The Future of Guild Wars - Guild Wars Forums

Azure Kain · Nov 09, 2013, 07:24 AM // 07:24

I don't know if this has been asked/answered before as I don't have an awful lot of spare time right now, but I was curious to know if anyone knew what will happen to Guild Wars? Will it be allowed to die off? I would like to see it made into a single player offline game/LAN for those who wish to keep it. All the files are downloaded onto the user's PC anyway? Even at a small charge to help pay for the conversion, I would happily part with a 20 to keep this game for me and my friends. We were looking at making new characters from the beginning for a full play through but aren't sure if it's worth the time if they will just be shut down by Arena Net...
Community input would be welcome as I have no idea how to get in touch with Arena Net themselves.
Thanks!

**Marty Silverblade** · Nov 09, 2013, 07:48 AM // 07:48

Anet have said they'll let GW keep running as long as there's interest. The only support it has left is simple bugfixes and some account support, but I wouldn't worry about it going offline anytime soon (and in any case it's very much worth it). A lot of people have requested some form of private server or offline play, but I've never seen any response from Anet about the idea. They're almost exclusively interested on GW2 now.

Azure Kain · Nov 09, 2013, 08:06 AM // 08:06

That's good! Frankly I find Guild Wars far more fun then Two. I sank a fair bit of time into GW2 but nowhere near as much as I did into the original. Hopefully they come back to it as interest in 2 decreases, would be great to see a single or offline mode for GW. Should start some for of petition, make lots of noise, make sure Anet know about it haha

Ayuhmii Shanbwa · Nov 09, 2013, 09:42 AM // 09:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade

The only support it has left is simple bugfixes and some account support

yup, and sometimes they do something bigger, like making UW, FoW and the statues in exploreables, no longer needing favor

but yea, they said its cheap and easy to keep GW online

also: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/07/16/gu...eveloper-says/

so GW going down is real far away from now, dont worry about that at all

GW is the only MMO i really play, and i'm not worrying

Captain Bulldozer · Nov 09, 2013, 05:44 PM // 17:44

If and when they turn the lights off on GW1, I wouldn't expect them to release an offline version. GW2, which is their only money-maker these days, is a heavily modified version of the original... meaning that if the source code got out (as it would have to for an offline version) they would make GW2 extremely vulnerable, not to mention risk their company secrets (though that may be less of a concern). I really doubt we'll see that, at least until interest in GW2 fades more than it already has.

Ayuhmii Shanbwa · Nov 13, 2013, 10:20 AM // 10:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer

GW2, which is their only money-maker these days

o_O do you have a source of that?
i doubt its like that, as they still make money with GW due to people either just liking GW more than GW2, or HoM rewards for GW2 (which may also be that people stay in GW, as they first get GW for rewards, and then see its a good game)

if GW wouldnt give any money, then why keep it online?

i dont wanna start another discussion (this topic was used alot for that, if GW is still good to em or not, yet anet never said yes or no), just wanna show you my point(s), so no need for answers, just thinking about it

Captain Bulldozer · Nov 13, 2013, 11:58 PM // 23:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayuhmii Shanbwa

o_O do you have a source of that?
i doubt its like that, as they still make money with GW due to people either just liking GW more than GW2, or HoM rewards for GW2 (which may also be that people stay in GW, as they first get GW for rewards, and then see its a good game)

if GW wouldnt give any money, then why keep it online?

i dont wanna start another discussion (this topic was used alot for that, if GW is still good to em or not, yet anet never said yes or no), just wanna show you my point(s), so no need for answers, just thinking about it

Sorry, I didn't mean to say that GW1 makes them NO money these days (though for all I know that may be true), only that GW2 is clearly the revenue stream for Arenanet, so they won't do anything that might risk that for now. That being said, the profits that GW1 was bringing in, even back 2 years ago before GW2 came out, were tiny at best (you can see this in the NCSoft quarterly reports which are available online). Today, those profits (if any) are even less than that.

Wise Watchman · Nov 14, 2013, 06:42 AM // 06:42

"The game itself was so efficient on the server side in terms of the resources, like, it runs on a fraction of the hardware that we need for running Guild Wars 2, so having that on the back-burner is nothing compared to GW2,"
- Mike Zadorojny (lead content designer) from that pc gamer article.

Maybe it will outlive gw2!

(don't worry I'm not a fanboy, just enjoy stoking the fire)

I guess in the end it all boils down to money. Population will likely continue to dwindle and eventually they'll be making a loss financially.

Either way, I hope I'm still dancing in the last hours before they shut the servers.

Ayuhmii Shanbwa · Nov 15, 2013, 07:06 PM // 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer

Today, those profits (if any) are even less than that.

i'd love to see where you got that info from, maybe a site where it says what their profits are monthly

and even if its not much compared to years ago, or gw2(which was overhyped, and people bought it thinking it was gonna be gw-ish) at its launch, its still enough to keep up gw, otherwise they'd never say its easy and cheap to keep gw online (look up that link i sent)

PS. i mean it, i was hoping you would have a link to some site where we can see it
(edit to make things a little more clear)

Captain Bulldozer · Nov 17, 2013, 04:16 PM // 16:16

Complete information like that is not generally released to the public. However, if you go here:

http://www.ncsoft.net/global/ir/earnings.aspx

you will find downloadable links to the quarterly earnings reports for NCSoft. If you take some time to look through the documents, you'll find they make no specific mention of GW1, as its profits (again, if any) are vastly overshadowed by the GW2 profits. There are, however, a few pieces of info that you can use to get an idea. First of all, the quarterly profits for Anet in the 3rd quarter of this year were slightly over 9 and a quarter million dollars (after currency conversion), for an average of slightly under $3.1 million per month on average.
The second piece of info is that the pre-royalty sales of ALL other specifically listed games published by NCSoft in the third quarter was around $16.1 million. This figure includes any sales of GW1 as well as any cash shop profits, but taken together with the first figure (which includes sales for both GW1 and GW2) we're really talking about a very small profit (if any) coming from GW1.

Now, as far as their costs are concerned, the report does shed some light on the situation, but not a lot of specifics. Given that virtually everything in GW1 is now automated, the only real operating costs it has are things like facility rental, utility payments and repair costs... so its economically viable to keep the servers running for GW1 even if there are next to no profits from that game, as it has quite a few shared costs with GW2, which is turning a profit.

Honestly, though, without all the careful analysis, it doesn't take an earnings report to see that the world of GW1 is very sparsely populated, and that many of the people still playing (myself included) haven't spent much/any money on the game in quite a long time.

Ayuhmii Shanbwa · Nov 18, 2013, 11:05 AM // 11:05

well, you just said they get profits from gw, and you only compare it to other games (why do people keep comparing EVERYTHING to other games)

anyway, i keep up hopes, but dont count on anything

to the original poster: no, gw is far from dead, as many people join GW and buy alot of extra's for GW, even these days
people might call it dead, but they compare (yes, again) it to GW2 and other games..... and compare to years ago

they still give the game more sometimes, like removing the favor to get into UW and FoW, and even the statues give buffs without favor

its just not as many updates as years ago anymore, but they gotta focus on GW2 for some time now, i bet they will come back (even though so many people have "facts" which arent being made by either ncsoft or anet) to GW to give us some nice stuff (dont know what, but more than bug fixes and account support only), just give em some time

ps. people called GW dead right before GW 2 was released, makes it easy to know how bad people are at "telling the future" eh? :P

Captain Bulldozer · Nov 23, 2013, 07:46 PM // 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayuhmii Shanbwa

well, you just said they get profits from gw, and you only compare it to other games (why do people keep comparing EVERYTHING to other games)

Please don't put words in my mouth. What I said is that ARENANET is making a profit. Any incoming money to A-net is earned from either GW1 or GW2 (or possibly both), and the best case scenario is that GW1 makes a very small profit. There is simply not enough hard evidence to support the claim that GW1 is still turning a profit, which means it is wrong to believe it is (it is similarly wrong to believe that it's NOT making a profit).

The real point is that the GW1 servers are not likely to be shut down any time soon, as they are a very small cost to a company already making a decent profit, and there is still occasionally a customer bridge from one game to the other (hence increasing revenues for Anet either way). Just don't expect Anet to make their product or product code freely available to the public any time soon (which almost certainly means no offline version unfortunately).

Nov 09, 2013, 07:24 AM // 07:24	#1
Azure Kain Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Australia Guild: Doin Profession: Mo/Me	The Future of Guild Wars I don't know if this has been asked/answered before as I don't have an awful lot of spare time right now, but I was curious to know if anyone knew what will happen to Guild Wars? Will it be allowed to die off? I would like to see it made into a single player offline game/LAN for those who wish to keep it. All the files are downloaded onto the user's PC anyway? Even at a small charge to help pay for the conversion, I would happily part with a 20 to keep this game for me and my friends. We were looking at making new characters from the beginning for a full play through but aren't sure if it's worth the time if they will just be shut down by Arena Net... Community input would be welcome as I have no idea how to get in touch with Arena Net themselves. Thanks!

Nov 09, 2013, 07:48 AM // 07:48	#2
Marty Silverblade Administrator Join Date: Jun 2006	Anet have said they'll let GW keep running as long as there's interest. The only support it has left is simple bugfixes and some account support, but I wouldn't worry about it going offline anytime soon (and in any case it's very much worth it). A lot of people have requested some form of private server or offline play, but I've never seen any response from Anet about the idea. They're almost exclusively interested on GW2 now. __________________

Nov 09, 2013, 08:06 AM // 08:06	#3
Azure Kain Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Australia Guild: Doin Profession: Mo/Me	That's good! Frankly I find Guild Wars far more fun then Two. I sank a fair bit of time into GW2 but nowhere near as much as I did into the original. Hopefully they come back to it as interest in 2 decreases, would be great to see a single or offline mode for GW. Should start some for of petition, make lots of noise, make sure Anet know about it haha

Nov 09, 2013, 05:44 PM // 17:44	#5
Captain Bulldozer Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jan 2008 Guild: Servants of the Dragon Flames [SODF]	If and when they turn the lights off on GW1, I wouldn't expect them to release an offline version. GW2, which is their only money-maker these days, is a heavily modified version of the original... meaning that if the source code got out (as it would have to for an offline version) they would make GW2 extremely vulnerable, not to mention risk their company secrets (though that may be less of a concern). I really doubt we'll see that, at least until interest in GW2 fades more than it already has.

Nov 14, 2013, 06:42 AM // 06:42	#8
Wise Watchman Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Manchester, UK GMT??0 ??1hr DST Profession: Mo/	"The game itself was so efficient on the server side in terms of the resources, like, it runs on a fraction of the hardware that we need for running Guild Wars 2, so having that on the back-burner is nothing compared to GW2," - Mike Zadorojny (lead content designer) from that pc gamer article. Maybe it will outlive gw2! (don't worry I'm not a fanboy, just enjoy stoking the fire) I guess in the end it all boils down to money. Population will likely continue to dwindle and eventually they'll be making a loss financially. Either way, I hope I'm still dancing in the last hours before they shut the servers.

Nov 17, 2013, 04:16 PM // 16:16	#10
Captain Bulldozer Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jan 2008 Guild: Servants of the Dragon Flames [SODF]	Complete information like that is not generally released to the public. However, if you go here: http://www.ncsoft.net/global/ir/earnings.aspx you will find downloadable links to the quarterly earnings reports for NCSoft. If you take some time to look through the documents, you'll find they make no specific mention of GW1, as its profits (again, if any) are vastly overshadowed by the GW2 profits. There are, however, a few pieces of info that you can use to get an idea. First of all, the quarterly profits for Anet in the 3rd quarter of this year were slightly over 9 and a quarter million dollars (after currency conversion), for an average of slightly under $3.1 million per month on average. The second piece of info is that the pre-royalty sales of ALL other specifically listed games published by NCSoft in the third quarter was around $16.1 million. This figure includes any sales of GW1 as well as any cash shop profits, but taken together with the first figure (which includes sales for both GW1 and GW2) we're really talking about a very small profit (if any) coming from GW1. Now, as far as their costs are concerned, the report does shed some light on the situation, but not a lot of specifics. Given that virtually everything in GW1 is now automated, the only real operating costs it has are things like facility rental, utility payments and repair costs... so its economically viable to keep the servers running for GW1 even if there are next to no profits from that game, as it has quite a few shared costs with GW2, which is turning a profit. Honestly, though, without all the careful analysis, it doesn't take an earnings report to see that the world of GW1 is very sparsely populated, and that many of the people still playing (myself included) haven't spent much/any money on the game in quite a long time.

Nov 18, 2013, 11:05 AM // 11:05	#11
Ayuhmii Shanbwa Desert Nomad Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Holland Guild: [GaMe] Profession: Rt/	well, you just said they get profits from gw, and you only compare it to other games (why do people keep comparing EVERYTHING to other games) anyway, i keep up hopes, but dont count on anything to the original poster: no, gw is far from dead, as many people join GW and buy alot of extra's for GW, even these days people might call it dead, but they compare (yes, again) it to GW2 and other games..... and compare to years ago they still give the game more sometimes, like removing the favor to get into UW and FoW, and even the statues give buffs without favor its just not as many updates as years ago anymore, but they gotta focus on GW2 for some time now, i bet they will come back (even though so many people have "facts" which arent being made by either ncsoft or anet) to GW to give us some nice stuff (dont know what, but more than bug fixes and account support only), just give em some time ps. people called GW dead right before GW 2 was released, makes it easy to know how bad people are at "telling the future" eh? :P