I think most of us have felt that NCNA has been understaffed, not overstaffed. I'm not a fearmonger but, less than halfway through this game (only C4 so far) and they're dumping such a large percentage of the work force I can only assume the worst.
Best wishes to the 70 who were let go. Spam, make sure Becca or someone else in HR contacts the IGDA HR list. It does help to let others know of available talent.
Hopefully those weren't the 70 who kept sending our "game is imbalanced, and C5 makes it worse" comments back to Seoul. Reroll. Best of luck to the 70.
Anyway...from the human factor this is terrible news to those let go..I think we all wish them luck and feel their pain.
From a customer perspective this is nothing short of a disaster. I don't know who or from what dept. people were cut but I think it's safe to say that customer support will not be improved. (simple mathematics: less people = less people to help the customer.)
Makes me wonder about HGSpams recent post saying customer service was growing because the games were growing...anyone remember that? I do...
Credibility or wishful thinking? You make the call.
And I realize that he could have been in the dark just like the rest of us in life..oh well...I guess we will see the outcome.
But it's a shame to have so many people lost when it's so clear that those who are there are stretched already. I hope the team dedicated to L2 can keep putting the time in and we can see improvements rather than problems occuring from this.
Just to confirm, Mistryl is really on vacation and will return soon.
We can't believe you anymore.
since when do you care about mistryl's vacation? there's no reason not to believe him, seeing as other NCQA leads they've had have had their leaving the company publicized...
Just to confirm, Mistryl is really on vacation and will return soon.
We can't believe you anymore.
since when do you care about mistryl's vacation? there's no reason not to believe him, seeing as other NCQA leads they've had have had their leaving the company publicized...
I don't care about Mistryl's vacation. And your second post makes no sense, sorry.
I'm sorry to see so much of the American NCsoft staff have lost their jobs. Hopefully they won't be out of work for long!
Maybe in a few cronicles, new players will look to this game again, and it can grow beyond the little niche it has here in NA and Europe.
Just to confirm, Mistryl is really on vacation and will return soon.
We can't believe you anymore.
since when do you care about mistryl's vacation? there's no reason not to believe him, seeing as other NCQA leads they've had have had their leaving the company publicized...
I don't care about Mistryl's vacation. And your second post makes no sense, sorry.
your statement makes me think you think mistryl was laid off. why in gods name would you care? and what would spam have to gain by lying about it.
Sad indeed :( I just wish someone at NCSoft would take the marketing bull by the horns and promote the heck out of L2 when C5 goes live... It beats all the other games out there and new people really would be great. The usual marketing that companies do such as related game magazines, web sites, commercials (even theater spots) fresh product on store shelves, game cards, the list goes on and on. I never see anything out there promoting this game :confused: It would be money well spent and returned several times im sure.
I have to agree about the marketing. Anytime I try to talk about this game the first response I get is "What's L2?".
It's a bit discouraging to hear about so many people losing their jobs, but as spam said it wasn't going to interfere with any of the projects they're working on. It's not like they were cut down to a skeleton crew either, which happens occasionally in these affairs.
Hopefully both the game and customer service can continue as they have been, it would be nice if NC's staff were to grow again sometime in the future.
I think 70 people getting layed off from NcSoft NA tell alot bigger story about the NA market than people think. It's a crase and almost a way of like in the asian market.
In the NA market your lucky if you here or see anything about this game. Do you really think this game will last 12 chronicles without advertising. By then you will be lucky to find anyone who will even be at thier keyboard to talk back to you.
They know it we know it. But it sure is nice to come in these forums and get that nice friendly perfect world feeling.
You do realize that NCSOFT NA develops and sells more games than just Lineage 2? Don't make ignorant comments like this.
Now as far as people getting laid off, there certainly is something going on there. I've thought it was waay too quiet for a long time now and it seems there has been fallout.
The question is, what will NCSOFT NA do next? What is NCSOFT Korea's influence in all this? Any concerns of a break between NCSOFT NA and NCSOFT Korea in the works?
I am not suprised at all after seeing the overall stockmarket-prices and profits made over time as posted on the finacial website of NCsoft.
Management failed if you ask me. Reducing manpower is a management dissision so I wonder how management thinks about the curent problem of L2.
Do you solve the current situation with less people? Frankly I would think a big fat no. Then ofcourse with increased work for those that are left behind the likelyhood of stress will increase and that could deminish the working force even more.
However I would be really suprised if those that had to leave are managers...
I like to stay possitive in thinking but it does become harder with every month.
I dont know what all it takes to run a gaming company but I work at a nursing home with 300 residents I think last I heard we have around 500 empoyees that cover 3 shifts a day 7 days a week 365 days a year with the exception of a few positions. (Laundry, cooking, house keeping, maintenance, hr, qa, staffing, business, therapy, admissions, medical records, then the nurses, nursing assitants, unit attendants, activities, etc etc.) Dont think there can be any more jobs then that at a gaming company so I think 230 is plenty to cover everything.
Maybe we will have more people with full time jobs and less people with part time jobs which is better for us because people will know whats going on the whole week instead of coming on mid week and not having a clue what happened at the start of the week or vice versa.
It cann't be true... To reduce it's GM force by 80% and the support force by 90%...
It would explain the lack of a support responce with this new network issue
NCSoft Austin Lays Off 25% of Staff
Date: June 23, 2006 - Author: Geek Girl - Editor: Rob Williams
One of the most prolific MMORPG companies in the world looks to be having bigger troubles than many have imagined. The NC Austin office total employee count is down to 230, from the 300 it was a few days ago. It is currently unknown exactly who were laid off, but it's known that some key members inside the company are no longer there.
One of the most prolific MMORPG companies in the world looks to be having bigger troubles than many have imagined. The NC Austin office total employee count is down to 230, from the 300 it was a few days ago. It is currently unknown exactly who were laid off, but it's known that some key members inside the company are no longer there.
NCsoft’s Austin business has announced an immediate restructuring within its organization that included the difficult task of reducing members of its workforce. The online games industry is one that is continually changing with the scaling up and down of business based on product launches and product development schedules.
Over the past two and a half years NCsoft has launched six major titles into the North American market and has grown with each title launch. As the company continues to grow its live products and prepares its next set of major online game releases for later in 2006 and 2007, the company sees a slowdown in its launch pattern and the need to streamline its business.
For this reason, NCsoft has reduced its 300 person workforce in Austin by approximately 70 people to accommodate this change. This decision has no impact on the schedules of any projects currently in development and service to NCsoft’s current games will continue without interruption.
Sadly, of those 70, our friend Valerie 'Pann' Massey, Community Coordinator for the Auto Assault team and beloved long time community personality, was affected by this cut. We here at Techgage wish her, and all those affected by this cut, only good fortune for their futures. I have faith that we will once again see our beloved GM's and Community staff in other realms, until then, all the best.
What's this mean for the future of NC Soft in the US? Less than two years ago, they were the primary players in the MMO market... the ones that other companies, such as Blizzard, wanted to catch up with. Lineage 1 and 2, combined, had well over 5 Million total subscribers, although that number has since dwindled. NC Soft is Korea is still going strong, despite losing 30% of it's stock in the last month, but the future is questionable there also.
To help split up the numbers more, f13.net gave info about which groups this layoff session included. 80% of the Game Masters are gone, in addition to a staggering 90% of their Tech Support. Lastly, 75% of their QA is also cut. Aside from management, it looks like they are trying to keep staff to a bare minimum.
Will Richard Garriots Tabula Rasa be a saving force for NC Austin? Or Dungeon Runners for that matter? The future looks bleak for our recently reviewed Auto Assault, which is rumored to have less than 10,000 subscribers. $150,000US income per month for any MMO is not usually considered 'decent', so the future of that game specifically is cloudy. City of Heroes also has reports of declining subscribers, but no rough estimates are available at this time.
What's in the future for NC Soft in the US is to be seen, but lets hope things will not get any worse.
To help split up the numbers more, f13.net gave info about which groups this layoff session included. 80% of the Game Masters are gone, in addition to a staggering 90% of their Tech Support. Lastly, 75% of their QA is also cut. Aside from management, it looks like they are trying to keep staff to a bare minimum.
guess no more banning of bots T_T just whut we needed...
To help split up the numbers more, f13.net gave info about which groups this layoff session included. 80% of the Game Masters are gone, in addition to a staggering 90% of their Tech Support. Lastly, 75% of their QA is also cut. Aside from management, it looks like they are trying to keep staff to a bare minimum.
guess no more banning of bots T_T just whut we needed...
Again, it is important to keep in mind that we don't know what sources this info stems from.
I'm afraid it's getting harder for me to remain optimistic about this news, especialy when I look at the big picture.
Sure, I believe the game will improve with each new cronicle, but I no longer believe it will grow beyond it's niche here in NA and Europe.
We put in a call to NCsoft and spoke with a representative who assured us that this recent event "does not affect any of the development teams, such as Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, (or) City of Villains." We were also told that the layoffs were "more on the support side.
Thats not good, not good at all. You reduce the amount of people to handle support and you kill a game
We'll it looks like we have been Slept..... just waiting on the Nuke now, wonder if they'll use Hurricane or Shadow Flare.
On a serious note, it is a shame as this in my humble little opinion, is one of the best games I have ever played, and believe me I've played a few over the years. luv cat :(
We'll it looks like we have been Slept..... just waiting on the Nuke now, wonder if they'll use Hurricane or Shadow Flare.
On a serious note, it is a shame as this in my humble little opinion, is one of the best games I have ever played, and believe me I've played a few over the years. luv cat :(
I seriously don't think that you have anything to worry about. This game will make it through its chronicles. It's subsriptions are up after all.
It just makes NC look bad to make layoffs like this, even if these employees are no longer needed.
It would be nice to here something but I wouldn't hold your breath. I guess we will see whats going on. C5 is out in Korea, japan has a date for C5 and we have nothing. No word of anything. Also Independance Day is coming up next week and so far no word of any events.
Call me wrong but wouldn't you say the support staff is one aspect of a gaming company you should never touch in a cut back?
I'm worried... You cut the support staff and say the event staff. Then just what do we have for a game?
Actually, support staff is cut all the time in the business world. Admin assistants, Executive assistants, Facilites people. The thought being that if you implement the right infrastructure then you need fewer to do the work that many were needed.
It doesn't mean that this is "correct" thinking, but it doesn't mean that NC is in "trouble".
Take my example. The company I work for was purchased. purchased by a multi-national corporation with quite a bit of money. So who did they cut? Support staff.
Assistant to Marketing, Human Resources support and Financial support person.
Who is now supporting Finance and Human Resources and Marketing???
:) (who do you think)
Company is more solvent now than it was before. And that has nothing to do with the people being laid off as the purchasing company is loaded.
Maybe NCSOFT Korea is finally starting to ask questions why this game LINEAGE 2 is treated like a bastard child in the state among NCSOFT NA games? If this game dies here, I can only wonder why it took so long since AGAIN marketting for this game next to nothing.
wow, the incompetence of the NA NC Soft higher ups has just hit a new low. People quit this game because of issues MOSTLY involving support, NC Soft sees that people are quitting the game so they lower support staff........lol. Good luck with your next tremendous failure NC Soft, just leave the US because you obviously have no idea how to run a business here.
Maybe NCSOFT Korea is finally starting to ask questions why this game LINEAGE 2 is treated like a bastard child in the state among NCSOFT NA games? If this game dies here, I can only wonder why it took so long since AGAIN marketting for this game next to nothing.
Well, again I think that that is part of the arrogance of NC Soft. Not the North American Office as they most likely take their lead from Korea. But they could have done so much more with this game then what they did.
More advertising and then taking advantage of the initial numbers.
I realize that subscriptions are up but quite frankly, it doesn't feel like it.
There felt to be more people in the game during Prelude and C1 than now. I can only guess (if I'm correct in that feeling) that this is because there were more players then and now there are less players with multiple accounts and more "non" player/business toons out there.
The addition of the necros was a mistake as it seems that most people level there than elsewhere. Or at least that must be the case as it is rare to find people running along the roads nowadays.
1 : A bad support doesn't mean the support isn't overstaffed = you can have too many ppl AND not be efficient.
2 : All the support issues are :
2.a : highly technical issues involving drivers or firewalls/routers
2.b : EULA issues where ppl criticise the very rules like not being able to freely talk about bots (or EULA violations issues like botting in itself)
2.c : gameplay issues like nerfs and balance issues, economy control and droprates which NC NA stated so many time they had few control over.
3 : When most of the games are in cruise speed, you de facto need less ppl to support them. No major influx of new players = no need to keep so many ppl.
So I don't see how this would necessarily have an impact on the game requiring such a huge amount of drama.
Now everybody lay down on the floor and keep calm !!!
KLF huhun huhun
Maybe NCSOFT Korea is finally starting to ask questions why this game LINEAGE 2 is treated like a bastard child in the state among NCSOFT NA games? If this game dies here, I can only wonder why it took so long since AGAIN marketting for this game next to nothing.
NCSoft NA is a division. From this quote I take it you have never worked in the corporate world. In all likelihood NSCoft Korea dictates how things are done here. Usually division has a small amount of autonomy but must take direction from Corporate.
You have got to think about this stuff from a corporate perspective, specifically from the perspective of the people at the top.
First, I agree with Sovrath. When a company says they cut support staff, they typically are not talking about customer support, they are talking about infrastructure support.
Most importantly, consider this:
The CEO, COO, and rest of the board know that they have only 2 titles slated for release in the next 2 years, maybe longer.
That means there isn't much money projected to come in from box sales and new game launches. That's scary stuff for them.
They have got to keep the stockholders happy if they want to keep their jobs, and stockholders are a finicky bunch.
Those people at the boardroom table are looking at the projections, and they know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the majority of their income over the next two years is going to come from one place: SUBSCRIPTIONS.
That means their focus is going to be two-fold:
1. Keep existing Subscribers
2. Get new Subscribers
These guys aren't stupid, despite what we may sometimes think.
I guarantee that somewhere is a presentation or a big chart, and on it, it says:
1. Keep existing Subscribers
2. Get new Subscribers
Has there been any official response yet on this issue? Any thing on the other threads about this topic?
I don't know why people fear ncsoft will stop sending over chronicles. I don't see that happening. I think they'll keep servers running for years, even after C12, and consolidate down to 2 or 3 servers. Server rack space is cheap when you have all your visitors paying $15 month.
Maybe NCSOFT Korea is finally starting to ask questions why this game LINEAGE 2 is treated like a bastard child in the state among NCSOFT NA games? If this game dies here, I can only wonder why it took so long since AGAIN marketting for this game next to nothing.
NCSoft NA is a division. From this quote I take it you have never worked in the corporate world. In all likelihood NSCoft Korea dictates how things are done here. Usually division has a small amount of autonomy but must take direction from Corporate.
Actually I have worked and currently DO work in the corporate world. Thats why I know NCSOFT is a SUBSIDIARY not a DIVISION. Maybe you should try applying that same logic to yourself?
With a little searching I found what NCSOFT NAs responsibilities are, and I quote:
"NC Interactive, located in Austin, Texas, is the North American arm of NCsoft. Established in July 2000, NC Interactive focuses on operations and administration, marketing , PR, customer service, localization, and third-party publishing. Currently it is servicing Lineage®, Lineage II, and City of Heroes™ for North America. All future games targeted for the North American audience will be serviced through the NC Interactive channel."