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Could there be a hidden reason this game isnt getting a NA publisher?
MMOExposed
Member RarePosts: 7,400
in ArcheAge
Why is it so hard for a game with this much hype and quaility to find a publisher?
if games like Darkfall, SWTOR, Warhammer, Vanguard, can find publishers, why cant this game?
doesnt make sense to me, unless the big shots with the money, see something the rest of us do not.
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Tough to say.
Going on what I've been reading on the English ArcheAge fan sites, it sounds like XL Games' "betas" really are betas; meaning they're actually taking feedback from each closed beta phase and tuning the game.
Maybe we'll know more info after the next phase, since phase 4 closed only recently.
im half expecting En Masse to pick it up. but it needs to release first.
I've got the straight edge.
Well, there might be some reason behind it but my guess is that the bidding wont start until the gam e is solid enough.
Korean MMO do generally pretty bad in the west so any publisher will wait until they are sure the game is worth it.
Or maybe the studio plan to translate the game themselves once the game is really ready. It is not that unlikely, Japanese studios always do it themselves. Then they just sell it on steam with a lot higher profit then if someone like En Masse license it.
My thoughts about this are as follows:
They have decided the F2P/P2P policy for Korea and China, but still on the fence for western market. And without clear decision, they won't even try to find a NA/EU publisher (well, publishers also wouldn't commit without that decision).
Could of course be the simplest reason: they are waiting to see how successful they will be in the far eastern market.
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Not unlikely, if they sell well they either get a better price or the money to publish it themselves.
If they really believe in it wauting a while is probably a good decision (even though it sucks for us western gamers that want to try it out).
While developing the game enough to show folks the action, it's possible that the producers are dithering a bit on trying to make something that appeals to everyone. Many, many folks are excited about the game for its PvP, others for the sandbox/building... it seems possible that they need to narrow their target audience so a publisher can market it correctly.
So long as trash publishers like PWE and Aeria stay away from it, it's all good.
its still in closed beta and it has not been released in korea yet.
And yet, PWE showed how much better than the total trash Atari when they bought Cryptic and forced them to actually put in 2 months more development into NWNO.
It could always be worse...
Ugh.. That made me cringe.
Well, XL games seems to be adequately funded without a publisher in NA and EU.
Thus the publisher's role in this case is limited to marketing, distribution, packaging, burning the discs, etc. There's really no need to have these types of publishing contracts ready at this stage of the development (unless the game is to release within the next 6 months or so).
Also, self-publishing or digital download (perhaps via Steam and/or GoG) is another possibility.
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i sure would like them just to find translator,put those english version in japan ,since we got a fat pipe from america to japan!and put us all together asian and american.for global game.no localised america only server .(beurk)
The answer is simple.
NCSoft won't touch it because of bad blood.
SOE is dead broke and funding EQN
EA is flopping around like a dead fish with SWTOR and ME3 issues, as well as recently being awarded the #1 spot for worst company (or somesuch), and being worst company over Bank of America is saying something.
Frogster is wrapped up in TERA.
and so forth...
I don't think the answer is simple.
Obviously no one here can say for sure.
That said - Sandboxes have proven to be a headache for companies, perhaps there are some serious problems with it we don't know about, perhaps their are contractual problems, It really could be a large number of things. I'm guessing if it turns out to be a big hit it will end up on the NA market one way or another, too big of a market for a successful game to not take part in.
Blame Canada
Realistically I think we will see a publisher pick up this game soon enough. I would actually love to see En Masse pick up this game, because as a poster mentioned previously - the ones he listed were suffering from some type of failure. Hopefully we will see it within a year, but that's a long shot.
When was the "correct" specific date when this should have happened by in your brain? It makes sense that they don't have a USA publisher until they have one. How is this anything other than YOUR ISSUE?
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Well i like to look at this sort of through "investors" eyes and such.
#1. Its a korean game. These have proven to flop hard while being wildly successful in asia. Look at aion, huge success over there, down to 4 servers and 100% F2P now...even after a lunch of a major expansion recently (said they had 6 servers ready to go, didnt need any of them)
Would you want the publishing rights to an area with a track record of underperformance?
#2. Its not themepark. Yes i know we all crave the sandbox on these forums but then vote with our wallet for the themepark where we pay $50 en mass to a company for making a game we dont want, then play it for a few months and leave.
Think of all the sandboxes that have released somewhat recently... Darkfall is the biggest one...yeah i love the game but i know exactly how niche it is...one dead EU server and one medium-low pop NA server.
Do you want pulbishing rights for a type of game proven to not be populair?
#3. The combination of 1&2. We have a game here that is not only korean but sandbox. To a publisher this may look like the worst case scenario.
#4. How can they sell a game to a publisher before its finished and theyve decided on a business model? When is the planned launch and what other games is it going to compete with? Its not uncommon for korean games to take a year to make their way over here.
Also, like others said...the big name publishers are occupied..even if you hate those publishers....the small name ones are even worse. Im sure aria and IGG and always looking for new games...same with gamerfist which is K2 networks rebranding themselves..and what they did to Knights Online back when it was somewhat of a decent game.
With that said...is it possible for XL games to just do it themselves after theyve secured a home market launch?
SWTOR and Warhammer are owned by their publishers, and Vanguard had a publisher locked in during development. Don't know anything about Darkfall.
I'm just pointing out the crappiness of these examples.
Perhaps the publisher issue is finding the right company to partner with, not that the game in some way makes finding a partner difficult.
I would go with they havent really tried or wanted to find one yet, they may be wanting to polish it up in another market, for a bit, before going west? Have seen no news on them trying to find one or being turned down, it's speculation either way.
Actually, it seems like NCSoft could very well be the western publisher...
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Swtor is Bioware=EA so there is no looking for a publisher there.Darkfall did NOT have it easy in any respect including a publisher.It has been a long time but i know DF struggled badly but i can't go into each detail anymore.Vanguard was Sigil made of former SOE execs so again no real looking for a publisher.
A korean game trying to publish in NA is a great deal and getting the right one matters a lot.Example i detest Frogster and will not support any game they publish they are crooks who will literally steal money from you.I have found most outside publishers do not give proper game support games are handled badly.
I know little of Warhammer so i had to look it up ,never heard of that publisher and Warhammer did not do well so to be expected.
About 3 months ago i read a report that mentioned a couple publishers were interested but might want some changes made to the game before accepting it.That tells me they probably want a more proven design and will be asking for a Wow type game.I hope they do not give in and find a publisher that is willing to let them make the game they have envisioned.One thing that can be of great concern to any player is the potential for cash shop,once yo uget another hand in the cookie jar they look to grab more money fom the players.
The bottom line is that it is risky to take on a foreign game into the NA public.Darkfall may have been Greek owned run but not from the start they just tookover an already 90% finished game so again not really a good example to base anything on and DF has not exactly been a success either.
I personally want AA to be a success,i feel the industry needs it as all the big names have imo fallen offthe chart or are falling fast.This game however might dissapoint me from the first minute i walk in,i really have no idea but i am praying it works out.
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