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New Logo, Site & Big Q2 Profits in Latest Investor Report - MMORPG.com News
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
New Logo, Site & Big Q2 Profits in Latest Investor Report - MMORPG.com News
Funcom has published its Q2 2017 investor's report. Most notable on the aesthetic side is the new company logo sporting a decidedly Conan-esque figure. Of more practical matters for investors, Funcom has recorded record profits for the first half of the year. 2Q 17 revenues are up 79% vs 2Q 16.It is the most profitable six months in the company's history. In addition to record profits, the company's debt has been halved as well as equity increasing by almost 40%.
Comments
FUNcom!
You stay sassy!
Given their dire situation last year, I was beginning to wonder if they'd survive...
(Dam, I miss that game)
All the crazies are going to come out of the wood work and rail on Funcom for making a profit! Putting cash before the love of making games!
From what I read in most posts here profit is an evil word!
They have turned Secret World in to a money farm though. Too heavy handed, will do well for first few months and then die off quite quickly.
In a single image, they've captured the feelings of many of their fans over the years, starting with Anarchy Online.
That's a very disingenuous spin on it.
People are not opposed to a company making money/profit. It means the company is healthy and will, presumably, be able to continue creating the games/products they enjoy and which made the company successful in the first place.
What people have a problem with is when developers make decisions that are not pro-player/pro-fan, but done *exclusively* to increase their bottom line without regard for how those changes will affect the game for their players, or consideration for how their players might feel about said changes.
Players like to see their favorite developer succeed. They don't like to see that success come at the cost of themselves (the players) being screwed over, nickel-and-dimed, or sold out as a "thank you" for their patronage.
Rebooting TSW as SWL is one of the more egregious examples of a cynical, sneaky, and blatantly cash-grabby move made by a developer with zero regard for their long-time customers. It's the whole "let's sell out our existing playerbase in hopes of getting a bigger one".
It's not an 'accident' that players were kept in the dark about their plans for TSW until they were ready for their "big reveal", where they could put as positive a spin on it as possible and get a lot of media support. None of the existing players were expecting any of those changes. Existing players weren't asking for those changes. They were not asking for it to be changed to an Action RPG. They were not asking for the skills and build options to be dumbed down. They were not asking for a change of the combat system. They were not asking for full F2P with over-the-top cash shop implementation. That was all Funcom acting in complete isolation without taking their existing, loyal, long-time players into consideration. SWL is basically FC saying "F You" to their loyal customers.
They couldn't even be honest about how they represent it on Steam. It's a completely separate and different game from TSW, and should rightfully have been set up with its own store - especially since TSW is ostensibly "still available" and relevant (a whole other can of worms there). That would be the honest thing to do, which of course means FC didn't do it.
See, TSW has garnered a lot of positive feedback and reviews on Steam since its release on Steam. In fact, if you go back and look at all the reviews prior to SWL, you'll see a very, very positive overall impression. After taking away the game that actually *earned* those positive reviews, Funcom is using them to bolster the image of SWL - which has been receiving mostly negative reviews since its introduction. So... "our customers/players aren't important enough for us to care about being honest with them about how we're completely pulling the game they love out from under them... oh... but we're *totally* going to hold on to those positive reviews they wrote about it, and pretend they're actually talking about the cynical, cash-grab version we dropped on them".
They were having money problems and had to make drastic changes. Well whose fault is that? The players? No. It's FC's own fault, because they have a history of making terrible decisions for their IPs. The examples go all the way back to Anarchy Online, and it's the same story every time... FC makes crappy decisions for their IPs, it hurts them financially, and the players get screwed over for it.
Secret World Legends had already been going for a few months and it still seems to be doing fine.
Might want to move that goal post a little further back.
Also, Conan Exiles is constantly getting updates and SWL will be getting brand new content next year so the money is obviously being put back into the games.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Or just leave out the N entirely and call it FUcom.
Although better presented than the usual post of this type, it is still just another example of the spin applied to actions taken by game providers to maintain revenue as a money grab rather than it actually was, a move they felt necessary to keep the game sustainable. As such, it is pretty much a post just like Jaimi described.
Companies are generally risk adverse. If TSW was performing adequately as it was there would have been no motivation for Funcom to provide another version. Rather, they would have invested their resources in a proven winner... making the safe bet, taking the safe route.
Instead, they decided to take a risky path, to produce a new version, one that was more accessible to the newcomer, with more streamlined character development, with more fluid and active combat, a version that was quite different from the original.
Thus, it is quite clear, that TSW wasn't performing to the desired level, and further that they didn't expect that it would as it was, hence the revamp. As such, it doesn't matter that the players weren't asking for the changes that were made, as those players weren't providing sufficient revenue as things were to maintain the status quo.
Since much of the positive review of TSW was based on the story and setting of the game, rather than the clumsy mechanics which were often a source of complaint, it is quite reasonable for Funcom to use them when marketing SWL, as the story and setting essentially remain.
Funcom cares enough for the setting, and the players, to take another swing at the bat, while still keeping the older title about for those that prefer it.
This was done in the hope that what remains a niche title would draw a larger audience than before, one large enough to put SWL in a position of firm sustainability, so that players can continue to enjoy it while Funcom earns enough revenue to make providing it worthwhile.
There was disingenuous spin here to be sure, but by the accuser rather than the accused.
I'm glad they salvaged the one thing that almost everyone seemed to agree on. Does it suck for those diehard players? Of course. Was it the right move for the company as a whole? Very, very likely. The original TSW had an awful launch, and never really recovered from that. While SWL has done very well in today's MMO market already, and has a lot of potential to keep doing so.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
Oh shit, my friend is trying to get me to play Conan Exiles, too. Will that be the hate face I end up making?
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
And this one just proves the power of alt-facting... they've only said once that the reboot is needed because TSW was on the death row, and when their noses were rubbed into it they switched the pr bullsh.t right away to accessibility instead - and yet even after 6 months someone still keep reciting this like a mantra...
...even with the chart (while not as accurate as the actual numbers in the finance reports) is right there, this very f-ing report. A chart, showing a steady income and player numbers all through 2016, even without any new content added to the game.
The spike in '15 May is the end of season 1, and the spike at the end of that year is i13, the Ultimate sale, and the last sale rush of GM accounts, with i14 on the downward slope.
Still, after that players were stayed in and play and pay, without new content, just because to the lies alongside the year of Season 2 is coming... Only stopped to pay and sub after Legends launched (the drop to near zero in March)
That was sustainability. If you think this new crowd in Legends will stay and support the game for a year when there won't be content updates, you are delusional
Sure, since it's also a gamble like all cash-grabs, so they are leaving the option open for the chance that it will bring in enough cash during the months they release the remaining (and already existing) content into Legends... if so, then and only then will you, Legends people see Season 2. Just like they've pushed aside the new Conan game for a bit, just to get more dough out of Exiles while the flow is on.
But if that won't be the case, and Legends won't turn to be your favourite word, sustainable... well... the new game in NC can't just wait to get started kicking in motion
"New project is in early concepting stage with full production to be
(emphasis mine, of course)
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/