilight years. But this game? It's lasted eight years, and I know they made a whole lot of cash from super packs (even if they are reviled).
Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
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I'd like to believe Arcanville could do it.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
You'd think they'd at least look into making some kind of offline mode for the game and re-selling this to us for extra money. You'd be surprised how many people would buy that, though I've heard the City of Heroes server structure is too complicated. That's coming from people trying to host a "private server."
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total kick to the gut
This is like having Ra's Al Ghul show up at your birthday party.
That's what baffles me. Apparently, they lost money on both Aion and their marketing for GW2, so they kill CoH? I don't understand it. And I'm going to miss this darn game, the one where I got to be an actual hero (or villain) of my own design, not just a clone wearing the same armor as everyone else.
Time to start screenshotting my characters.
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You'll find all of us as angry as you are, if this is true. The game was not doing well, and why this is happening is as perplexing to us as, I assume, it is to the development team who just yesterday were excited about the new stuff they had for us which will now never go Live.
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Originally Posted by Tutelary
Damnit, where are all those posters that said the game was healthy and would last for years whenever a complaint about population came up. I want to have a word with all of you.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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I got this news the day after I found out my dad had a stroke.
Not sure what do now....
I'll have to make sure these next few months are the best I can have with this game I guess...
*salute*
Celtech Main Site
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My guess is that they are as surprised as we are. My guess is they were doing fine from a business level, but ncsoft just needed to unload some costs. thats the screwed part of this, it was probably never about coh, just shifting resources. I know that most big layoffs i have been part of, it was never about us, we generally were exceeding expectations by far, its just the overall economic space.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Well this is... Confusing. So, we had coffee talk yesterday talking about the new Tech Knight set, and now this? Aren't those things typically decided in advance? And why do something like this? I thought the point of reinvesting in City of Heroes was because it had a stable player base that generated consistent income. What happened to that?
N You know what I said about the coffee talks only taking place when there's something to say? Yeah, now would be a good time to have one. |
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Yes I'm getting the impression that they rounded everyone up this morning red them the announcement, gave Andy just time enough to post the announcement then showed everyone the door. I see several devs listed as being logged into the boards, which is likely their computers at their desks still being on. |
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
I would guess Paragon Studios was only just told about this today. It's not the first time I've seen corporate stooges do a ninja shutdown. There was a company in my hometown a couple years ago that shut down it's offices over the weekend and shipped everything to Mexico. When the employees came back Monday they found an empty office building.
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But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
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Don't try to figure out how higher up corporate suits think, it'll just hurt your head.| Apparently, they lost money on both Aion and their marketing for GW2, so they kill CoH? I don't understand it. |
They probably cut CoX based on its age alone. "We're running an MMORPG that's older than World of Warcraft? Axe that one!"
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Whatever. You are obviously WRONG!!!|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
The game is healthy. NCSoft's cutting us because of losses in their other games.
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Now, I get to say I'm really tired of hearing from people like you and will be glad to say so until this game closes. You are finally off ignore. Laughable that you are still trying to spin things.
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Yeah, I'll be doing the same in the comic weeks. Probably even the coming weekend. All things considered, those are what I'll miss the most, because no other game can really support my menagerie of weird and wonderful characters.|
Originally Posted by Thunder Knight
Time to start screenshotting my characters.
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I keep wondering if there isn't something we can do. I joked around with a friend of mine about "Kickstarter!" though I know that's not realistic, but isn't there something that can be done? Petitioning a corporation probably won't work, but I keep thinking there has to be some way for us to vote with our money. Just can't imagine what it might be.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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The problem is that NCSoft appears to believe in shutting down games rather than keep them running so long as they bring in more money than they cost to run. You give several good examples and I could list quite a few games out there that are still up and running with not that many players. |
Originally Posted by Safeguard
Surely it would make more sense to sell CoH off then to just close it down right? DC Universe and Champions are still up and running and CoH HAS to generate more income than both those games right? Isnt Everquest still running and that game is how old?
Someone must want to buy this game? |
In this case NCSoft appears to be doing a close for the books thing not for any good reason since COH appears to be the very definition of a cash cow.
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
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well, i suspect that some enterprising person or persons will do something slightly legally grey, and im hoping they get the word out to enough of us so we can come there.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I keep wondering if there isn't something we can do. I joked around with a friend of mine about "Kickstarter!" though I know that's not realistic, but isn't there something that can be done? Petitioning a corporation probably won't work, but I keep thinking there has to be some way for us to vote with our money. Just can't imagine what it might be. |
you guys can't close!!
what will i play that doesn't suck horribly for my super hero fix?
i mean your competition sucks royally please let this be a bad joke ....
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Worse. We lost a game and a hobby. They lost their job, their income and their family (work environment like these become family and they rarely survive this kind of shet.) all before a long weekend that many likely had spent some considerable amount of money to enjoy. |
Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake
My guess is that they are as surprised as we are.
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On top they all were players, I think a lot of the current dev team was recruited from the player base. At least Hawk and Synapse I think.
This got to be hurting them all bad, worse than we can imagine.
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He isn't actually. NCSoft isn't cutting the game because it is losing money. I would guess that the costs associated with starting GW2 were enough that they want to cut something to make their books look better. And sadly for us they appear to be cutting Paragon Studios and COH.
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Originally Posted by Tutelary
Whatever. You are obviously WRONG!!!
Now, I get to say I'm really tired of hearing from people like you and will be glad to say so until this game closes. You are finally off ignore. Laughable that you are still trying to spin things. |
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
Thank you NCSoft/Paragon Studios for the good times.
You were my first MMO, and the one I was with the longest (~48 months). No other MMO was ever so sweet as you.
Fondest Memory:
I was at an event if I recall, it was a screening of a movie in a boardroom/auditorium in the RCS. I, never being much of a social character, started "hitting on" one of the npcs standing around mostly just to amuse myself. To my surprise, it responded to me. I guess a random dev/mod/whoever took it over and started chatting back to me.
Thank you everyone for all the costume contests, Virtue RP, Hami (Lag) raids, Task Forces, PuGs and special events.
November 30th?
http://uk.gamespot.com/news/city-of-...g-down-6394375
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No you are obviously wrong. The articles already out there that the losses they suffered are from their other games.|
Originally Posted by Tutelary
Whatever. You are obviously WRONG!!!
Now, I get to say I'm really tired of hearing from people like you and will be glad to say so until this game closes. You are finally off ignore. Laughable that you are still trying to spin things. |
NCsoft may have more banking on Guild Wars 2 than once thought. The mega-publisher announced that its second quarter earnings were lower than expected; it posted a$6 million loss for the period.
Revenues were down 12% from last year to $130 million, of which a vast majority came from NCsoft's online titles. The company stated that it dipped into the red due to rising labor costs, an increased marketing budget for Blade & Soul's Korean launch, and the acquisition of Ntreev. Aion was also blamed for the company's financial woes, as revenues in that title sharply decreased due to fewer microtransaction sales.
BothLineage titles composed a great share of the company's revenues, with the first game producing 45% of sales and the sequel 13%.
NCsoft said that it is banking on Guild Wars 2 to produce a profitable third quarter, however.
Notice there is no mention of CoH losing them money.
http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/08...6m-loss-in-q2/
But you haters have always believed what you wanted. Your antics have always been amusing here.
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I don't know about that so much. |
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
The game is healthy. NCSoft's cutting us because of losses in their other games.
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CoX's revenue has been in a downward trajectory for quite some time and even adding the F2P option has not reversed that direction.
And Guild Wars 2 i think pre-sold over 1 million copies and had 400k concurrent users in the headstart...which seems promising but it's a bit early.
Surely it would make more sense to sell CoH off then to just close it down right? DC Universe and Champions are still up and running and CoH HAS to generate more income than both those games right? Isnt Everquest still running and that game is how old?
Someone must want to buy this game?