This article is a little misleading. Gw2 won't be affected by these layoffs. These layoffs have to do with there other unannounced projects. Now that they dont have to deal with these other projects, they can purely focus on gw2.
I'm hoping Arena Net can continue to operate for at least another game launch. They do make great games, even if they aren't for everyone. GW2 was damn fun and tried to do things a lot different than other MMO's (which in turn made it boring / not fun for some people). Hopefully these layoffs don't affect too many.
For all the armchair economists in here, what would your solution be going forward for the companies making games? Many seem to be pointing the finger at capitalism as the reasons for all this. Mismanagement I would agree with, but it's not capitalism that is at fault.
They could start by holding upper management responsible/accountable for company missteps because the majority of the time it's their negligence or ignorance that causes failure.
If a business is to operate as a bubble that perpetually grows at least have the decency to distribute the growth across the entire bubble before it bursts.
The nature of all bubbles is for them to burst. Why would a society/economy base it's existence one something that grows bigger than it, and then bursts at it's expense.
The issue isn't capitalism it's American capitalism. There's so much cheating, scale tipping, and unmitigated resource hording that it's destructive to the platform.
"As far as the forum code of conduct, I would think it's a bit outdated and in need of a refre *CLOSED*"
Tax Breaks for Corporations + Trickle Down Economics =
Trickle down economics was a decent theory, too bad neo capitalism got in the way; now wealth is trickeling up and getting accumulated instead of being put back in circulation. Tax evasion loopholes and de-legislation is a main driver, and that is an actual true inconvenient truth.
Fully agreed. The world got screwed over because the safety measures that were supposed to prevent the feedback loop were sabotaged from the inside. And then the entire nice theory got shattered. But there was one problem with trickle down approach: common sense / psychology:
"What are the odds that Trumps of the world will actually give more to employees if you cut the taxes? As opposed to, you know, buying a new (fleet of) yacht(s)?"
Yeah well for trickle down to work then the Trumphs of the world would have to buy "fleets of yatch" (a simplified term), which would funnel money down to companies building those yatchs (aka workers pockets). It is the natural order for wealth to go upwards, and the trickle down effect is supposed to keep this ciruclation going. The reason this does not work in neo capitalism, is that the wealth is not put back in circulation because most of it it is invested in paper (speculation) instead of real things (fleets of yatchs for example). Speculation in paper does not cause a trickle down effect, but instead accumulates wealth. The simple reason for this is that this giant financial machine has gotten so powerful because of this wealth, that it can (and has in major ways since the 90ies) influenced legislaters to remove the safety measures that were supposed to keep things in line in the financial markets (virtual money) - This is neo capitalism (which is not really a objection to capitalism itself, but describing an unhealty form of it). Of course it is not as simple as that, but from a broad perspective.
It's okay if we don't get a GW3. Please, oh please, just make the next expansion Cantha. Let me return to the Jade Sea and the Echovald forest one last time.
For all the armchair economists in here, what would your solution be going forward for the companies making games? Many seem to be pointing the finger at capitalism as the reasons for all this. Mismanagement I would agree with, but it's not capitalism that is at fault.
They could start by holding upper management responsible/accountable for company missteps because the majority of the time it's their negligence or ignorance that causes failure.
If a business is to operate as a bubble that perpetually grows at least have the decency to distribute the growth across the entire bubble before it bursts.
The nature of all bubbles is for them to burst. Why would a society/economy base it's existence one something that grows bigger than it, and then bursts at it's expense.
The issue isn't capitalism it's American capitalism. There's so much cheating, scale tipping, and unmitigated resource hording that it's destructive to the platform.
dude only way for that happen, is if goverment start to mess with company even more, and when goverment mess with the market price of things rise, and quality get lower, if a company can't keep going they will close and people will be fired, that is the deal with everything, and again, you shouldn't hope to spend your whole life in a company, that is not how it works today, you should alwyas have a back up plan, but most are too happy to spend everything and save nothing and not really work
It's okay if we don't get a GW3. Please, oh please, just make the next expansion Cantha. Let me return to the Jade Sea and the Echovald forest one last time.
That is the one thing that would get me to seriously consider reinstalling and playing the game.
My Guild Wars experience started with Factions. To this day, it is my favorite campaign. Alliance Battles are my favorite PvP mode in any game. The Echovald Forest and Jade Sea are my favorite areas in any game for their beauty and creativity. The Kurzicks and Luxons, IMO, were the most well-realized cultures that Arenanet ever made, and Factions added enough depth to the Tengu, IMO, to make them more interesting than the Norn or Asura that we actually have the ability to play.
I do miss these maps. There is a great deal of nostalgia and a desire for me to see these maps in GW2's graphics.
I don't understand why some people get offended when companies that are struggling for profits decide to lay people off. Are they obliged to keep people on who aren't contributing to the company's survival?
Spoken like a truly sympathetic person.
he is with the company
at least he is sincere, I know most of here saying they feel sorry only say it with no meaning, because you say you hate to see then leave, but if it was you or then then you would be happy, you forgot it better a company send half people away and try to regain money then send all away and close shop, plus i'm still waiting the people who said what a company should be doing and start his company and tell us how it goes
maybe the reason is I know how pita building a bussiness is, I know how much its cost to keep things floating, I know how most goverments love to blame a bussiness owner of being disonest or criminal, because he employ people, so he can't be a good person right?, I know both side, and I know both side are a lot of bad people, but saying you are sorry to see someone you don't know or even care lose his job or not? nah now I know you are lying and jsut trying to look good
We are seeing the affect of the F2P/cash shop/RMT consumer backlash and increased government concern over gambling boxes.
The entire industry has been held aloft by this business strategy. All of us complaining about it for years recognized the bubble being created. Even Mark Jacobs predicted this years ago, before he even started the CU Kickstarter.
Meta-marketing to a global audience opens you up to global market growth. It also opens you up to global market shrinking and the total destruction of all those combined genres.
I only hope that the current crop of indie mmorpgs, who's projects still look to be progressing nicely, finish at the right time to fill the niche spots they are intended for. Niche marketing and genre specific gaming needs to return. It's how this industry will regain it's footing.
It's mot that MMORPG's don't make money, it's just that they don't make enough money (compared to other forms of online gaming).
The big studio's in the west need those higher returns, because their labour costs are far higher than in Korea and China. Listed companies have to show healthy profits, else they're toast...
So they've all abandoned the "old" MMORPG model and moved into areas that are more easily monetized and require less development overhead.
Time for a return to the days when small studios built games with dedication and passion, instead of focusing on the ways in which game play features can be monetized...
Rumour has it that Anet had been working on some other non-GW2 projects which has caused the drain on the studio, and they will be dumped while focus will go back on GW2, with the layoffs coming from those projects
Not surprised at all. I left the game months ago when I purchased a costume from the store that was meant for Sylvari and it changed the skin tone and color of my Sylvari. When I sent them screenshots of how awful she looked when wearing the costume, they responded that I could change the costume colors with dyes. Really? That didn't come anywhere close to a solution. I wasn't complaining about the costume colors, but how it CHANGED my character's tone and color (she looked really sick). After they made it clear my satisfaction was not a factor, I left the game and have been enjoying ESO. There are too many games for them to give a customer grief over a few dollars--a refund of that one item would have made me happy and I'd still be spending in their store. I don't stay with any game or company that isn't willing to work with their customers.
Comments
If a business is to operate as a bubble that perpetually grows at least have the decency to distribute the growth across the entire bubble before it bursts.
The nature of all bubbles is for them to burst. Why would a society/economy base it's existence one something that grows bigger than it, and then bursts at it's expense.
The issue isn't capitalism it's American capitalism. There's so much cheating, scale tipping, and unmitigated resource hording that it's destructive to the platform.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The reason this does not work in neo capitalism, is that the wealth is not put back in circulation because most of it it is invested in paper (speculation) instead of real things (fleets of yatchs for example). Speculation in paper does not cause a trickle down effect, but instead accumulates wealth. The simple reason for this is that this giant financial machine has gotten so powerful because of this wealth, that it can (and has in major ways since the 90ies) influenced legislaters to remove the safety measures that were supposed to keep things in line in the financial markets (virtual money) - This is neo capitalism (which is not really a objection to capitalism itself, but describing an unhealty form of it).
Of course it is not as simple as that, but from a broad perspective.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I do miss these maps. There is a great deal of nostalgia and a desire for me to see these maps in GW2's graphics.
The entire industry has been held aloft by this business strategy. All of us complaining about it for years recognized the bubble being created. Even Mark Jacobs predicted this years ago, before he even started the CU Kickstarter.
Meta-marketing to a global audience opens you up to global market growth. It also opens you up to global market shrinking and the total destruction of all those combined genres.
I only hope that the current crop of indie mmorpgs, who's projects still look to be progressing nicely, finish at the right time to fill the niche spots they are intended for. Niche marketing and genre specific gaming needs to return. It's how this industry will regain it's footing.
You stay sassy!
The big studio's in the west need those higher returns, because their labour costs are far higher than in Korea and China. Listed companies have to show healthy profits, else they're toast...
So they've all abandoned the "old" MMORPG model and moved into areas that are more easily monetized and require less development overhead.
Time for a return to the days when small studios built games with dedication and passion, instead of focusing on the ways in which game play features can be monetized...