This reminds me of when Microsoft tried to buy out nintendo before they released the wii/ds. It's not happening. Ncsoft won't sell. And if they did, Good bye L2. The game would get significantly worse, a lot would lose meaning and the game would become nothing more than a WoW clone.
EA is releasing Warhammer Online next year. Two high fantasy hardcore PVP MMO's under the same umbrella? That sounds iffy at best. I don't see how a buyout would benefit either entity.
EA does not know how to handle MMO games very well, they killed Earth & Beyond way before they should have. I hope that this is only a rumor, EA would kill this game.
Activision/Vivendi deal could prompt further moves, says analyst
After the emergence of Activision Blizzard this week, industry rumour-mongering has gathered pace over which rival publishers could make the next move.
Analyst and Gameshadow boss Nicholas Lovell believes that EA must act fast to move into the MMO space - and a move for NCsoft would be the best bet.
“The deal will combine Activision’s strong publishing franchises (like Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk) with Vivendi’s games business, and particularly with World of Warcraft, which with over 9.3 million subscribers is the world’s number one multi-player online role-playing game franchise,” said Lovell on his Gameshadow blog.
“It’s a huge deal, creating a real threat to Electronic Arts, particularly as EA does not yet have a category-killing MMO."
“So despite recent comments to the contrary, the ongoing mergers and acquisitions in the games industry are far from over. What’s next? How about Electronic Arts bidding for NCSoft to get hold of Lineage, Tabula Rasa and Guild Wars?”
EA and NCsoft decided not to comment when contacted by MCV.
If EA did get on board, we might actually have a decent amount of money to be thrown into advertising and support, which would be amazing. Or they could just ruin the game completely heh.
Either way, I think we can all be thankful it isn’t Sony Online that’s making the offer.
If anyone made a halfway decent pvp game, and advertised it as against powerleveling and ebaying, and really really was proactive about it, that game would be the most popular of all time.
Most people who play MMORPG's enjoy it, but after awhile get sick of having to compete with obvious cheaters. but also know, any other game is going to be same sh!& different pile.
EA must merge within 6 months now, or Wal-Street will punish their stock badly. When 1 and 2 merge, 3 and 4 must merge or 3 or 4 will go under.
Just the way it works. NCSOFT dosen't want to be the one left out in the cold. So they have to find a mate.
It coudnt get any worse. Even shutting it down at this point would be a blessing since we'd be able to play on other markets at that point.
You must be joking. At least NCSoft makes some patching and upgrades. Unlike EA which always have the attitude of #1 and above such unsignificant things as support and patches and such...
It coudnt get any worse. Even shutting it down at this point would be a blessing since we'd be able to play on other markets at that point.
You must be joking. At least NCSoft makes some patching and upgrades. Unlike EA which always have the attitude of #1 and above such unsignificant things as support and patches and such...
Yeah, patching and upgrading that...
A) Breaks half the stuff in game..
B) Memory leaks it to high hell...
C) Breaks class balance out the [censored] usually...
Yep, love them patches, keep em coming big boys. Please.
If you cant fix it right, dont freaking fix it. I think I can safely say that this is perhaps the best they've ever done in class balance (CT1) but even it has game breaking skills that were glaring left alone. (Seal of Blockade anyone?)
EA has made some pretty bad mistakes, but you know what? At least they admit to the screw ups and at least attempt to change them. Your also not giving them a fair rap considering the new management structure of the company and the history of said management.
Given how EA crushed Origin, I can't see why NCSoft would be optimistic about their future if merged. EA is pretty awful, they settled with employees that sued them for unpaid overtime a few years ago.
Given how EA crushed Origin, I can't see why NCSoft would be optimistic about their future if merged.
I can't see how they can be optimistic about their future if they don't merge.
Admittedly an imperialistic partner (EA) isn't the most ideal but as many others have posted before me, how could it possibly get any worse?
At the very least it might mean an overhaul of the support system (we can only hope) not that EA are particularly prodigious in that area either lol. ^_^
No matter how much has changed since a "bad" incident, everyone quotes it as if it happens everyday, no matter if the people in charge were fired/left the company and additional steps have been taken to stop whatever happened from happening again.
EA has made drastic changes in regards to its recent purchases. Look at bioware for example.
To the game in general I think it would be a very bad move, to the game in NA/Euro markets it would be a Godsend. I don't like the way EA has been buying everything for the past years but one thing i know for sure is L2/L3 would get a HUGE boost in advertising and general promotion.
NC= MMO's, NC's flagship product= Lineage series, EA buying NC= EA knowing this and thus emphasizing it and promoting L2 knowing that the L3's success is paramount to the overall acquisition.
So yeah I would think it would be Korea's loss, our gain since this game has been butchered and left rotting on our servers.
Adding PVE & RP servers might be the best thing that could happen to the game. One has to figure there are lots of people who would take up this game in an instant if pvp was optional. Yeah sure you could go throughout the game and only get pk'd once or twice but giving people that option of pvp & pve servers can bring in a whole new crowd. There are just those people who don't want to be hassled by pkers.
Also EA needs some high power MMOs to help them get back into standing a chance of knocking SOE off it's throne so EA has to make sure WHO has a huge launch, Bioware was already working on a KOTOR MMO so and although EA doesn't have a great history with MMOs they really can't afford to drop the ball now.
you people, honestly believe, if EA bought out ncsoft, that all they would do is, overhaul the support, and toss in pve/rp servers? oh please..you can't be that ignorant can you? It's like SoE buying out EQ and then trying to follow the same dream the orginal creators had. It's *never* the same. If EA gets ahold of guildwars/L2, they'll gut it and replace quite a bit of it. And I promise you, it won't be for the better.
I love all you Bringers of Doom -ppl :) Are you perhaps working at EA and telling us what their exact plans are? Nope? Didnt think so.
As to what the dreams of original creators were... I think those have been ditched long ago. Heck, all these changes suggest that there is no original plan in motion anymore. They're just throwing stuff together and changing old stuff in a way that neither brings balance nor is needed in any way.
I love all you Bringers of Doom -ppl :) Are you perhaps working at EA and telling us what their exact plans are? Nope? Didnt think so.
As to what the dreams of original creators were... I think those have been ditched long ago. Heck, all these changes suggest that there is no original plan in motion anymore. They're just throwing stuff together and changing old stuff in a way that neither brings balance nor is needed in any way.
That's true on both accounts. No one could know what EA (or any company) would do with NC if they purchased it. Heck, there are some companies (mine for instance) that for the most part leave things "as is" because they don't want to mess with the formula that made the company successful.
As far as the Dev's plans, there really aren't any plans per se. they work on a Saturday Night live way of developing (as told to me by spam) in that everyone is working on something different then they present it to a higher lvl person who then decides if it will fit and how it will fit.
Heck, they added the demon swords after they had one too many drinks and came up with it in the "heat" of it.
As to what the dreams of original creators were... I think those have been ditched long ago. Heck, all these changes suggest that there is no original plan in motion anymore. They're just throwing stuff together and changing old stuff in a way that neither brings balance nor is needed in any way.
As usual, Charm brings the smack down of common sense.
Anyone who thinks the developers have some "grand plan" behind L2, other then knowing how many updates they'll be, are freaking clueless. Hell, even the updates arent set in stone since L1 long ago broke its number of updates.
I love all you Bringers of Doom -ppl :) Are you perhaps working at EA and telling us what their exact plans are? Nope? Didnt think so.
As to what the dreams of original creators were... I think those have been ditched long ago. Heck, all these changes suggest that there is no original plan in motion anymore. They're just throwing stuff together and changing old stuff in a way that neither brings balance nor is needed in any way.
+1 to that last part. They did manage to do a few nice things in the latest expansion, but overall ...
couldnt do worse than what ncsoft is doing currently tbh lol
you really think anyone could do a worse job of managing L2 than NCsoft?
I really don't get these comments. What is NCSoft doing so wrong?
The bot issue? That will happen in ANY grind game that you allow Americans into. Until they decide to ban the Disposable Income Capital of the World, get used to it.
Seriously, get over the "NCSoft is ruinzing L2" crap. The only thing more pathetic than the constant and baseless whining is the fact that you are paying monthly to do it.
I really don't get these comments. What is NCSoft doing so wrong?
Lets see....
1) Botting running Rampant. So much so that its now "normal" on servers.
2) GM staff outsourced to India. Something Spam said would never happen (roffles...)
3) Absolutely zero control over the game in the NA market. Compared to SEA who got a contract to actually control the game to make it fit their market.
4) Lack of any real advertising, in anywhere that matters.
1) Botting running Rampant. So much so that its now "normal" on servers.
Already addressed that. Want to get rid of bots? Ban America.
2) GM staff outsourced to India. Something Spam said would never happen (roffles...)
Tech support outsourced to India? Welcome to the 21st Century.
3) Absolutely zero control over the game in the NA market. Compared to SEA who got a contract to actually control the game to make it fit their market.
I have to admit, you've got a valid point there.
4) Lack of any real advertising, in anywhere that matters.
I'd love to hear what you consider 'anywhere that matters' :)
5) Your a tool.
That may be so, but I don't see how that's NCSoft's fault.
Already addressed that. Want to get rid of bots? Ban America.
Thats just silly and you know it.
A test was done on SEA. 5 people attempted to Bot over there. Know how long they lasted? The LONGEST lasted 8 minutes. THE LONGEST. Thats on a server with a hell of alot more people playing on the majority of our servers. GG.
Tech support outsourced to India? Welcome to the 21st Century.
Name me a MMO that has tech support outsourced to India.
......... Its one thing to outsource Technical support for your computer to India, however, outsourcing GM's is quiet another and no it is NOT a norm.
I'd love to hear what you consider 'anyehere that matter'
Since you'd love to hear it ;)
I'd love to see some TV spots. Korean has enough, SEA has enough, China has enough, every other market has em.
I'd also love to see more branding. How many remember the Coke & L2 partnership in Korea & China? That.. would rock. There are numerous examples of branding in all markets, aside from NA.
Face it, the NA market is here to give NCSoft money. We have never, and will never, get the proper support, the proper staff, nor the proper advertising to make this game the hit that it COULD be in this market. One wonders why personally.
Actually, it is not silly. As long as there are buyers, there will be sellers. In order to stop a problem like that, you have to get rid of the buyers. That's why SEA doesn't have the problem. They have nowhere near as much disposable income. GG
Since you'd love to hear it ;)
I'd love to see some TV spots. Korean has enough, SEA has enough, China has enough, every other market has em.
I'd also love to see more branding. How many remember the Coke & L2 partnership in Korea & China? That.. would rock. There are numerous examples of branding in all markets, aside from NA.
Face it, the NA market is here to give NCSoft money. We have never, and will never, get the proper support, the proper staff, nor the proper advertising to make this game the hit that it COULD be in this market. One wonders why personally.
The hit it could be in this market?
- no character customization
- incredible grind
- PvP environment
Read up on the port of GA/SotNW for a tiny bit of insight on a market that you are extremely unfamiliar with. You feel this is a 'market that matters' because you do not understand the market at all. If you did, you would know that marketing the game here with the current design and mechanics would be a waste of money.
Now, you can argue those points, but you'd be wrong. :)
Actually, it is not silly. As long as there are buyers, there will be sellers. In order to stop a problem like that, you have to get rid of the buyers. That's why SEA doesn't have the problem. They have nowhere near as much disposable income. GG
Your talking about something you have no clue about.
Do you think that say.. Korean's do not ebay? That they do not want to get ahead of the curve, just like Americans?
Of course they do. Whats the difference? A GM Staff that does its job!
Seriously, your trying to say that *ONLY IN AMERICA* would you have a bot & ebay problem, when we all know thats utter trash. (Check the games that have "stores".. if Korean's werent intreasted, they woudnt buy stuff from the stores of game companies would they? But they do...)
Read up on the port of GA/SotNW for a tiny bit of insight on a market that you are extremely unfamiliar with. You feel this is a 'market that matters' because you do not understand the market at all. If you did, you would know that marketing the game here with the current design and mechanics would be a waste of money.
Yes, the hit it could be...
There is a rather large market for a niche type PvP game. Shadowbane had it for awhile, until the owning company screwed that up (not the dev's since wolfpack always rocked, now stray bullet games).
Eve Online currently has it, and is doing fantastically well. (Care to argue the point? You'd be wrong)
Even WoW is fast adding PvP contect because that is what players are striving for in the new internet market. Do you think people play Halo 3 to beat up AI together? Hell no, they play to kill each other. Duh. The same reason people play Eve Online... to utterly ruin other corps... not to mine all **** day long.
Now, you can argue those points, but you'd be wrong.
Sorry bud, I've got alot more time in the industry then you. In fact, I'd be willing to bet I've worked for more MMO companies then you...
One thing you guys seem to have forgotten is that EA has no need of merging with NCSoft, since they already taken over Orgin thus gaining UO and then taking over Mythic thus gaining control of DAoC and WAR.
Also right now WAR has the best chance of dethroning WoW and taking over the #1 spot so all of EAs focus and support is going ot be wrapped up in that little project. If they happened to take over NCSoft I very seriously doubt we will see any type of support; if anything it would probably get even worse. Hell it would probably even get to the point we would have to pay for the updates and additional content.
I would say that the chances are pretty decent that if a merge was to happen NCSoft games would become about what PlanetSide and Matrix Online became to SOE. Pretty much the red headed stepchild that would be lucky to get the throw away servers to use. Espcially if WaR does get as huge as people are expecting it to.