Boycottncsoft.com has been set up to raise awareness of NCSoft's business practices and, although it may be too late for City of Heroes players, that doesn't mean more gamers should potentially suffer.
Were you a City of Heroes Player? Tabula Rasa? Dungeon Runners? Exteel? Auto Assault? They want YOUR stories, so please drop by and let them know.
[mod edit]
It really wasnt dying. Most people that where playing would have played it in years to come, the game was niche.
Boycottncsoft.com has been set up to raise awareness of NCSoft's business practices and, although it may be too late for City of Heroes players, that doesn't mean more gamers should potentially suffer.
Were you a City of Heroes Player? Tabula Rasa? Dungeon Runners? Exteel? Auto Assault? They want YOUR stories, so please drop by and let them know.
[mod edit]
It really wasnt dying. Most people that where playing would have played it in years to come, the game was niche.
You really don't see how every last bit of what you just stated as fact is nothing but baseless opinion?
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
NCSoft is within their rights to shut down CoH. CoH players and former players are, in turn, within their rights to try and make NCSoft as miserable as possible over the decision.
If you think for one second that NCSoft loses one millisecond of sleep over a bunch of unhappy customers, then you live in a dream world.
Besides, just because some butthurt gamer can buy a domain name and set up a wordpress blog doesn't mean it will have any effect on the state (or non-state of CoH) at all, or any other NCSoft game.
Someone purchased the domain from namecheap.com -- 5 days ago. That should be your first clue as to what lies underneath.
You really don't see how every last bit of what you just stated as fact is nothing but baseless opinion?
Yes, im sure the game was dying and the people complaining are just bots programed by ncsoft rival companies. Also im sure that i was playing alone and all of the grouping i did was with korean bot farmers, all those 70 or 80+ people leagues, each and everyone a cleverly programed bot!!
All the signatures for the petition where fake i tell you! the fact that you even know about ncsoft closing city of heroes means that carefully crafted propaganda from their competitors has succeded. The outcry just an illusion!!!
No way to prove that the game had backers now sadly, its not like they made a page agaist ncsoft or anything, its not like there are numerous groups on facebook. its not like you have people banned left and right on ncsoft pages and forums because they spoke of what happened with CoH, even in their korean pages.
What surprises me is that NCSoft is all of a sudden a "shitty" company because they closed CoH. I mean, they aren't the best, but no MMO gamer doesn't know the name. NCSoft has served as a decent gateway for most to get onto the online gaming scene. CoH was my first MMO. I enjoyed it, and it still is my favorite MMO. I'm sad it's gone, but decisions are made whether you should respect them or not.
All these movements just to hurt NCSoft is not only retarded, but is selfish. Seriously, how can anyone be so hypocritical? They lose their game and care nothing about people playing current NCSoft games, and wants them to suffer.
NCSoft has already lost money closing CoH. A price to pay. What MORE do you want? Bankrupcy? Pathethic. Any kind of vengeance sparked from the game's closure contradicts the claim that City of Heroes held one of the best communities in an MMO. Hell, I still wanna believe it. But just because the game is gone doesn't mean you should lose face. Unless you're saying the game influences how you act? Puppetry.
Find a new home. There will never be another CoH. Nothing you do or say will bring it back. Boycotting NCSoft will not get rid of the pain, nor will it avenge CoH. What NCSoft did wasn't wrong, and all of you are just being big babies about it all, and I'm disgusted. I don't know ANY of you anymore. I really didn't think you guys were serious, but for you to make a website specificly to boycott a company, let alone a Korean company? What the HELL is the matter with you?!
If NCSoft didn't care about the West, then why in the hell should it matter if Western fans boycott? Right, it's all just a waste of time. It's like boycotting McDonald's for making you obese. Not only do they not give a damn, your efforts sure as hell won't give way.
Believe it or not, City of Heroes failed to deliver. You can bring up the "CoH was still making money!" hoo-haw all you want, but as a company, sacrifices must be met in order to prepare for greater profitable measures.
Take your ass to the Titan Network and help develop a successor rather than wasting your time telling everyone how bad NCSoft is.
Well, Moe, you state a lot of things, and I'll try to address them all to help you understand where we're coming from.
Re: suddenly a shitty company -- well, we have to draw the line in the sand somewhere and the shutdown of City of Heroes is considered by some to be quite an egregious act.
Re: word choice -- "retarded", really? Of all the possible choices of words (juvenile, futile, ridiculous, stupid, childish, laughable, etc.), you chose "retarded". It's tough to take the rest seriously, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
Re: all these movements against NCsoft are selfish and hypocritical -- here is where I don't think you see the point. NCsoft is developing a nasty reputation in this industry for not respecting its gaming consumers. We're not out to sabotage other gamers' games, but raise awareness of this reputation for those who haven't invested in games such as Guild Wars 2 or the soon to be released Blade and Soul (or eventually Wildstar). And for those that have, at least make them aware before they spend more money on them. Even more, it's about letting companies know that as consumers we do have a voice and we're willing to use it. Frankly, I think we would be doing our fellow gamers more of a disservice if we just went off to other games quietly - it leaves themexposed to the same kind of treatment and sends a message to companies that it's okay to behave this way.
Re: it doesn't matter -- well, considering NCsoft has billed itself as being a worldwide gaming company, we suspect they still want to do some business in the west, even after slashing much of the operations here, and that's why we're "bothering" to make the effort. Furthermore, we've seen what communities can do -- Firefly fans got Serentiy; Jericho got an additional set of episodes; Arrested Development is returning on a new network; Mass Effect 3 got a new ending. It can matter -- it's about commitment.
Re: Find a new home/get your ass over to the Titan Network -- many of us have found new homes or already have hooked up with the Titan Network already, thanks ( ' :
What bothers me is that this site is cheering the decrease in stock price and the laid off employees. They shut down a GAME and those people have the audacity to cheer someone losing their job?
Playing: FFXIV, DnL, and World of Warships Waiting on: Ashes of Creation
Originally posted by DSWBeef What bothers me is that this site is cheering the decrease in stock price and the laid off employees. They shut down a GAME and those people have the audacity to cheer someone losing their job?
Oh quit with the sanctimonious concern.
Nobody likes to hear about layoffs. But keep in mind, they weren't the ones who laid them off. It was your friends at NCSoft. All the more reason why this publisher is unfit to manage games.
And, seriously, if the former players are really, really as inconsequential as people here say they are, then it's obvious they had nothing to do with the decrease in stock price, right?
Or...
Maybe the disgruntled players are doing something significant. But I'll tell you this much. If they are affecting NCSoft's bottom line, it isn't because they lied. It's because they simply exposed the truth: that this publisher is flawed.
Why shouldn't they want to see NCSoft tank? After all, an NCSoft bankruptcy might be the best way for interested parties to get what they want. Once their assets are placed into receivership, it'll open the door for a better team to acquire them.
__________________________ "Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it." --Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints." --Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls." --Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
You really don't see how every last bit of what you just stated as fact is nothing but baseless opinion?
Yes, im sure the game was dying and the people complaining are just bots programed by ncsoft rival companies. Also im sure that i was playing alone and all of the grouping i did was with korean bot farmers, all those 70 or 80+ people leagues, each and everyone a cleverly programed bot!!
All the signatures for the petition where fake i tell you! the fact that you even know about ncsoft closing city of heroes means that carefully crafted propaganda from their competitors has succeded. The outcry just an illusion!!!
No way to prove that the game had backers now sadly, its not like they made a page agaist ncsoft or anything, its not like there are numerous groups on facebook. its not like you have people banned left and right on ncsoft pages and forums because they spoke of what happened with CoH, even in their korean pages.
.... oh wait ...
I never said or implied that any signatures were fake or that the game was filled with bots or that the outcry was an illusion. When you're ready to present your views without completely polarized exaggerations in both directions, we'll try this conversation again.
I think you CoH guys are missing the very simple fact that you are representing the COH community to the rest of us. If you really want to garner empathy, sympathy or support you're going about it a bit wrong.
[mod edit]
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Originally posted by DSWBeef What bothers me is that this site is cheering the decrease in stock price and the laid off employees. They shut down a GAME and those people have the audacity to cheer someone losing their job?
It seems that NC soft do not care for money, as 1) COH was making a profit and 2) They could have sold the IP and got into the black and prevented job losses and they did even entertan that fact but then the sale came with unreasonable demands
I bet NC Soft will not even bother themselves about this Boycott, and boycott or not more people will continue to lose their jobs, as the closure of COH did not save MORE people losing their jobs. They seem to operate their business under certain principals and not financial reasons, or just seem to be running themselves into the ground on purpose.
If closing COH was right financially for them, then the stock price would not decrease faster, which it has done, and more recent layoffs would not happen so soon either
So why bother with them, they have no clue for business, and just end up wasting our time and money (as well as theirs as COH going F2P certainly did not happen cheaply), when better spent elsewhere?
I never said or implied that any signatures were fake or that the game was filled with bots or that the outcry was an illusion. When you're ready to present your views without completely polarized exaggerations in both directions, we'll try this conversation again.
I think you CoH guys are missing the very simple fact that you are representing the COH community to the rest of us. If you really want to garner empathy, sympathy or support you're going about it a bit wrong.
[mod edit]
Sorry if you feel that way, i do believe that ncsoft did something very wrong to thousands of people without a valid reason, and i do believe they should be punished. I do believe that what they did was so wrong that boycotting them is the way to go, they closed a game that was making a lot of people happy and making a profit, probably because it looked better on a book.
As i said in an older post, the game brought families together, it helped people move on from bad places in their lives. The reason it did it is because the game was friendly to casual gamers, because the premise was innocent and healthy, and gave them a place to chill with people that was pretty much like them.
I can live with CoH closing, the game was fun, but i didnt met my wife there, never did my son play that game with me (probably because they dont exist). But that was the case for lots of people, the had beautiful moments in game (so did i by the way).
But CoH players dont want your pity, they just want you to know what ncsoft did, why its a bad company, and why it could, and probably will, happen again.
Originally posted by Arglebargle I bet NCSoft worries about what their investors think. Which might not be so good right now, either.
Well, you see thats the problem. I doubt most of their investors read english, which means they are almost as isolated from whats really going on over here, as we are about whats really going on in Korea. As long as NCsoft keeps spreading fairy dust around, its going to be quite some time before reality catches up with them.
Originally posted by DSWBeef What bothers me is that this site is cheering the decrease in stock price and the laid off employees. They shut down a GAME and those people have the audacity to cheer someone losing their job?
While I feel bad that people have lost the jobs and their game, it wasn't my decision. It was NCsofts suits. If you look at NCsofts past history, they have quite a few notches on their headsmans axe, from western games they have shit down.
What I'm REALLY concerned about is Wildstar. Given NCsofts past history, I can't imagine why they would take NCsoft as a publisher.
Boycottncsoft.com has been set up to raise awareness of NCSoft's business practices and, although it may be too late for City of Heroes players, that doesn't mean more gamers should potentially suffer.
Were you a City of Heroes Player? Tabula Rasa? Dungeon Runners? Exteel? Auto Assault? They want YOUR stories, so please drop by and let them know.
Your "crusade" is bound to fail because two things seem to elude you:
Boycotts don't work
Petitions sometimes work
Boycotts tend to try to unify personal vendettas into a larger movement. But they always seem to ignore 3 key things: who they are targeting, who they are rallying and how long it would take. Gamers by nature (especially in mmos) do not work well together very often (see any mass PvP environment) and that comradery tends to erode very quickly the longer something drags out (see zergs). People just don't really care that much for someone else's problem. You'll have a core group of supporters, but that's about all. They (boycotts) offer no incentive for the companies they are going up against (obviously), nothing for those that have no horse in the race and nothing for those quite content with the company being targeted. And no one envolved really believes that if they get more people the company will change. For more recent references see:
BP
Chick-fil-A
Walmart
Fox News
Wall Street
Red states
Petitions on the other hand are more likely to work (in a way) because the goal is to get recognized by the target on a more scaled down level. To get a game released, to get a law changed, to get a product reintroduced. And the company at hand benefits as well as those that sign on. Also when others see petition they automatically assume it's for the greater good of something and are far more likely to attract people who actually enjoy helping others. For more recent reerences see:
Xenoblade Chronicles
The Last Story
GTA 5 (pc)
God of War collection on bluray
Kickstart projects
"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas."
Lot of people will not agree with me. But if I were to own any or all of them games and was not making worth while money I would still run it as a pet project as long as a few people were actually logging on once and a while. That is me though I enjoy running game servers and I like to try to make people happy. Its not going to break the bank especially since half their files been leaked on the internet and we see how little req it is to maintain a server with easily 1000+ Players on it.. Its a joke at this point the costs at a datacenter with a multicore server and 32 gigs of ram is like $200 a month at most...
NCsoft is not diff then EA.
PS: If they don't want to run it I will run it for them. Zing. Now whats their excuse I'm sure they will make lots like publisher this publisher that.
You = no concept of money or what goes behind keeping an MMO up and running.
Well, you see thats the problem. I doubt most of their investors read english, which means they are almost as isolated from whats really going on over here, as we are about whats really going on in Korea. As long as NCsoft keeps spreading fairy dust around, its going to be quite some time before reality catches up with them.
Actually, the Korean financial press has been asking pointed questions about why CoH was closed. So....I expect /they/ probably speak Korean.
Well, you see thats the problem. I doubt most of their investors read english, which means they are almost as isolated from whats really going on over here, as we are about whats really going on in Korea. As long as NCsoft keeps spreading fairy dust around, its going to be quite some time before reality catches up with them.
If you are a serious investor, entrepreneur, or any other sort of business person, it is more than likely you do speak English to the point of being able to understand international business articles.
Even if you don't speak English, unless you invest only pocketchange levels of money in a global company, it is in your best interest to know how that company is doing and part of that is knowing what its reputation is, how it is perceived to be doing, and that means checking on what the international press is saying. All of the serious investors I know read company performance avidly every day from multiple news sources. That is their 'job' and it does not matter what your mother tongue is.
I am very sure that a South Korean investor of NCSoft is going to want to know if closing CoX has pissed off a lot of players in the West, unless their Western market is really so small that they can withstand losing more. However, apparently small changes in the business world can have greater-than-expected consequences.
The point someone else made on this thread about NCSoft's reputation for being quick to close Western games turning him off of wanting to invest money and time in their products has a point. I admit that them closing CoX was a very big surprise to me and has spooked me a little about GW2. If there are lots of questions about this closure, and it seems that at the moment there are, how is ANet going to be doing in a little while if NCSoft does run into trouble? The price of their shares might not be in a drastically dangerous position, but it is clear to me that their current trend is not very er... positive.
Well, you see thats the problem. I doubt most of their investors read english, which means they are almost as isolated from whats really going on over here, as we are about whats really going on in Korea. As long as NCsoft keeps spreading fairy dust around, its going to be quite some time before reality catches up with them.
Actually, the Korean financial press has been asking pointed questions about why CoH was closed. So....I expect /they/ probably speak Korean.
Thats a good bet... ^^ It depends on how deeply the information penetrates, and also who starts asking really pointed questions.
Your "crusade" is bound to fail because two things seem to elude you:
Boycotts don't work
Petitions sometimes work
Boycotts tend to try to unify personal vendettas into a larger movement. But they always seem to ignore 3 key things: who they are targeting, who they are rallying and how long it would take. Gamers by nature (especially in mmos) do not work well together very often (see any mass PvP environment) and that comradery tends to erode very quickly the longer something drags out (see zergs). People just don't really care that much for someone else's problem. You'll have a core group of supporters, but that's about all. They (boycotts) offer no incentive for the companies they are going up against (obviously), nothing for those that have no horse in the race and nothing for those quite content with the company being targeted. And no one envolved really believes that if they get more people the company will change. For more recent references see:
BP
Chick-fil-A
Walmart
Fox News
Wall Street
Red states
Petitions on the other hand are more likely to work (in a way) because the goal is to get recognized by the target on a more scaled down level. To get a game released, to get a law changed, to get a product reintroduced. And the company at hand benefits as well as those that sign on. Also when others see petition they automatically assume it's for the greater good of something and are far more likely to attract people who actually enjoy helping others. For more recent reerences see:
Xenoblade Chronicles
The Last Story
GTA 5 (pc)
God of War collection on bluray
Kickstart projects
Boycotts raise awareness of dirty practices which cause a mess in PR.
There was a petition, over 20k sigs. And that not only the game was making money, it had an active comunity, there where radios in more than a few servers, CoH players gave a lot to charity, etc. A lot of RPs going on, and you couldnt spend more than a couple of days playing without finding a group of friends that would welcome you.
So yeah, there you go.
CoH is just a game as much a as Hamlet was just a play, or the Bible just a book. True, the qualities of those things are very different, but they did inspire people and thats really all that matters, isnt it?
if you are runing a bussiness and its profitable, why kill it and piss people off?
And im sorry if you believe that most people out there are self-centered jerks, i happen to have faith in human kind.
Boycottncsoft.com has been set up to raise awareness of NCSoft's business practices and, although it may be too late for City of Heroes players, that doesn't mean more gamers should potentially suffer.
Were you a City of Heroes Player? Tabula Rasa? Dungeon Runners? Exteel? Auto Assault? They want YOUR stories, so please drop by and let them know.
Your "crusade" is bound to fail because two things seem to elude you:
Boycotts don't work
Petitions sometimes work
Boycotts tend to try to unify personal vendettas into a larger movement. But they always seem to ignore 3 key things: who they are targeting, who they are rallying and how long it would take. Gamers by nature (especially in mmos) do not work well together very often (see any mass PvP environment) and that comradery tends to erode very quickly the longer something drags out (see zergs). People just don't really care that much for someone else's problem. You'll have a core group of supporters, but that's about all. They (boycotts) offer no incentive for the companies they are going up against (obviously), nothing for those that have no horse in the race and nothing for those quite content with the company being targeted. And no one envolved really believes that if they get more people the company will change. For more recent references see:
BP
Chick-fil-A
Walmart
Fox News
Wall Street
Red states
Petitions on the other hand are more likely to work (in a way) because the goal is to get recognized by the target on a more scaled down level. To get a game released, to get a law changed, to get a product reintroduced. And the company at hand benefits as well as those that sign on. Also when others see petition they automatically assume it's for the greater good of something and are far more likely to attract people who actually enjoy helping others. For more recent reerences see:
Xenoblade Chronicles
The Last Story
GTA 5 (pc)
God of War collection on bluray
Kickstart projects
"Bound to fail" is a pretty bold and definitive prediction considering the primary purpose (as stated in the first sentence of my original that you quoted) is to raise awareness of their business practices. ( ' :
Boycotts raise awareness of dirty practices which cause a mess in PR.
There was a petition, over 20k sigs. And that not only the game was making money, it had an active comunity, there where radios in more than a few servers, CoH players gave a lot to charity, etc. A lot of RPs going on, and you couldnt spend more than a couple of days playing without finding a group of friends that would welcome you.
So yeah, there you go.
CoH is just a game as much a as Hamlet was just a play, or the Bible just a book. True, the qualities of those things are very different, but they did inspire people and thats really all that matters, isnt it?
if you are runing a bussiness and its profitable, why kill it and piss people off?
And im sorry if you believe that most people out there are self-centered jerks, i happen to have faith in human kind.
CoX, like the older games on the market, fostered that community you describe: strong ties, firmly rooted, and going strong since the game's release. This very well could be a rarity in the global MMORPG industry and something tied mainly to how it all started in the West. Many of today's games do not foster communities like that anymore anywhere in the world and it is very possible that the people involved in decision-making at NCSoft are not the same ones who did so when CoX was released.
It is more than likely that despite being a game company, the people making decisions in NCSoft do not game themselves, or do not game at least in their Western games. I think that NCSoft did not realize quite what effect they would have by closing down a game that was profitable, yes, but as someone already said, probably was sacrificied because it didn't seem that important in perspective.
They have made a mistake and are taking a beating for it now. I am pretty sure they will survive, but they are going to come out with a serious black eye. I think that is good, because gaming as a hobby produces strong emotions and shouldn't be run exactly like other businesses in my opinion.
Comments
It really wasnt dying. Most people that where playing would have played it in years to come, the game was niche.
You really don't see how every last bit of what you just stated as fact is nothing but baseless opinion?
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
If you think for one second that NCSoft loses one millisecond of sleep over a bunch of unhappy customers, then you live in a dream world.
Besides, just because some butthurt gamer can buy a domain name and set up a wordpress blog doesn't mean it will have any effect on the state (or non-state of CoH) at all, or any other NCSoft game.
Someone purchased the domain from namecheap.com -- 5 days ago. That should be your first clue as to what lies underneath.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
Yes, im sure the game was dying and the people complaining are just bots programed by ncsoft rival companies. Also im sure that i was playing alone and all of the grouping i did was with korean bot farmers, all those 70 or 80+ people leagues, each and everyone a cleverly programed bot!!
All the signatures for the petition where fake i tell you! the fact that you even know about ncsoft closing city of heroes means that carefully crafted propaganda from their competitors has succeded. The outcry just an illusion!!!
No way to prove that the game had backers now sadly, its not like they made a page agaist ncsoft or anything, its not like there are numerous groups on facebook. its not like you have people banned left and right on ncsoft pages and forums because they spoke of what happened with CoH, even in their korean pages.
.... oh wait ...
Well, Moe, you state a lot of things, and I'll try to address them all to help you understand where we're coming from.
Re: suddenly a shitty company -- well, we have to draw the line in the sand somewhere and the shutdown of City of Heroes is considered by some to be quite an egregious act.
Re: word choice -- "retarded", really? Of all the possible choices of words (juvenile, futile, ridiculous, stupid, childish, laughable, etc.), you chose "retarded". It's tough to take the rest seriously, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
Re: all these movements against NCsoft are selfish and hypocritical -- here is where I don't think you see the point. NCsoft is developing a nasty reputation in this industry for not respecting its gaming consumers. We're not out to sabotage other gamers' games, but raise awareness of this reputation for those who haven't invested in games such as Guild Wars 2 or the soon to be released Blade and Soul (or eventually Wildstar). And for those that have, at least make them aware before they spend more money on them. Even more, it's about letting companies know that as consumers we do have a voice and we're willing to use it. Frankly, I think we would be doing our fellow gamers more of a disservice if we just went off to other games quietly - it leaves themexposed to the same kind of treatment and sends a message to companies that it's okay to behave this way.
Re: it doesn't matter -- well, considering NCsoft has billed itself as being a worldwide gaming company, we suspect they still want to do some business in the west, even after slashing much of the operations here, and that's why we're "bothering" to make the effort. Furthermore, we've seen what communities can do -- Firefly fans got Serentiy; Jericho got an additional set of episodes; Arrested Development is returning on a new network; Mass Effect 3 got a new ending. It can matter -- it's about commitment.
Re: Find a new home/get your ass over to the Titan Network -- many of us have found new homes or already have hooked up with the Titan Network already, thanks ( ' :
Playing: FFXIV, DnL, and World of Warships
Waiting on: Ashes of Creation
Oh quit with the sanctimonious concern.
Nobody likes to hear about layoffs. But keep in mind, they weren't the ones who laid them off. It was your friends at NCSoft. All the more reason why this publisher is unfit to manage games.
And, seriously, if the former players are really, really as inconsequential as people here say they are, then it's obvious they had nothing to do with the decrease in stock price, right?
Or...
Maybe the disgruntled players are doing something significant. But I'll tell you this much. If they are affecting NCSoft's bottom line, it isn't because they lied. It's because they simply exposed the truth: that this publisher is flawed.
Why shouldn't they want to see NCSoft tank? After all, an NCSoft bankruptcy might be the best way for interested parties to get what they want. Once their assets are placed into receivership, it'll open the door for a better team to acquire them.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
I never said or implied that any signatures were fake or that the game was filled with bots or that the outcry was an illusion. When you're ready to present your views without completely polarized exaggerations in both directions, we'll try this conversation again.
I think you CoH guys are missing the very simple fact that you are representing the COH community to the rest of us. If you really want to garner empathy, sympathy or support you're going about it a bit wrong.
[mod edit]
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
It seems that NC soft do not care for money, as 1) COH was making a profit and 2) They could have sold the IP and got into the black and prevented job losses and they did even entertan that fact but then the sale came with unreasonable demands
I bet NC Soft will not even bother themselves about this Boycott, and boycott or not more people will continue to lose their jobs, as the closure of COH did not save MORE people losing their jobs. They seem to operate their business under certain principals and not financial reasons, or just seem to be running themselves into the ground on purpose.
If closing COH was right financially for them, then the stock price would not decrease faster, which it has done, and more recent layoffs would not happen so soon either
So why bother with them, they have no clue for business, and just end up wasting our time and money (as well as theirs as COH going F2P certainly did not happen cheaply), when better spent elsewhere?
Star Trek Online - Best Free MMORPG of 2012
Sorry if you feel that way, i do believe that ncsoft did something very wrong to thousands of people without a valid reason, and i do believe they should be punished. I do believe that what they did was so wrong that boycotting them is the way to go, they closed a game that was making a lot of people happy and making a profit, probably because it looked better on a book.
As i said in an older post, the game brought families together, it helped people move on from bad places in their lives. The reason it did it is because the game was friendly to casual gamers, because the premise was innocent and healthy, and gave them a place to chill with people that was pretty much like them.
I can live with CoH closing, the game was fun, but i didnt met my wife there, never did my son play that game with me (probably because they dont exist). But that was the case for lots of people, the had beautiful moments in game (so did i by the way).
But CoH players dont want your pity, they just want you to know what ncsoft did, why its a bad company, and why it could, and probably will, happen again.
They want a little justice.
Well, you see thats the problem. I doubt most of their investors read english, which means they are almost as isolated from whats really going on over here, as we are about whats really going on in Korea. As long as NCsoft keeps spreading fairy dust around, its going to be quite some time before reality catches up with them.
While I feel bad that people have lost the jobs and their game, it wasn't my decision. It was NCsofts suits. If you look at NCsofts past history, they have quite a few notches on their headsmans axe, from western games they have shit down.
What I'm REALLY concerned about is Wildstar. Given NCsofts past history, I can't imagine why they would take NCsoft as a publisher.
Your "crusade" is bound to fail because two things seem to elude you:
"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas."
You = no concept of money or what goes behind keeping an MMO up and running.
Yeah... cause SWG never existed
Well, you see thats the problem. I doubt most of their investors read english, which means they are almost as isolated from whats really going on over here, as we are about whats really going on in Korea. As long as NCsoft keeps spreading fairy dust around, its going to be quite some time before reality catches up with them.
Actually, the Korean financial press has been asking pointed questions about why CoH was closed. So....I expect /they/ probably speak Korean.
If you are a serious investor, entrepreneur, or any other sort of business person, it is more than likely you do speak English to the point of being able to understand international business articles.
Even if you don't speak English, unless you invest only pocketchange levels of money in a global company, it is in your best interest to know how that company is doing and part of that is knowing what its reputation is, how it is perceived to be doing, and that means checking on what the international press is saying. All of the serious investors I know read company performance avidly every day from multiple news sources. That is their 'job' and it does not matter what your mother tongue is.
I am very sure that a South Korean investor of NCSoft is going to want to know if closing CoX has pissed off a lot of players in the West, unless their Western market is really so small that they can withstand losing more. However, apparently small changes in the business world can have greater-than-expected consequences.
The point someone else made on this thread about NCSoft's reputation for being quick to close Western games turning him off of wanting to invest money and time in their products has a point. I admit that them closing CoX was a very big surprise to me and has spooked me a little about GW2. If there are lots of questions about this closure, and it seems that at the moment there are, how is ANet going to be doing in a little while if NCSoft does run into trouble? The price of their shares might not be in a drastically dangerous position, but it is clear to me that their current trend is not very er... positive.
Playing MUDs and MMOs since 1994.
Thats a good bet... ^^ It depends on how deeply the information penetrates, and also who starts asking really pointed questions.
Boycotts raise awareness of dirty practices which cause a mess in PR.
There was a petition, over 20k sigs. And that not only the game was making money, it had an active comunity, there where radios in more than a few servers, CoH players gave a lot to charity, etc. A lot of RPs going on, and you couldnt spend more than a couple of days playing without finding a group of friends that would welcome you.
So yeah, there you go.
CoH is just a game as much a as Hamlet was just a play, or the Bible just a book. True, the qualities of those things are very different, but they did inspire people and thats really all that matters, isnt it?
if you are runing a bussiness and its profitable, why kill it and piss people off?
And im sorry if you believe that most people out there are self-centered jerks, i happen to have faith in human kind.
"Bound to fail" is a pretty bold and definitive prediction considering the primary purpose (as stated in the first sentence of my original that you quoted) is to raise awareness of their business practices. ( ' :
CoX, like the older games on the market, fostered that community you describe: strong ties, firmly rooted, and going strong since the game's release. This very well could be a rarity in the global MMORPG industry and something tied mainly to how it all started in the West. Many of today's games do not foster communities like that anymore anywhere in the world and it is very possible that the people involved in decision-making at NCSoft are not the same ones who did so when CoX was released.
It is more than likely that despite being a game company, the people making decisions in NCSoft do not game themselves, or do not game at least in their Western games. I think that NCSoft did not realize quite what effect they would have by closing down a game that was profitable, yes, but as someone already said, probably was sacrificied because it didn't seem that important in perspective.
They have made a mistake and are taking a beating for it now. I am pretty sure they will survive, but they are going to come out with a serious black eye. I think that is good, because gaming as a hobby produces strong emotions and shouldn't be run exactly like other businesses in my opinion.
Playing MUDs and MMOs since 1994.
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