Originally posted by DMKano Mu thoughts - expect major changes in 6-12 months. Business as usual now, but once the dust settles - boom gonna see lots of changes. I'd be updating my resume if I were at SoE.
I concur. Im 95% certain EQN is going to be EVEN MORE casualized, dumbed down, and generally made suckier in order to be "cross platform", which will likely include some mobile component. There will be a massive cash shop with lots of P2W type stuff, because, well, it makes money. And like the article said, these guys are investors, they're here to make money. Not to make good games, and no, the 2 are not mutually dependent.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
As a tech based company, being bought out from a parent tech company to an investment firm is never a good thing. Investments firms don't have any appreciation for the technology, they are only interested in ways of cutting corners to turn a profit. I say this as someone who has seen my current tech based employers bought out by investment firms and saw nothing good come from it.
Why is Vanguard mentioned so much? I mean, I would love to see Vanguard come back AND be developed, but I can see no reason why that would happen. Vanguard was closed because it wasn't profitable, and a new investor are very unlikely to reopen such a project.
But here is a crazy speculation, no actually take it as a suggestion... Maybe the new company would consider selling the Vanguard ip for a reasonable price, and then imagine that someone (YOU) made a kickstarter project aimed at buying the ip, and relaunching the game. I am sure a few enthusiasts can get a cheap server setup running, that can atleast sustain itself on some basic monetization, maybe even donations. Inquiring about the possibility is free, you never know, sometimes things does happen.
They will pull the plug on EQ Next, there is probably not much of a game there to begin with as nothing has ever really been shown. And that will be the end of that.
I wonder what will happen to Mr. John Smedley. He's was one of the original founders of "989 Studios" that later became "Verant Interactive" and stayed all throughout SOE history of ownership. Does he stay on board with "Daybreak" or does he get a golden parachute and given the heeve hoe by "Columbus Nova"?
He's needed to be given the boot for a long time now. That's just my opinion though.
Originally posted by koboldfodder They will pull the plug on EQ Next, there is probably not much of a game there to begin with as nothing has ever really been shown. And that will be the end of that.
I've always thought EQN is Landmark. I am probably wrong there, but nothing would surprise me where Smedley is involved...
The holy grail right now is to have your game on every gaming device. And not have to spend a penny more to do it. When the investment firm comes in the first thing they will ask is what revenue streams are there and how can we widen the stream and not spend any money? The coders will present the most cost efficient plan, and the suits will counter with do it for a quarter the price or you're fired. The people who know what they are doing will be fired and a bunch of incompetents will be hired. The results, the end of the custom game engine.
The may drop all so called P2W, to restore the player bases’ good will. But soon they will go whale hunting. Whenever you hear the phrase investment firm, think Ahab and the hunt for the white whale.
Pardon any spelling errors
Konfess your cyns and some maybe forgiven Boy: Why can't I talk to Him? Mom: We don't talk to Priests. As if it could exist, without being payed for. F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing. Even telemarketers wouldn't think that. It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
Why is Vanguard mentioned so much? I mean, I would love to see Vanguard come back AND be developed, but I can see no reason why that would happen. Vanguard was closed because it wasn't profitable, and a new investor are very unlikely to reopen such a project.
But here is a crazy speculation, no actually take it as a suggestion... Maybe the new company would consider selling the Vanguard ip for a reasonable price, and then imagine that someone (YOU) made a kickstarter project aimed at buying the ip, and relaunching the game. I am sure a few enthusiasts can get a cheap server setup running, that can atleast sustain itself on some basic monetization, maybe even donations. Inquiring about the possibility is free, you never know, sometimes things does happen.
This good idea. I think there is more juice in Vanguard for smart investor.
"I'm not going to say that their newfound independence from Sony is the catalyst they need to develop Vanguard 2, but...OK I am going to say it, it's EXACTLY the kind of thing they need to make the next Vanguard."
Please please please please please.............................Well you get the picture !
No major pissing around with the base game... All mechanics intact, world intact... Just give it a good engine and a thorough anti-bug scrubbing !
I'd happily pay £20 a month sub with NO cash-shop :
this is a good thing. Sony brought a lot of issues to SOE. Hackings and consoles were a couple of the issues due to being associated with Sony. now that they are no longer with them they can publish games for the xbox not just the playstation and will most likely suffer less attacks due to not being part of sony and the PSN.
"Columbus Nova is in business to seek consistent returns for their investors with an emphasis on capital preservation." - Grakulen
"CN takes a value-oriented, long-term view to investing and seeks consistent returns with an emphasis on capital preservation." - Columbus Nova website
100% behind the whole "this might well lead to more mobile games", and I'd plus the chance that microtransactions will be abused a lot more in future games.
I only hope that they cut down on "overly creative" IT practices that keep tearing down and rebuilding games, and actually focus on bug-fixes and timely releases...you know, the stuff people actually are paying for.
i don't think they are indie for sure .remember that sony did allow soe to keep running some games way beyond their financial viable period.
the matrix online was bought to get hold of the DC licence and really should have been shutdown right way but was around for a couple of years.
vanguard i visited a few times over the years and was pretty barren but ran on for a number of years and even an attempt to fix it was done a few times.
most investment houses will not wait even a year
as for smed.yes he made some bad choices over the years but i think soe or daybreak or when it was verrant have come to rely heavily on him and doubt they can lose him that easily.
Get ready for some really expensive and necessary cash shops. It will be like PW all over again and then some.
Have to wait and see, but no matter how you look at it, it just can't be a good thing. Then again, if they can swing a licensing deal with Disney, we might see a SWG pre NGE version again which despite it's flaws is better than most of the junk on the market today. Always wishful thinking.....
Sony has had money woes for a while now. Not just SOE. They have been selling off things quite frequently for a while now. I still wander what happened to the vaio (sp?) line. I know they sold it but ill be dampened if I see them anywhere.
Hopefully the new overlords keep all access subscriptions. I had plans to use such when H1Z1 launched. It would just a Planetside 2 sub for me.
heres my two cents as long as they retain the good game devs from soe this could be VERY promising, more resources means less poaching of dev teams to work on other games. the real detriment is soe was allowed to often run games at aloss, with an investment group in charge that is gonna change fast and I envision dragons prophet being removed from their roster very soon
If SOE is now owned by a venture capital company the end goal will be profit, period. That's the way I see it anyway. The hint that xb one games and other platforms can be exploited is a big clue to what will happen next.
MOBA games and Hearthstone type games are a fraction of the cost to develop and we've seen the profit potential of these kinds of games for some time now. They're also a lot less complex and would be easier to port to other platforms.
The way I see it SOE/DBG's days as a MMO developer are probably over. They may or may not be allowed to continue with development of EQN and Landmark but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if these projects were terminated. I just don't see this new parent company approving 100 million dollars to develop a game when they can spent 10 and achieve the same sort of profits.
I expect to see a switch in focus to MOBA's and mobile app games in the very near future. I also expect to see a fair few layoffs in upper and middle management, and I think Smed will announce his resignation within the next few months too. There's gonna be some housecleaning going on and a new CEO to lead the new direction.
We shall see.
Why does it have to be one or the other? There's good money to be made in all of the gaming markets. MMORPGs may be expensive to make, but if you make a good one, it more than returns your investment for many years to come. Just because mobiles, consoles and arcade gameplay are larger markets, doesn't mean virtual worlds with in depth gameplay and community aren't worth pursuing at the same time. Lord knows, when you invest, it pays to diversify and that same principle works here too.
"Columbus Nova is in business to seek consistent returns for their investors with an emphasis on capital preservation." - Grakulen
"CN takes a value-oriented, long-term view to investing and seeks consistent returns with an emphasis on capital preservation." - Columbus Nova website
I love you Grak. But...busted
"Columbus Nova is in business to seek consistent returns for their investors with an emphasis on capital preservation and they even say as much on their website."
For now they are keeping Smedley on, which, IMO, points towards this being an investment to be cut up and sold off, rather than a long term investment with the intention of making the studio a standout success in the MMO genre.
If they actually saw this as a long term investment, making quality games and profiting from revenues, the very first thing they would have done was axe Smedley! The guy has continually tampered with every effort by the company to regain fan support and return to success. The company has a lot of great developers, but Smedley has always found away to institute greed based changes that backfire by killing the games and greatly reducing revenue potential.
On the plus side, it is not at all uncommon for a president/ceo to survive the initial merge/buy out, only to be shown the door in a few months, once the transition is complete.
It's really a shame that Sony decided to sell out the division, rather than can Smedley and see what the studio could actually accomplish with out him. Of course, if there had been a turn around, then the would have to explain why they didn't fire him years ago.
Looks like this was at least partially about saving face.
Comments
If they wont reopen Vanguard, maybe they'll sell it back to Brad now.
I concur. Im 95% certain EQN is going to be EVEN MORE casualized, dumbed down, and generally made suckier in order to be "cross platform", which will likely include some mobile component. There will be a massive cash shop with lots of P2W type stuff, because, well, it makes money. And like the article said, these guys are investors, they're here to make money. Not to make good games, and no, the 2 are not mutually dependent.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Why is Vanguard mentioned so much? I mean, I would love to see Vanguard come back AND be developed, but I can see no reason why that would happen. Vanguard was closed because it wasn't profitable, and a new investor are very unlikely to reopen such a project.
But here is a crazy speculation, no actually take it as a suggestion... Maybe the new company would consider selling the Vanguard ip for a reasonable price, and then imagine that someone (YOU) made a kickstarter project aimed at buying the ip, and relaunching the game. I am sure a few enthusiasts can get a cheap server setup running, that can atleast sustain itself on some basic monetization, maybe even donations. Inquiring about the possibility is free, you never know, sometimes things does happen.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
My thoughts are, I'm setting in the left field watching this fly ball. The winds of change may push it to the left of the pylon.
If you are interested in making a MMO maybe visit my page to get a free open source engine.
He's needed to be given the boot for a long time now. That's just my opinion though.
I've always thought EQN is Landmark. I am probably wrong there, but nothing would surprise me where Smedley is involved...
The holy grail right now is to have your game on every gaming device. And not have to spend a penny more to do it. When the investment firm comes in the first thing they will ask is what revenue streams are there and how can we widen the stream and not spend any money? The coders will present the most cost efficient plan, and the suits will counter with do it for a quarter the price or you're fired. The people who know what they are doing will be fired and a bunch of incompetents will be hired. The results, the end of the custom game engine.
The may drop all so called P2W, to restore the player bases’ good will. But soon they will go whale hunting. Whenever you hear the phrase investment firm, think Ahab and the hunt for the white whale.Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.
As if it could exist, without being payed for.
F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing.
Even telemarketers wouldn't think that.
It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
This good idea. I think there is more juice in Vanguard for smart investor.
"I'm not going to say that their newfound independence from Sony is the catalyst they need to develop Vanguard 2, but...OK I am going to say it, it's EXACTLY the kind of thing they need to make the next Vanguard."
Please please please please please.............................Well you get the picture !
No major pissing around with the base game... All mechanics intact, world intact... Just give it a good engine and a thorough anti-bug scrubbing !
I'd happily pay £20 a month sub with NO cash-shop :
"Columbus Nova is in business to seek consistent returns for their investors with an emphasis on capital preservation." - Grakulen
"CN takes a value-oriented, long-term view to investing and seeks consistent returns with an emphasis on capital preservation." - Columbus Nova website
I love you Grak. But...busted
100% behind the whole "this might well lead to more mobile games", and I'd plus the chance that microtransactions will be abused a lot more in future games.
I only hope that they cut down on "overly creative" IT practices that keep tearing down and rebuilding games, and actually focus on bug-fixes and timely releases...you know, the stuff people actually are paying for.
i don't think they are indie for sure .remember that sony did allow soe to keep running some games way beyond their financial viable period.
the matrix online was bought to get hold of the DC licence and really should have been shutdown right way but was around for a couple of years.
vanguard i visited a few times over the years and was pretty barren but ran on for a number of years and even an attempt to fix it was done a few times.
most investment houses will not wait even a year
as for smed.yes he made some bad choices over the years but i think soe or daybreak or when it was verrant have come to rely heavily on him and doubt they can lose him that easily.
Get ready for some really expensive and necessary cash shops. It will be like PW all over again and then some.
Have to wait and see, but no matter how you look at it, it just can't be a good thing. Then again, if they can swing a licensing deal with Disney, we might see a SWG pre NGE version again which despite it's flaws is better than most of the junk on the market today. Always wishful thinking.....
Well see which titles does the new owner cancel. EQN, H1Z1, or something else?
Investment company is looking to grab quick returns for their investment, and developing a themepark MMO isn't one way to do it.
Hopefully the new overlords keep all access subscriptions. I had plans to use such when H1Z1 launched. It would just a Planetside 2 sub for me.
being sold only in Japan for now
http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5859994/vaio-is-back
EQ2 fan sites
so say we all
Why does it have to be one or the other? There's good money to be made in all of the gaming markets. MMORPGs may be expensive to make, but if you make a good one, it more than returns your investment for many years to come. Just because mobiles, consoles and arcade gameplay are larger markets, doesn't mean virtual worlds with in depth gameplay and community aren't worth pursuing at the same time. Lord knows, when you invest, it pays to diversify and that same principle works here too.
"Columbus Nova is in business to seek consistent returns for their investors with an emphasis on capital preservation and they even say as much on their website."
Better?
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For now they are keeping Smedley on, which, IMO, points towards this being an investment to be cut up and sold off, rather than a long term investment with the intention of making the studio a standout success in the MMO genre.
If they actually saw this as a long term investment, making quality games and profiting from revenues, the very first thing they would have done was axe Smedley! The guy has continually tampered with every effort by the company to regain fan support and return to success. The company has a lot of great developers, but Smedley has always found away to institute greed based changes that backfire by killing the games and greatly reducing revenue potential.
On the plus side, it is not at all uncommon for a president/ceo to survive the initial merge/buy out, only to be shown the door in a few months, once the transition is complete.
It's really a shame that Sony decided to sell out the division, rather than can Smedley and see what the studio could actually accomplish with out him. Of course, if there had been a turn around, then the would have to explain why they didn't fire him years ago.
Looks like this was at least partially about saving face.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
